Southern Raised is pleased to announce that they took 1st place in the 2011 CAM Gospel Sing-Off that was held September 4th in Branson,MO at the beautiful Sight and Sound Theater! The whole experience from start to finish was amazing and we are so grateful to the Lord for this gift of 1st place…..He is truly the One all good gifts come from! We arrived at the Sight and Sound Theater at 8:30am for a sound check…..wow!…..the theater backstage was incredible!!! We had been to Sight and Sound to see Noah the Musical but to see the entire ark and animals and props backstage was incredible!!! Anyhow….the competition actually started at 2pm and there were a total of 12 bands competing. It was judged by a panel of 6 celebrity judges all of whom have quite a history of accomplishments behind their names! We were the very last band in the entire competition……we had so much fun! The entire team that put on this competition was so kind and so professional…from the CAM board to all the sound techs and stage crew that kept everything running so very smoothly to the legendary emcee Mr. Bob Hubbard, formerly of “The Jordanaires.” The proceeds that were raised by ticket sales go to feed families across the area through CAM(Christian Action Ministries). A local paper estimated nearly 1,000 people in attendance!!!! WOW! I don’t think I need to say that we were absolutely blown away when they announced the 1st place winners……kinda stunned for a moment:) 1st place prize included a cash prize and 2 sets at the last day of the Southern Gospel picnic at Silver Dollar City on Labor Day…….which I will blog about later!!!
As I mentioned earlier…we were the last band to play in the competition…..after we finished, they lined up all the contestants behind the curtain and called the judges up on stage. They lifted the curtain and began announcing the winners starting at 3rd place. When they got to 1st it seemed that it took an eternity just to say who won!!!!:) I think it was just the fact that my heart rate was probably at a very unhealthy level and time seemed to be in slow motion!!! Like I said we were stunned and excited! We certainly thank our Heavenly Father for bestowing this gift on us.
It was certainly a neat experience to have the honor of visiting with some of the judges after the competiton…..they were so nice and very encouraging……………………….
Here is a group pic with some of the judging panel…………………………………………………………………………………..
Here is a pic backstage in the dressing room……………………………………………………………………………….
Here are some pics of us at the theater that morning before sound check…………………………………………………………..
Here is another one in front of the props…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Here are some of the gorgeous theater!!!…………………………………………………………………………
Another…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Us backstage before soundcheck getting ready……………………………………………………………………………….
Hope y’all have enjoyed these pics that maybe give you a glimpse into our exciting day!!!…..Pickin for Him, Lindsay