The voice of Christian music Sandi Patty coming to Spring Valley in historic farewell tour

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Known by many as the voice of Christian music for nearly four decades, Sandi Patty ignited the Christian world with her intimate and powerful voice, crescendos of praise and the closeness in her worship of the Heavenly Father. Famed for her diverse range, from sweet low tones to prevailing opera swells, Patty is the recipient of five Grammys, four Billboard Music Awards, 40 Dove Awards and a Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee. These are only a glimpse of what Patty has contributed to the genre of gospel music and beyond.

Known by many as the voice of Christian music for nearly four decades, Sandi Patty ignited the Christian world with her intimate and powerful voice, crescendos of praise and the closeness in her worship of the Heavenly Father. Famed for her diverse range, from sweet low tones to prevailing opera swells, Patty is the recipient of five Grammys, four Billboard Music Awards, 40 Dove Awards and a Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee. These are only a glimpse of what Patty has contributed to the genre of gospel music and beyond. During her continuous rise in the Christian music world, Patty stunned the world with her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the rededication of the Stature of Liberty in 1986, which brought her international acclaim. Throughout the years she sang her stories of life, love, hope and that faith in God can overcome any obstacle in life. Patty’s ministry of song has touched millions of lives, with three platinum records, five gold records and more than 11 million sold.

Patty is returning to San Diego with her “Forever Grateful: The Farewell Tour” on Friday, Feb. 17 at Faith Chapel in Spring Valley. “Forever Grateful,” also the name of her latest album release and title track is a 90 city worldwide tour, the final large scale solo tour of her career. But her concert in San Diego is more than just another stop on her tour, it’s a homecoming for Patty who spent 10 years living in the College area.

“I went to Crawford High School, studied at SDSU, so San Diego has a very special place in my heart for sure,” she said.

Patty said the music will never stop, but she decided that the demands of touring “looks much different on a more seasoned woman” than it did in her 30s. Many asked if she was going to do a farewell tour, but she didn’t want to travel the country and say, “Goodbye, farewell.”

“But I began to think about all the people that have bought the CDs and come along beside me for all of these years and prayed for our family,” said Patty. “I would like one last opportunity to say thank you. That is where the idea for “Forever Grateful” came from.”

The title track “Forever Grateful” is one of the most intimate songs out of Patty’s large collection of contemporary Christian and old time gospel recordings. Through her career, she launched her first secular album “Broadway Stories” and is also an award winning author of seven books. She said that with all the things that God has provided for her in her life, that “Forever Grateful” is exactly how she feels.

“’Forever Grateful’ is just my heart,” she said. “Sometimes it is very hard to put into words the depth of feeling, but I wanted to say something to the audience, my Heavenly Father and my family. And, the many, many ways that I have been blessed and touched over the years of singing.”

Patty asked her friend Nicole Nordeman to help her with the title track.

“I sent her the music and said, ‘Here’s kind of what I want to say.’ I sent her pages and pages of what I wanted to say and she sent this lyric back, and I’m like, ‘Yes, that’s it right there.’ I end the concert every night with that song,” she said.

As far as the concert, we can look forward to some of the Sandi Patty classics, her new music and a few surprises.

“We’re definitely going back into the archives for sure,” she said. “We have a few songs from each decade. It is hard to put all of the songs we would like in an evening, so we put a lot of songs in medleys so we can have a good representation, plus some of the new songs. My team has put together some video archives, which is hilarious. It’s kind of like a walk through the hairstyles,” as she laughed. “But it is such a sweet time. My kids are singing with me, some of my kids work behind the scenes on the road, so it is just a really special evening for sure.”

“Forever Grateful: The Farewell Tour” will feature special guests with male vocal group Veritas, the Latin word for truth. This is going be a night of brilliant worship and praise through music, and a historic event in the world of Christian music as Sandi Patty says farewell to her millions of fans one city at a time. But at this concert, she’s coming home.

Sandi Patty “Forever Grateful: The Farewell Tour”

Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m.

Faith Chapel

9400 Campo Rd., Spring Valley

Tickets: Call (619) 461-7451, email support@premierproductions.com or visit www.sandipatty.com/pages/tour.