HisVoice in concert

This is the 3rd time that my church, Highland Baptist, has hosted the Southern Gospel Trio, HisVoice. Each time we have had them come out, they have really been a blessing. I would write a big long review of this morning's worship service but I don't think I could even put into words how wonderful the singing, and spirit was while HisVoice was singing. Allen, Kristen, and Kelly were spectacular and gave wonderful testimonies. I started crying almost from the very beginning and through the entire service.

They sang 12 songs, mostly from their new CD that is coming out soon. I was delighted that they sang one of my all-time favorites of theirs, Stacking Stones. I was equally blessed by, Have You Heard Of A King, and He Never Even Looked At the Man. Toward the end of the service Kristen and Kelly both gave testimonies of struggles they had been through and how God had brought them out. I was so touched by their words that I was just overwhelmed with the spirit. Then, Kelly sang one of the most powerful and touching renditions of, Through The Fire, that I have ever heard in my life. It was almost more than I could take. I just sat there sobbing great tears of joy for what God has done in my own life.

If you ever get the chance to hear HisVoice in concert I'm sure you will be blessed as much as I always am when I hear them. They are truly anointed and talented and I highly recommend them for your church.

Read more...

Fantastic Time With HisVoice!

What a fantastic time of worship with the Southern Gospel trio, HisVoice! This anointed group of singers are some of the most spiritual and talented folks in the business. From the time they took the stage until they gave an ending invitational, the Holy Spirit could be felt by everyone in the building.

Speaking personally, as the Minister of Music, I have not been ministered to in song this much in a long, long time. As I mentioned to the group afterwards, I must have lost 5-lbs in tears alone this morning. They sang all of the touching songs that they are known for; Stacking Stones, He Chose this Valley For Me, The Broken Ones, and tons of others.

Even more than the beautiful music coming from the stage, I enjoyed the heart-felt testimonies spoken by each member. Groups can stand and sing a hundred songs and could deliver them with perfection but if they don't have the Holy Spirit that only Jesus can provide, it isn't worth 2 cents. I can testify today that HisVoice not only talks the talk, they walk the walk. If you haven't ever attended a worship service with them you should make it a point to do so.

Read more...

HisVoice returns to Highland Baptist!

On Sunday, July 19th, at 10:30 AM, the Southern Gospel trio, HisVoice will be ministering in song at Highland Baptist church during the morning worship service.

HisVoice is an East Tennessee Based Music Ministry, that incorporates tight vocal harmonies, exciting musical arrangements, and heart-felt testimonies to present the Timeless Message of God’s Amazing Love, and Saving Grace. The members of HisVoice are all Saved, Born-Again Christians who have personally experienced the Goodness of God’s Grace, and eagerly want to share their Salvation Experience through Testimony and Song to audiences and congregations all over the Southeast.

This is a free worship event, a love offering will be taken.

For more information or directions to the church visit http://www.hbcknox.org/

Read more posts about HisVoice here, here, and here.

Read more...

Great Southern Gospel resource

I received an email from Allen Davenport (owner/baritone of the So. Gospel trio, HisVoice) this morning, informing me of a great site that all Southern Gospel fans will enjoy: SoGoCity. "A site for artists and fans and friends of Gospel Music. A place to connect with others who enjoy music that lifts up Jesus Christ."

The site was created by Charles Brady, of Caraway Media Group, and is filled with Southern Gospel groups, soloists, and fans. There are videos, music, blogs, forums, general discussions, links to artists, and a plethora of other great resources. If you are a Southern Gospel music fan, performer, promoter, etc., you should click on over there and sign up. It's a breeze, takes about 2-minutes in fact.

Don't forget to send me a friend request! http://sogocity.ning.com/profile/ByronChesney

Read more...

Kenny Bishop concert review - Union Baptist Church Knoxville

This is a review of my recent attendance of a live taping of the television show, Southern Style Praise, in which Kenny Bishop and the trio HisVoice was performing. It took place at Union Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN. I was honored to be their special guest Music Minister for the evening.

I've seen Kenny Bishop sing live several times in my life, mostly with his former family group, The Bishops. I met him one time, about 10-years ago, at the National Quartet Convention. I guess the thing that I've always liked about Kenny is his natural Kentucky country voice. I've always thought that he could probably have had a really successful career in Country Music. I'm glad he chose Southern Gospel instead.

I've seen more than my fair share of folks in the gospel music business that treat it as a job instead of a ministry. I can say first hand that Kenny Bishop is not one of those people. He appears to have an open and honest heart for the ministry. I watched him pretty closely because I was sitting just 2 rows behind him. He sat in the congregation with two older ladies in which he appeared to know. I saw and heard him shouting "amen" and praising God while HisVoice was on the stage. And, while he was on stage he spent more time talking about the grace and mercy of God than he did actually singing. He spent very little time talking about himself, he was fully focused on spreading the gospel message.

I enjoyed every song that Kenny sang, however, I've got to say that my very favorite was, 'The Prodigal's Dad.' It's track number 9 on his latest CD, simply titled, "Kenny Bishop." The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of my very favorite passages in the Bible. In fact, the next night after hearing Kenny sing that song, I preached a sermon on the Prodigal Son at my church. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Woody Wright penned, 'Under the Influence of Mercy,' which was a play on the old Buck Owens tune, 'Under the Influence of Love.' Another great tune was, 'More Than Amazing,' which was also written by Woody Wright, specifically for Kenny. According to Kenny, it is a song for everyone.

At the end of his performance, Kenny gave a very touching invitation for anyone that may have had a need. I could really feel God's presence during that time. Afterwards, I was privileged to get to meet and shake hands with Kenny. He said that he thought I looked very familiar and wanted to know if we had met before. I told him that we had but that it had been several years ago at NQC. I didn't hang around and bug him any because he was busy talking to other fans and selling his CD's and signing them.

My whole family enjoyed our evening of Southern Gospel and I left there an even bigger fan of Kenny Bishop than I was before I came. If you have yet to go to one of his concerts, you should make a point to do so. I know you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Read my separate review of the HisVoice portion of the evening HERE.

See all of the pictures that I took of the evening HERE.

Visit Kenny's Official Website HERE.

Read more...

HisVoice concert review - Union Baptist Church Knoxville

I was thrilled to receive an email from Allen Davenport of the trio HisVoice, asking if I would be their special guest music minister for their concert with Kenny Bishop, at Union Baptist. I gladly accepted the invitation and was really psyched up over it. HisVoice ministered at my church this past year so I was already familiar with them.

My family and I arrived at Union Baptist an hour before the concert. Dale Burress, owner of Ark Studios, was getting the stage prepared for the taping of the concert which will air on his TV show, Southern Style Praise. I have corresponded with Dale several times through email but this was the first time I had met him in person. He warmly greeted me and we briefly discussed what was going to unfold for the evening.

Finally, the 6:00 hour arrived. I opened up with a prayer and then led the congregation in all 3-verses of Victory in Jesus. Union Baptist's pianist, Gary Barnard, did an excellent job playing the music. Gary is the former member and pianist at my church, Highland Baptist, so I was already familiar with him. He is a very talented young man.

After the congregational, HisVoice, took to the stage. Since this was a live taping for a television show, things weren't as smooth as a regular concert but it wasn't distracting, even with the large cameras mounted to booms swinging back and forth. HisVoice was very professional with just the right amount of spiritualism. Allen does a great job with the emcee work and keeping things going. Once again my favorite songs of the night were, 'Stacking Stones,' and 'He Chose This Valley For Me.' Both of those songs brought tears to my eyes. They stuck strictly to the tracks from their latest CD, which I bought. I really enjoyed hearing them again but because of the live taping I don't think they felt as free to minister and they had to keep an eye on time. But, that's to be expected. They did an excellent job under the circumstances.

After HisVoice left the stage, I led the congregation in another hymn, 'At Calvary,' while we took up a love offering. After the offering, Gary, delighted the crowd by playing a beautiful hymn. Then Kenny Bishop took the stage. I'll write a separate post on Kenny's performance.

To see all pictures from this night visit THIS post.

Read more...

HisVoice & Kenny Bishop Concert Union Baptist

We attended a wonderful evening of Southern Gospel music last night at Union Baptist Church in Knoxville. The trio, HisVoice and soloist, Kenny Bishop were having a live taping for the television show, Southern Style Praise. I will write more about this great night, including CD reviews of their new projects. Meanwhile enjoy a few pictures from the event.

Read more...

HIsVoice - Special Event at Union Baptist

I received word from the Southern Gospel trio, HisVoice, that they will be hosting a very special event at Union Baptist Church on Saturday, November 1st, at 6:00 PM. The group will be hosting "The HisVoice CD Release Concert."

Also appearing will be very special guest, Kenny Bishop, formerly of the Bishops, one of Southern Gospel Music's Most Beloved Family Groups.

On top of that, there will also be a Live Recording of the Television Show, "Southern Style Praise" taking place that evening. So make it a point to show up...you might just be on TV!!

Please Come praying & expecting Great things from The Lord. Hope to see you there!!!

Read a review of a recent HisVoice concert at Highland Baptist.

Read more...

HisVoice Concert Review - Knoxville, TN

I had been looking forward to hearing the Southern Gospel trio, HisVoice, for some time. I have been enjoying their MySpace page and the songs on it plus one of their CD's from a few years back. But, I had never seen the group in person. I had only spoken with the group's manager/baritone, Allen Davenport, a few times via e-mail. You never know what to expect when you invite a group out to sing. Will they be Spiritual? Will they follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit? Or will they be self-centered and all about themselves? Well, tonight I found out...read on.

We arrived at the church about 30 minutes before starting time. One of the deacons had let the group in at 4:00 to set up their equipment. No one else was present yet besides my family and the members of HisVoice. They were wrapping things up with their setup and doing some final mic checks. I introduced myself to Allen and then went out front to greet folks as they arrived. Everyone seemed really excited to hear the group sing and lots of fellowship and laughter could be heard as folks slowly started filtering in.

We opened up the service with a couple of congregational hymns and welcomed everyone to the church. I quickly got out of the way in order to let HisVoice minister and worship with us. They walked up to their mics and immediately began belting out a hand-clapping rendition of "I Kept On Searching." I knew from the get-go that we were in for a real treat. It’s no wonder that this group was just signed to a major recording contract with the Eddie Crook Company in Nashville. The trio has a tight sound with very strong vocal harmonies. They use pre-recorded tracks that their sound guy, Sonny Hinkle, expertly delivers on queue.

Next they dove into an old Mcruder's hit, "I'm Going Home With Jesus." Then my very favorite song of the entire night, "Stacking Some Stones Up." This one was lead by Alto, Kristen Kitts. I was crying like a baby before she even got through the first verse. The song talks of the children of Israel after they crossed the Jordan River and had built an altar of stone to make sacrifice and to remind them of what God had brought them through. This is a very touching song and there wasn't a dry eye in the entire house. I was so happy that they decided to sing the entire song again. Kristen has a very beautiful and strong alto voice, I could listen to her sing all day long.

The next song on their list was "Mission Not Impossible." I had never heard this one before but it was a very catchy tune and Soprano, Alysia Haluska, did an outstanding job working the crowd and singing praises. She had a huge smile on her face the entire time she was on stage and you couldn’t help but smile back when you looked at her. It was very contagious! Up next was a song that said, "You Picked the Right Time to Leave the Wrong Thing Behind." Followed up with Allen leading out on, "The Story Untold."

“He Chose this Valley For Me,” was my second favorite song of the night. Of course it was another that I cried through the entire time. I wasn’t the only one though. I looked over at our pastor and could see that he wasn’t able to contain himself either, as he was crying his eyes out and lifting his hands toward Heaven in praise. “Grace Abounds,” was the next song. Alysia did another spectacular job on this one.

After a heart-wrenching story by Allen, the group jumped into the Talley Trio’s, “Broken Ones.” My kids have loved this song ever since they first heard Lauren Talley sing it a few months ago. If this song doesn’t touch you, then you can’t be touched. It’s not only touching but the words are so true. Immediately following, they made an altar call with the beautiful, “He Can’t Pick Up What You Won’t Lay Down.” As folks were praying around the altar, the group broke into, “There Is A Remedy,” followed up with “Amazing Love.”

As they say, all good things must end, and so did our time with HisVoice. They ended things with the upbeat, “I’m Free.” After a few words from our Pastor and a final altar call, we reluctantly dismissed and made our way back home. It was truly a wonderful night of Southern Gospel music and worship with HisVoice. You might want to book this group at your church while you still can because I am predicting big things for them and I’m sure their schedule is going to fill up quickly!

Read more...

HisVoice In Concert, Sunday, Aug 10th at 6:00 pm Highland Baptist

HisVoice Ministering In Concert Aug 10 at 6:00 PM at Highland Baptist Church.
Come out and join us for a special musical time of worship. HisVoice is an East Tennessee Based Music Ministry, that incorporates tight vocal harmonies, exciting musical arrangements, and heart-felt testimonies to present the Timeless Message of God’s Amazing Love, and Saving Grace. The members of HisVoice are all Saved, Born-Again Christians who have personally experienced the Goodness of God’s Grace, and eagerly want to share their Salvation Experience through Testimony and Song to audiences and congregations all over the Southeast. Visit their MySpace page here.

Read more...