The Buzz

1. I didn’t get a chance to hear him sing, but I heard more than one established singer mention Daniel Crews and call him the next rising star. UPDATE: Here’s a shaky-cam YouTube LINK.

2. N’Harmony is returning very soon. You probably knew that already, but you may have missed Daniel Mount’s exclusive interview with their tenor singer, Brent Mitchell.

The Bad

1. I’m sure there had to be more, but I only heard just one solitary artist perform a song specifically as a tribute to Dottie Rambo, and he isn’t a member of the core Southern Gospel guard. That artist was Dino…or as I heard one artist refer to him this week…His Majesty. My hat is off to Dino for what he did, though. I didn’t expect a Rambo tribute from every other artist on the stage, but I certainly expected to hear her name mentioned more than just once. I read on another blog that Phil Cross paid tribute to Rambo during his songwriter showcase, but I missed that. I did hear Roger Bennett eulogized more than once, but not Dottie Rambo. That’s sad.

2. I’ve documented the poor sound quality both at the event and over the internet via Solid Gospel, so I’ll just list it here without further comment.

3. There was this one lady whose wig…words fail me…

The Big Stuff

1. The Exhibit Hall was practically FULL. If you relish the flea market atmosphere, you should have loved this year’s NQC.

By the way, I’m not buying the claim that there were significantly more booths this year. The overall footprint and $$$ spent on booth rentals was, I think, larger, but not the number of booths. If you have program guides for both years, you can run the numbers for yourself. It took nine columns, each listing 50-55 booths, in the 2008 program guide. The 2007 guide lists roughly the same number of booths, also requiring nine columns.

2. The video work done by the supposedly inadequate crew looked fantastic.

3. On a similar note, the main stage lighting was excellent.

The Beg

1. NQC should give more top groups their own afternoon showcases. When I compared the GVB/EH&SS showcase (which I saw) to their mainstage set (which I only heard via internet), I got the overwhelming impression that the showcase was infinitely more satisfying to the fans. Each group had plenty of time to develop their set without the clock looming over them. No other core SG group had that luxury this week. (Of course, Dino, two comedians, and a preacher did.) Beg NQC to give top name groups like the Booth Brothers, Isaacs, Gold City and others a 50 minute showcase in the afternoon where they could do something resembling a normal…though still somewhat abbreviated…concert experience. 17-minute burps on the main stage would be less annoying if there was a chance to see the same group for a longer stretch in the afternoon.

2. I still pine for a return to an all quartet night on Monday. It isn’t like we have a shortage of quartets in the industry. That was a great way to start the week…a full evening of quartets at the quartet convention. Why did they ever stop?

3. Whoever handles booth assignments should position the Whistling Woman’s booth next to the Singing Surgeon’s next year. Alliteration is a wonderful thing. Maybe they can get a theme going.

The Booth Brothers And Friends

After the Fan Awards, can there be any doubt that Singing News readers love the Booth Brothers? They swept the top categories this year. Check out the list of winners:

Favorite Soloist – Ivan Parker
Favorite Young Artist – Nick Trammell (Perrys)
Favorite Mixed Group – Hoppers
Favorite Male Singer – Gerald Wolfe (Greater Vision)
Favorite Musician – Jeff Stice (Triumphant Quartet)
Horizon Individual – Jeremy Lile (Brian Free & Assurance)
Horizon Group – Tribute Quartet
Favorite Female Singer – Kim Hopper (Hoppers)
Favorite Tenor – Michael Booth (Booth Brothers)
Favorite Soprano – Kim Hopper (Hoppers)
Favorite Alto – Sheri Easter (Jeff & Sheri Easter)
Favorite Lead – Ronnie Booth (Booth Brothers)
Favorite Bass – Mike Holcomb (Inspirations)
Favorite Baritone – Rodney Griffin (Greater Vision)
Marvin Norcross Award – Maurice Templeton
SGPA Promoter Award – Bill Bailey
Favorite Songwriter – Rodney Griffin (Greater Vision)
Favorite Trio – Booth Brothers
Favorite Album – Carry On – Booth Brothers
Favorite Traditional Male Quartet – Legacy Five
Favorite Song – Look For Me – Booth Brothers
Favorite Artist – Booth Brothers

Some Greater Vision notes…Gerald Wolfe won Favorite Male Singer, a general category, while failing to capture the Lead Singer category where there was less overall competition. I was also surprised to see Rodney Griffin win over Mark Trammell and Doug Anderson in the Favorite Baritone category for the second year in a row. Even though two fine non-major artist songwriters were on the final ballot (Kyla Rowland and Ronny Hinson), Griffin still won as expected.

I was glad to see Jeff Stice win the Favorite Musician category. He does know more than “Joshua Fought The Battle” and the “Hallelujah Chorus.” His accompaniment style when playing along with tracks is close to the best in the business. It’s good the fans noticed.