Most of Trust was able to be at this concert as well. I say 'most' because, bless his heart, Spence tried his best to be with us. He and our friend Paul, of Gulf State Quartet, made the trip all the way from Wauchula to Vero Beach only to get there as the place filled to capacity and due to fire marshall regulations, couldn't let anyone else in.
Faith Baptist Church in Vero Beach has quite a Southern Gospel Concert Series every year, and this year was no exception. I was able to hear Tribute, the Browns, and Great Day. They had several other groups; generally about two per month during the peak of the season when our friends from the great white North are with us. The concert season was over, or so we thought. In order to get to my job every night, I have to travel past this church, and I noticed on their church sign another Southern Gospel sing advertised for this week. I almost ran off the road taking a double take at the sign to make sure I read it correctly. Yeah ~ it said Gold City. In fact, I didn't say anything to anyone else until I drove past it again to read it one more time. It still said Gold City.
I knew that would be one that would be filled ~ early. I made the arrangements to get there as quickly as I could on Friday evening. Several were depending on me to hold seats for them. Quite frankly, I was nervous about that. That was especially true when I arrived at the church a solid 45 minutes before the concert started and the parking lot was full. Yes, you read that correctly! A full 45 minutes before a note was to be sung, the parking lot was full! As I walked into the church, there were a few seats for me to choose from; but saving any for my friends ~ that was going to be tight!
Beverly, Buzz, and Rhonda finally made it there as well as another couple of folks I was waiting for. The church leadership began to ask that people squeeze in as best they could. Then it became evident that seats were no longer able to be reserved. Then, it was FULL and no one else could get in. Please let no one try to tell you that Southern Gospel music is dying out. Yes, I saw a more than a handful of young people there.
Gold City is simply an incredible group of singers. They've been around for years and doing their thing with excellence and professionalism the entire time. Personnel may change, but the steadfastness of Tim Riley singing bass kept this group sounding remarkably the same for a long, LONG time. He's been singing professionally well beyond 40 years. His son, Danny, was the emcee for the group and it was obvious he enjoyed standing beside his dad and singing every night.
Jerry Pelfrey was introduced as the lead singer and a young man named Brian Elliott played the piano. Ladies and gentlemen, he's not yet 30 years old, but that guy can play! The newest member of the group is the tenor singer, Roger Fulton. There were several songs where I kind of sat there in awe of his clear tenor sound.
After the concert, Gold City was kind enough to pose for a picture with Trust. We really wanted Spence with us, but it just didn't happen. If you've got a Gold City concert experience, feel free to let us hear about it.
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| Trust Quartet with Gold City. L to R: Buzz, Rhonda, Steve, Danny Riley, Jerry Pelfrey, Tim Riley, Brian Elliott, and Roger Fulton |
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