ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 6, 1996 TAG: 9605070090
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
Either you've never heard of Carman, or you know he is one of contemporary Christian music's superstars.
Though he lays claim to having staged the largest Christian-music concert ever - a 1994 event in Dallas that drew 71,000 people - and has performed in front of more than 1 million people in each of the last couple of years, he is virtually unknown even in many Christian circles.
Yet tonight he'll entertain and minister to what is expected to be a packed house at the Roanoke Civic Center coliseum.
His confidence in his audience - which has bought more than 6 million copies of his albums in the last dozen years - is likely to be borne out when his concert begins at 7:30.
Last year, local concert coordinators estimated that a couple of thousand fans were turned away from a free Saturday evening concert here. The coliseum filled to standing room only more than an hour before Carman was to begin.
Since then, he has revised his policy of never charging admission, particularly at smaller venues. This time, admission costs $4, solely as a measure for crowd control, the singer said.
There still is no admission charge in the giant stadiums he's hoping to fill during his current 90-city "R.I.O.T." ("Righteous Invasion of Truth") tour, promoting his CD of the same name.
Roanoke is the next-to-last stop before Carman takes a four-month break for the summer. He goes from here to the Houston Astrodome for the final concert of the spring.
The Nashville-based singer and minister - born Carman Dominic Licciardello in New Jersey 40 years ago - promises his trademark, high-energy performance. That means a full band, light show, giant video screens, dancers and an eclectic range of musical styles that runs from pop, rock and rap to rhythm and blues, hip-hop, Big Band and country.
And the evening will include an unflinchingly conservative Christian message.
Carman has been outspoken in his belief that many of society's ills - he mentions crime, teen pregnancy and abortion as examples - are traceable to the Supreme Court's 1963 decision banning teacher-led prayer in public schools.
He's collected more than 1 million signatures on petitions at concerts since 1994 urging passage of a constitutional amendment allowing voluntary student prayer in public schools. President Clinton has declined to meet with him to accept the petitions.
Carman also has been critical of other Christian artists whom he sees as compromising their message by "softening" it for mainstream audiences, primarily by removing Jesus' name from the lyrics or by deleting an altar call from their concerts.
No so with Carman.
About two-thirds of the way through his concert, participants will be invited to make a public decision to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
The Rev. Tony Price, minister to youth at Rainbow Forest Baptist Church and lead local coordinator for the concert, has recruited 130 volunteers from several denominations to serve as counselors to those who come forward.
The new converts will be referred to churches near where they live for a follow-up, Price said.
Another 170 volunteers will serve as ushers and will help sell the vast array of concert-related merchandise. The profits supplement the offering collection to finance the concert.
While the conversion of new Christians is the point of the show (Carman experienced a Christian conversion following an Andre Crouch concert in Southern California in the 1970s) the performer doesn't want anyone to miss the grand finale.
After individual counseling, the new converts come back out for the "high points of the concert," Carman said.
Tickets were expected to be sold out by today, but check availability by calling the civic center box office at 981-1201.
Carman in concert: tonight at 7:30 in the Roanoke Civic Center coliseum. Call the box office at 981-1201.|
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Carman.by CNB