Editor’s note: After trading emails with Oregon’s Ellen Gerig about Oregon’s Pacific Gospel Music Association annual festival, I invited her to write a review of the concert. Here it is! Her YouTube clips from the event are here.
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Most people don’t think of western Oregon when they think of southern gospel. But the tentacles of the genre have gripped a sizeable crowd in the Pacific Northwest. Largely to thank for that, at least in western Oregon, are two fine groups in farm country north of the city of Eugene—Cornerstone (from Junction City) and the Knox Brothers (Harrisburg). Gordon Kuryluk of Cornerstone, and the Knox Brothers, have done much to bring southern gospel to our neck of the woods and keep it alive and growing for the last several decades. They have brought in many national artists that we Oregonians have come to love and look forward to hearing on a regular basis thanks to their efforts.
An outgrowth of the burgeoning interest in Oregon and the neighboring northwestern states has been the Pacific Gospel Music Association (PGMA). It originally began as a two-day event and was known as the Oregon Gospel Music Association (OGMA). The intent was to provide a local organization of artists in order to preserve and enhance gospel music, especially of the southern and country varieties. It soon expanded to also include artists from Washington, Idaho, and California, and became the PGMA. When the opportunity arose to include the Florida Boys as featured guests, it grew to a three-day event. Guest artists that the PGMA have incorporated through the years are The Florida Boys, Gary McSpadden, Randy Miller, Tim and Mary Alice Lovelace, The Beene Family, The Griffiths, The Weatherfords, Dennis Agajanian, Mike Franklin, and Liberty Quartet. The PGMA traditionally has an annual festival, the last two years having been held at the new, beautiful, and perfectly accommodating Eugene First Baptist Church on the northern outskirts of Eugene, Oregon. The PGMA website currently lists 27 member artist/groups. Not all of them were represented at the recent festival, but there was a sizeable representation. Gordon Kuryluk and Ed Knox (mentioned in the previous paragraph) are founding members and the current co-chairmen of the PGMA. Thanks go to Ed Knox for providing a bit of the history of PGMA for this review.
The recent festival that was held October 30 – November 1, 2008, was the 17th annual event (according to the printed program), and it has burst through the walls of successive facilities in its growing pains throughout those 17 years. I believe that the Eugene First Baptist Church should be adequate for a good many years to come, however, due to its size, location, and excellent accommodations. There is also plenty of room for RV parking. The church has a stellar sound system, the details of which can be read here if you have any interest in the technical aspects of such things. The sound was great, which is another reason to continue holding the event there, in my opinion.
I have never been to the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, but I have attended several times the Great Western Quartet Convention (now known as the Great Western Southern Gospel Fan Festival) in both Sacramento and Fresno, California. The format of the PGMA is patterned somewhat after the successful format of the GWSGFF, but on a smaller scale, of course.
Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, partnered with the PGMA during the weekend, with some wonderful testimonials presented via recorded media from people whose lives and families were changed by people reaching out to them with Christ’s love through the Samaritan’s Purse organization.
There was a nice variety of musical styles represented throughout the three days. The PGMA is not strictly southern gospel, but southern gospel is at the heart of many of the events and presentations.
The featured artists throughout the weekend were The Weatherfords, Liberty Quartet, Tim Lovelace, and Mike Franklin. I was not able to attend the Thursday afternoon concert by Mike Franklin due to employment constraints, but was able to get there right at the beginning of the evening concert at 6:00 (the beginning time for Thursday and Friday nights).
I will not take the time to mention all of the different performers, but will select just a few.
Cornerstone opened the main Thursday evening concert. This family group is so “real” and makes everyone feel welcome and special. Gordon Kuryluk and his wife Peggy, along with their two college-age daughters, comprise the group. They kicked us off to a great start!
Carol Archuleta is one of the members who was slated to perform both Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. However, she is currently fighting a recurrence of cancer and was not able to be there as hoped for. The PGMA board members all went up on stage and led in prayer for Carol Thursday evening. We pray that she will experience the touch of God’s hand on her body and in her spirit, and of course we pray for her restored health if that is His will.
Charlie Walker’s a humble country boy from eastern Oregon’s cowboy country! He’s a crowd favorite with his personally-penned, sincere, straight-to-the-heart compositions! His simple and heart-warming country-styled songs have his cowboy boots and hat as grace notes, and you can feel the audience embrace him and his messages in song.
The Knox Brothers, a group of six biological brothers who in August celebrated their 40th year of singing together, were near the end of the evening lineup. They provide all of their own instrumentation: keyboard, drums, lead guitar, and bass guitar. A few other groups provided live instrumentation, also, and that is always a treat when well done.
After the Knox Brothers came the legendary Weatherfords! The Weatherfords helped to propel many young artists into their own places of gospel legendhood. Gordon Kuryluk narrated a memorable Powerpoint presentation that gave tribute to and provided some interesting history of the Weatherfords. Earl Weatherford has gone on to be with the Lord, but his wife, Lily Fern, is still a strong third of the trio that also includes their adopted son, Steve. Both Lily Fern and Steve were struggling with colds or allergies that night, so they improvised in different ways—including having Mike Franklin come up to bolster them vocally. They sang many of the older songs that the Weatherfords are known for. Lily Fern is soon celebrating her 80th birthday, and as she was under the weather and not able to be at the product table to “meet and greet”, someone had the forethought to put blank scrapbook pages on the tables in the eating area on which we concert attendees could write our comments, birthday greetings, and other best wishes for her after the concert.
There was a ladies’ luncheon on Friday that I did not attend. Tim Lovelace’s wife, Mary Alice, was the guest speaker/singer at that event, and I understand it was very good. The fact that it was a sell-out speaks well!
However, I did get to hear her a bit that afternoon. Tim Lovelace had the 2:00 hour on the main stage, and he provided us with comedy that brought tears, along with some great music. We got to meet his five-year-old “baby girl”, Gabrielle! I believe she might have a future on stage herself! We also got to hear some of Mary Alice’s fine vocals.
In addition to late-afternoon concerts on Thursday and Friday in the exhibit/dining area, Mike Franklin, who sang with the Melody Boys Quartet for many years, sang a few song selections from the nightly main stage. During the course of the weekend and the beginning of this week (the Franklins invited me to a dinner at a church in my home town the Monday night following the PGMA festival—and I went) I got to know him and his wife, Tina, a bit better. Their hearts are sweet and focused on God, and I highly recommend their ministry.
Friday night, along with hearing many other groups, I got to hear a group that I didn’t remember hearing before—The
Joyful Sound Quartet from Meridian, Idaho! They did a fine job, and I hope to see them return next year!
The Knox Brothers had their second set of the weekend, which produced a PGMA first—at least in my memory! Their last song was “King Jesus”. As they were walking offstage, the crowd began to chant, “More, more!” at which time they were invited back and did an encore, to the crowd’s delight. I don’t recall there ever before being an encore by one of the PGMA groups/members.
It was 10:00 or after when the night’s headliner group, Liberty Quartet (from Boise, Idaho), took the stage. I do have a vested interest when it comes to talking about Liberty, as I am a cousin to the bass singer, Royce Mitchell. But that aside, I believe that they are among the very best of the nation’s southern gospel groups. A fifth member was introduced, Jordan Cragun, who flew up from Florida to join them for just a one-night trial run! Jordan is a 20-year-old nephew of Kim Collingsworth, and proved himself to be a fine baritone! The quartet’s beloved baritone/master songwriter/pianist, Doran Ritchey, will be surrendering most of his baritone duties to Jordan when he joins the group full time in January. Doran will then be able to focus more on his already-incredible keyboard artistry for the group. Jordan will be a good fit after he masters the repertoire, his role in the group (Doran is hoping that Jordan will get to be the “new idiot”), and figuring out how to get along with the four goofballs on the bus that are his senior! The crowd welcomed Jordan, and indicated their warm approval and acceptance. He is a very personable and talented young man. Liberty gave us an hour or more of the very best in gospel music.
It was well after midnight when I got home, as I live a lot farther away than just down the street! But you wouldn’t find me missing the Saturday morning jam session! That is such a downright fun time! Twelve talented musicians gave us an hour of great music and fun, mostly unrehearsed! The twelve were Gordon Kuryluk (who leads the jam session), Ed Knox, Wayne Knox, Arnold Knox, Jim Rupp, Doran Ritchey, Tim Lovelace, Guy Souter, Mark Thomas, Larry Cummings, Bill O’Connor, and Jerry Ott. One highlight that’s in demand at every year’s jam session is Bill O’Connor (now 80 years old) playing “Orange Blossom Special” on the fiddle. Bill has backed up artists such as Loretta Lynn—he knows his stuff! There was a wide variety presented in the jam session from “Just a Closer Walk With Thee”, to the foot-stomping “Goodbye, World, Goodbye”. The latter was led off by Doran Ritchey on piano, and before it was over there were four pianists (Doran, Tim, Arnold, and Gordon) keeping the ivories working overtime on two grand
pianos! The crowd (well, at least I did) LOVED it!
There was an extensive lineup of PGMA artists for the last big concert time block, which started at noon on Saturday. Included in that time was prayer for Charlie Walker’s wife, who is struggling with her health, also. It is wonderful how the family of God can join in spirit and corporately lift its sisters and brothers to the Lord in times of need.
The Saturday afternoon concerts actually wrapped up ahead of time. I didn’t go to the evening dinner concert at the church’s Camp Harlow, which was just down the road, so I can’t comment on that from personal experience. However, I have heard reports from those who went that it was a wonderful time! Tim Lovelace was one of the features there, the other being Pastor Swope. Pastor Swope does a fine ventriloquism act! I believe that the Camp Harlow dinner concert/show was also a sellout, an indicator of its popularity.
I took several movie clips throughout the weekend, and those are available for viewing here. Included are several of Liberty Quartet and the jam session, along with a few featuring the Weatherfords, Cornerstone, The Knox Brothers, Tim Lovelace, and The Joyful Sound Quartet.
Here’s looking forward to next year’s festival—and perhaps YOU can be making plans to be there to enjoy it, too!