The Legends Of American Country Show At The Grove Theatre, Dunstable Review

Reviewed by Debbie Talbot

I am a big fan of country music and was therefore over the moon to get the opportunity to review The Legends Of American Country Show at The Grove Theatre in Dunstable this evening.  My guest and I were given a lift to the theatre and therefore did not park in the car park, but there were plenty of parking spaces available.  Upon arriving at the theatre we went over to the box office.  Collecting our tickets was a quick and easy process.  We then bought some drinks and snacks to take into the auditorium with us.  At the same time we pre-ordered some drinks for the interval. 

The stage looked great.  There was a backdrop which had pictures of many of the American country music legends on. The live band were on the stage itself, dressed in jeans, traditional country style red shirts, country hats and boots. I loved their outfits.

From the moment the show started I was gripped. No wonder the backdrop describes the show as ‘Now seen by over 300,000 fans.  Europe’s no 1 tribute. ‘  Having seen that the show contained tributes to Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Don William, Patsy Cline,  Kenny Rogers, Hank Williams, Tammy Wynette as well as other singers I was so excited to see what was in store for us.  The live band were amazing. It was lovely to see how much they were enjoying being up on stage with each other.  The first hour of the show before the interval was full of wonderful songs. Whilst I didn’t recognise all of them myself, it was wonderful to see other members of the audience singing the songs I didn’t recognise word for word.  The atmosphere in the auditorium was fantastic. I loved that the singers encouraged the audience to join in with the songs from the start and even stopped singing themselves at times during songs so that you could hear the audience joining in with the song.  Tracey McAuley had a wonderful stage presence.  You could see how much she loved performing.  She engaged well with the audience.  Anthony McBrien made me laugh and smile so much when he engaged with the audience.  Both of their voices were spectacular.    Both are phenomenal singers with lovely personalities. I must mention how beautiful Tracey McAuley looked when she dressed up as Dolly Parton.  What a stunning dress and wig.

I must also mention how fantastic the 3^rd singer, Kelan Browne, was.   He is just 19 years old, had an amazing voice and is clearly such a lovely down to earth person. It was heart warming to see what a lovely reception he got from the audience. I particularly loved the duet he sang with Antony McBrien as well as the song all 3 singers performed together at the end of the show. It was hard to believe that he is just 19 years old.

During the interval my guest and I enjoyed our pre-ordered drinks having found them out on the bar clearly labelled with my name on.  The toilet facilities were clean and tidy.  All staff members we came across were approachable, professional and helpful.

We went back to our seats and enjoyed the last hour of the performance very much.  One stand out song of the two hour performance for me was when Tracey McAuley performed Crazy by Patsy Cline after telling us a bit about Patsy’s tragically cut short life.  Another song which I absolutely loved was 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. I really enjoyed every song that Tracey McAuley sang.    Anthony McBrien wowed me with every song he sung.  His stand out songs for me were the Johnny Cash songs he sang. I could almost imagine myself sat in the audience at the Grand Ole Opry. 

One really lovely thing about this evening was the fact that during the interval and after the show you could meet the singers and buy their albums from a merchandise table. They were friendly, down to earth and approachable.

I would recommend this show and think that judging by the reaction of the audience tonight, these singers are absolute legends themselves. So many people in the audience were up on their feet by the end of the show. One the best things about the show was seeing how well the singers/band got on and how they were clearly so full of love and admiration for each other.   My guest and I both had a fantastic uplifting evening and there was plenty of hand clapping and toe tapping in the audience.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £22.50 (a £1 transaction fee will be added per ticket)

For more information about shows on at the Grove theatre or to book tickets please visit Legends of American Country | Grove Theatre or phone the box office on 01582 602080

For upcoming tour dates please see here.   The Legends of American Country Show – JMG Music Group

Kelan Browne’s facebook page: Kelanbrownemusic | Facebook

Grove Park, Court Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4GP