Southern Gospel Events - Monday Morning Poll

It seemed that this past weekend was a prime weekend for big gospel music events with Bean Blossom Southern Gospel Jubilee, Canada's Gospel Music Celebration in Red Deer, Gerald Crabb Gospel Festival and the Heritage of Gold Reunion. There were several videos floating around on Facebook and Periscope from the various events.

So here's a Monday morning poll question for you. With all the annual gospel music events that happen now, big and small, what's your philosophy on going to these events? Are there certain events you have to attend every year like the National Quartet Convention or Singing in the Sun? Do you try to go to different things every year? It seems that every year there are new events that start as well. Are you one of those people who has to try out something in its inaugural year?

I know, for me, there are events that I definitely want to attend, but I can't break myself from going to Silver Dollar City's Southern Gospel Picnic every year. However, I do want to try other annual events such as NQC that I've never been to.

But what about you? Would love to hear from you! Here's a Monday morning poll for you to take!

Concert Announcements - Poll

I want to hear from you this Monday morning. I think I've asked a similar question before, but I'm curious to know if this has changed.

There are so many ways now to get the word out about concerts. However, I know from going to concerts recently, drawing a large crowd is not as easy as it used to be. More and more things are competing for our attention, and then there are the distance and weather factors. A small crowd size is not really a reflection of the artist, but just in the method of getting the word out.

So I'm curious, how do you hear about concerts? What's the most effective way to ensure that more people hear about a concert in your area? Take the poll below (you can vote twice).

Monday Morning Poll - Singing News Fan Awards Voting

Singing News Fan Awards first round nominations are now open. I know there is normally a lot of discussion about the consistency of winners.

I'll be honest as a subscriber and voter in the awards, my vote changes each round. A lot of times I'll nominate someone who may not be consistently in the top 10 or top 5. For the top 10, sometimes I'll do the same. In the final round, I'll go with more my favorite or someone who I think has had an incredible year. So I'm curious, does anyone else change their votes from round to round like I do?

Poll - How Do You Hear About Concerts?

I've asked this question before, but I wanted to ask it again to see if things had changed in the last year or so.

There are so many ways that you can find out about a concert in your area. Sometimes you just happen to hear about it from a friend or at another local concert. If you're like I am, you check websites frequently searching for your state or area. Or maybe you follow your favorite artists on social media and see their posts. With the emergence of social media, is this becoming the more common way to get the word out about concerts? I'm curious how do you most commonly hear about concerts? Take the poll below!

Concerts in 2015

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I've had a weekend full of gospel music. I had the chance to see two different groups who were in Arkansas. (Check back later this week for the recaps!) In other words, 2015 has gotten off to a good start!

If my schedule allows and a group is relatively close, normally I'm at the concert. Looking at upcoming schedules, it looks like I'll have the chance to see several groups in the first few months of the year. If the pattern continues, I'll be able to attend a lot more concerts in 2015 than 2014. But what about you? What are your plans for attending concerts this year? Would love to hear from you!

Names You Might Not Know Yet - Poll

Last year I did a series of posts called "Names You Might Not Know Yet." It asked various up and coming groups several questions to allow readers to get to know them better. You can check out all the posts here.

I would like to revive the series, but I would like to hear from you. What up and coming groups would you like to see featured? Is there a new group that people need to hear more about? Or is there a group that has been around for a while that just hasn't gotten the attention you think they deserve?  What about regional groups that more people need to hear from? What group would you like to get to know better? Leave a comment below with your suggestions!

Best Decade?

This weekend, some friends and I relived our teenage, teeny bopper, boy band crazed, teenage years. Yes, unfortunately, I was one of those girls. A friend had programmed in a 90s pop Pandora station that prompted us to relive those days. It was fun going back and still remembering every word to songs that we hadn't heard in years.

So let's just go ahead and say that as far as pop music goes, the 1990s was the best decade. (Just go with me on this one.) If you had to pick a decade of Southern Gospel music to listen to, what would it be? Take the poll below (you can pick two). I'm anxious to see which decade you would listen to over and over for gospel music.

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to check out Musicscribe's polls on the best albums by decade!

When to start Christmas music?

Halloween is over, and the stores are already filled with Christmas decorations, candy and music. I think I've said this before, but I love Christmas. I love everything about it. On November 1, all systems are go for Christmas music. And my Christmas tree will be up early next week.

But when you go to Southern Gospel concerts, do you expect to hear Christmas music already? I'll just be honest if you are TaRanda Greene or Gerald Wolfe and want to sing "Oh Holy Night" in July during a concert, I'm perfectly ok with that. On the other hand, I've been a concerts in August when the group was about to release a Christmas project and most of the concert was Christmas. I'm ok with one or two if it's out of season, but not a full concert.

So what are your thoughts? Are you an after Thanksgiving person or can you listen to Christmas music year round?

Southern Gospel Radio

Arkansas is lacking when it comes to Southern Gospel radio. There is an AM station that I can pick up sometimes, mostly in the morning driving to work I can count on it. Other times, not so much. And there's some Christian country mixed in where it's not really strictly Southern Gospel. However, I do enjoy listening to JoyFM through the station's app on my iPhone. Pretty much every morning, I'm listening to JoyFM while getting ready. And when I go to Branson or in the Ozarks, I enjoy that I can pick up KWFC.

With technology now, you don't necessarily have to listen to radio at all anymore, especially with the sometimes lack of local stations and the technology that gives you many more options. Some apps or websites now allow you to have some say in what songs or artists you listen to. So I'm curious to know, do you listen to Southern Gospel radio? If so, how?

Southern Gospel in the Church

I love my church for so many reasons. One of them is the music. No, it's not all Southern Gospel, we have a nice balance of contemporary music and hymns. We do have a Southern Gospel influence in the church, but that doesn't always come through. It was funny that a friend recently made a comment after a Hoppers concert that she didn't realize how many songs she would recognize because our church's choir had sung them. It's always interesting to me looking at choir music to see how many names I recognize who have ties to Southern Gospel.

Southern Gospel may not be included as songs you sing in worship, but it could be a special song from the choir that is by a gospel group. Or it could be an individual who sings solos in church who you can always count on to sing a gospel song. I'm just curious on this Monday morning how much of an influence Southern Gospel plays in your church from the regular worship service to special music to hosting concerts. Would love to hear from you!

Singing News Fan Awards Predictability

The Singing News Fan Awards are this week on Wednesday. It will be streamed online on the Singing News website. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to catch it. The awards are always interesting though. Over the years, some of the categories have become somewhat predictable. I'll be honest I have mixed feelings about this. I think it speaks to the consistency of the genre that the same artists are winners year after year. Fan favorites stay near the top for several years. But on the other hand, I also don't like the predictability. In fact, I'll admit it, one year I deliberately would not vote for anyone who won the year before. I realized I couldn't complain about the lack of change if I were also voting for those some of those same people. But then I realized, they are favorites for a reason, even some were my favorites, and it was dumb to take that approach. It was nothing personal against those who won, but I just wanted a change.

This year the Singing News has changed some of the categories adding more "new" categories that will help with this issue. But I'm curious as to how you feel about the predictability of the awards. What do you think about the awards?

How Many Concerts Do You Attend?

I'm not sure about where you live, but in Arkansas it's either feast or famine when it comes to gospel concerts. Either we have several groups all come at one time or there's nothing for a month (i.e. July). Now this Friday two of my favorite groups will both be in Arkansas, but fortunately (or unfortunately) one of them is two hours away, so the group that will be closer wins.

I know for a lot of you, like me, how many concerts you attend really just depends on how many artists are nearby. But I'm curious, in a typical year, how many gospel concerts do you attend? I know multiple-day events you can see several concerts in one day even, but just count the event as one.

Southern Gospel Events

In about a month is an event I look forward to every year! Since its inception, I haven't missed a year of it. I'm talking about the Southern Gospel Picnic at Silver Dollar City. While I haven't missed a year, last year was the first year I got to attend the entire festival. Previous years I was only able to attend a couple of days or nights, sometimes longer, but last year I didn't miss a day! I'm hoping this year will be a repeat of last year and attend the whole festival, that's my plan, anyway!

It's the one time of year I get to see many favorite artists all within a span of 12 days jam-packed full of gospel music. It's the event that sparked my love of gospel music and helped me hear so many of my favorite artists for the first time.

I recognize that the National Quartet Convention is the "granddaddy" of Southern Gospel music events, so I'm leaving them out to be fair to to the other events. I feel like it would be a runaway if they were included. But I'm sure we all have our other favorite major events during the year. Events that last for more the span of a long weekend. So if you only had to pick one of the other major annual Southern Gospel events to attend, what would it be? What's your favorite?

Would love to read comments below about your favorites and would be interested to hear from artists about what events they look forward to each year! And if I've left one out, let me know!

Hearing Albums Before They Are Released

It seems that it's becoming an increasing trend for artists to preview their upcoming album releases online. It could be a video of a rehearsal or a clip of each song that is going to be on the album.

I think if you see an artist live right before their next album releases you can expect to hear some of these songs live. However, with social media, it's easier than ever for artists to give fans a tease from their latest project. Many artists have released clips of each songs before you can buy the CD in stores or from them.

So my question is, do these previews really affect whether or not you're going to buy the album?