3rd Annual SoGospelNews.com Convention
| What do you get when you combine 16 artists all under one roof with the intentions of singing the house down? You can try to imagine, but I'm going to tell you! Saturday, October 5th, 2002 was a fantastic day. We couldn't have asked for a better day for our 3rd Annual SoGospelNews.com Convention - Gospel Singing Extravaganza. After threats of storms from Lily (the tropical storm), God decided to give us a break and bless us with perfect weather. River of Life Assembly of God, in Smyrna, TN was the church where the concert was located and was beautiful, not to mention perfect for an all day singing. We could tell you about the brunch, but all we did was eat! Well, some of us ate more than others. But the fellowship was good! Starting the concert out with an introduction of who SoGospelNews.com was and why we were putting on this concert, Deon Unthank, emcee did a wonderful job entertaining us with his "not quite funny, but go ahead and laugh to make him feel better" jokes! (Note: Author of this article takes full responsibilities for that last comment!) Seriously, other than forgetting a few things, Deon did an outstanding job as emcee. |
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Loren Patton, a young lady from Smyrna, TN thrilled the crowd. She was beautiful and sang like an angel. It was a last minute thing for her to be apart of the concert and she wowed everyone with her talent. |
| The Keetons ([url=http://www.keetonmusic.com]http://www.keetonmusic.com[/url])
blew everyone away. This trio from Nashville, TN consists of Dan Keeton,
Nancy Keeton, and Rick Grey. Dan is a tenor
who can sing with the best of them and Dan is a great bass. Nancy blends them
all together. They sang with great excitement and were a blessing to fellowship
with. Hearts of compassion and a love to sing southern gospel music, you can't
ask for much more. |
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Radiance, a brand new group from Nashville, TN, was such a blessing to hear. John Roeder, owner and manager of the group sang one song with the group and then sat down and let the others sing. We secretly think John just wanted a little spot light, but who can blame him. Having just recently formed, this group performed all 4 songs they knew, but did a wonderful job at it! |
| Bob Whitehead,
a native of Nashville, but now living in Florida, was up next. Bob is such a blessing
to anyone who knows him, as he sings from his heart and speaks from his mind.
Giving of his own singing time, Bob brought owners of SoGospelNews.com
(Deon and Susan Unthank) up to the front to show appreciation
for this convention and all that goes on with this e-zine. We did not expect this
and were surprised when he did this. Not only that, I was even more surprised
when Bob had Harold Timmons approach the piano and pulled out
a dozen roses for me to sing me Happy Birthday. Bob is my new best friend and
I love him forever for thinking of me. |
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| After that, it was time to take up an offering. Harold Timmons, another resident of the Nashville area, played a piano number for us. Harold used to play piano with the Chuck Wagon Gang and the Hemphills. Many of you probably remember him and his playing. He can still tickle them ivories! |
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Yielded ([url=http://www.yielded-ministries.com]http://www.yielded-ministries.com[/url]), a newly formed group from Durham, NC, was a real treat. These ladies were so relaxed on stage and sang like it was their last time to sing. Beautiful harmonies, they were very similar to the Perry Sisters. It wouldn't be surprising to even compare them to the Andrew Sisters only GOSPEL style! Karen Winston, Terry Mills, and Kimmie Worhington are beautiful ladies who know what they sing about. |
| If you ever want to hear good family singing, you must hear the Garry Polston Family ([url=http://www.garrypolstonfamily.com]http://www.garrypolstonfamily.com[/url]). This Kentucky family doesn't let anything stop them from singing what they love, Gospel Music. Garry is the first person to tell you that. Garry, Lula, and Laura have such wonderful personalities; you just can't help but love them. There is nothing like family harmonies and this group has it. They have a beautiful blend and the crowd loved them. |
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Daniel Ray (http://slingshot.to/danielray), from Odenville, Alabama, has been blessings souls since our very first SoGospelNews.com Convention. Daniel has a beautiful testimony and is truly a walking miracle. At only 19 years old, Daniel was able to get a standing ovation for his performance of his "testimony" song, "I'll Run with You". |
| The Cerces ([url=http://www.thecerces.com]http://www.thecerces.com[/url]), a mixed trio from Springfield, MO delighted the crowd with that good ole southern gospel singing. Cliff Cerce played the piano and sang along with Anita, his wife, and new addition to the group, Terry Yarham. The Cerces gave us all a little taste of that old time singing and playing. |
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Up
next were The Apostles ([url=http://www.the-apostles.org]http://www.the-apostles.org[/url]),
from Little Rock, AR. This quartet sang wonderfully and was a beautiful ending
to a great afternoon! Rick Smith, Garry Beavers,
Brian Sheppard, and new member Dennis Dugger
sang like a quartet should. Each member added a special part to this group and
they sang with excitement.
After a short dinner break, we were ready to get things rolling again. Even though Deon's jokes were bad, we decided to go ahead and let him emcee again. |
| Master's Voice of Bristow, OK were outstanding! This had
the purest quartet sound you've heard, even if it really was a quintet. They had
the crowd on their feet and ready to go by the time they were finished. John
Tidwell, Ricky Capps, Mark Ledbetter,
Rick Knight, and Mikal Smith are young and full
of energy. These boys are headed nowhere but up. |
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James Hales, a long time supporter and journalist for SoGospelNews.com, was next. James comes from the great state of North Carolina and thrilled the crowd with his smooth vocals. James has a gorgeous lead voice and just shines on stage. |
| Heritage ([url=http://www.heritagemusic.net]http://www.heritagemusic.net[/url]),
a mixed group from Apex, NC amazed the crowd with their beautiful rendition of
"Redeemed". Tim Copas, Darren Hughes,
and Rebekkah Ross have a blend that most take years to accomplish.
Katy VanHorn filled in for Margy Raynor and
did a splendid job. This group loves to have fun and loves to sing gospel music. |
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The Laymen Quartet ([url=http://www.laymenqt.com]http://www.laymenqt.com[/url]) came all the way from Colerain, NC to sing at the SoGospelNews.com Convention. What a delight to have Kevin Pulley singing baritone for this quartet. Not to mention Wesley Anders singing tenor, Doug Bazemore singing lead, and Markie Hoggard singing bass. These boys sang their hearts out and were so easy to fellowship with. |
The Daryl Williams Trio was a fantastic group to end the program with. Residing in Murfreesboro, TN, and River of Life being their home church, this group had no problems feeling at home. They impressed the crowd with energy, blend, and amazing songwriting. We even got to hear a little yodeling.
All in all, it was a wonderful, amazing, splendid, outstanding, beautiful,
tear-filling, and full of praise-kind of concert. If you didn't attend, you missed
it. Each group blessed us in different ways and was full of laughter, praise,
and song! You won't want to miss next year!
To view the rest of the concert photos click here. |
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Written: 10/16/2002 
Author: SGN
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