More Changes For The Dixie Echoes

According to Daniel Mount’s blog, big changes are coming the Dixie Echoes’ way.  Michael Helwig and Mike Jennings have both resigned from the group.  Coupled with Stewart Varnado’s recent departure, effectively the Echoes are left with just the father-son Shelnut tandem of Randy and Scoot (Randy, Jr.).  Helwig’s statement on his departure is very intriguing, to say the least.  Daniel states in the comments of the posts that he has been in contact with Scoot Shelnut, and the group will find fill-ins and will not cancel any dates.  Please be in prayer for Jennings, Helwig, and the Dixie Echoes as they all transition to new endeavors.

Stewart Varnado To Depart Dixie Echoes

In what is most certainly one of the most shocking departures in SG in quite a while, long time Dixie Echoes pianist Stewart Varnado has announced his departure from the group via his Facebook page (hat tip, DM).  Varnado states:

I’d like to thank the Dixie Echoes for allowing me the opportunity to live out my dream for the past 14 years. I joined the group when I was 17 years old. Randy and Scoot Shelnut have became like family to me, and it’s been a blast traveling with some great guys through the years. I realize that when people put out statements saying they want to spend more time at home, it seems to be a cover for unhappiness within the group. That is not the case here. I simply have the desire to come off the road for a while. I wish nothing but the best for the Dixie Echoes, and pray that one day, if it’s God’s will, I can return to Gospel music. I have no future plans at the moment and will be filling in for the group until a replacement has been found. Thanks also to the many friends that I have made while traveling! It has been an honor to get to meet so many fine people. I will still be active behind the scenes promoting the music that I love. Anyone interested in auditioning should contact Randy Jr. at scoot@dixieechoes.com.

Varnado has become a fixture in the SG community, and especially in the online SG community.  His playing is top notch, though that really goes without saying, and we as a genre are losing quite a talent with Stewart leaving the road.  His statement regarding promoting seems to mean we will still see and hear more from him, just in a different fashion.  Best wishes to you, Stewart, you are a class act.  Please be in prayer for both Stewart and the Dixie Echoes as they embark on a search for a new pianist.

SG Quartets: Walking In Memphis

As was announced on Daniel Mount’s blog today, plans are moving along for an all male quartet event called the “J.D. Sumner Quartet Show” in Memphis, TN to be held June 19-22, 2013.  This is the brainchild of several quartet leaders and concert promoters, and is being held in conjunction with the 15 year anniversary of Sumner’s death, in the city where he and James Blackwood started the National Quartet Convention in 1957.  James’ son Jimmy is one of the organizers of this event, along with Stewart Varnado of the Dixie Echoes.

I was just in the auditorium of the Cook Convention Center, known as the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, for a business meeting a couple of weeks ago and it’s a beautiful facility that seats about 2,100 people, give or take.  There is also an exhibit hall attached to the facility that should rival Freedom Hall’s in Louisville.  The facility sits on the north side of Downtown Memphis with entrances on both Main St., and Front St. overlooking the Mississippi River.

The event has a website here, and a Facebook page here.  The initial lineup of groups already committed is extremely strong, with names like Brian Free and Assurance, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Gold City, The Kingsmen, The Dixie Echoes, and Triumphant Quartet, among others.  Also, there are plans underway to add more “up and coming” type quartets to the lineup as well.

If you can’t tell, I’m very excited about the possibilities of this event coming to my hometown, and I’ll see you all there!