As promised, here are a few notes on the SoGospelNews.com Fan Festival concert series of the past week. I went to two of the five nights of the concerts (Thursday and Friday), held at River of Life Church in Smyrna. Both had very strong lineups.
Thursday had Mercy's Mark, TK and McRae, Everyday Driven, the Prophets, Johnny Minick and friends and Ann Downing. I'd been particularly looking forward to seeing Ann Downing. I first saw her on the Gaither video "What A Time" doing "Jacob's Ladder". I thought, who is this vivacious woman? (I must note that I've only been a Southern Gospel fan about six years, so I learned about the Downings, Speer Family, etc. long after the fact). Thus I became one of her "FANNtastics". "Ann D" closed the show in her very personal style...and yes, she did "Jacob's Ladder". Johnny Minick, who pastors the church hosting the Fan Festival, brought with him Alison Durham Speer, Mike Allen (who also sang with the Prophets) and his son, Aaron Minick, who's been gathering quite a buzz with his big band style.
Friday's lineup was equally impressive: the Freemans, Blackwood Gospel Quartet, Joyce Martin-Sanders, Sharron Kay King, Sunday Edition, the Quicks and the Pathfinders. Joyce Martin-Sanders looked and sounded vibrant. The Freemans were great crowd pleasers. I was new to the Quicks, but enjoyed their Manhattan Transfer-like arrangements on a couple of songs. I had not heard Sunday Edition (Deon, Chris and Amy Marie Unthank) before, either...I was very impressed with their performance, enough to buy a couple of CDs and make note to see them again in the future.
I wish I'd been able to attend the last day's concert with the talent contest. I would recommend saving up gas money and gearing up for the rush hour traffic to do this again next year. It's a great series of gospel music concerts that's worth supporting.
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