A POWERFUL PARTNERSHIP

PEGGY MCQUADE, (l.) Pastoral Associate for Hospitality at St. Matthew’s in Voorheesville, and Dottie Pepper, a former professional golfer and announcer for CBS, are a dynamic duo working together to bring more Christian music to the Capital District and Saratoga Springs areas. (Emily Benson photo)

What do a professional golfer, Live Nation music and a parish in Albany have in common? Besides the makings of a good joke, they’re the genesis of more Christian music being brought to the upstate area.  

Peggy McQuade, Pastoral Associate for Hospitality at St. Matthew’s in Voorheesville, and Dottie Pepper, a former professional golfer and announcer for CBS, are a dynamic duo working together to answer a similar call on their hearts: How can more Christian music be brought to the Capital District and Saratoga Springs areas? 

After teaming up in 2024, the women are now working with Live Nation to bring more Christian music to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) and Universal Preservation Hall, including helping promote two upcoming Christian concerts.

Live Nation will help promote St. Matthew’s upcoming show, “Voices to God,” with Josh Baldwin and David Leonard, coming to Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 7-9 p.m.

In return, McQuade and Pepper are helping promote SPAC’s inaugural “Worship in the Pines” music festival, presented by Live Nation. The one-day Christian music concert is coming Friday, Sept. 11, with performances from seven artists, including Crowder, Elevation Rhythm and headliner Brandon Lake. 

Kathy Barrans, Director of Communications for the Albany Diocese, welcomed the two women on her podcast, “Called to Serve,” on June 24 to talk about their friendship, their work and the importance of Christian music in their lives. 

“No matter what season of life we may be walking through, there’s always a song that applies,” McQuade said on ‘Called to Serve.’ “Whether it’s I need help, I need to have your presence, I need to have your peace, I need to praise you and thank you for bringing me through that, which I think is very important.”

McQuade has been working to bring Christian music to the Albany area for several years now, starting back in 2018, when she helped bring artist Matt Maher — a nine-time Grammy-nominated musician who performs annually at the National Catholic Youth Conference — to St. Matthew’s for an acoustic show.

“I’ve seen other churches in our area have Christian concerts, and I’m like, why can’t we?” McQuade said. “I very much love this genre and it speaks to my heart greatly.”

Around 2024, Pepper started her own journey with Christian music — but her exposure to the genre started in her professional life. Pepper, born in Saratoga Springs, joined the LPGA Tour in 1988 and won 17 official events over the course of her career, including two major championships. She’s now the lead walking reporter for CBS Sports’ coverage of the PGA Tour, Masters and PGA Championship.

Over the years, Pepper saw this “God and golf” culture in her community, noting that a number of players in the sport were also fans of Christian music. At the start of 2024, Pepper felt “a tap on my shoulder about bringing Christian music into this area,” noting that she “saw a void” that people would fill.

“I’m looking at all of this wide variety of music (at SPAC), but again, there’s that void,” she said. “If they can do that music here, why can’t we have contemporary Christian music here?”

Pepper reached out to a few Christian artists, looking into who their agents were to try and connect. She got in touch with the Jeff Roberts Agency and asked how she could help bring the genre to Saratoga. They reached back out to Pepper, saying they’ll be in touch with someone in the area who’s brought concerts to the Capital District before.

A couple of days later, Pepper got a phone call to contact McQuade.

“We talked for an hour the very first time,” McQuade said. “We both shared our passion for this and what’s on her heart, and it’s been a wonderful partnership since then.”

Born and raised in the Lutheran Church, Pepper described her first experience with faith as judgmental. It wasn’t until a church in Jupiter, Fla., opened her eyes to the idea that music could also serve as an avenue for praise. 

“I was blown away, and I don’t think I’m alone,” she said. “There are many people who (feel) music speaks deeper than words. There’s a more natural, authentic sort of connection, and that continued to build. That was sort of my re-introduction to having a big belief in my life.”

In the fall of 2023, Pepper reached out to Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC’s chief executive officer, about bringing more contemporary Christian artists to the concert venue. She approached Sobol with a list of potential artists for the area, calling it “a total shot in the dark.”

“There’s no way this is going anywhere,” Pepper recalled thinking, “but I’m gonna do it. I’m called to do this. I’m gonna try. And she was amazingly open to it.”

Sobol said she would reach out to Live Nation about the idea. Pepper didn’t hear anything for over a year, then in March, she got a call from a representative. 

“It landed,” she said. “It was a God thing. “It was just kind of putting the pieces together and letting the Spirit weave.”

SPAC’s upcoming concert couldn’t come at a better time, as their show’s headliner, Brandon Lake, is starting to turn heads outside of the contemporary Christian music category.

“He’s definitely crossed over (to secular music), not apologetically, which I think is really powerful,” Pepper said.

Lake recently released the song “The Author,” co-written by pop artist Nick Jonas, and he teamed up with country/rock star Jelly Roll for the viral, faith-based anthem, “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”

“It helps me feel more of the presence of God, you know?” McQuade said about the music. “And, again, if I’m going through something tough, there are certain songs that are prayerful. These songs are prayerful. And even when you have finished going through that, you’re praising.”

Tickets are on sale now for both “Worship in the Pines” (available for purchase through Live Nation’s website, https://www.livenation.com/) and “Voices to God” (available for purchase through Proctor’s website, https://proctorscollaborative.org/).