On the coolish afternoon of a January Sunday, the charming Kate Campbell pulled up in front of the house with a friendly, "Hi y'all!" This Nashville girl (by way of Sledge, Mississippi) was in town to kick off the 2002 Meeting Grace house concert series.

I had the pleasure of being able to hang out with Kate a few hours before the show. We talked of poets and writers, Nashville, other house concerts around the country and the music scene in general. Along with Katie, the woman who contributed the macaroons that evening, the three of us had a great time getting to know each other.

As show time rolled around, Kate warmed up in the back room, guitar secured with a bright sunflower strap, a mark of her sense of individuality and her joy. She began the show with a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "The House You Live In." From there she candidly shared songs and the stories behind them. Her songs are all born from some personal experience or observation and the stories were told with warmth and you felt like she was letting you in on something too wonderful to keep to herself. As she sang, there was always a small smile playing about her mouth. She gave us songs from her more recent records that included "Rosaryville," "See Rock City" and "Visions of Plenty." She also sang us a new song called "Joe Lewis' Furniture."

After a brief intermission, she returned with songs and more stories from her latest release, "Wandering Strange," an album of traditional hymns as well as original compositions based in gospel tradition. Songs such as "10,000 Lures," "Signs Following" and "The Last Song" are well-written and she delivered them with true grace.

As an encore, she performed what she admitted was one of the few love songs she's written called "A Perfect World." A happy group left Meeting Grace that night with visions of plenty of their own.

Check out some photos from the show!