Well folks, here we gooooooo! Last night! Enjoy my hasty notes… They are repeating a couple of showcase groups at the beginning. I walked in to catch the last part of Omega’s song. The group as a whole doesn’t impress me so much, but the lead singer has a strikingly powerful and mature voice! Others have made a comparison to David Phelps, and he’s definitely been influenced by David. Keep your eye on that fellow… then the Irwin brothers came... Read more

This installment will be briefer than usual. I decided to just enjoy the showcase and not blog much. But I’ll provide a song list and brief comments here and there. Up On this Ridge, written and performed by Channing Eleton: Inspired by his mother, who he would often see “talking with God” by the fireplace, this is an upbeat take on the mental picture of praying to God. Channing brought his accordion up on stage with him! One Holy Lamb,... Read more

Enjoy… I just came in to catch the last section of the Kingdom Heirs’ set: “No Bones About It.” Now they’re into “What We Needed.” I’ve never heard this song before, but I really like it. It starts slower then picks up speed at the chorus. I’m having trouble hearing Jerry Martin’s solo because his mike is either off or really low… sigh. Steve just did a great set-up for “We Will Stand Our Ground.” Arthur is singing it great.... Read more

Keith Waggoner offers an interesting perspective on NQC’s chronic sound problems: As a guy who has sung on the main stage at NQC a few times, let me offer a defense for the sound team. Most groups (including, I’m sure, EHSS) bring in their own sound guy to mix their sets, rather than trusting whomever happens to be sitting at the sound board. This is to be expected, I guess, since the group sound man “knows” their sound. The problem... Read more

Enjoy… Wilburn & Wilburn just lost their track on Fire in the Choir. It was on, then it wasn’t. Jonathan started singing “And what I need right now is a track playing….” Waiting. Waiting. Tim Lovelace is killing time… this is embarrassing for somebody. I don’t know his name and he’s probably glad. Okay, it eventually came back. Jonathan and Jordan are tearing it up! Jonathan hit some pretty powerful notes and got red in the face. So did Jordan.... Read more

Installment #3. Enjoy. I just came in to catch the tail end of the Freemans’ set. I believe this song was called “Children of the Dust.” It sounded like it had some really good lyrics. Jason Crabb and the Sisters are hosting tonight. This is a great combination and I look forward to it. Okay, just as the Browns came on, my computer had a MAJOR crash, and I had to miss about 20 minutes getting the problem solved. I... Read more

Installment #2. Enjoy. I missed the first part and entered when the Easters were singing. So starting there, here’s my running commentary on the night’s doings. Just came on to see the Easters. Morgan’s shoes are bright red. Repeat after me Morgan: “There is no place like home. There is no place like home.” (click, click, click) Now Sheri is singing. What a rich voice she has. “Praise His Name.” This is very touching. She just said that she is... Read more

Here is the first “hasty notes” installment for NQC. These were my immediate impressions, captured as I was watching the webcast, so they’re written as a stream of running commentary in the present tense. Enjoy. I’m too tired to proofread, so forgive any typos. Opening: Tim Lovelace is in the audience interacting and making jokes. Little awkward since there aren’t that many folks around. But he is very likable. He gives away a couple free Booth Brothers and Greater Vision... Read more