How to go
WHAT: The Dayton Ambassadors
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13
WHERE: Smith Park, at the intersection of Tytus Avenue and Verity Parkway, Middletown.
COST: Free
The Dayton Ambassadors will represent Southern gospel music when the group plays Middletown’s Summer Sounds Concert series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, at Smith Park.
The group, which has been together in one form or another since 1967, still has one original member: lead singer Wade Lawson, said Tony Rankin, the Ambassadors’ steel guitar players. Besides that, the member with the shortest tenure has been with the group for 10 years.
“There’s a lot of history there. It’s like a family organization, really,” Rankin said.
The Dayton Ambassadors style of music consists of country-influenced back with four-part male harmony, which is how the Oak Ridge Boys started, said Rankin.
Songs the group will perform include “I Believe He’s Coming Back,” “Mercy Walked In,” “The Lighthouse,” and “It Made News in Heaven,” among others.
What makes the group stand out among gospel singers is that the Dayton Ambassadors use a live band, rather than canned backing,
“We’ve never lost track of our purpose, which is not to entertain, but to minister,” Rankin said.
About the Author