Middle Tennessee State University - Midlander Yearbook (Murfreesboro, TN)

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Who ' s Amy Grant? This question was asked more than once when it was announced that Amy Grant would headline this year ' s homecoming concert. For other people. The occasion was a cause celebre. Amy Grant is the leader of a type of gospel music, called contemporary Christian that is growing in popularity among young audiences. Al- though other Christian artists (Sandi Patti, Petra) have become well-known, none have gained the popularity of Amy Grant. She regularly plays the same size auditoriums that secular bands play and consistently sells out her concerts. Unguarded, her latest album, sold rapidly upon its release and crossed over into the pop charts. When tickets went on sale September 9, they sold quick- ly, making the Grant concert one of the fastest selling this season. Tickets in hand, Mid- dle Tennessee anxiously await- ed October 19. Opening act Bob Bennett pacified the expectant audi- ence with his James Taylor-ish style. Opening with Lennon and McCartney ' s Help! and closing with Still Rolls the Stone, his current single from his LP Non-Fiction, Bennett npd, i.«k gave the crowd a simple show, with only an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. But Amy Grant was who the people wanted to see. And when she came on stage, the audience response ws deafening. With a hard rock sound, she launched into Too Late, one of the few of her older songs she did that night. She then treated her enthusiastic audience to some of the Unguarded songs which propelled her to her current supcrstar- dom: Love of Another Kind, Sharayah, and Wise Up. The crowd sort of quieted after that she as she did Where Do You Hide Your Heart, Who to Listen To, and Jehovah. A short instrumental interlude by Amy ' s band also softened the mood. But when they heard the familiar strains of Michael Card ' s El Shaddai, Murphy Center went wild. After that hit from her Grammy winning Age to i ■ ik. 1 ] r i ri Age album, she talked to her audience a bit. You know, after singing a song like ' El Shad- dai, ' something inside me says, ' Amy, shut up and leave. ' She told her audience very directly about the influence of Jesus Christ in her life, and the effect He could have on theirs. A personal story about being lost in a snowy forest and finding her way led into her song Thy Word, written with Michael W. Smith (of Friends fame). After Fat Baby, dedicated to her parents, she turned her band loose on Murphy. Led by Amy ' s singer songwriter guitarist husband Gary Chap- man, with some hot licks by guitarist Jerry McPherson, and vocals from the ladies of These Three, the band punched out a rockin ' version of the gospel standard Standing On the Promises. Grant then gave the audience more: Everywhere I Go ; Find A Way, her first pop hit off Un-

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guaraea; l Love you, wnicn sne aeaicatea to Chapman; Steppin ' in Your Shoes ; Emmanuel ; and finally, ' Angels. But the crowd refused to let her leave. For her encore, she gave them Fight and Straight Ahead. Unfortunately then, the concert was over. Amy Grant had made her joyful noise unto the Lord. And the crowd loved every minute of it. — Michael R. Turner Sludcnl Life