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Amy Grant, accompanied by a pair of back-up singers and a sturdy, energized five-piece band, took to the stage of Lancaster, Pennsylvania's American Music Theatre and held sway for the better part of two hours, delivering a generous 20 songs to an appreciative, if demographically diverse, audience. In short – Amy rocked the cornfield.  Grant's signature American pop/rock/gospel/country sound seemed to be a good fit for this state-of-the-art theater, set in a center of modern tourism, paradoxically nestled in the heart of  one of the country's largest Amish communities.  This blending of the modern with the traditional is somewhat of a metaphor for Amy's career as an artist who successfully manages to bring country and gospel – two 'outsider' genres – into the pop/rock arena with artistic integrity and without compromise. 

Performing only a handful of songs from her wonderful new album (Somewhere Down the Road), Grant reached back through the years choosing highlights from her substantial catalog, including some songs that are 'older' now than Amy was when she recorded them – still, there was a freshness and energy to the performance that brought out the lasting quality of many of these songs which, instead of becoming 'golden oldies,' seem to have matured along with the artist. Through some musical alchemy, Grant and her excellent band transform the stylistic elements of pop, country, rock, and, yes, CCM into Amy Grant  music –  a cohesive and substantial body of work that this artist can be proud of, performed by genuine musicians, free from beds of pre-programmed electronic 'helpers.'

Onstage, Amy is obviously having a good time: relaxed, in control, looking good and sounding at her best, the center-point of the eight   people filling the stage, Grant spent most of the evening playing acoustic guitar as well as singing (although, on the occasions when she put the guitar down, there was perhaps a bit more passion to her performance). Long-time musical collaborators Greg Morrow (drums) and Mike Brignardello (bass) established a firm rhythmic foundation for Hammond/keyboard player Tony Harrell and guitarists Pat Buchanan and the ubiquitous, always-impressive Jerry McPherson. On supporting vocals were Jenny Gill (Vince's daughter) and Russell Terrell, who met the challenge of hitting the Vince Gill notes on “House of Love”.  From the bouncy pop of “Lucky One,” to the mysterious and funky “Third World Woman,” to the dramatic and powerful “What About the Love,” Amy and the band delivered the goods with power and style. Amy herself, a little more than half-way through the show, got personal - armed with only her voice and acoustic guitar she created a calm in the midst of the storm, inviting the audience to get a little closer to the real person.

An amiable hostess (“Amy-able?” yeah – it works!), Grant has a way of making you feel right at home, even while creating memorable moments on-stage. The banter is fresh, relaxed and seemingly stream-of-consciousness (at least part of the time) but never to the point of making the audience nervous. We become part of the family – and it's obvious that there are a lot of 'family' in the audience, which seemed to range from high-schoolers, to college-age, to young couples and to their in-laws... 

With Amy now nearing the half-century mark herself, it's good to see how she's weathered some storms and has come out on the other side a wiser 'grown-up' woman – that's what the new album is about and that's what this concert tour is about. Maybe there's no special message spelled out in block letters, but when you can have “Baby Baby” and “Lead Me On” in the same show, it's obvious that you've learned something about life. 

And obviously, Amy's learned a lot about music, too.

words and images: Bert Saraco