Inspiring, Soul-Searching Sounds Twila Paris Shares Her Voice And Her Beliefs With Enthusiastic Audience

Twila Paris Thursday, March 2, the Opera House

Through inspiring songs and religious messages, Christian singer Twila Paris delighted enthusiastic fans who turned out in large numbers Thursday night at the Opera House.

Along with her eight-piece band, Paris blazed through a solid and energetic performance of her hits.

Her stage show rivaled that of contemporary pop music concerts: high-tech lights, lots of smoke and a big, boisterous sound.

Paris’ vocals were especially strong. Her soft, impassioned voice reached out to her audience in a comforting way. It was easy to see why she’s such an inspiration to her Christian fans.

Paris claims she’s not a preacher, but, in effect, that’s what she’s doing in her songs. Her music not only makes people think about who they are, who they believe in and what they stand for, her songs also speak to her audience about how to better serve God.

And, Paris did all this in an uplifting, feel-good sort of way.

Some of the stand-outs included “Rescue the Prisoner,” “God is in Control” and “Watch and Pray.” All are on her most recent album “Beyond a Dream.”

Opener Phil Keaggy dished up a marvelous performance which highlighted his awesome guitar prowess.

When Keaggy took the stage, some technical difficulties barred him from diving right into his set.

“It’s professional at its utmost,” he quipped.

Fortunately, the “technical difficulty” proved to be minor: “Oh, I’ve got to plug in; that helps.”

Keaggy played his entire set solo with an acoustic guitar, a risky endeavor since part of his goal was to build up the excitement level of the audience, not put fans to sleep.

But with that simple guitar, which he employed as a percussion instrument and even a microphone, Keaggy enthralled the audience with well-crafted songs and overwhelming guitar talent.