A nice way to spend a Sunday night
I don't get to say this often(because I live in Fresno, CA), but I took in a southern gospel concert Sunday night.
The featured artists were the Isaacs, the undisputed top bluegrass-based gospel group currently traveling.
They were out here again this year at this time because of the Caruthers Fair, an event that they were featured at last year, and one where they understandably made a great impression just prior to them appearing here in Fresno with the Gaither Homecoming troupe.
At that Gaither appearance, I got the privilege of working as a volunteer at their record table, where I got to spend some time with the various members of the group, and got acquainted with them.
I found them then to be genuine, down home people who are very caring and dedicated to their audiences and their craft.
And of course, I found them to be superlative musicians, singers, and writers as well...it was no surprise that their table was among the most crowded during that memorable October evening last year.
This year, they chose to perform at Fresno's largest church following their fair appearance. I was working and missed them at the morning services, but I was there for their appearance at the evening service.
It was amazing. When I arrived, I was barely able to fit inside the door of the sanctuary...the line of people who had come to see them stretched from inside the sanctuary all the way to the church doors.
When I was finally able to see where I was inside the church, I could see all kinds of activity at their record table. They were busily signing autographs and greeting fans and friends prior to singing. I was afraid that Lily and Sonya would break their wrists from all the handshaking and signing they did.
Once the singing(and playing! What marvelous musicianship they display!)started, it was obvious that they had the audience in the palms of their hands. From their instrumental prowess to their fine material, to Sonya's charming and professional MC work and the onstage chemistry between everyone in the group, the Isaacs are a first class musical ensemble.
I have always maintained that the Isaacs could be country music stars if they so chose, but fortunately for the gospel music industry, they choose to put their love for Jesus and music exalting Him first.
I hear people sometimes discuss gospel music and the musicians in it almost apologetically, as if they didn't really feel that the industry's best artists measured up to their secular counterparts. Artists like the Blackwoods, Statesmen, the Couriers, the Imperials, Gold City, the Gaither ensemble, and the Isaacs are dramatic evidence that thst point of view is simply wrong. The best gospel artists have always been as good as anyone in any other genre...and I await the day when the standard of comparison for a gospel artist is NOT the hottest secular act or style, but simply the quality of their music. The Isaacs are as good as it gets....anywhere.
Unlike some gospel music artists, though, the Isaacs don't spend a lot of time talking, preaching from the stage, or testifying. Not that all that is inappropriate by any means...there are lots of ways to present the gospel through music, and some artists feel led to share their faith as well as their musical chops. This is OK, too. The Isaacs evidently feel that they are primarily musicians who have a testimony worth sharing along with that, and the effect that their entire presentation had on me and all the assembled at People's Church gave them the benefit of any doubt on that issue.
They concluded with Lily's testimony of faith..which I'd heard before, but like the Gospel, it is a powerful story that leads itself to be told and re-told. The satisfied looks on the faces of the assembled at the end of the concert showed the power of the Isaacs music, and that powerful music was ample testimony to the power of God, inasmuch as He gave them that gift, and they're using it for the benefit of His Kingdom, and of fans of good music everywhere.
I visited briefly with Lily and Sonya after the concert, and I was touched that they still remembered me from last year at their table, and I was also touched by their genuine warmth and how they seemed to truly appreciate the people that came to greet them and see them perform.
And I thought again how that if they were the country music stars they could be instead of the gospel stars they are, how I might not get to talk to them or exchange greetings, not to mention that I probably couldn't afford to go see them, nor could many of those blessed by their appearance that night at People's Church.
Yes, it was time to be most thankful...but isn't it always?
Posted on Oct 02, 2007 - 12:03 PM | [0]
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Southern Gospel Music
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