The Dixie Echoes-A Concert Review

David Bruce Murray give his review of a recent Dixie Echoes concert. Be sure and visit Dave's site at Musicscribe.com.

I took in a Dixie Echoes concert earlier this evening. They were coming off a late night sing in PA on Saturday that lasted until 2 AM or so. I think Stewart Varnado said they arrived in our neck of the woods at 11 AM on Sunday morning, so needless to say, they were fatigued. Those guys are pros, though, and they delivered an excellent performance.

The Dixie Echoes get a good bit of variety out of a traditional two mic setup. Varnado played a rapid-fire piano solo and kept the crowd entertained with his alternating looks of woe and glee. Tracy Crouch is sounding confident at the bass position. The father/son Shelnuts on the middle vocal parts sing to their strengths and provide variety with their guitar work. Dallas Rogers is an excellent tenor who should be able to write his own ticket in a couple of years. All told, it's the best combination of Dixie Echoes I've heard in several years.

They performed most of the songs on A New Chapter plus a number of standards like "Glory Road" and "Oh, What A Savior." The evening ended with an invitation and the guys sang "Just As I Am" out of the hymnal. It was a good overall mix of traditional vs. less familiar songs. The sound was at a comfortable volume that allowed the group to sing with dynamics, something that is too often overlooked with modern groups. More importantly, the Gospel message came through clearly, and they entertained the people as well.

David Bruce Murray