By Carl Hoover

Tribune-Herald entertainment editor

Christian singer David Phelps has a clear, soaring tenor that has won him the nickname of “The Voice” within gospel and contemporary Christian music circles, but he says it’s more than singing that charges his performances: It’s his audience.

The support, feedback and anticipation of the fans that throng his concerts go far in magnifying the experience for those present, he said.

“Early on I fell in love with the connection that can happen with the audience in a live performance,” he said.

“O Holy Night” with David Phelps

Performance: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Waco Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Tickets: Only $15 general admission balcony seats remain. Call (254) 772-1234.

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Singer David Phelps brings his Christmas show to Waco Hall on Tuesday night.

Add a spiritual dimension to the mix and one can see why Phelps has such a loyal, avid following. “We make this connection on a soul level that’s very unique,” he said.

Phelps, a 1992 Baylor University grad and former Gaither Vocal Band member, brings his “O Holy Night” Christmas tour to Waco Hall on Tuesday night. That concert may sell out; fewer than 300 seats remain unsold in the 2,200-seat venue with less than a week left before the concert.

The silver-voiced tenor has presented a Christmas concert tour for the last nine years, and its popularity causes him scheduling problems. “We’re having trouble fitting in dates between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he said.

His current “O Holy Night” tour ends Dec. 21 in a converted barn on his Columbia, Tenn., farm. It’s where he taped his O Holy Night: A Live Holiday Christmas DVD, and while the audience for that performance was smaller due to space limitations, it nonetheless played a crucial role.

“I was insistent that we do (the show) in the round so that from every angle you could see audience in the background,” he explained. Having attentive listeners in every shot helped sustain the concert’s energy level, he added.

Tuesday night’s concert contains many of the familiar songs and interpretations for which Phelps’ Christmas programs are known, such as his “O Holy Night” that seems to soar into the realm of the heavenly host.

“We’re always careful to keep the things that people want to experience again,” he said. Still, he always tries to work new songs in with the traditional Christmas standbys.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, Phelps sang with the Gaither Vocal Band for almost a decade, during which period the group saw more than a dozen CDs and DVDs go platinum (selling a million copies or more) and won two Grammy Awards. In 2005 he returned to a solo career as a singer and songwriter and has released six CDs since then.

Tuesday night marks the second time this fall Phelps has returned to Waco. The singer was named one of Baylor’s Outstanding Young Alumni at the school’s Homecoming on Nov. 1. That same weekend, Phelps sang at his former home church, First Baptist Woodway, with Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy declaring Nov. 2 David Phelps Day in Waco.

Even for someone accustomed to the acclaim of excited audiences, the attention and the honors made for an interesting weekend. “It felt kind of surreal,” he said.

choover@wacotrib.com

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