Triumphant Quartet’s ‘new guy’ fits right in, only desires to glorify God

By John Herndon, KentuckySings.com

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. – The telling moment for Sean Barber might have come about halfway through Triumphant Quartet’s set at The Ark Encounter last Friday.

The new baritone had been flawless in his solos during his first performance with the beloved group. He’d displayed a low-key but unmistakable enthusiasm while performing before a packed house at The Ark’s Answers Center. The chemistry was new but visibly meshing. 

If there had been any bugs, only Barber or the rest of Triumphant knew. To say things were just right might have been an understatement.

But as Triumphant’s Eric Bennett’s mellow bass voice started singing, “I love You, Lord, for your mercy never fails me,” Barber stepped back. He briefly looked down, then turned his face upward. His eyes were closed as he appeared to be in a brief moment of prayer, before joining the other members of the group in one of their recent signature songs.

“Tonight was special,” Barber smiled. “I was listening to Eric’s heart in ‘The Goodness of God’ that he has been singing for some time. It was a moment for me for sure. I am just some kid from Indiana who loves to sing and I have just been handed the baton to one of the greatest quartets in the history of gospel music.”

(“The Goodness of God,” Words and music by Ed Cash, Ben Fielding, Jason Ingram, Brian Johnson and Jenn Johnson. ©2019 Shout! Music Publishing (ARPA)/ Alletrop Music (BMI)/ Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP)/Fellow Ships Music/So Essential Tunes (SESAC).)

By now, Barber is almost a household name in Southern Gospel circles because he’s Triumphant’s “new guy.” He’d been named the quartet’s new baritone on August 3, replacing Scotty Inman, who had announced his departure to focus on his solo career nearly a month earlier. It was the first vocalist change since the group came together in 2002.

“It was 21 years, the same four guys. The fact that I get to be the guy who is part of the next chapter is very humbling and something I don’t take lightly,” Barber said.

And it might have been ironic that Barber’s first day on stage came on Day 39 of 40 Days and 40 Nights of Christian Music at The Ark, billed as the world’s largest Christian music festival. Triumphant, with Scotty Inman, had been the featured artist on Day 1 of the event.

The crowd welcomed Barber as he could not hide the exhilaration of being onstage with a quartet that had been one of his favorites for some time. 

“How could you not be excited to get an opportunity like this with Triumphant?” Barber asked shortly after leaving the stage. “Tonight was special. There was a great crowd here.”

Barber has been known inside the gospel music industry for some time as an accomplished songwriter and vocalist, but the spotlight that accompanies one of American’s favorite quartets is much brighter. And he’s really a seasoned veteran.

“I will turn 51 years young this November. I am a PK. I married a PK, a pastor’s kid. So I tell people I really don’t remember the first time,” Barber said of his first time singing publicly. “I grew up in a church were everybody sang and played. So I can honestly say that I have been singing 40-plus years. But professionally, since 2014-2015 when I joined a group out of Carmel, Indiana called the Third Row Boys. I sang with them about five-and-a-half years. For the last two-and-a-half years, I have been lead singer for Justified Quartet out of Flint, Michigan. I love those guys. They are great, great friends.”

But shortly after Inman’s departure became known, Barber learned he was on the short list of candidates as his replacement. Sean says he and his wife, Tanessa, were humbled and “We started praying about it.”

Talks progressed before Bennett called to say that Triumphant would be singing at The Gospel Barn in Bluffton, Indiana, not far from Barber’s home. “He asked if I could come down and sing a bit,” Barber says.

While Barber had become a respected singer, hitting the right notes and having the right range was part of the equation. “We spend a lot of time on the bus and there is a chemistry that needs to happen,” he said. “Everybody needs to love each other and love people and get along.”

That day in Bluffton, it was apparent the chemistry was there. “We got to spend the day together and laugh and cut up and we had a great time together,” Barber said with a smile.

That chemistry translated to the stage last Friday. As Triumphant came out to open its set with “He Walked Out,” lead singer Clayton Inman – Scotty’s father – seemed to give a reassuring grin toward Barber. During the 30-minute set, Barber could be seen laughing with tenor David Sutton and when Clayton delighted the crowd and started whipping a white handkerchief around during the performance of “White Flag,” Sean was the one who nearly got smacked, just like Scotty Inman before him.

At the product table, Barber took time with well-wishers who came by to chat or get a photo. He loves ministry and it was apparent. “They love people. They love what they do,” he said of his new singing partners. “They spend time at the product table, hugging people and kissing babies and talking to people.

“It’s connecting with people and letting them hear your heart and you hear theirs. Sometimes I hear the most wonderful stories about how our songs have changed or encouraged somebody. I am not someone who wants to just go sing. I want to minister to people. This is something much bigger than a singing role.”

But that singing role with one of Southern Gospel’s top quartets is the ministry platform Sean Barber has now. He knows there will be the inevitable comparisons to his predecessor but he also believes God can use Sean Barber in mighty ways with his new ministry.

“I am not going to go up and replace Scotty Inman,” Sean said. “He will be part of Triumphant’s history forever.”

Sean Barber is now the one standing in that spot, second from left, in Triumphant’s lineup and expects to take Scotty’s leads. Yet, Sean can only be himself. “That’s the first thing the guys told me when we started singing together. They said, ‘Hey, you are a different type of singer. Stylistically wise, I am not the same type of singer as Scotty.”

So, some things will be different, but Sean Barber looks to leave his own mark on the quartet’s history. His songwriting is acclaimed and well-known. While Triumphant has not recorded any of his material, Barber says, “My wife and I have several cuts this year that we are really excited about and hopefully, you will see some Sean Barber music on a Triumphant album in the near future. That would be kind of cool.”

For now, however, Sean Barber is letting the countless blessings of God soak in. 

He’s been a fan of Triumphant for years. “I think that is one of the reasons why learning the song list was so simple. I knew most of the songs,” he smiled.

His family has more fans. “My son, my youngest, is 20. His first gospel concert was Triumphant. The first Southern Gospel he ever heard was Triumphant. We were actually in the car with my wife’s mom and dad and we were coming home from church,” Sean recalls. “We had Triumphant playing and my son was like, ‘I have never heard anything like that!’”

And Barber knows he’s now part of a pacesetting, beloved quartet that focuses on reaching people with the gospel. “I am honored to be part of Triumphant,” he says. “It’s not about Sean. It’s not about Triumphant. It’s about glorifying God and I am honored to have a platform to do that in such a great way.”

About the Barbers

Sean Barber grew up in northern Indiana, but will be relocating to Sevierville, Tenn., where the other members of Triumphant Quartet reside. 

“My mom and dad were traveling evangelists,” he said. “My dad took his first church in a little town called Knox, Ind., I went to Knox High School.”

Sean and Tanessa Barber celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary on Sept. 7. They have two children, a 26-year-old daughter who lives in New York City and a 20-year-old son making his way as a musician in Nashville, Tenn.