I came into Freedom Hall today with all intentions of picking up my media credentials and going back to the hotel and relaxing for a bit before a full day of NQC tomorrow. While picking up my passes, I overheard the Hoppers singing “It’s Him” and had to go on in to see what was going on. Keep in mind that I had just driven for almost 7 hours straight, stopping only once for something to drink. Needless to say, I found myself a seat in the nosebleed section so I would be hidden in my baseball cap and shorts. (I did move to a much better seat after the Primitives set was over).?
? Actually, I’m typing this from my seat while the Primitive Quartet are on the stage. Guess it was meant for me to be here tonight at this time because they are one of my favorite groups. I only wish that there was an active internet connection inside of Freedom Hall so I could update the blog in real-time. The Primitive’s set is great, btw.
The King’s Heralds sang “We Sho’ Do Need Him Now” during the set change from the Primitive Quartet and the Inspirations. They were incredible….
My laptop battery is starting to run low, so I may have to continue to write the old-fashioned way….
The Inspirations start their set with “It’s Still The Blood”. Archie Watkins made the trip this year and sang the first song, but quickly left the stage. I guess he is still having voice problems. Rumor is he is having nodules removed.
Well, my laptop battery is critical, so I guess the rest of the evening will be an overview.? Here’s a few details from the notes I had taken:
The Inspirations finished their set with:“Resurrection Ground”, “Winner Either Way”, “I’m Not Ashamed” (written by my friend, Bro. Leonard Fletcher. Great song Bro. Fletcher!!!), & “When I Wake Up To Sleep No More” (Archie made it back to the stage to help Darren Osborne on the tenor).
Next up were the McKameys. Their set included “It’s All Good”, “Wait For The Morning Light”, “Tell The Old Story Again”, “It Takes Time”, “You’re Still God”, & “Right On Time”. To be honest, I’m not a big McKameys fan, but their version of “Wait For The Morning Light” was moving for me. I’ve always loved this song when I heard Heirline & HisSong sing it. Eli Fortner made the trip and sang a song. Guess even kidney failure can’t keep him from singing.
My favorites, the Kingdom Heirs, hit the stage next with “Since Jesus Moved In”. These guys are just plain good! The rest of their set included “Anchored In The Rock”, “God’s Between The Hard Place And You”, “Anchor Of Hope”, & “What We Needed”. The last song got a good response from the crowd and I’m guessing will be their next single. If not, it should be.
Gold City was next. To be honest, I had not heard the guys live since Tim Riley retired, so I have been skeptical since. Let me tell you that I was blown away by them. Aaron is maturing into an excellent bass singer and reminds me of Tim. I can’t wait to hear them again. Their set included “Ain’t That What It’s All About”, “When I Get Carried Away”, “Teach Me Lord To Wait” (again, Aaron is impressive on this song), “I’m Rich”, & “Preach The Word” (along with a concept video running on the monitors showing preachers, past and present. To be honest, I usually skipped this song on their latest CD, but the live presentation was really good.
Dove Brothers were next. They sang “I Will Lay Them At His Feet”, “Anything But Ordinary”, “One More Miracle”, “Midnight Circuit Rider” (I’m guessing at the title), & “I Can Pray”.
Brian Free & Assurance then sang “I Keep Looking Up”, “Pray, Daniel, Pray”, “It’s All About The Blood”, & “Jesus Will Pick You Up”.
Dean & Connie Hopper got up for 10+ minutes trying to peddle kids to the audience. I’m sorry, but I think the market is already flooding with ads for this. This seemed like a waste of my time. It’s not that I don’t think the kids need assistance…..I really do. But if you spend anytime watching the INSP channel, then you are hit with these ads every 15 minutes and they get really old…..fast. I’ll shut up about that now.
The Florida Boys were next. Terry Davis sang tenor and this lineup was great. Josh Garner is one awesome singer. They sang “The Lighthouse”, “Standing On The Solid Rock”, “Lead Me To The Altar”, “I’ll Have A New Life”, “My God Is Real”, and “When He Was On The Cross”. These guys were spectacular….
Up next were the Dixie Echoes. I wasn’t excited at all about hearing them. I had never heard them in person, so I was only going by what I had heard from their CDs. Let me say that the Dixie Echoes now have a fan in me. They were great and their spirit was so sweet. Dallas Rogers cut loose on “If We Never Meet Again” and I just sat there in awe at this number. Truly remarkable set….
The Booth Brothers finished my first night at NQC (I’ll explain in detail later). They were amazing. Roy Webb sat in with them on piano and they sang “His Grace Is Sufficient”, “Stand & Testify”, “I Would” (Michael Booth solo from his new solo project), and finished with “Look For Me At Jesus Feet”. I said it earlier and I’ll say it again, their set was amazing.
I felt sad for the Pfeifers. When the stage crew started setting saxophones on stage, there was a mass exodus. People were literally lined up, out the doors, waiting to leave. (To be honest, this is when I left too.) I did stay to hear their song, “Father’s House”, but left right after that. After driving 7 hours and then sitting at Freedom Hall another 6, I was ready to go.
More to come later……..
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