The Gaither Homecoming

An acquaintance of mine asked if I wanted to join her and her parents at the Gaither Homecoming event in Broomfield last Friday. She knew I might have some interest because I admire Ben Isaac's bass playing very much, and his family band, The Isaacs, play in the Gaither shows now.

I had no idea what the Gaither shows were all about. I found out. I categorize the Gaither show as a huge gospel extravaganza--very Christian-focused. There were probably ten acts that were part of the show. Bill Gaither is the founder of these shows and serves as the master of ceremonies. In the first half of the shows, he introduced the other acts and they would come out and perform. In the second half of the show, all of the performers sat in chairs on stage throughout.

The auditorium was probably 80 percent full-- and that means there were over 5,000 people there. There were two large screens on either side of the stage that showed what was happening on stage throughout the show.



The singing was extraordinary. I guess that is what the Gaither shows are known for.



I heard the Isaacs last June when I went to the ROMP bluegrass festival in Owensboro, KY. I knew that they were really good. They are pretty Hollywood, too. The two daughters were channeling the Dixie Chicks with their costumes.



Ben Isaac's bass playing was just as excellent as I knew it would be. Gives me something to strive toward.