Julia Royston – For Your Glory Lord (Live DVD)

Julia Royston
For Your Glory Lord: Concert DVD
Juju 4ee Publishing
www.juliaroyston.com

Jeffersonville, Indiana sits on the north bank of the Ohio River. Louisville, Kentucky gazes across from the south bank. On May 24, 2009, folks from both banks gathered to attend gospel singer Julia Royston’s musical, For Your Glory Lord, and it was preserved on DVD.

Hailing from Jeffersonville, Royston is a singer-songwriter, poet and producer who founded For the Kingdom Ministries and has performed on Dr. Bobby Jones’ New Artist Showcase. She is what gospel fans teasingly call a flatfooted singer – she doesn’t move all over the stage but sings in place – and has a choir of sixteen (including husband Brian) as background vocalists. Her May 2009 program had a friendly, neighborly quality to it, very easy-going and intimate.

Similarly, the singer’s praise and worship songs have a gentle, accessible quality. Most all the songs she sang that evening came from her own pen, and the traditional-style pieces were the most compelling. For example, “Wait on the Lord,” what Royston referred to as a “back to the old church” number, is an up-tempo hand-clapper with a distinctive backbeat, fit for a mass choir. Royston even borrowed from Ricky Dillard’s classic “More Abundantly” for the song’s special section. Similarly, “Build the House” featured the happy-go-lucky bounce that Dorsey endowed on his early evangelistic songs.

The DVD would have been even better had the videographer focused more often on the audience’s response to Royston’s music, and if program-goers had been asked to fill the first two rows so the well-appointed Bates Memorial, where the program was held, appeared full even when the camera was aimed at the artists. Otherwise, the sound was strong, the visuals were clear, and the musicians top-quality.

Royston has a knack for songwriting, as her composition “Strength” and the hypnotic “Love and Choose You” demonstrated that evening. For Your Glory Lord exudes the warmth of being among friends at a pleasant Saturday or Sunday musical.

Three of Five Stars