2026 marked my 27th trip to the National Quartet Convention. I traveled 15 times to Louisville, Kentucky (1997-2010; 2013), and I’ve attended all 12 events (2014-2019; 2021-2026) since the move to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. (The planned 2020 event was cancelled and replaced by a smaller event.)

SUNDAY
I led worship music at Corinth Baptist Church in Ellenboro, North Carolina for the morning service, came home for lunch, and then we headed toward Tennessee around 2:30 PM. Traffic was congested at times. Travel was otherwise uneventful. We had initially mentioned eating supper at Aubrey’s, but upon arriving, we noted that the former Steak ‘n Shake in Sevierville is now a Whataburger. After getting settled at the condo, we returned there for supper. The cheeseburger I had was delicious.

MONDAY
Last year, we enjoyed breakfast a couple of mornings days at Frizzle Chicken where animatronic birds have names like HENny Chesney and other obvious puns. This year, the menu had changed. There is no way to order a pancake with two scrambled eggs and a couple slices of bacon without ordering a bunch of extra stuff. Besides, once you’ve seen the birds do their thing a couple of times, the novelty wears off quickly. We’ll probably skip Frizzle Chicken next year.

Afterwards, we checked out the Rocket Fizz store (near Downtown Flavortown on Teaster Lane) where they have both normal and REALLY weird brands of candy (including flavored crickets) and some strange flavors of sodas. I played it fairly safe with a box of Red Velvet Cookie Dough Bites and a perhaps a bit less safe with a New York Cheesecake flavored soda. The soda tasted suspiciously like ordinary cream soda, but those cookie dough bites are quite tasty.

We then drove through Tanger Outlets as we have almost every year. This time, we were looking for a kitchen supply store, but remarkably, did not find one. Even more remarkably, no one in our group wanted to visit any other stores. The two females that travel with us typically spend time at the Vera Bradley store on these trips, but by some miracle, they weren’t so inclined this year! So, we headed back to the condo.

Around 4:30, we ventured back out for an early supper at Puckett’s where we were seated at a table within waving distance of two Gold City singers. We then headed over to the LeConte Center for the evening concerts.

Routines we’d developed in the past had to be modified from previous years as the so-called “north end” (which is really more west than north) of the LeConte Center is currently being expanded. This has forced trolley routes from the upper parking lots to be routed to the “south end” (which, as you may have already gathered, is actually pointed more toward east than south). There’s no easy way to turn the trolleys around at the “south” entrance and send them back up the hill. They’re sent all the way out to the Parkway to make a loop before going back up. The truly baffling thing, though, was the inefficiency of the route around the upper parking lots. It makes zero sense to run a figure eight pattern around the entire perimeter of two huge parking lots for a mere two stops, but that’s exactly what they did.

No, it’s not yellow spaghetti. It’s the scenic route. Look kids! Big Ben!

Once inside, a walk was required to the opposite end of the LeConte Center to pick up credentials. Along the way back, I made an appearance on Josh Singletary’s live stream where we chatted for a minute or two about SGHistory.com. Click HERE to view that interview. (The link should jump directly to the bit where I appear, but if it doesn’t, skip over to the 50-minute mark. He turns to talk to me right after he finishes visiting Gold City’s booth.)

In the concert hall, I caught sets by Anthem Edition, the LeFevre Quartet, the Dixie Echoes, the Guardians, Down East Boys, Mark Trammell Quartet, Tribute Quartet, Kingdom Heirs, the Kingsmen, Gold City, and the Inspirations. The highlight moment for me was hearing Roland Kesterson sing “Love Lifted Me” with the Kingsmen along with their “Big and Live Band.”

Roland Kesterson sings Jim Hamill’s classic arrangement of “Love Lifted Me” with the Kingsmen and the Big & Live Band on Monday, September 28, 2026

Click HERE to view more photos from Monday on my Facebook page.

TUESDAY
Tuesday was a nearly full day of events as we attended two afternoon showcases in addition to the evening concerts. We enjoyed a good breakfast at iHop before heading over. I found what would typically be a decent parking spot in the lower lot, but that meant a bit more walking due to the construction. The “north” entrance is temporarily relocated to the extreme end of the exhibit/hall area. 

The Noon showcase feature Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. It was originally advertised as a patriotic showcase where they were to perform material primarily from their America: Land Of Hopes And Dreams album released earlier this year. A few weeks ago, however, the decision was made to change the showcase to a “Then and Now” event with former group members Ryan Seaton, Tim Duncan, and Roy Webb joining current members Christopher Taylor, Doug Anderson, Dustin Doyle, and Haase for the entire concert. 

Between the two showcases, I chatted a bit with Diana Brantley, her sister Donna, Aaron Swain, and David Stuart. These are friends I made years ago (in pre-Facebook days) through chatting on various forums.

The second showcase was the induction ceremony for the 2026 additions to the Southern Gospel Music Association’s Hall Of Fame. This year’s event featured several performances by groups connected to the inductees along with the expected presentation and acceptance speeches. The video segments for each inductee were some of the most professionally produced I’ve seen at any of the events I’ve attended over the years. Congratulations to Clarke Beasley, Phil Cross, and Clayton Inman as well as the family of the late Conrad Cook.

After the showcases, we walked out to the Parkway for a quick supper at Big Daddy’s PIzzeria. It was fast and delicious! I left my camera on the table when we got up to leave, but the waiter thankfully found it and caught me before I got out the door!

On Tuesday evening, I spent a little more time in the exhibit halls visiting with artists and friends than I did on Monday. It was good seeing MusicScribe’s own Sony Elise and her sister Beth for the first time in person since 2010 in Louisville. I saw performances by Sound Street, the Littles, Jonathan Wilburn, Jeff Tolbert & Primitive Road, the Chuck Wagon Gang, Troy Burns Family, Endless Highway, Joseph Habedank, the Mylon Hayes Family, the Perrys, the Hoppers, Jim & Melissa Brady, and the Whisnants. One moment that stood out was Jim & Melissa’s performance of “Sweet Beulah Land” which included a bit of Squire Parsons singing the third verse.

I took no photos from Tuesday despite lugging my camera around all day. The thing won’t work when you forget to take the battery off the charger and put it back in the camera!

WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday morning, we met for breakfast at iHop (different location than the Tuesday iHop) with a couple from our church who happened to be vacationing in Pigeon Forge. They followed us back to the condo where we had a fun visit for most of the afternoon. We had an early supper at J T Hannah’s where I enjoyed a “Pit Master” BBQ sandwich. 

After parking in the upper lot, we experienced delay after delay on the aforementioned inefficient trolley. I should have opted to walk down, which I would have done had there been any parking available in the lower of the two upper lots, but it would have been a major hike. I barely made it to my seat in time to catch a performance by The Rogers Family, a group from the same county where we live. I was actually in there a few minutes earlier, but it was cutting it a little too close. 

I also saw sets by the Kingsmen, Poet Voices, Triumphant, Brian Free & Assurance, the Whisnants, the Hoppers, Legacy Five, Karen Peck & New River, Tribute Quartet, Mark Trammell Quartet, Gold City, and the Inspirations. The highlight of Wednesday evening for me was hearing Chris Blue sing a song with the Hoppers. What a voice! 

2017 winner of The Voice Chris Blue sings with The Hoppers on Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Click HERE to view more photos from Wednesday evening on my Facebook page.

THURSDAY
On Thursday, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Chubby’s before traveling home. Traffic was better coming back than going up on Sunday.

If the Lord doesn’t come back and we’re all in reasonable health, we’ll probably do it all again next year! Thanks for reading if you made it this far!