Country Stars Central

By Christian Scalise

“Gaither Christmas offers Inspiration and Acclamation”

The Christmas spirit was in full swing as Gospel music legend Bill Gaither and his loving wife Gloria brought their “Gaither Homecoming” Christmas show to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill this past weekend, Saturday December 19th, 2009!!

The mid-sized arena drew in an impressive crowd of music fans nearing an almost sold-out show. The stage was decorated with beautiful Christmas trees, glowing white lights and red poinsettia plants which surrounded the performers.

Beginning promptly at 6pm the show opened with a touching performance of “Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem.” It was done in perfect accord as it paid tribute to the Christ child. 

The Gaither’s enlisted a remarkable cast of performers including The Gaither Vocal Band consisting of Bill Gaither himself, Mark Lowry,  Michael English, David Phelps, and Wes Hampton as well as Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor, The Isaacs, Gene McDonald, Gordon Mote, Lynda Randle, Charlotte Ritchie, Greg Ritchie, Reggie and Layde Love Smith, and Russ Taff and Kevin Williams.

Some of the highlights of the evening were first and foremost Bill and Gloria’s visibility on and off the stage throughout the concert. Gloria took a moment to speak to the audience about our dear Lord Jesus, his infinite majesty and the wonder of his birth. She has been greatly blessed with the gift of communication and her unique way of connecting with the audience amazed me. The Holy Spirit’s presence was felt amongst the crowd during her recitation.  

Pianist and singer Gordon Mote wowed the audience with his honed talents on the piano and powerhouse vocals. He also incorporated bible scripture into some of his songs accompanied by beautiful imagery on the jumbo screen shown on each side of the stage.

The ever beautiful and talented Lynda Randle brought an abundance of soul and excitement to the stage with her joyful attitude and sincere reverence for her faith as a Christian.

One of my favorite segments of the evening was family group The Isaacs (Lily, Becky, Sonya and Ben) astounding performance. The band brought a bluegrass/country styled theme to the show with their tight harmonies and acoustic instruments such as the mandolin, fiddle, banjo and guitar.

Prior to their performance of “Mama’s Teaching Angels How To Sing,” Sonya Isaacs dedicated the song to its writer, the late great music legend Dottie Rambo who passed away in May of 2008 in a tragic bus crash. The emotional tribute conveyed the pure love and splendor of Dottie’s legacy to the forefront.

I was surprised to hear country great and Grand Ole Opry member Jim Ed Brown’s “The Three Bells” hit song made famous in 1959 with sisters Bonnie and Maxine also known as “The Browns” covered by The Isaacs in their set. Successfully turning the classic tune into their own modern day version, The Isaacs served Jim Ed and his sisters proudly!

If you are unfamiliar with The Gaither’s ministry or the premise of these “Homecoming” celebrations as was I before attending this concert, I can assure you that you will be greatly satisfied with the beautiful compositions of the vast genres of music that are offered to the listener.

Not only did the show pay homage to the Christmas season and all its traditional tunes such as “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem,” and “Mary Did You Know,” it also gave each artist on the bill an opportunity to perform their original material including selected Christmas songs as well; Southern Gospel, Bluegrass/Country, Folk, Classical, Holiday and Contemporary genres were all present at The Gaither Homecoming Christmas Show.

After a brief intermission, the second half of the show brought every artist onstage once again to perform Christmas classics and favorites together for the audience. The unique bond gave fans of each particular artist the opportunity to see them interact as an entire group with the other entertainers.

The jam packed four and a half-hour show gave each and every concertgoer more than their moneys worth and even more importantly Bill and Gloria Gaither and their entire cast of artists are serving our Lord immensely by giving all glory, honor and praise to him through their music. To share that with the audience is the best Christmas present anyone could ever receive!

God Bless and Merry Christmas to all of our readers… See you in 2010!!  

Enjoy a few pictures with a few of the performers of the concert below:

You can check out Bill Gaither's website here: http://www.Gaither.com