The Homesteaders are a unique group to say the least. That isn’t unique in a bad way they are just doing something different from the normal southern gospel group. In a southern gospel world where you have the same formula repeated, it is nice to see that the Homesteaders bring something new to the table. They call it a Christian Variety show. In a Christian Variety Show, you get a mixture of southern gospel and contemporary singing as well as some various characters through acting. And don’t let contemporary scare you because they also pay tribute to the late greats of the southern gospel industry.
This particular Saturday night was a benefit concert for Angel Hearts. Angel Hearts is an organization that helps hurting people in the central Virginia area that have large medical bills with little or no way to pay them. The southern gospel music is brought in by financial support provided by local businesses so that 100% of the offering taken at the concert can go to help the person that has been chosen.
Saturday night held a lot of music, some local and some national talent. The first group up was the Lynch Station Men’s Vocal Group. This is a group of 17 men from a local church, Lynch Station Baptist Church, that are accompanied by piano, guitar, drums, and bass. This group is dear to this concert series because of the churches former pastor, Pastor Kenny. He was a big supporter of this ministry because his family was a recipient of their good will several years ago. Pastor Kenny was killed in a motorcycle accident about a year ago.
Also at the concert was a starting comedian by the name of Geri Lynn. She did comedy from more from a woman’s prospective in a mostly male comedian world. She also did bits including playing her trumpet and wearing a sombrero. Gerri Lynn is also known as Dawn Doss and sings with the group Garden of Grace. Garden of Grace sang at the concert and did many old southern gospel favorites like Feeling Mighty Fine and Daystar. Dawn was joined by her mother, Gerri Smoot and singing partner Barbara Dalton. They also did a cover of Jesus is Mine, a Homesteaders song, and was joined by Homesteaders bass Darrin Habert.
After the opening groups, there was a “special moment” that included some of the families that have been beneficiaries of Angel Hearts in the past. Three ladies came up and shared their story and testimony of how they had been affected as a result of Angel Hearts. The outcome of these situations aren’t always what we would hope here on earth but hopefully the burden is lightened.
The next group was the feature of the night, the Homesteaders. Members of the Homesteaders are Donnie and Lisa Williamson who sing baritone and alto respectively. Also joining them are Mike Hellwig lead and Darrin Habert bass. Followers of the Stamps Quartet might remember Mike as their baritone. Mike was also chosen as favorite tenor of the Canadian Gospel Music Association before singing with the Stamps.
The Homesteaders don’t have your normal southern gospel quartet set up. First timers might wonder why they have a black curtain hanging up and some logs in the front of the auditorium. I will get to that later. The set started off with Lisa playing How Great Thou Art on an electric guitar. That was followed by the bass singer doing the first verse, lead singer doing a second verse, and the rest of the group joining on the chorus.
What A Happy Time in Heaven was the next song followed by I’m Ready to Go. I’m Ready to Go was penned by the groups own Lisa Williamson. That song was also sang by the Kingsmen Quartet and was number one on the monthly southern gospel charts and #6 for the year in Singing News Magazine.
Even though the group is from Oklahoma, they make stops frequently in Virginia, whenever possible. For those who had never seen the Homesteaders Donnie did group introductions. Next we got to see what the black curtain was all about. Like I mentioned earlier, The Homesteaders pay tribute to the late greats. Instead of just singing the songs or putting two old timey RCA mics up, they add visuals as well. While Donnie is talking about some of the old groups and how Vaughn and Stamps-Baxter used to do it, Lisa went back behind the curtain and put on a sports jacket and a stick on mustache. She came out and acted as the groups “male” tenor since women were not commonly in quartets in thee early days. They did the Statesmen classic I’m Climbing Higher and Higher. This was followed by Mike doing an impersonation of James Blackwood and Jake Hess. While doing his impersonations Lisa went back and put on a bee hive wig and got her hanky for her Vestal Goodman impersonation. The last impersonation was Darrin sitting on a stool with his leg crossed impersonating JD. He introduced I’ve Got To Walk That Lonesome Road just like JD would have and then sang the song.
The group came back in their original clothes and did a new song from their upcoming cd called Let it Rain. This is one of my favorite Homesteaders songs and just exudes energy. I think this should be the groups next radio release because it has great potential. The group followed that song by Casting Crown’s Voice of Truth. This is where the contemporary side of things came in. The Homesteaders are versatile enough that they can change programs depending on what kind of crowd they are singing to. Since this was a strongly southern gospel crowd, this is the only “contemporary” song they did. And not only do they do contemporary they do country as well. Darrin did Josh Turner’s Long Black Train. This was the break to the first set.
Leading into the next group of music was Chesterfield. This is a skit by Donnie portraying a janitor of a small church that just wants to help the pastor out. He feels underappreciated and is looking for somewhere else he can be “useful.” The group segued into a song from Darrin’s solo cd called Jesus Will Pick You Up. This is a up tempo black spiritual that shows Darrin’s range. This was followed by He’s Still On Board which was played heavily in our area a couple years ago. This is while Jerry Pilgrim was still bass singer of the group. You will know him from his Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet days as well as more recently Monument Quartet. The Homesteaders also have a Tribute to Oklahoma program where they pay tribute to many writers and artists from Oklahoma. Included in this was a good portion of patriotic stuff including the next song God Bless the USA. To really slow things down Mike did The Lord’s Prayer acappella.
The next part of the show is my personal favorite and the highlight of the evening for me. I have seen the Homesteaders several times and this song never seems to get old. I Built the Cross was penned by a former member of the Homesteaders. The song tells the story of a Roman cross builder who is commissioned to build the cross of Jesus. He doesn’t want to do it because he loves Jesus. Through the time of building the cross, he comes to the realization that he not only physically built the cross but also it was his sin that put Jesus there. Starting the song out, Donnie comes in with what someone might have worn back in that day and is not happy because he is commissioned to build another cross. He thinks he has already done his work for the day. He doesn’t want to build it and then notices that it is for Jesus of Nazareth. The song then compares that cross builder to the person singing the song, Mike, and the realization hits that he was just as guilty as the cross builder. The video that they did for this song is also a must see.
Overall the night was a good night of gospel music. The Homesteaders are a very versatile group and when they come to your area they are a must see. To keep up with their ministry and check out when they will be in your area you can check out their site at http://www.thehtq.com/.
This particular Saturday night was a benefit concert for Angel Hearts. Angel Hearts is an organization that helps hurting people in the central Virginia area that have large medical bills with little or no way to pay them. The southern gospel music is brought in by financial support provided by local businesses so that 100% of the offering taken at the concert can go to help the person that has been chosen.
Saturday night held a lot of music, some local and some national talent. The first group up was the Lynch Station Men’s Vocal Group. This is a group of 17 men from a local church, Lynch Station Baptist Church, that are accompanied by piano, guitar, drums, and bass. This group is dear to this concert series because of the churches former pastor, Pastor Kenny. He was a big supporter of this ministry because his family was a recipient of their good will several years ago. Pastor Kenny was killed in a motorcycle accident about a year ago.
Also at the concert was a starting comedian by the name of Geri Lynn. She did comedy from more from a woman’s prospective in a mostly male comedian world. She also did bits including playing her trumpet and wearing a sombrero. Gerri Lynn is also known as Dawn Doss and sings with the group Garden of Grace. Garden of Grace sang at the concert and did many old southern gospel favorites like Feeling Mighty Fine and Daystar. Dawn was joined by her mother, Gerri Smoot and singing partner Barbara Dalton. They also did a cover of Jesus is Mine, a Homesteaders song, and was joined by Homesteaders bass Darrin Habert.
After the opening groups, there was a “special moment” that included some of the families that have been beneficiaries of Angel Hearts in the past. Three ladies came up and shared their story and testimony of how they had been affected as a result of Angel Hearts. The outcome of these situations aren’t always what we would hope here on earth but hopefully the burden is lightened.
The next group was the feature of the night, the Homesteaders. Members of the Homesteaders are Donnie and Lisa Williamson who sing baritone and alto respectively. Also joining them are Mike Hellwig lead and Darrin Habert bass. Followers of the Stamps Quartet might remember Mike as their baritone. Mike was also chosen as favorite tenor of the Canadian Gospel Music Association before singing with the Stamps.
The Homesteaders don’t have your normal southern gospel quartet set up. First timers might wonder why they have a black curtain hanging up and some logs in the front of the auditorium. I will get to that later. The set started off with Lisa playing How Great Thou Art on an electric guitar. That was followed by the bass singer doing the first verse, lead singer doing a second verse, and the rest of the group joining on the chorus.
What A Happy Time in Heaven was the next song followed by I’m Ready to Go. I’m Ready to Go was penned by the groups own Lisa Williamson. That song was also sang by the Kingsmen Quartet and was number one on the monthly southern gospel charts and #6 for the year in Singing News Magazine.
Even though the group is from Oklahoma, they make stops frequently in Virginia, whenever possible. For those who had never seen the Homesteaders Donnie did group introductions. Next we got to see what the black curtain was all about. Like I mentioned earlier, The Homesteaders pay tribute to the late greats. Instead of just singing the songs or putting two old timey RCA mics up, they add visuals as well. While Donnie is talking about some of the old groups and how Vaughn and Stamps-Baxter used to do it, Lisa went back behind the curtain and put on a sports jacket and a stick on mustache. She came out and acted as the groups “male” tenor since women were not commonly in quartets in thee early days. They did the Statesmen classic I’m Climbing Higher and Higher. This was followed by Mike doing an impersonation of James Blackwood and Jake Hess. While doing his impersonations Lisa went back and put on a bee hive wig and got her hanky for her Vestal Goodman impersonation. The last impersonation was Darrin sitting on a stool with his leg crossed impersonating JD. He introduced I’ve Got To Walk That Lonesome Road just like JD would have and then sang the song.
The group came back in their original clothes and did a new song from their upcoming cd called Let it Rain. This is one of my favorite Homesteaders songs and just exudes energy. I think this should be the groups next radio release because it has great potential. The group followed that song by Casting Crown’s Voice of Truth. This is where the contemporary side of things came in. The Homesteaders are versatile enough that they can change programs depending on what kind of crowd they are singing to. Since this was a strongly southern gospel crowd, this is the only “contemporary” song they did. And not only do they do contemporary they do country as well. Darrin did Josh Turner’s Long Black Train. This was the break to the first set.
Leading into the next group of music was Chesterfield. This is a skit by Donnie portraying a janitor of a small church that just wants to help the pastor out. He feels underappreciated and is looking for somewhere else he can be “useful.” The group segued into a song from Darrin’s solo cd called Jesus Will Pick You Up. This is a up tempo black spiritual that shows Darrin’s range. This was followed by He’s Still On Board which was played heavily in our area a couple years ago. This is while Jerry Pilgrim was still bass singer of the group. You will know him from his Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet days as well as more recently Monument Quartet. The Homesteaders also have a Tribute to Oklahoma program where they pay tribute to many writers and artists from Oklahoma. Included in this was a good portion of patriotic stuff including the next song God Bless the USA. To really slow things down Mike did The Lord’s Prayer acappella.
The next part of the show is my personal favorite and the highlight of the evening for me. I have seen the Homesteaders several times and this song never seems to get old. I Built the Cross was penned by a former member of the Homesteaders. The song tells the story of a Roman cross builder who is commissioned to build the cross of Jesus. He doesn’t want to do it because he loves Jesus. Through the time of building the cross, he comes to the realization that he not only physically built the cross but also it was his sin that put Jesus there. Starting the song out, Donnie comes in with what someone might have worn back in that day and is not happy because he is commissioned to build another cross. He thinks he has already done his work for the day. He doesn’t want to build it and then notices that it is for Jesus of Nazareth. The song then compares that cross builder to the person singing the song, Mike, and the realization hits that he was just as guilty as the cross builder. The video that they did for this song is also a must see.
Overall the night was a good night of gospel music. The Homesteaders are a very versatile group and when they come to your area they are a must see. To keep up with their ministry and check out when they will be in your area you can check out their site at http://www.thehtq.com/.
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