Bryson City welcomed the Christmas season as the Troy Burns Family filled downtown with Southern Gospel favorites, including a spirited rendition of “Go, Tell It on the Mountain,” ahead of the town’s annual Christmas tree lighting Saturday night.
After the group’s 45-minute performance, Mayor Tom Sutton and TDA Executive Director Sarah Conley led the crowd in a countdown from ten. Three light-switch misfires only added to the excitement before the community Christmas tree finally glowed to life, marking the town’s official start to the season. Kids cheered and adults clapped as snow confetti blew around them.
Of course, Christmas had already taken hold in Bryson City long before the switch was flipped.
“This town already does Christmas so well,” Conley said. “We want to provide a traditional holiday experience for our guests as well.”
That tradition is deeply tied to Bryson City native Troy Burns, leader of the Troy Burns Family band and a founding member of The Inspirations.
Formed in 1964 in Bryson City, The Inspirations quickly rose to prominence approximately five years later after its first “Singing in The Smokies” performance and went on to play full-time.
The Troy Burns Family continues that legacy today, with recent summer performances at the Swain County Event Center Smoky Mountain Event Park.
“They’ve done such an amazing job that we knew they were perfect for this event,” Conley said.
Burns was just 13 when he cofounded The Inspirations. In 2017, he was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.
I loved it,” said Burns. “Being raised that way, we didn’t have screens or distractions. Every night, we met as someone’s house. I felt a desire to perform when I was 10. A schoolteacher heard my ballot and realized I had talent. He gave me lessons. He invested in me, which helped instill this. I’m in Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame and I come back here (Bryson City) because I love the people; they’re my roots. That cabin, where I was born, I leaned stuff I couldn’t learn in university like respect, character and forgiveness.”
According to the hall of fame, Burns was born in Bryson City in 1952. He grew up alongside his cousins, Archie Watkins and Jack Laws, listening to pioneering gospel groups on phonograph records.
When Watkins and Laws joined a local group called The Inspirations, an opening soon became available for a bass singer. They mentioned their cousin Troy to founder Martin Cook. In 1964, Burns joined The Inspirations. He eventually moved into the role of lead singer and remained with the group until his retirement in 1993.
Over the course of his career, Troy has recorded more than seven hundred original and charting songs, including “Jesus Is Coming Soon.”
To date, he has performed in more than 6,000 concerts.
Troy met his wife, Tammy Odom Burns, while on tour in Hawaii and the two married in 1981. They have two sons, Chris and Trey Burns. When The Troy Burns Family was formed in 2010, Trey Burns joined in.
With his induction into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, Troy Burns now joins fellow Inspirations members Martin Cook (2003) and Archie Watkins (2007) in receiving one of the genre’s highest honors.
Nonetheless, one of the Troy Burns Family band’s favorite places to preform remains Swain County.
“I love the people here,” said Burns.