Birmingham’s Hampton takes tenor spot in Gaither group

Birmingham’s Wes Hampton nearly ran off the road when he received a message on his cell phone from Guy Penrod. 
   
Penrod, a member of the Gaither Vocal Band (GVB), called to ask if Hampton could meet with him and Bill Gaither the following week for an interview. 
   
It was a phone call that would lead Hampton through a rigorous audition process and eventually land him the tenor spot in the group.
   
“I certainly did not think there was a strong probability that I would be chosen as the next tenor for the Vocal Band, but it was a probability I did not want to ignore,” he said in his first official interview as a member of the GVB.
   
Hampton has a long history with singing. He sang in a quartet while at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville and then transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he minored in music. 
   
During college, he served as an intern at The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, and was hired by the church in 2002 as a full-time minister of worship. 
   
While he served there, his wife, Andrea, finished her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. 
   
Life seemed to be ideal for his family, but Hampton recalled feeling a “stirring” inside. On a Wednesday afternoon, he prayed that whatever God wanted as the next step for his ministry would be undoubtedly confirmed.
   
Not one hour later, the phone rang. His wife called with news from a family friend that GVB member David Phelps had decided to leave the group, and she felt Hampton should pursue the opening. The next day, he had recordings and a resume in the mail.
   
“I knew if anything was going to happen after that, it would have to be God,” Hampton said.
   
The next Saturday, he received Penrod’s voice mail — a voice mail Hampton didn’t just save but converted to an MP3 file to listen to for years to come. 
   
The audition process that followed was grueling — days spent trying out, e-mailing recordings, singing for other artists to get feedback and then finally appearing with the GVB in concert.
   
“I am so excited to have found a voice like Wes’ accompanied by a warm, wonderful spirit,” said Gaither, the band’s leader. “To be honest with you, there are few decisions I take more seriously than filling a role such as this because not only are we filling a vocal part, we are choosing a person with whom we will spend many long hours. 
   
“Our audiences have graciously trusted our choices as we have brought new talent into the Vocal Band over the years, and I want to honor that trust with a very careful selection process.
   
“I am very optimistic about this new chapter in the life of the Vocal Band,” he added.
   
Hampton now travels with the group on the weekends but is home with his wife and one-year-old son, Barrett, during the week. The couple is expecting another “little Hampton” in February, something  he is thrilled about.
   
“I can’t even imagine life without being a dad,” he said. “What an amazing experience.”
   
And what a year for Hampton — he said he often finds himself asking, “What am I doing here?” while on stage or in the studio with the band. “I am still trying to take it all in,” he said. “The GVB guys are some of the most genuine, authentic, caring people I have ever met. We really are like brothers already. I am so thankful that God has set all of this up in His perfect timing.” 
   
The GVB is currently working on a new record to be released in January that will include a new arrangement of “Jesus Loves Me” that Hampton said he is very excited about getting to sing.
   
“I love singing because it is what I am most passionate about. I am so grateful that my dreams and passions are the same thing,” he said. 
   
“I love getting to use my God-given talents to minister to folks night after night. What a privilege.”