Concert: Down Home & Called Out
A couple weeks ago, I came across the website of a group called Called Out Quartet. Upon glancing at their schedule, I noticed they were going to be within an hour of me so this past Thursday, I went to see them.
What I didn’t know until I arrived was that there was also a bluegrass group on the program by the name of Down Home. I had seen the group on TV years ago but hadn’t heard of them for a while.
Down Home started the program singing “Morning Light,” “River of Jordan,” “The Spinning Wheel,” “Greener Pastures,” “No Road Back,” “Softly and Tenderly,” and “Going on With Jesus.” They put a beautiful intro on “Softly and Tenderly” as well as a harmonica break in the middle–very nicely done.
Called Out was up next and sang “Way Down in My Soul,” “Wait Upon the Lord,” “Happy Rhythm,” “Thank God I’m Free,” “God Wrote My Name,” and “I’ve Got So Much to Thank Him For.” Then Jess Birdwell and Von Gaines sang the theme song from “All in the Family.” I never watched the program but when I got home, I found the original theme on YouTube so I could compare it. I was amazed at how well Jess did in imitating Ethel Bunker. They ended this segment with “In Just a Little While” and “I Told Everybody.”
After that was a 15-minute break. Then Down Home was back for another 1/2 hour. This set included “He Will SetYour Fields on Fire,” “He’s Holding Me,” “River of Life,” “Good to Me,” “Lead Me to Calvary,” “Grandma’s Prayers,” and “Mountain Railroad.” Doug Marlink played harmonica on this last song and he was outstanding.
Called Out started their final set with the old Happy Goodman song, “Living in Canaan Now,” “Somebody Loves Me,” and “He Chose This Valley for Me,” which was my favorite song of the evening. Called Out has 60-second music clips on their website and, if you’re going through a valley right now, I recommend listening to this song. After that, they went into “What a Day That Will Be.” At this point, Darrell Collier slowed everything down and invited audience participation, encouraging even those who can’t carry a tune to sing anyway. They ended with “Glory Glory Glory Somebody Touched Me,” and “I’m Getting Ready.” It was a blessed evening.
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