Feature Articles

Gospel Music Expo 2006

What do you get when you mix 51 groups together from several different states, an ice storm, and a mall? You get the Gospel Music Expo put on by New Image Promotions and the Eddie Crook Company located in the Barnes Crossing Mall in downtown Tupelo, MS. I have to tell you that this was definitely the oddest setting in which you would think a gospel singing would be successful, but I am here to tell you, it was done!

The Expo was located in the middle of the mall’s food court area and seated close to 500 people. Talk about a way to witness! You have people that came primarily for the singing and then you have mall shoppers who can listen and hear the Word of God sung in song. The whole time I was there, I was fascinated by watching people and seeing their reaction to some great singing. There were a lot of people who came down just to hear what was going on in the mall as they were shopping only to find themselves staying and listening for hours.

The Expo was hosted by the great Emcee Dr. Buck Morton on Friday night and Dave Wilcox from the Eddie Crook Company on Saturday. Friday evening was a real treat with packed out seating for the show. Saturday was a different story though due to extreme weather conditions that had everything iced over in Tupelo. Yet, a lot of people braved the ice and came out to hear great southern gospel music. The streets and parking lots were covered with ice by the end of Saturday evening. With probably half of the stores in the mall closed, the singing still went on and what a great blessing it was!

Some of the talent that stood out to me was the host groups New Ground (www.newgroundministries.com) and Southern Image (www.southernimageqt.com). You cannot find any better people than Robbie and Dale Maxwell from New Ground and David Owens. This group keeps cranking out the top 80 songs consistently and has a style all there own that has stemmed from their hard work and dedication to furthering the gospel. Some of the funniest times spent during the weekend was courtesy of the guys from Southern Image. These guys can sing and know how to do it in “quartet style.”

The King’s IV (www.kingsiv.com) is another up and coming group you really need to keep your eyes out for. This group can do it all from the ballads to the up tempo numbers and keeps you entertained the whole time. Living Proof Trio (www.livingprooftrio.com) was in great form, and when you think a group has it together and doesn’t have any room for improvement, Living Proof did it Friday evening and brought down the house with a standing ovation with Brent Mitchell’s rendition of “I Bowed on my knees”. I think all of Tupelo heard the crowd roar when they finished singing that song!

If you want to hear good family harmony, there were a couple of fine family groups there. The first group is The Holcomb Sisters (www.theholcombsisters.com) from Mississippi. This trio of sisters knows how to sing and have a wonderful testimony about their younger sister who passed away and was the inspiration to them forming the group. The other family group was The Shaw’s comprised of one brother Blake and two sisters, Janet and Beth, from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Family harmony doesn’t get any better. I was really impressed with this group’s stage presence and the overall vocal ability. What a treat it would be to hear a full concert from both of these groups!

Several soloists were on hand for the Expo like Rachel Renee’ of Jacksonville, Florida who has a great testimony how God has healed her from cancer and a lovely lady and singer, Tammy Norris (www.tammynorris.com) who are both signed with the Eddie Crook Company. I know I have left out a bunch of people and groups but these are just the ones who stuck out in my head.

You can be sure that at next year’s Gospel Music Expo, I will be there! Make your plans to attend in March of 2007. If you want more information on the Expo you can call (256) 574-0138 or (662) 841-9662.
See you there!