Lighting of the Green kicks-off the holiday season on a musical note
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
The weather outside was a little frightful following several days of heavy rain and chilly temperatures, but inside Lipscomb’s Allen Arena was a bustle of holiday cheer as more than 4,000 gathered for Lighting of the Green on Dec. 1.
Singer-songwriter Amy Grant and some of her musical friends helped start the holiday season for the Lipscomb community in what has become a popular Nashville tradition since its launch in 2005.
The event, which traditionally takes place every year in the Allen Arena Mall area, was moved inside for the second consecutive year following unusually heavy rainfall in Nashville in the days leading up to the event. But it didn’t dampen the spirits of the Lipscomb community who packed Allen Arena.
Meterologist Lelan Statom, of Nashville’s CBS-affiliate, began the evening by welcoming the crowd following a performance by Lipscomb Academy’s fourth and fifth grade chorus.
Grant brought with her an all-star lineup of artists and friends to usher in the holiday season with a variety of musical entertainment. She sang her signature “Tennessee Christmas” along with “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Emmanuel” among other favorites and brought new twist to the show as she hula hooped as she sang and opened the evening’s performance.
Steven Curtis Chapman, Grammy Award-winning Christian singer-songwriter, made his debut appearance on the Lipscomb stage as he sang “Christmas Time Again” and “Christmas is All in the Heart.”
Alternative folk band Arcadian Wild performed “There is a Rose A-Springin” and “Good King Wenceslas.” Arcadian Wild, which just released its first album, “The Colorado EP,” is made up of Lipscomb students Sarah Wood, Isaac Horn and Everett Davis along with May 2015 graduate Lincoln Mick. 3for3, featuring Josh Davis, Spencer Lloyd and Benji Shuler, shared a spirited rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
The Settles Connection, featuring Odessa Settles, Calvin Settles, Sara Settles, Shirley Settles, Wayne Settles, Rick Jones, and Darlene Hill, brought the house down with their spirited version of “When Jesus was Born” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” Legendary New Grass Revival guitarist Pat Flynn shared an instrumental holiday medley before the kids from Barefoot Republic performed crowd-favorite stomp routines.
Chicago-based husband-wife folk duo, Jon and Valerie Guerra, performed soulful renditions of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and a “The Way You Look/I’ll Be Home for Christmas” medley. The Lipscomb choir, comprised of students from Lipscomb University and Lipscomb Academy choruses, provided background vocals throughout the show and entertained the crowd with a version of “African Noel.”
Rounding out the evening’s performances was Corrina Gill, 14-year-old daughter of Amy Grant and Vince Gill, who sang a powerful version of “O, Holy Night” along with the Lipscomb choruses.
At the end of the evening Arcadian Wild member Sarah Wood was announced as the first recipient of the Amy Grant Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship was established last year as a result of an anonymous gift from a member of the university’s board of trustees, and the member’s spouse, to recognize Grant as “one of her generation’s most influential advocates of Christian faith in America and the world” and for her volunteer leadership of Lighting of the Green.
The donors “trust that recipients of this scholarship will reflect her thoughtful and enthusiastic leadership, devotion to the spiritual heart of Lipscomb’s mission, and her gentle, consistent example of Christian faith in and out of public view,” according to the agreement establishing the scholarship.
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ood also received the honor of lighting the university’s Christmas tree, located in the Allen Arena Mall.
Festivities began during the afternoon with free photos with Santa and shopping at Merry Marketplace, a collection of holiday vendors who donate a portion of their proceeds to benefit scholarships to Lipscomb.
Sponsors for this year’s event include C.O. Christian, Ronald Blue & Co., American Paper & Twine, Nashville Arts & Entertainment Magazine and Arthur J. Gallagher & Company.
—Photos by Kristi Jones, Video by Josh Shaw