Published: April 17, 2008 04:55 pm            

Varnell Baptist Church concert will feature traditional mountain sounds

The instrumental sounds of banjo, dobro, mandolin, guitar and fiddle coupled with the sweet gospel harmonies of the Watkins Family of Eastanollee, Ga. will ring out at Varnell Baptist Church in Varnell, Ga. Sunday, April 27 at 10:45 a.m. in a special concert. A love offering will be received. For more information, (706) 694-3955.

For 25 years the Watkins Family, Judy, Todd, Lorie and Shanon have carved out a special place for themselves in the fields of bluegrass and Southern gospel music beside Don, the late husband and father who passed away in January.

“We are excited for the opportunity to share our music with our friends in Northwest Georgia,” Lorie said. “It is an honor for us to carry on the musical tradition Mom and Dad started so many years ago.”

The family made a heralded appearance at the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky last September where Lorie, Todd and Shanon performed with the legendary banjo stylist Earl Scruggs. The group’s appearance was broadcast on the INSP, Inspirational Network.

Their musical efforts have brought chart songs such as “The Power of the Holy Ghost” as well as numerous award nominations.

The Watkins Family formerly received nominations as the best Contemporary and Traditional Bluegrass Gospel group by the Society for the Preservation of BlueGrass Music in America which hosts its annual awards this week in Nashville and were also nominated as Best Bluegrass Act at the Coca-Cola Music Awards previously hosted in Atlanta, Ga. Lorie Watkins was nominated in 2007 as Favorite Female Vocalist of the Year in the Front Porch Fellowship Bluegrass Gospel Awards.

The group broke new ground in 1988 becoming the first bluegrass gospel act to perform on Capitol Hill in the Capitol Complex in Washington D.C. attended by dignitaries from around the world.

The group’s latest single “Darkness Wept,” from the CD of the same title, debuted in March at #71 on the Gospel Music News chart. “Darkness Wept” was produced by Grammy nominee Karen Peck Gooch, Mark Fain and engineered by Grammy winner Bil Vorndick. To learn more about the group, visit watkinsfamilymusic.com.

        

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