Music Notes

For 21 years, the Gardendale Magnolia Festival has brought a wide variety of entertainment to the community- including a car show, pooch parade, petting zoo, vendors, and more! One aspect of the annual festival that is always a crowd favorite is live music. With the help of brothers Joe and Randy Posey of TMI Productions, the Magnolia Festival has hosted a long line of talented artists including for King & Country, Russ Taff, and Birmingham’s own Wes Hampton of the Gaither Vocal Band. 

“TMI Productions specializes in small-town festivals and outdoor events including orchestrating live performances at Atlanta Fest and more. In 2003, the Magnolia Festival management asked the Posey brothers to join the team. “My brother Randy and I grew up in the area and graduated from Gardendale High School. We felt like it was a great opportunity to bring better artists to our hometown festival,” Joe Posey explains. While TMI Productions doesn’t work strictly with Contemporary Christian artists, they do often book them for performances. “As people of faith, it just became a part of our business to include Contemporary Christian artists in events that will allow the Gospel to be shared in a more general public venue.” A few Christian artists that have performed at past Magnolia Festivals include Jason Gray, for King & Country, Russ Taff, and Echoing Angels. “Our relationship with the Magnolia Festival allows us the avenue to put Gospel music outside the walls of the church and the typical Christian audience,” Posey says. 

TMI Productions strives to give new artists the chance to play for a large audience. “Back in the day, we made sure to include new and up-and-coming artists at our events. As a festival it allows us to give artists a chance to play and a few of them have become very successful,” Posey explains. 

For the 2022 Magnolia Festival, expect to enjoy performances centered around the 80s! “This year we are celebrating all things from the 80s. Friday night we will feature the M-80s band. Then on Saturday, we will have the ultimate Johnny Cash Tribute Band, Cashback,” Posey says. In addition to great live music, the Magnolia Festival will also host 150+ vendors, a car show, pooch parade, petting zoo, artisan demonstrations, free art classes for kids, pony rides, and more! Come hungry because there will be a wide variety of food to choose from including cheesecake funnel cakes, shrimp and oyster po’boys, polish sausage, collard greens, BBQ ribs, foot-long corn dogs, kettle corn, gelato, and more! For more details about the Magnolia Festival happening on April 22-23, visit www.magnoliafestival.org. 

-Melissa Armstrong 

Music Notes

Is one of your goals for 2022 to memorize more Scripture? Adam Wright, the creator of The Corner Room and member of the band Acts of Congress, has written more worship songs whose lyrics are verses and chapters of the Bible! “Psalm Songs, Volume 3 is a continuation of The Corner Room’s primary focus of setting Scripture to music as a tool for memorization and meditation, ultimately leading to worship,” Wright explains.

Wright has been the worship leader at Cahaba Park Church for 12 years and plays the mandolin and sings vocals for Acts of Congress. In 2013, as Wright was preparing the worship set for a series on Psalms, he began to brainstorm ways to musically tie the Psalm of the week into worship. “I had the idea of sitting down and writing the Psalms to music straight from the Bible.” He reflects that the first time he sat down to put music to the Bible, he felt more connected to the passage than ever before. After only two and a half hours, he had nearly completed a musical arrangement for Psalm 1 that he led the congregation in worship to the next Sunday. He adds, “I enjoyed the process so much that I said I want to do more of this.” By that summer, Wright wrote 12 additional Psalms to music and within a year wrote eight more. “This was my initial discovery of taking text and trying to interpret the feeling and the intent of it in a way that is faithful to what the Psalmist is trying to say.”

In 2015, Wright embarked on the journey of recording these songs at Cahaba Park Church’s current location. On the second floor of the church building, there is room literally in the corner that Wright inquired about transforming into a recording space. A good friend helped him design the room that is now referred to as “The Corner Room.” Since then, Wright has continued to put music to Scripture. He has written songs on 1 Corinthians 13, Isaiah 53, and a children’s album called Remember and Proclaim.

Psalm Songs, Volume 3 includes a variety of musical genres. “Listeners will primarily hear acoustic instruments exploring various styles such as rock, gospel, and country/bluegrass,” Wright says. Reflecting on the process of putting music to Scripture, Wright says one of his favorite parts is inviting friends and musicians to work on the album. “Wilder Adkins, Connie Skellie, Demetrius Hicks, and Molly Lockwood all serve in music ministries in their respective churches and I’m so thankful for their willingness to lend their voices to this project,” Wright says, adding, “As the psalms are all very diverse, including different voices adds another dimension to the variety on every Corner Room project.” Visit www.cornerroommusic.com to learn more about the songs that are available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, and more.

-Melissa Armstrong

Music Notes

Every summer for 23 years Rev. Daniel M. Cason and his wife Gwendolyn- with the help of talented volunteers and generous sponsors- invited 300 plus children to the Daniel Cason Ministries’ Annual Summer Music Camp in Birmingham- free of charge. The camps allowed children, who would not otherwise have the chance, to learn from music professionals and grow in their faith. Unfortunately, the pandemic meant no camp last summer. “That was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make!” explains Daniel Cason who co-directs K.I.D. S. (Kids in Divine Service) Music Center with wife Gwendolyn. “Over the past few months, we have wrestled with the idea as to whether we should again, cancel or forge ahead. With some of the restrictions being lifted we have decided to proceed with an altered version of Summer Camp. We are 100% committed to hosting a camp that will accomplish two goals. One is to expose these precious kids to Excellence in Music Instruction and the other is to make sure that they hear about a man named Jesus Christ. For some of them, this just may have been their very first-time hearing about Jesus. Our curriculum is designed to be fun, educational and 100% Christian based.”

Music instruction is presented in a way that encourages campers to use their God given gifts and talent for the glory of God. “Sharing the Gospel with them is our commitment to ensure they know that Jesus Christ has a plan and purpose for their lives,” explains Cason. “They need to know that Jesus in the only one who can offer them the free gift of eternal life! Jesus Christ is the center of everything we do at the KIDS Christian Music Center and we lift Him high for all to see-kids and parents alike.”

In order to host the camp for free, sponsors are needed. “We want these kids to turn their lives over to the Lord and we need your help!” exclaims Cason. “Would you please consider sponsoring one or more of these precious children with a donation of $100 per child? We are going to trust God to make these days be the best camp days we’ve ever had to the Glory of God in the name of Jesus!”

Mini Weekend Camps will begin Saturday July 10 through the month of July and Thursday and Friday camps will be held July 22-23 and July 29-30, 2021. To make a tax-deductible donation to send children to camp, make check payable to National Christian Foundation/Alabama. In the memo section please note “K.I.D.S. Inc./ Daniel Cason KIDS Ministry #1171757. Mail to National Christian Foundation/Alabama, 400 Office Park Drive, Suite 201, Birmingham, AL 35223. To partner in this life changing ministry, call 205-365-1800. Learn more at www.danielcason.org. †