(Editor’s note: Columns sometimes contain opinion.)
It started with Amy Grant inviting us to “Stay for a While” and ended with her promising “I will remember you”; in between those songs at her March 1 concert at the Miller was music and memories spanning several decades.
Music is part of who we are, said Grant, the Grammy and Dove Award winning singer-songwriter who was born at St. Joseph Hospital in Augusta Nov. 25, 1960.
“Everything about us is musical. Our heart rhythm, your heartbeat is a beautiful pattern. I feel like when we sing – whether it’s in church or making music in a garage band or listening to the radio, it’s like our cells go ‘now, you’re getting it.’ We’re supposed to be in rhythm,” she said.
And there’s something extra special about live music. A live event is never the same thing twice., so Sunday’s concert can never be repeated. The best part was that no one was connected to a screen. Everyone could be in the moment, she said.
Amy Grant is probably my all-time favorite artist. The March 1 concert was the seventh time I’d seen her in concert. The max I’ve seen any other artist is twice, and I almost told my mom and brother to go without me. I had work I needed to get finished. I’m glad I went even if it was 1 a.m. before I got finished with that work.
Sunday was good for my musical soul to connect one more time with Amy Grant’s music — the music I first encountered when I was 15.
I remember feeling this kinship with her. In my teenage years, I had thick, curly hair with a mind of its own, and so did she. Apparently, it still has a mind of its own because she pushed it out of her face a lot on Sunday.
She’s an alto, and I can sing her songs with ease. As a teen, I would lie on the floor, wearing these huge headphones, eyes closed singing along with “Angels Watching Over Me” and “El Shaddai” on vinyl records. (As I looked back through Sunday’s photos I noticed Grant’s eyes closed many times as she sang.)
I remember the first Christmas cassette I got of hers. I know she’s released several Christmas recordings. She and I share a love of Christmas. Her song “Emmanuel” that slides effortlessly into “O Little Town of Bethlehem” will always be a favorite. I had the chance to introduce it to my grandson, Wesley, this year. He seemed to approve.
It’s just not Christmas without her music in my house.
My brother also has a special place for Amy Grant. Her 1985 “Unguarded” album with its four different black and white covers with the hot pink lettering guided him into a career of graphic design. In honor of the night, I pulled out my Unguarded button and put it on my blue jean jacket right next to the Happy button my brother made for her concert in 2021.
It had been a few years since I’d heard many of the songs like “Sing Your Praise to the Lord”, “Baby, Baby”, “Jehovah” “Every Heartbeat” and “Thy Word”. She had told us to sing along. I did, and the lyrics flowed effortlessly as though no time had passed since I’d last heard them.
And I cried during more than one of those songs because the connection of music to heart stirred up a lot of things I’d forgotten about.
Some of those songs offered me hope when I wasn’t sure I had any. I remember “Love Will Find A Way” speaking to me in my younger years, giving me an assurance that things would work out because love always makes a way. Experience has shown me that indeed it does.
Over her career, Grant’s music has evolved with her, and I’ve enjoyed being along for the ride.
Grant has a new album coming out on May 8, and I’m already in love with her latest, “The Me that Remains”. The songs resonates with me, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
