The Haygoods: Finding Friends in Unexpected Places

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One of my favorite family traditions is a seasonal trip to see The Haygoods, an incredible two-hour concert/variety show in Branson, Missouri. We’re going again next month. What do we expect? Five brothers and a sister who offer stirring family harmony in their two-hour musical celebration of the Christmas season.

Anything besides music? Yes: State-of-the-art special effects, aerial acrobatics, mind-blowing pyrotechnics, “mountain stomping” dance, frequent comic interludes, patriotic features, and a heartfelt salute to all of our U.S. military veterans.

Best of all, there will be a rich reminder of how Christmas began.

Initial Concerns

This all started two decades ago. At the time, I had a lot of years under my belt as editor and writer for American Family Association (AFA). Interviewing leaders in conservative and Christian circles was second nature, but this might be a case with a different challenge.

An agency that primarily hosts secular travel writers on media tours invited me as a guest with their group in Branson, Missouri, in November 2006.

Now here I sat for my first Bramson interview with Tim Haygood, a rising star in mid-America’s highly touted “family-friendly” entertainment capital. As usual, I prayed for the interview to go well and for any story that came from it to honor God.

But I confess that I hoped this Haygood guy would not know too much about AFA. Would he have heard the unmerited charges by liberals that AFA was a radical, anti-entertainment, far-right, activist outfit? If so, he might end the interview before it began. A small measure of fear had settled in my mind.

Right out of the chute, Tim began asking me questions.

“You’re with what group?” he asked, cautiously, it seemed, perhaps suspiciously.

“American Family Association,” I admitted.

He perked up. His eyes lit up a bit.

“Did you say American Family?” he asked.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “We cover conservative and Christian family subjects of all sorts and urge parents to take a stand on family-related issues in our culture.”

“Do you … uh … send out emails?”

“Well, yes sometimes.”

“Ah ha!” he nodded with a smile.

I cringed inside. To me, it sounded like “Gotcha!”

Instant Cancellation?

I expected to hear, “This interview is over.”

But he grinned bigger and continued, “My wife does everything y’all tell us to do!”

Wow! I had just met my new best friend. We launched into a lengthy dialog about a fascinating Texas family that was destined for superstar status without compromising faith and family values.

“We started out as an all-fiddle band,” he recalled. Beginning as a troupe of very young siblings – elementary and pre-schoolers – they toured around Texas from 1988 until moving to Branson in 2002.

“I was born into it,” Catherine Haygood told a Branson podcaster years later (Legacy and Legends with Trina Gunzel). At age one, she had joined her brothers on stage with her toy violin. Nowadays, she plays eight instruments, including spectacular harp solos that lend a heart-stirring complement to the frequent volume and action scenes.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else,” she concluded. She is the only sister in the family. Joining her and Tim onstage are brothers Patrick, Dominic, Michael, and Matthew.

As the child performers grew into adulthood and marriage, they learned to manage the ordinary challenges of balancing faith, family, and futures. As big brother at age 29, Tim took seriously his role to be an example and to challenge the younger guys to maintain the faith and moral principles they had been taught at home.

“In the entertainment business as a whole, there are a lot of pitfalls,” he acknowledged. “There’s a lot of temptation to join the party scene.” He was grateful that “everybody [in Branson] tries to work together and foster a sense of community and a spirit of Christian atmosphere.”

Indeed, the Haygood brothers were not exempt from the challenges of the world, but they also accepted correction to get back on track. For example, in an earlier Facebook post, Dominic is quite transparent regarding a time of wrestling with obedience to God’s direction for his life. A Christian mentor urged him to visit the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. He took the advice, and the experience changed his life.

“I was different,” he says, “and I’ve never been the same since then. I was ready to hear God.”

Immediate Anticipation

I’ve been to see the Haygoods many times since that 2006 interview, and yes, I’m going again with family next month. They’re the best show I’ve found in town.

Their perfectly blended voices are the epitome of what many often call “unique family harmony.” It’s uncanny. Those voices are the entrée of the Haygood extravaganza. All of the theatrics noted above are the appetizer, salad, soup, and dessert. They showcase stellar covers of pop, current hits, show tunes, country, and classic heart-tugging evergreen lyrics.

The family will soon celebrate 35 years in Branson. They have performed more than 7,000 concerts and entertained over 7.1 million people. They recently set a Branson record with 120 sold-out shows in a single season.

In addition to the music scene, Branson offers a wealth of truly family-friendly venues. From museums to dramas, from river cruises to magicians, from go-karts to zip lines. And just up the road a few miles is Silver Dollar City, an Ozark family theme park with enough rides and attractions for all ages to keep a family busy for days.

The Haygoods are a priority for my family. However, we will also return to some other favorite spots in town – Mel’s Hard Luck Diner, Sight & Sound Theatre’s biblical stage production of Miracle of Christmas, and nearby College of the Ozarks’ five-star, student-operated restaurant.

I’m grateful that Branson always brings to mind how God never ceases looking out for me, preparing the way before me even when I’m uncertain or fearful. It makes me think of His promise to His people wandering in Egypt: “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

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