Unless you’re the type of person who obsesses over liner notes (we know who we are), you may have heard one or more of the four McCrary Sisters before you even knew their names. Thankfully, that’s been righted. Ann, Regina, Freda and Deborah rarely go unnamed on any front person’s bill these days. Even better, they’re often the main event. As second-generation singers — daughters of the Fairfield Four’s Rev. Sam McCrary — they bring a sense of authority to the music they make together, a celebratory brand of gospel that welcomes all comers. Their album
Our Journey frames their gifts in sounds that range from sumptuous and smooth to down-home and dignified. Deborah, who spent much of her adult life on a nonmusical career path before being drawn back to it by her kin, recently suffered a stroke. Even worse, she doesn’t have health insurance. The rest of the McCrarys, plus friends like Delbert McClinton and Danny Flowers, are banding together to put on this much-needed benefit.
— Jewly Hight