Singers (and non-singers) from all walks of life packed the second-floor courtroom Saturday for the 127th annual Cullman County Courthouse Singing Convention, the last remaining courthouse Sacred Harp gathering in Alabama.

They’ll be back at it again on Sunday to close out the weekend event with another full day of music. Devoted singers love to refer to both new and longtime friends at the events as their extended Sacred Harp “family,” and they welcome newcomers — even the tone-deaf and the stage-shy — with open arms.

For many of course, the non-denominational opportunity to lift full-throated songs of praise is a primary appeal that keeps the tradition strong. But even secular music lovers have caught on (and are just as welcome as anyone else), thanks to Sacred Harp’s unique propensity for enticing singers to forget their self-awareness, their lack of musical talent, or their outside worries — and just let loose to lift their voices to the heavens.

As always, the courthouse singing is totally free to attend. The singing continues today at 9 a.m., with the music pausing for a pot-luck lunch right in the hallway at 12 p.m. — then resuming for an afternoon session that’ll go on, as one singer put it Saturday, “for as long as everyone’s voice can hold out.”