Son Country concert provides music with a message

They’re a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

And if you like that, they say, maybe you will like the groups’ Christian message.

The music Sunday at the National Peanut Festival was billed as the Son Country Gospel concert. And yes, there was a heavy dose of gospel.

But when The Springs from Enterprise hit the stage Sunday evening, there was plenty of Tim McGraw and Taylor Swift thrown in for good measure. And when Crosscreek Junction joined in after that, well, there was a little bit of everything.

It’s all by design, said Wally Walters — better known as Wally G — of Crosscreek Junction.

You can catch Crosscreek and several other acts every Saturday night at the Crosscreek Junction Opry just off Highway 231 South on Johnny Murphy Road. It does cost $7 to get in, but that gets you a wide variety of musical entertainment including country and western, rockabilly, bluegrass, 50s and 60s rock and roll and Christian country. Near the end of the evening’s entertainment is an invitation to come back Sunday morning for “Cowboy Church”, also known as Dothan Country Fellowship.

The music, said Wally G, has a two-fold purpose. First, it’s entertaining. The artists love to play and the crowd enjoys the music. Second, music is the bait that reels quite a few back in on Sunday morning.

It’s unorthodox but effective, Wally G said.

“What we want to do is try to reach everyone, the whole crowd,” he said. “You come on Saturday night and you get a little bit of everything. We invite you to come back to Cowboy Church on Sunday and you would be surprised how many come back.”

Wally G said most of the community has been supportive of the effort, but some have questioned mixing secular music with Christian.

“The people that come here, feel welcome here,” he said. “We don’t expect them to dress a certain way. If they have a hat on in church, well, that’s between them and the Lord.”

The concert at the National Peanut Festival ended with a testimony from a student at Enterprise High School who was in third hall last year when a tornado hit the school and claimed eight of his classmates.

Wally G said he hopes the music attracts people who may not otherwise be open to a traditional church setting.

“Once we get them to Cowboy Church, we just let The Lord handle the rest of it,” he said.