Look at all of the groups/artists that are showcasing, etc. Many are the same groups that radio takes the heat for playing. When the BBC makes their documentary what image will the NQC have provided of SGM?

It seems to me that a large part of the business of SGM is based around taking money from these poor quality groups, promising (expressly or implied) to get airtime then bashing radio when they play the poor quality music the industry offers up.

If radio stopped playing the trash who would lose $$$? Who has a financial interest in maintaining the status quo? If you follow those Grants Franklins down the rabbit hole who would you find?

One step further - What about websites and magazines that allow these groups - those that radio takes the heat for playing - to promote themselves on their pages? Huge glossy pictures and article/ads. I guess these groups are like other people’s children - best seen but not heard. It’s okay to take money from these groups to give them a national platform in a magazine or website but radio should not do it for free?

Look how black the pot is said the kettle……..

I wonder what kind of an inside edge he has with the Gaither organization? If you’ll notice, all of the liners for the “new” JoyFM are done by Gaither people (Lowery, Mote, SSQ, Ivan).

I didn’t hear the interview with Ernie, but the “live” interview with Mark Lowery was about as real as Jan Crouch’s hair color. By the way, other than the morning team, what else is new about the “new” JoyFM? The hype leading up to it made one think that it was going to be the best thing to happen to radio since the transistor was invented. I’m not that impressed so far.

While no one could ever take the place of Roger’s personality, Tim is one of the finest pianists on the circuit. And he proved to be no slouch at singing, either.

This was my first visit to L5’s celebration, so I was really impressed witht he size of the crowd. About 3,000. While I’ve always like them, I had no idea their appeal was wide.

All-in-all, a great evening of music!

The rest of the lineup was surprising unimpressive though. The Isaacs put on a good face but didn’t seem to really connect with the audience, really didn’t seem dying to be there. The audience didn’t really did the Bluegrass either, which was a surprise seeing as it was in Nashville.

Triumphant was solid but not great. Clayton Inman’s voice is a little too rigid for me, but Scott Inman is a big-timer as well. With Triumphant hitting the road full-time starting next year, he might want to look at moving to an upper-echelon group sometime soon. He may be happy where he is, but his talent could really take a good group to another level. Eric Bennett sings about as pleasing of a bass lead as anybody out there, though he’s not near as low as some. David Sutton is solid. He doesn’t really ring my bell, but he’s quite good.

The Perrys surprised me in giving one of the most adequate performances I have seen from them in recent memory. I see the Perrys at least eight times a year at various multi-group events and church concerts, and almost every time I see them, they seem to have improved considerably since the last time. I couldn’t say that Sunday though. They were just fine. That may sound silly, but it’s true. Even adequate though, they’re still far better than 90 percent of the artists in the industry.

In the Perrys defense though, they had been out on the road all weekend, said they were in Texas the night before. Therefore, they may have just been a little tired at the end of the weekend.

The Celebration events are like mini-NQCs, just held at a nicer venue. It’s a great vacation (I didn’t go there for a vacation; just drove down to catch the show) for individuals wanting to get away for a weekend. The total cost of the tickets and the lodging at Opryland Hotel is a steal, and if you’ve never stayed at Opryland Hotel, it’s incredibly nice (not necessarily the rooms but all that is in and around it). It has to be one of the nicest hotels in the world (not the US but yes, the world). Staying at Opryland Hotel makes you feel like you’ve sort of escaped from the outside world. It’s that big and really enchanting.