CRESTVIEW — Since 1980, the award-winning quintet Gold City has touched lives and earned multiple No. 1 gospel hits.
The group — known for chart toppers such as "When I Get Carried Away," "In Time, On Time, Every Time" and "Peter, James and John" — has had numerous members come and go. But Crestview-based Libby and Friends Gospel Concerts will reunite them Dec. 5 during a Gold City alumni gathering.
Joining Gadsden, Ala.-based Gold City for a “Heritage of Gold” concert are the LeFevre Quartet of Gainsville, Ga., and Wilburn and Wilburn, the father-son duo also from Gadsen.
Gold City’s patriarch, Southern Gospel Hall of Famer Tim Riley — who doesn’t travel much due to health concerns — will make a rare Crestview appearance.
“Without Gold City there wouldn’t be a LeFevre Quartet or Wilburn and Wilburn or a whole lotta groups,” LeFevre bass singer Brandon Berry said. “It’s going to be a special night having Tim Riley there.”
GOSPEL MASH-UP
The idea for a Gold City reunion tour came over dinner one evening after several of the groups performed together at a gospel festival, Berry said.
“We just started doing it this year and it’s going great,” he said. “People love having all those groups on the stage. We have comedy and we have fun and we’re serious at the end.”
Berry said while each group performs its own songs during the first part of the concert, a gospel mash-up occurs after the interval.
“We mix members and form different groups and sing together,” he said. “It’s something different … We’re real proud of it.”
'BRING IT ON'
Libby White, who founded the Crestview-based concert series six years ago, said she never expected the monthly events, hosted by Central Baptist Church, to be so successful.
“When I started, I thought I’d give it a time and it’ll probably go three or four months and it’ll fizzle out — but the Lord had other plans for me,” White said.
Despite the concerts' large scale, White said she’s received lots of support from her friends, as well as from on high.
“I just take a deep breath and I step back and I say to God, ‘Whatever you have in store, bring it on. I’m just the little vessel that puts it all together,’” White said.
And what she has put together next Saturday will delight Southern gospel lovers, White and Berry promise.
“Fans who loved Gold City in the '80s and '90s, we see a lot of them coming out because we’re doing the songs they loved,” Berry said. “We’re doing the songs nobody else is doing.
"It’s a trip down Memory Lane but it’s a lot of new stuff as well.”
What: Heritage of Gold, a southern gospel concert
When: 6 p.m. Dec. 5
Where: Central Baptist Church, 951 Ferdon Blvd. S., Crestview
Cost: $20 advance; $25 at the door; $25 for artist circle seating
Notes: Refreshments, souvenirs and CDs will be available. Purchase tickets at Central Baptist Church or from Libby White, 496-7106.
2016 CONCERT SCHEDULE
Libby White, founder of Libby and Friends Gospel Concert Ministry, said the series has grown so well that the 2016 schedule is nearly full.
Here’s who’s coming next year:
Jan. 9: Down East Boys
Feb. 13: Dixie Melody Boys
March 12: The Littles
April 9: Gann Family and Neysa
May 14: The Greens
June 11: Christian Davis and Allegiance
July 9: The Craguns
Aug. 13: Soul’d Out
Sept. 10: LeFevre Quartet
Oct. 8: Heirline Quartet
Nov. 12: Southern Raised
December concert: to be announced
WANT TO GO?
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview gospel concert reunites Gold City members