David Phelps • Concert Artist PDF Print E-mail

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David Phelps
 www.davidphelps.com

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 • 11:00 AM

David Phelps is a consummate entertainer. He is also a dedicated minister of the Gospel. Some people see little in common with the two professions. David Phelps sees no conflict between them.

"It has never been one or the other, entertainment or ministry," he explains. "It has always been both. I've always wanted people to be entertained, to be engaged, and to have a good time. After all, we are up on the stage playing music and singing. It should be fun. But because of the content of our music, we also have the opportunity to reach people on a soul level. That's what drew me to Christian music in the first place."

A rising star vocalist of rare passion and power, David spent eight years honing his art under the careful tutelage of master craftsman, Bill Gaither. As lead singer for the legendary Gaither Vocal Band, David had all the prestige, security, and accolades a kid from a small town in Texas could handle. But in addition to a stage presence that compelled audiences to their feet, and a voice that could wring tears from stone, David also possessed the heart of a dreamer, and an insatiable thirst for freedom. So it was that, after a year and a half of intense prayer and soul searching, David Phelps stepped out of the boat to walk on the stormy waves of a solo career.

"Most people in our society deal with concrete things, but I deal in 'what ifs,'" he muses. "This started out as a dream, and still, to this day, I am constantly moved ahead by dreams. Dreaming is a necessary thing to move me from Point A to Point B."

If Point A was six award-winning Gaither Vocal Band CDs, well over 40 certified Gold and Platinum Gaither "Homecoming" collections, five critically-acclaimed solo offerings, multiple Dove and Grammy Awards, and sold out concert halls across the country, then Point B was somehow capturing that energy on a live DVD project.

David achieved the first half of Point B last year with the release of his critically-acclaimed CD/DVD project, "Legacy of Love: David Phelps Live." Now he is capping that event with his extraordinary, highly anticipated, follow-up DVD, "No More Night: David Phelps Live in Birmingham."

"I've been dreaming about doing this for years," David says. "My goal from the beginning was to capture what I do in concert. But more than simply a concert, I wanted to weave a thread of content throughout the DVD. Many of the songs I have written over the years have stories behind them, so we have interviews with people who were the inspiration behind the songs. There are outtakes, and candid moments with my family. It really is more of a program than just a concert."

"No More Night" picks up where "Legacy of Love" left off with an unforgettable concert by one of the most electrifying male vocalists of our time. An exuberant, standing room only crowd provides the context for live versions of more than a dozen of David's best loved songs, including fan favorites "Life is a Church," "He Looked Beyond My Fault," and "Revelation."

While "No More Night" may be the culmination of one dream - Point B; David Phelps is busy dreaming of Point C, and Point D, though he is the first to admit those points are a bit sketchy at the moment.

"It has been an amazing ride," he says of his career. "I've learned to never answer the question, 'Where are you going to be in five years?' because I've never been right. It is always somewhere much more incredible than I ever could have imagined, and probably would have been frightening had I known ahead of time. God is gracious to keep some things secret until I am ready to know."

The one thing David is sure of is that while being an entertainer and a minister is his vocation, his calling is to be a husband and father.

"That's what drives me," he says. "When I have to go out of town I take the last flight out and the first flight back. I'm going to have a family. I'm going to have a marriage that is solid and strong. I will not sacrifice that for any career, even one that is hopefully drawing people toward God. My ministry truly is to my family first and foremost."

That is his legacy of love.
 
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