Concert Report: Promiseland Quartet and Carolina Quartet – Gastonia, NC

by | Sep 16, 2017 | Concert Review, Reviews

Carolina Quartet

Last night, I caught a concert in Gastonia, NC that featured former Southern Gospel blogger Aaron Swain with Promiseland Quartet and the group I played keyboard in (a decade ago), the Carolina Quartet.

Both groups are NQC main stage caliber talent. Carolina is more of a Country flavor while Promiseland mixes it up a bit.

Promiseland Quartet

Scott Whitener and Chris Roberts with Carolina are the sort of singers who know how to elevate a lyric, and they are complemented by veteran and recent South Carolina Southern Gospel Music Association inductee Roger Burnett along with bass singer Chris Parker (Ivan’s nephew).

Carolina’s set last night featured a mix of Oak Ridge Boys cover songs, tracks from a new Country hymns CD, and their recent video single “Church Of The Chevrolet.”

Baritone Aaron Swain, lead Gene Hamman, and tenor Joey Wilson from Promiseland would sound very good as a trio, but bass singer K C Armstrong takes them to a whole new level. Armstrong is superb. His tone is clear and full. You never have to wonder what word he meant to sing, because his enunciation and diction leave no doubt. He centers his pitches, too.

K C Armstrong

Armstrong had some step-out moments in a few songs and offered an entertaining rendition of a Croatian wedding song.

Then, he was featured on “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked.” I’ll just say it was a showstopper, and leave it at that! If Promiseland can hang on to Armstrong, they should steadily rise in the ranks of male quartets. (When he isn’t singing with Promiseland, Armstrong sings in the US Army Chorus.)

After intermission, both groups came back and combined for “I’ll Fly Away,” “Go Rest High On That Mountain,” “I’m Going Home With Jesus,” and “God Bless The USA.” You can see some of that (and the back of my big head for a moment) in the video below.

It was an enjoyable evening.

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David Bruce Murray

David Bruce Murray

David Bruce Murray is a church music director in Ellenboro, NC. He is the author of Murray's Encyclopedia Of Southern Gospel Music and the owner of both SGHistory.com and MusicScribe.com.

5 Comments

  1. Daniel J. Mount

    Has KC been with another group before? Or has he been with Promiseland for a few years? I believe I recall hearing several years ago about a bass singer with the U.S. Army Chorus who had phenomenal tone and control and was singing with a regional/semi-pro SG group.

    Reply
    • David Bruce Murray

      I’m pretty sure KC has been with them a few years. I think Aaron Swain is the newest group member, and he’s been with them a little over two years.

      Reply
      • Daniel J. Mount

        OK. Then maybe I heard about KC from Aaron.

        Reply
  2. Darrell

    Nice to see a good review on the PromisedLand Quartet. I’m from Northern VA, so they are as close as it gets to a hometown group for me. I’ve heard them twice within the last couple of years and they keep getting better. Nice to see Aaron getting a shot at this singing thing. I think he is doing a great job. And I agree with you about KC. He’s a phenomenal all around singer, not just a low bass singer. A true asset to the group. I believe he took over for Joe Brinkley, if I am not mistaken. Joe was a great bass singer too, who ended up joining the Down East Boys for awhile.

    Reply
  3. Aaron Swain

    Thank you for the kind words, DBM! Glad you could make it to the concert!

    Reply

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