The Coffmans will be hosting Coffmania on Oct. 26 at Danville Church of God. From left are Tamra, Louis and Canaan Coffman. (Photo furnished)
Family groups highlight annual homecoming
By John Herndon, Kentucky Sings.com
As he was pulling things together for the third annual Coffmania celebration, Louis Coffman noticed something was happening as he was lining up singers for what is his group’s homecoming celebration.
“Every one of the groups is a father, mother, and a daughter,” Coffman smiled as we talked at the National Quartet Convention. “I don’t know if it was by design or coincidence. We have The Bakers, The Shireys, The Hinsons and, of course, the Coffmans will be there.”
That’s four groups, four dads, four moms, and four daughters. And it figures to be one great night of praise and worship on October 26.
Coffmania will be held that night at Danville Church of God, located at 516 South 4th Street in Danville, Ky. The music gets underway at 6:30 with the doors opening an hour prior to the concert.
“We have it at Danville Church of God, and that is our home church. It is a decent-sized facility. We can seat about 400 in the building.”
While this is the third year for Coffmania, it is the first time any of the guest groups have appeared in the event. Coffman believes the lineup will present a memorable night of music.
The Bakers, who are based in the town of Means, Kentucky, not far from Charlotte Baker’s hometown of Mt. Sterling. Charlotte sang with her family, The Sons Family, before marrying Eric Baker and continuing as a family group. According to the group’s website, The Bakers charted several songs on Eddie Crook’s Cross & Crown label and have been nominated for The Singing News Fan Awards and The Diamond Awards in the past. The Bakers’ teenage daughter, Abbi, now travels with the group too.
The Hinson Family continues a great tradition of one of the special names in gospel music with songs like “The Lighthouse” and “Hallelujah Meeting” and the legendary lead singer, the late Kenny Hinson. “He was one of my favorites,” Louis Coffman remembers.
The Coffmans have become friends with the Hinsons over the years and Ronnie Hinson sang bass on The Coffmans’ latest CD project.
The Hinson Family continues today with Kenny Hinson’s son, Weston leading the group. Weston’s wife, Christy, sings soprano and shares a gospel music heritage, too. According to The Hinson Family website, her family traveled through several states as a country gospel group, “The Harvest Masters,” in the 1970s and 80s. Weston and Christy’s daughter, Jordan, is an accomplished songwriter and has been singing with the group since 2013.
The Shireys perform at a Christmas concert at Sand Spring Baptist Church in Lawrenceburg. From left are Wayne and Darlene Shirey and their daughter, Rachael Shirey Flowers. (File photo by John Herndon)
The Shireys, based in South Carolina, have long been popular in central Kentucky and Coffman says he’s thrilled to have another family group on the program. Wayne and Darlene Shirey and their daughter Rachael, form a trio that delivers a powerful sound to Southern Gospel. Another daughter, Victoria, left the group several years ago and is in music ministry with her husband, Aaron Bowlin, in the Nashville area. The Shireys have had songs in The Singing News Top 100 and have appeared on the main stage of The National Quartet Convention. According to the group’s website, both Wayne and Darlene grew up in musician families who were involved in ministry.
Louis Coffman says his family has been blessed since entering the gospel music ministry with his wife, Tamra, 21 years ago. Their daughter, Canaan, now 17, started singing with the group eight years ago.
Despite a busy schedule, Canaan, who is home-schooled, is set to graduate from high school in May and has also gotten a head start on her college work and plans to enroll at Lee University in 2020. She recently competed in the Church of God International Teen Talent, finishing in the Top 10 in vocal solo and taking top honors in the Monologue competition.
The ministry has expanded to a full-time endeavor and The Coffmans travel wherever they believe the Lord leads. Coffmania is intended to be an evening to celebrate God’s blessings.
There is no admission charge but Coffman says, “There will be a love offering to help with the expenses. A lot of people don’t go to a concert because they can’t afford to go. We wanted this to be free for our homecoming.”
Coffmania
Saturday, Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m.
Danville Church of God
516 South 4th Street
Danville, Ky.
Kentucky Sings! 