Tonight was the night! It's late as I'm writing, and I don't mind telling you that I'm completely exhausted, and completely happy!!!
We never had an official CD release party, so I thought releasing the first single would be a good excuse for an event. One of the biggest challenges was finding the right venue for such a night. I finally booked the Edgehill Cafe, one of my favourite cafes for live music. From a practical point of view, I liked that people could order food, drinks, etc, but from a ministry point of view, the venue also made lots of sense. I love the idea that someone who was just walking by had the chance to drop in and hear the Gospel in song.
Dad opened the night in prayer, followed by Gerald with 3 of his songs:
- Hallelujah, I Remember
- Never Wait Until Tomorrow
- A Church Song Broke Me Down
Tara followed with 3 songs from her CD:
- God's Got a Word for You
- Except for Grace
- Wonder Working Power.
After an generous introduction by Tara, I took the stage for my set. I was so nervous all day, but once I hit the stage, I felt great. I opened with "Do You Wanna Be My Neighbour in Gloryland" and "Wedding at Cana". Next I spoke about receiving my call to ministry at Stamps-Baxter, which lead into "Sin Ain't Nothing But the Blues". Next came the single, "Shepherd of the Hills". This went really well!!! I told the story of meeting with Joel for the pitch, and how everyone in my family knew I had to sing it! I didn't realize it at the time, but Tara recorded part of it on her phone. (see below)
I followed it with "Real Big Fan". Several people in the audience were familiar with Gerald's version, so it was neat to get their reaction to my version. Some day, we'll have to do the two back-to-back in a concert and get people to vote! I ended with "Faith Will Take You Farther", which got a great response.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with tonight! Of course, we always want more people to show up, but I had a good crowd and the people who came couldn't have been more excited or supportive. It was also cool that there was a whole range of people there - church people, CWE people, SG people, Shoutlife people, and family. Having Mom and Dad there just made everything better, and it was so good have Gerald and Tara share their talents.
*sigh* Tired and happy and very, very satisfied!
3 comments:
It wasn't with my phone, silly! I had my camera up the ENTIRE time, and you were totally oblivious to it. ha!
It sounds like I missed a wonderful event tonight..can't wait to be there in July and hear you in a live performance..Your Favorite Canadian Fan - Miss KaY
Allison,
Congrats on your progress! I used to work at Edgehill doing marketing, etc.; good venue choice.
A little unsolicited advice regarding your previous post about the Bluebird Cafe...let your songs do the talking, because if YOU do it, they knock down your score! Unfortunately this is from very recent and very personal experience. Ouch! What can I say, I'm part comic, and caffeine doesn't exactly shut me up either. I've done the Sunday Songwriters about 6 times and because my score was low this time I have to re-audition. Not encouraging, but maybe a humility lesson ("as if I needed that!" HA!). I suppose religious-oriented talking is even less welcome. Just thought I'd share, for your edification.
God bless.
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