by Charissa Ricker | Apr 12, 2019 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
American Idol finalist and award-winning Gospel singer Colton Dixon performed with Cody Fry in Collins auditorium Wednesday night. The concert, presented by the College of Entertainment and the Arts, included the Lipscomb a Cappella Singers, the Chamber Orchestra and commercial music students throughout the performance. Music professor Ben Blasko has been friends with Dixon for several years and reached out to Dixon about the performance. Though Dixon said he would trust Blasko “with his life,” he said he was originally nervous about playing with the students. “If you have any of my records, they don’t sound anything like this, but that’s kind of the fun of music, right, you get to reimagine songs that were created in my head,” Dixon said. Blasko is not Dixon’s only tie to Lipscomb, he said he considered attending the university before his American Idol audition. The singer-songwriter auditioned for season 10 but didn’t make it to the top 25. Dixon came back the next year to support his sister, unexpectedly auditioned and made it to the top seven before getting voted off the show. “This music career has been quite a journey,” Dixon said. “It all started in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, just down the road, and I actually had a scholarship to come to Lipscomb. I wound up not really going to college anyway so it doesn’t really matter.” Dixon quickly made a name for himself in the Gospel community, winning a Dove award in 2013 and 2015. But instead of playing all of his well-known songs during the concert, he chose to perform a song that didn’t make the cut on his original...
by Cory Woodroof | Nov 17, 2014 | News Slider
A few familiar faces will be joining show host Amy Grant at this year’s Lighting of the Green. The tenth annual show will feature American Idol finalist and Christian artist Danny Gokey, Dove-winning gospel singer and actress Tamela Mann, singer/songwriter Jon Guerra, multi-talented family The Willis Clan, Brother Parker, Lipscomb student choruses and others. Walt Leaver, vice president for university relations, spoke to the impact Grant has had on the show. “Lighting of the Green has become a beloved tradition in Nashville, and we couldn’t have made that happen without the support and generosity of Amy Grant, who gives of her time and talent to perform and to schedule an exciting slate of artists each year,” Leaver said. The free. rain-or-shine concert starts at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, on the Allen Arena Mall. Festivities will begin at 4, including the Merry Marketplace at the arena. Free photos with Santa Claus are also available. Food or cash donations will be accepted for the Second Harvest Food Bank at the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own blanket or lawn chair. For more information on this year’s Lighting of the Green, visit the event page on Lipscomb’s website. Photo credit: Erin...
