Hi! You might remember me from the National Quartet Convention coverage I did here last year and the year before.

I recently confirmed that I’ll be heading down to The Extra Mile a week from Saturday.

The concept intrigued me from the day the first announcement went up on the site. It wasn’t just the event—it was what it represented for our style of music. Back in the (very) old days, Southern Gospel was experienced through singing schools and church homecomings. For the last few decades, Southern Gospel has revolved around the live concert. But due to rising gas costs and a host of other problems, it’s just getting harder and harder for artists to pull off 200 concerts each year.

This event could be a model for what Southern Gospel looks like a decade from now. What especially intrigues me is that the product table is gone, and that the music is included in the cost of the event.

I’m looking forward to setting foot in Tennessee for the first time and meeting many of you. Since I write about just about everything, I imagine I’ll be writing about it, too.

If you haven’t registered yet, sign up here. It’s more than music, and even more than an event . . . if it’s a success, it could be history in the making.

See you there!

Yesterday afternoon’s meet and greet was a highlight of the convention for the Talley Trio fans gathered.

Lauren and Roger started the event by explaining what was happening, and what they hoped to accomplish with the event:

Then they sang two songs a capella from Songs You Know By Heart:

Debra and Lauren each shared testimonies of other Tree-o community members:

During the Talley Trio’s Thursday night main stage apparance, they sang four songs.

They started with their new arrangement of “Amazong Grace” (from Songs You Know By Heart). Debra started the song, and Lauren had the last solo. Roger was featured on “My Hope is In the Lord.” Then Lauren closed with two songs, the Talleys classic “Mountain Mover” and another song new to the Talley Trio, “He’s Alive.”

I have been watching audience reactions closely this week, and it’s frankly hard for a song that many in the audience have never heard to get a standing ovation, but this one did.

I plan to post video from the Tree’s get-together some time this afternoon, so be watching for that!