Fontana Dam – “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20, KJV).
Anyone who attends the Mountain Homecoming cannot leave and truthfully say the Lord was not present – in fact, He might be impossible to miss.
The 2023 installment will take place Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 17-20, again at Fontana Village Resort.
World-renowned mandolin player Jeff Tolbert is once again bringing the best possible mixture of Southern gospel music and Scripture-based sermons back to Graham County, with something for everyone who attends the four-day event.
“This is a place where people can come enjoy themselves with great Christian fellowship,” Tolbert said. “We will have a great time together, and there will be great gospel singing, preaching and good eating.”
Tolbert just finished touring with The Primitive Quartet in May, after the famed group retired.
He was already hard at work to continue building off the group’s decades-long momentum before the finale, with the Candler resident paying homage to the Southern gospel staple that formed during a camping trip to Cable Cove in 1973.
Today, he plays in a trio – but the influence resonates when fans hear the group’s name Jeff Tolbert and Primitive Road. He will be joined on stage throughout Mountain Homecoming by Nathan Horton and Chad Edwards.
“We are thankful for our heritage and good raising, and want to do everything that we can to keep this music alive,” Tolbert said.
Also performing at the event will be The Inspirations, a group that can trace its roots to nearby Bryson City. However, the faces have changed – gone are the familiar names like Martin Cook, Mike Holcomb and Archie Watkins. Anyone who attended last year’s homecoming were instead greeted by the youthful tones of Wyatt Austin, Roland Kesterson, Isaac Moore and Luke Vaught.
But if you closed your eyes, you would swear you were listening to a vinyl record from 1974. The Inspirations will be on hand for the four-day gathering.
Handling things behind the pulpit are the Revs. Coy Adams (from Dry Creek Baptist Church in Stecoah), the Rev. Chad Edwards, the Rev. Bryan Simmons, Briley Tolbert and Dr. Joe Arthur.
Here is the schedule:
* Aug. 17: Singing in the Fontana Village Events Hall, as well as Dr. Joe Arthur, 7:30 p.m.;
* Aug. 18: The Rev. Chad Edwards, 10 a.m.; Rev. Bryan Simmons, 2:30 p.m.; Singing in the Events Hall, 7:30 p.m.;
* Aug. 19: Briley Tolbert and the Rev. Coy Adams at the Fontana Dam Overlook, 10 a.m. (Shuttle and self-drive leaves the resort at 9:30 a.m.); Dr. Joe Arthur, 2:30 p.m.; Singing in the Events Hall, 7:30 p.m.;
*ν Aug. 20: The Rev. Coy Adams at Dry Creek Baptist Church (1059 Dry Creek Road), 10 a.m.