Review | Boys Night Out, with God on Top

There comes a time in the concert plan, according to The Blind Boys of Alabama, when the regularly scheduled programming loses control, in the most ecstatic way. The steady and more or less structured flow of their gospel setlist yields to a higher, wilder power for an extended redemptive, and audience-inclusive climax. In this thrilling part of the show, a designated Blind Boy — formerly the now retired Jimmy Carter and presently the charismatic Sterling Glass, Jr. — takes his spirit-filled energy down in the aisles, pressing flesh with the crowd and generally raising the roof of whatever place they’re in.

Last Saturday night, that place was Campbell Hall, fully transformed from a theater/classroom to a house of ecstatic worship, whatever the religious, agnostic, or areligious affiliations of each respective listener. The music grabs hearts and ears with a special power, whether dipping into such gospel classics as “Wade in the Water,” and “Soldiers in the Army of the Lord,” or serving up fresh, gospel-ized arrangements of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky,” and an encore of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” Their takes on those pop songs neatly illustrated the deep debt of a huge portion of pop music to the all-American traditions of gospel music and spirituals.

Formed in 1939, at the Tuskegee-based Alabama Institute for the Negro Deaf and Blind, the group has gone through various changes through the years and now boasts status as perhaps America’s best-known purveyors of gospel music in the old school sense, collaborating with many famed contemporary artists while keeping the stylistic faith from their rootsy origins.

The tradition continues, and the sound remains compelling and timeless. For the current incarnation, a trio of bold-voiced and harmonious frontmen — currently including Glass, Ricky McKinnie, and J.W. Smith — hit the stage with pink tuxedoes, in honor of breast cancer awareness month. They were backed by bass, drums, B-3 organ, and long-standing member guitarist/vocalist Joey Williams as adjunct frontliner and music director, also sartorially in the pink.

Coming on the heels of the book Spirit of the Century: The Official Story of the Blind Boys of Alabama and the long shadow of 2023’s fine album Echoes of the South, the Boys were returning to the venue through the agency of UCSB Arts & Lectures, and this time around, featured an opening act (a rarity for A&L shows), organist/keyboardist Cory Henry.

Henry’s higher public profile began through his role in the party fusion band Snarky Puppy, but took off on his own, earning a large following and a Grammy for his 2024 album Church. Henry also joined the stage with the Blind Boys to help out in the organ section on “If I Could Help Somebody,” and “Nobody’s Fault but Mine.” Henry’s opening set sampled his diverse gifts, including a Chick Corea–esque fusion-y synthesizer workout, an R&B tune at the Rhodes piano (and a winning vocal style), and, most movingly, a personal version of “Amazing Grace,” on the B-3, replete with his fluid and soulful improvisational flourishes.

Fast forward to deep in the Blind Boys’ set, and “Amazing Grace,” returned to the hall, in the form of the Blind Boys’ trademarked rendition fused with “House of the Rising Sun.” They also paid tribute to themselves, and the legacy of this brotherly band, with “Friendship.”

But all setlist roads led to the show-capping up-tempo finale, “Let the Holy Ghost Come on Down,” igniting a sense of collective catharsis in the room. A wiry young man in the front row bolted to his feet and shimmied like a spirit-possessed Pentecostal dervish. A young boy a few rows behind him followed suit, if in a less abandoned way. Glass was guided down through the aisles where he spun circles of heated soul riffs around the happily endless choruses issued by the band on stage. And the crowd/congregation went wild, clapping, writhing and singing along in sync with the in-house spirit.

Call the moment enlightened pandemonium.

It was not business as usual at Campbell Hall. But it was business as usual for this Great American gospel entity, one of the reasons we love the Blind Boys and eagerly await the next visit.

Editor’s Note: This story was edited to update names of the band’s current roster.