National Quartet Convention

Carl and I went down to National Quartet Convention in Louisville, KY this past Friday. It was the first time either of us had been to NQC. I had heard a lot about it, but have never gone. We had a great time. We went to the Bill Gaither Sing-A-Long Showcase in the afternoon, and to the evening concert. The afternoon event was open seating, so we got seats near the floor, kinda close to the stage. There were quite a few artists there. I enjoyed it. One of the songs I enjoyed the most was hearing Lynda Randle sing "God on The Mountain."

I love that song, and she always does an amazing job. Plus, it was one of Dad's favorites, so it means even more to me now.

After the showcase, we ran into Nate Stainbrook, a friend of ours. He also happens to be my cousin Jennifer's boyfriend. Carl and I left the expo hall to check into our hotel. We got a great rate at the Holiday Inn on the south side of the airport. It was a really nice room.

I think the hotel itself is pretty new, at least it looked like it. We had a microwave and fridge in the room, along with a huge bed and free wireless Internet! It was really a great hotel for the 3 star rating. The only issue we had was housekeeping knocking at the door at 8:30 in the morning after not getting to bed until after 1AM, but we should have put out the Do Not Disturb sign.

After we checked in, we changed clothes (at least I did) and headed back to the convention center to the Exhibit Hall. I had a mental list of some CDs that I wanted to purchase, and some artists that I wanted to meet, if possible. I bought the new Hoppers CD, "Something's Happening", Wes Hampton's solo CD, "A Man Like Me", Ryan Seaton's self-titled CD (He used to sing for Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, now is doing solo work.), the "Jubilee Two" CD by Legacy Five, Greater Vision and The Booth Brothers, and the newest Legacy Five CD, called "Give the World a Smile". All of these CDs are great. The Hoppers CD is actually for my best friend, Amy, but I am "test listening" to it for her. I don't want to give a bad CD, so I had to listen and approve...wink, wink! We spent about 2 hours in the Exhibit Hall. We also met up with Nate again (at the Legacy Five booth, what a surprise...) and we had supper together before the evening concert.

We loved the evening concert. Of course, my favorite group was the Gaither Vocal Band, followed closely by Legacy Five and Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. We actually left our seats after Tim Parton's piano solo and went back to the Exhibit Hall. I am glad we did, because I got to see a friend I have not seen in a long time, Judith Montgomery. It was great getting to see her and catching up a little bit. We also met Kim Hopper and David Phelps. We didn't go back for the rest of the concert because we were getting pretty tired and I had a massive migraine. I heard the concert lasted till after 1AM.

All in all, we loved our experience at NQC, and look forward to going back again next year. Here are some random pictures from our evening. To see more ( I took A LOT!), go to this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=242694&id=526774027&l=15d4b44e68


Gloria Gaither
Outside Freedom Hall

With Wes Hampton

Us with Gus Gaches and Tim Parton of Legacy Five

Us with Mark Lowry

The Isaacs

Legacy Five

Ernie Haase and Signature Sound

Gaither Vocal Band

With David Phelps