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Sunday Edition


01
Sep
2005
You Can’t Do That!


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I wonder why it is the average age of people who attend Southern Gospel concerts is around 57 ½? If you take out the group members that are there singing, that average age jumps up to somewhere around 65 or thereabouts. What’s going to happen when all of these faithful supporters of the Southern Gospel industry pass off the scene? I’m so glad you asked.

I think we are seeing some of this already. Crowds are dwindling because many of these faithful seniors are either at a point in their lives where they can no longer travel and attend, or have passed on. But the real problem here is the fact that there is not a younger generation of Southern Gospel Music lovers out there ready to jump in and take their place. A few groups out there have realized this and are trying some new and innovative things to try and draw in a younger crowd. Signature Sound with their spiky hair, choreography, and “weird” looking ties; The Crabb Family with their trendy dress; The Gaither Vocal Band wearing jeans on stage and having long hair; and The Isaacs with their country music and allowing Ben to wear a cap on stage while playing and singing gospel music. What ever is this industry coming to? The next thing you know my favorite quartet is going to stop wearing their matching bright red suits and white shoes (or is it matching white suits and bright red shoes? I can never remember).

The number of negative comments and complaints over these things is just amazing. We wonder why Southern Gospel is not at the height it was in it’s heyday but we want to continue to run things the way they were run 30 or 40 years ago. It is this kind of small thinking that is pushing people away from Southern Gospel. If all people want to see is 4 guys standing in front of microphones and singing to tracks with no emotion, style, or stage presence, then that is who they need to go see. There are plenty of groups out there that will continue down that road until they are forced to change and do something else to survive. Signature Sound, The Crabb Family, The Gaither Vocal Band and The Isaacs all realize that in order for this industry to survive, a younger audience has to be reached and drawn in to our music and I, for one, applaud and support their efforts.

All of these “you can’t do that” or “we’ve never done it like that before” kinds of comments are exactly why groups are disbanding or downsizing and why so many churches are dying. People still want to run things the way they were in the 50's and wonder why people won't come. To reach new people, we MUST be ready and willing to change our methods. Not our MESSAGE ... just our METHODS.

Reader Comments

I agree with many of the comments made here. I am in the over 50 crowd, but I was introduced to this music as a small child. When I hear people say there in nothing fit to watch on t.v. or at the movies, do they ever consider taking the children to a SGM concert/event. This is a very inexpensive family night out. I think part of the problem with attendance in some areas is over saturation. I often have to make very difficult choices to decide who I will see. Recently, I had a choice of Brian Free and Assurance with the Anchormen or The Perry's - all within 30 minutes or so of my home. Later this year, SSQ will be 15 minutes from me and First Love will be 5 minutes from me on the same night. In June, Gold City had their homecoming and the Diplomats had their homecoming on the same weekend - these venues were about 1 hour apart. This area supports both of these groups very well. People at each of these venues were wishing there was a way to do both. These scheduling conflicts are not rare - they are constant. It is great to live in an area with lots of SGM, but unfortunately, there are not enough fans to support all these groups. I am not blaming anyone for these scheduling conflicts, just trying to point out that attendance is often down because there are too many things happening at the same time.
But, if there were more fans, we could support all of these events. I really do encourage parents to expose their children to this music - the younger, the better.


Commented by On 09/08/2005
Here's a change that somebody should suggest to the people who run the NQC. Why in the world do they have the "biggest event" of the year in September? No one with kids can attend this event! I know plenty of younger parents who would like to attend, me included, but I can't pull my kids out of school for three days to a week. Why not have NQC in the summer and make it possible for a "younger" audience to spend some vacation time and attend. I don't get it.


Commented by Kevin Womble On 09/15/2005
As far as the way groups dress, present themselves on stage, and the style of music that they play, if it looks like the world, sounds like the world, and smells like the world, it must be of the world. Sing about the Grace of Jesus, and you will attract all the audience that you NEED to attract.


Commented by On 09/19/2005
first of all if its all about sounding
and looking contemperarary why where
the inspirations,perrys and greater vision
the big winners at nqc?

its becuase people like to hear something real and authentic in the 1990's country nmusic wanted to sell more music so they tried to look and sound pop ,.then a movie soundtrack came out
called oh brother where art thou which sounded
as hilbilly and old time gospel and ciountry as you could get ,.it became one of the most sold and talked about cd of all time and is still talked about today all it was doing was being real and authentic ,...in the last nine years i
have been involved music in many aspects such as a fan award nominated dj ,singer songwriter ,columist and small time concert promoter and what i find ias people like siomething reaL ,.,a few years ago A WRITER FOR THE SECULAR billboard magazine covered the nqc
i dont have her name in front of me but in her article she didnt notice who had the fanciest clothes or hairstyles,she did talk about who had
the best jokes or choreography ,.she went on and on about the mckameys singing even the valley
and how the song and the singers had emotion and
sincerity and the writer said there was something there she could feel,something she had never felt at the countless contemporary christian music events she covered ,. sogospel fans that was the sincere worship of god coming from a conservative dressing group who belives in serving god ,and belives in the message,.thats what the billboard writer saw and felt that first trip to the nqc
in my years at radio i found that many big churches push contemporatry on thier youth becuse thats what all the seminarys and denominational assocaites tell there churches is the only way to reach the youth and i find many of these children and teenagers actually prefer bluegrass and sogospel over scontemporary but youtrh leaders
would rather spend the churches money on a contemporray ticket then take them to a free church southern gospel concert somewhere

people let us never lose the message in or music ,.,let us never lose what isn real and reaches ,..worldy haircuts and coreography doesnt do that ....the music in the message does
james metcalf wjfj radio columbus nc


Commented by On 09/19/2005
Sometimes a style of music become archaic. I don't know why. Styles come and go. I doubt spiked hair, cowboy boots, or faded jeans will have much effect on the natural order of things.

The striking thing about Southern Gospel is the tremendous creativity and the level of singers and musicians. Recordings are much better now than they were. And there seems to be a constant influx of new talent. Contrast this with the apparent shrinkage of fans, and you get a real head scratcher. You'd think demand would have some effect on the supply. More and more artist for fewer and fewer fans? Something doesn't seem right.

At any rate, if Southern Gospel is destined to become a genre of yesterday, like 40's big band or bossa nova, it won't be due to a lack of talent.


Commented by Steve Porter On 09/20/2005
I agree with Jim Hollis about this situation. I live in Louisville and attended my first NQC a few years ago when The Crabb Family first came on the scene. As a former professional musician, I instantly connected to SG because their sound (along with Gaither Vocal Group). Why? Because as a 30 something Male who was a Babe in Christ, their brand of SG was familiar yet fresh.

Now, since then, after having become more familiar with the SG groups of old, I understand the tradition of SG and I understand heritage. But it's now become a "been there, seen that, felt that" anticipation of knowing what to expect. Quite honestly, sitting in Freedom Hall for 6 hours watching group after group present themselves exactly the same way every 15 minutes or so, is not something that is very appealling at all. How can we expect 20 yr olds to get excited about that? Don't get me wrong, the talent is phenominal. But, like Jim said, the presentation is becoming a bit stale.

Okay, so, now what? SG must evolve. Plain and simple. The Crabb Family arguably has managed to package themselves differently than everyone else. They now have a full road band - which appeals to me given my background - and that's a fresh change from being focused on 4 people singing to sound tracks. I'm surprised Bill Gaither hasn't put a full band or orchestra together for the road shows and eliminated sound tracks (yes, I know he has some musicians on stage - but there's still some orchestral sound tracks playing along too)! A live band, in my humble opinion, would be a refreshing change in SG for all the groups and possibly be the start of attracting younger folks to rejuvinate the SG scene.

I'm sure someone will chime in here about operating expenses, bus costs, blah blah blah....but, I'm sure the same thing crossed the Crabb's mind too. We can do all things through Christ though! Thanks for the opportunity to voice my opinion.


Commented by On 09/22/2005
Great post. My group is technically "progressive southern gospel," but we do it all...contemporary, traditional, a capella...

We've got to do something, just like our churches are doing, to reach ALL AGE GROUPS!!! Those who want to stay traditional...stay that way. Those who want to do a little of all...go for it!

It's about the gospel...smile


Commented by sgsoprano On 09/22/2005
Yes it is a real shame that SG seems to take a back seat. I got a letter from a pastor that told me,we don't do that kind of music here.So he wouldn't book me at his church. It seemed he was speaking for his whole church, which is a real shame because I have found the older folks really do love it


Commented by On 09/27/2005
My father was in a gospel quartet in Winchester, TN. Having been raised listening to it cultivated my love for it. It's much the same as being raised on the great hymns of the church. Those too are in danger of being lost to the next generation, because so many churches have "outgrown" them. It all comes down to exposure. We need to be sure the music is being heard, and that is the responsibility of the home!!!


Commented by On 09/29/2005
First of all, there will always be 57 year old people and there is nothing wrong with that. The older you get the more you think about heaven. I believe SG grew very fast in the 90's and is now adjusting based upon economic conditions and entertainment options. There will always be SG music and those who panic thinking that it will die are wrong because the message in the songs is still there. Compare the message to contemporary music. I enjoy the 6 hours each eve at the NQC and am not bored. I appreciate the singers who are devoted to this lifestyle. All is not perfect and there will be some variations in music along the way.--and, this discussion will go on until the Lord comes.


Commented by On 09/30/2005
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