Exclusive Christmas Concert Review: The Ball Brothers

The Community of Chickamauga, Georgia received a Christmas treat from the Ball Brothers on December 2, 2011. Liberty Baptist Church, home-church of The Ball Brothers, opened their campus  for a fun afternoon of Christmas music. Fans packed out the gymnasium to enjoy the sounds of the season.

The church choir opened with a couple of anthems. The Ball Brothers then joined the choir for a joyous, “Jesus What A Wonderful Child.” Following the choir numbers, the Pastor of the church welcomed the crowd and couldn’t have been more proud to officially introduce his four sons as “The Ball Brothers.”

The young men got the concert started with a beautiful arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” followed by “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” The guys had set the Christmas tone and then moved into a lively version of “Let It Snow!” That song is always well received in North Georgia simply because the area doesn’t see much snow during the entire winter and rarely on Christmas. No snow? No problem. At least not for the Ball Brothers!  As they sang, snowflakes (the artificial kind) whirled and twirled on stage! Everyone loved the snowy touch- especially the children!

Following an introduction of each group member, they continued to stir the Christmas spirit with an energetic version of Jingle Bells- a real crowd pleaser!  Everyone seemed to enjoy it and clapped along. The Ball Brothers then showcased their talent and family harmony with “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” It seemed as if notes were literally stacked on top of each other as new chords were invented. Their harmony was tighter than tight.  It was truly an over-the-top performance! The guys continued their impressive set with none other than a Beach Boys Christmas tune! The song started with the Beach Boys on the track recording for a few measures, then the Ball Brothers took charge! “Little Saint Nick” was a great selection and certainly kept the atmosphere filled with Christmas fun in good taste.

Pianist, Cody McVey took his turn in the spotlight and dazzled the audience in spite of sore fingertips. McVey recently had recently handled a light bulb and was still feeling the effects on his fingertips, but that didn’t seem to be an issue as he tickled the ivories. He played an arrangement of “Deck The Halls” and “Feliz Navidad” complete with an orchestrated track and made several impressive key changes. The crowd responded to his performance enthusiastically.

The Ball Brothers returned with “O Come All Ye Faithful” with an acepella introduction. The arrangement was beautiful and the delivery was flawless with gorgeous harmony and perfect timing. Laughter quickly returned as the Ball Brothers showed a video clip of “The Christmas Carol” with ONLY the information you NEED to know!  It was hilarious. In fact, Daniel himself has an amazing sense of humor and certainly is a master at keeping everyone smiling with his story-telling. Trying to regain composure, but still laughing, the guys moved along to “The Christmas Song” also known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.”

The next song was another crowd pleaser for sure! The Ball Brothers sang “Go Tell It On The Mountain” as Daniel mingled through the audience offering his microphone for folks to sing along. Daniel seemed to have the crowd in the palm of his hand as he continued to interact as he had everyone to snap along to “Mary Was The First One To Carry The Gospel.”  The guys clearly had a great time with this song as they milked each vocal “dip” and “slur” for all it was worth!  And… the crowd loved it!

Daniel  brought a more serious tone back by talking about their father and how he couldn’t remember a Christmas that he hadn’t opened the Bible and shared the Christmas story. The guys sang “Holy Is Thy Name” and hands begin to lift all over the gymnasium.  As the song ended, a few people let out a few shouts and many stood to their feet.

Following a brief intermission and a couple more songs, the Ball Brothers had everyone laughing again- this time at their friends’ expense! They called a few young men to the stage and had them to sing “Blue Christmas.” The Ball Brothers sang the back-ground harmony as the friends split up the lines of the verses. “You need to keep your day jobs and give up the Elvis aspirations,” Daniel joked and they agreed. They were good sports and received Ball Brothers CDs for their participation. The guys then sang an acapella version of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” with a harmony so blended it sounded as if their voices had melted together. Amazing!

The Ball Brothers created a touching moment as Daniel shared their mission trip experiences and how fortunate we are in the United States to enjoy religious freedom.  The next song was dedicated to our troops in the US Military. The lights dimmed and they began to sing “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” as a slide show of their close military friends played on the screen.  It was truly a patriotic and tender moment. The audience was then reminded to send cards, letters and care packages to let our troops know they are loved and appreciated.

Daniel expressed appreciation to his father and Liberty Baptist Church for hosting the concert and thanked everyone for being there. The Ball Brothers had given 100% and provided a fun afternoon of Christmas music.

Before all was said and done, Daniel wrapped everything up by explaining the true meaning of Christmas by saying, “The reason we celebrate is  not about gift exchanges and parties. We enjoy all those things, but it has so much more meaning.  It’s not a date on a calendar that comes once a year.  It’s a story of a loving God that loved this world so much that He gave His only Son. Jesus lived a sinless, perfect life and became sin’s sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. He shed His life’s blood to pay for my sin, yours and the sin of all mankind.”

He went on to explain how salvation is a free gift that we can’t earn, but one that is offered and not forced.  He also explained that salvation isn’t about the church you attend, but it’s really about the cross. The Ball Brothers then sang the power-ballad, “It’s All About The Cross.”  The audience responded with lifted hands and a standing ovation. The concert concluded with one last fun number, “Glory To God in the Highest” complete with one last blizzard of snow!

The afternoon was a combination of good, clean family entertainment along with praise and worship for a home-town crowd. The town of Chickamauga loved every minute of it!  Find out more about the Ball Brothers  on their website at: http://www.theballbrothers.com/home.cfm

Concert Review by: Rhonda Frye