Hi fans and friends of the Blackwood Brothers!
Like so many of you, the past year has turned our world upside down. After the first weekend of March last year we had a total of 10 concert dates the remainder of 2020, and our normal 15-18 day tour out west in January of ’21 ended up being four concerts.
I had actually made the decision in 2019 that 2020 would be my last year of fulltime touring. My wife has had some ongoing health issues and many times I’ve been singing somewhere when my heart was at home with her. Also, with nine kids and seven grandkids I have really felt led to make the decision to be at home as much as possible for my family. My plan was that we’d scale back after January of this year and do select dates through the remainder of ’21 and beyond.
Then covid happened, effectively canceling our touring schedule for 2020 and allowing me the opportunity to be home which only served to confirm that being home with my family was a greater priority to me than traveling and singing. Believe me, the decision to scale back our touring schedule did not come without a lot of prayer and internal deliberation. The Blackwood Brothers Quartet has been in existence since 1934. Other than during World War ll, this is the first time that not touring fulltime has been proposed. The importance of this is not lost on me.
Fortunately, we live in an age when virtual concerts are possible and the available technology allows us to sing to more people in one concert online than we could reach in a year in person. Although our touring schedule will be limited our exposure may actually be greater.
Our bass singer for the last 8 & 1/2 years, Butch Owens, has decided that our limited schedule isn’t workable for him and has decided to leave. While we completely understand this decision, it is one that brings a great degree of sadness as well. Butch has been a perfect fit for the Blackwood Brothers and has served us faithfully for almost nine years. We pray that God leads Butch to the perfect place He has for him.
We have already taken steps to replace Butch for the dates we have on the calendar in 2021 and beyond, and trust that God has us all in His will as we continue to do select concerts with a limited number of dates per year. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to be and do everything God has called us to be and to do. We love you and thank you for your prayers.
Sincerely,
Billy Blackwood
