I had the absolute joy of being able to attend the Carolina Gold Gospelfest held at the Brushy Creek Baptist Church outside of Greenville, SC this past weekend. This is part of Gold City’s celebration of their 45th year of ministry and was sponsored by LifeFM with emcee Rodney Baucom. The fest included 3 concerts – 2 full evening concerts and an afternoon matinee. Here’s my take on them:
Friday Evening
Gold City opened each concert with a short video highlighting the making of their Right Now album which had about half of the songs produced by Garry Jones. I was so glad they had a tribute to Garry since his death in April was so unexpected. Gold City sang just a few songs, opening with the a capella version of “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” arranged by Garry. They sang again at the end of the evening with a mixture of songs from the new album and some gold nuggets from the past. This is the strongest lineup I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in person.
Jeff and Sheri Easter were next. I hadn’t seen this duo in quite a long time – since before Morgan dropped out of the group after marrying and having her child. Their new member, Tanner Duckworth, was terrific and I was really glad he was featured on an instrumental during the set.
The whole Mark Trammell Quartet was, as we used to say, “In fine voice.” They did a variety of songs from their newest albums, including 50, an album celebrating Mark’s 50 years in gospel music. Trevor Conkle was featured on “Amazing Grace” from his newest album, Hymns From the Heart. My favorite of the evening was the arrangement of “Because He Lives,” which also includes a bit of “Until Then.”
After Gold City sang a few more songs, they brought the other groups out for some fun with Jeff Easter leading the way with “Goin’ Away Party!” Then former Gold City baritone Mark Trammell was asked to sing “Show Me the Cross (and I’ll Find My Way Home)” – which brought the crowd to its feet!! Scroll to the bottom of this article to watch a portion of the performance.
Saturday Matinee
After another tribute video and a congregational hymn, PromisedLand Quartet was the first group to sing at the matinee. They really sounded great and ended with quite a flourish with “Let Freedom Ring.” I’m sad to say that this group is retiring at the end of August. Check their website (click HERE) for information on their remaining concerts.
Karen Peck and New River was next. I know that Rodney loved introducing his daughter-in-law Kari Gooch Baucom!! Former pianist Danny Crawford appeared with them, and they sang one song (can’t remember which one!) with only piano accompaniment. Isla Grace (Matthew’s daughter, Karen’s granddaughter) appeared on the stage for one song and although we really didn’t hear her sing, she was so adorable!
Gold City wrapped up the session with more gold nuggets!
Saturday Evening
There was a slightly smaller crowd on Saturday night for some reason, but those that didn’t come sure missed out on some wonderful singing! The Booth Brothers were terrific and each of the members was featured on some real crowd favorites. Michael Booth, Jim Brady and Buddy Mullins sure do work well together and are so versatile in the song selections and presentation.
Gold City sang even more favorites and closed the program with the Booth Brothers joining on The Midnight Cry.
Gold City’s 45th Anniversary Tour will continue with two big events coming up very soon. The Gold City Gathering will be in Gadsden on June 6-7 and there will be a special matinee during the Memphis Quartet Show on June 13th.
Sounds like an amazing event. Thanks for sharing.