The Freemans (Britton, MI) 5/31/08
July 15th, 2008If you enjoy the country side of southern gospel, you should have been there.
If you appreciate skillful musicians and great singing, you should have been there.
If you have a love for the Spirit of God and love being where you can feel His presence, you should have been there.
The Freemans concert was all this and more. I attended with high expectations, and they were met and exceeded. The Freemans are incredible people. I dare anybody to meet them & try not to like them. They all have a great sense of humor and the camaraderie between them is beautiful.
I loved watching them interact during the concert. You can tell that they love music. To them it’s like each concert is a chance to try something new and play it even better than before. But more than that, you can tell that they love God with all their hearts, and it makes you want to know God like they do. When you watch Chris Freeman throw her hands in the air and sing, “Thank God! He chose me!” you really get it. Something within you rises up and says, “God chose me! Not just Chris Freeman, not just the really cool people of the world, but He chose me! Halleluyah!”
Darrell was incredible on “The Next Step.” The first person I ever heard sing this song was Ron Hutchins with The Inspirations, (maybe some of you have heard that version), and I didn’t think I would like the way anyone else sang it, but Darrell does a great job. He also sang “Once Was Enough.” I love that song!
The only bad thing about the evening was that Misty wasn’t able to be there. She stayed home because she wasn’t feeling well. If you’ve ever heard her sing, you know how much she was missed. I love hearing her sing. Especially “The Man Who Really Hung The Moon” and “Cinderella.” Misty rocks.
Before they sang, “He’d Have To Walk Through The Blood”, Chris talked for a few minutes about the song and what it really meant to have the protection of the blood of Jesus over us. I’ve heard that song countless times, but after listening to her, it hit me like I’d never heard it before. Talk about a powerful song, it was incredible. I’m sorry I didn’t get a video clip of that one, but I think you’d have to have been there to get the full impact.
Of course a Freemans concert would not be complete without “Children Of The Dust.” I have played this song to many people who don’t even like southern gospel & I always get the same response, “The harmony on that is beautiful!” Live is no exception. You almost feel like if you looked hard enough, you’d see Jesus coming. Then they sang “Rise Up”, which if I had to describe that song in one word, I’d say “Hope.” When they’re singing that, you feel hope well up inside you. That one’s a personal favorite of mine.
Oh yes, lest I forget … I’m sorry Diana, but with all respect to Greater Vision, no one can sing “Still Been God” like The Freemans. Caylon absolutely dominates the drums on this song.
One of my favorite parts was when someone requested “I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ For My Journey Now.” I was surprised they actually sang it, but they did a great job. When you watch the video, notice the way Joe takes off on the keys as if it’s a song he plays every day. They’re all incredible at improvising. It’s fascinating to watch them. We arrived at the concert early, so we got to watch sound check. I have to say that I enjoyed that almost as much as the concert.
I could go through a list of songs and tell you how well they did, but I’m of the belief that a picture paints a thousand words, and a video is priceless. So watch the video and hopefully you will feel like you were there. And if you want to go see them yourselves, (I highly recommend it), go to www.the-freemans.com and click on “appearances.” You won’t be disappointed.
Rodney is an incredible songwriter. It’s no mistake that he wins favorite songwriter every year.