THE SHOALS– The crowd for the Handy Festival’s headliner concert featuring the Blind Boys of Alabama started gathering early for the 7:30 pm show. Seats in Norton Auditorium on the UNA Campus filled well in advance of the start of the show and even though the show started a few minutes late, excitement continued to build.
There was an electric current that seem to buzz through the auditorium when the Blind Boys took the stage. Jimmy Carter, one of the founding members of the group kicked the show off and from that point on it ran on high octane. The most electrifying moment came with the Blind Boys did their rendition of “Amazing Grace” to the tune of “The House of the Rising Sun”. The audience was captivated during the entire song and showed their appreciation with a standing ovation of several minutes.
After the hour long program, the Blind Boys received another extended standing ovation and the audience was rewarded with a curtain call for one last song. Everyone we spoke with after the performance said they were blown away by the great performance. All had high accolades for the WC Handy Festival Staff for booking such a great musical act.
If you’ve never attended one of the W.C. Handy Musical Festival’s Headliner Concerts, then you need to put it on the “To Do” list for the 2013 Handy Festival.
