November 29th and December 1st – The Princess Theatre in Harriman, TN.
December 5th – The Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL
December 7th – Unity of Naples in Naples FL
December 12th – Natalie’s Grandview in Columbus, OH
December 14th and 15th – Mainestreet in Ogunquit, ME
December 20th and 21st – Davenports in Chicago
The talk has been all over town, so let me go ahead and address it.
Yes, Connie Lee performed during the 10th Annual Home For The Holidays Tour.
If you were at last year’s home town kickoff show in Harriman, you may recall that during the Ask Levi (Almost) Anything section, Connie Lee stood up and voiced to the entire crowd, “How would one go about getting in on the act?” I sort of promised her in front of an audience that night that I would “talk to my people.” No way out. A crowd of witnesses. Well played, mom.
And hey, I had the extra energy this year, so why not explore the unknown. She was very professional. Showed up for rehearsal on time, and had her step-touch down. She even incorporated her signature hand gesture. She did us proud. You can see some of her performance in the video below!
Also joining me this year.
I was so happy to have 3 Time Billboard Charting Classical-Crossover recording artist Jason Antone back on stage with me. We did our duet from Moulin Rouge. You can stream it on Apple Music. He also brought to the table the idea of a slowed down version of All I Want For Christmas Is You with four part harmonies that weave in and out. The arrangement was done on the fly by Amy Hughes.
If you read the tour blog from the March 16th show in Fort Lauderdale, you met Amy and Jesse Hughes – the duo Chariot. I feel like the universe smiled on me with these two. They injected a new energy into the show and I was able to broaden the set list to do things I normally wouldn’t do solo. It is such a joy when you find talented musicians, singers and actors who show up with no ego, with a natural team spirit, and can still be creatively assertive and comfortable being free on stage. If I have them back next year, you have to come enjoy them with me. For now, you can hear their duet Christmas Valentine in the video below.
Sometimes life is like a Dick Van Dyke episode…
In last year’s holiday tour blog, maybe I used the Lucille Ball reference to paint the picture. I am not past doing anything to get a show set up and dialed in so the fine folks paying their hard earned money to see a show have the best experience possible. If I have to prowl through the venue’s back rooms to find the right monitor or microphone, if I have to disassemble my at-home studio to throw my keyboard in the back of the car because the venue doesn’t have a piano, if Jason and I have to help the sound guys get somewhere in the ballpark of a good mix, I will! We do! It’s just that…I might be a bit slow. And occasionally clumsy. Performing does not come from the analytical or logical side of my brain. It lives in the deeply spontaneous and abstract part of my head. When I try to operate from both, it’s a comedy sketch.
And by the way, I love that my whole circle this year – Jason, Amy, Jesse – are all “gitter done” types. We made it happen at every stop.
Anyone touring regularly knows you have to adapt. Not all cities have the same crowd size for you. Not all venues are staffed like theaters. You go where you love the people. I’ve always told my other artist friends, “Go where the love is.” Sharing love with an audience that appreciates you, whether large or small, is the kind of “musical conversation” that keeps me coming back to that city.
I love all of our venues on this tour for that very reason. There are really good vibes. Yes, the Princess Theatre, The Broward Center, Unity of Naples all make me feel like a star walking in to a grand piano with my stage plot already set up, sound dialed in and ready to go. But I also adore Natalie’s Grandview and Mainestreet because they run like a family business and they treat me like family. They’re really special shows to do. And very intimate.
Natalie’s sound this year was freaking fantastic! And while I set up my keyboard on stage, I never had a thought about the sound guy knowing what he was doing. They might have had the best sound of the tour this year actually. And if you come to the shows in Ogunquit, you know it is all family vibes there. Chi Chi from The Dueling Drag Divas, Anthony, Eddie, Tyler, they are all family. We cruise into that show room, set up the stage from scratch together, dial it up and have a blast. No holiday tour would be complete without doing a show at Mainestreet. Love them so much.
Davenports in Chicago is a cabaret space I’ve played for over a decade. Also a set-the-stage-up together type of vibe. (I confess, I did dig through a closet this year to find the right boom mic stand.) We love the intimacy here. The audiences is really close to you. It is now under new management so our only familiar faces were…YEAH!…our sound people Meghan and Erik! (I hope I’m spelling y’all’s names correctly.) They really put me at ease because I knew they knew me, they knew the vibe and they would make the room feel good. Thank y’all!
A special mention to the Broward Center. This is the second year I got to work with them, and I want to say that they have hands down changed my opinion about doing shows in Fort Lauderdale. They are so kind and competent. (And the sound and lights were incredible here too.) If you read last year’s blog about Fort Lauderdale, you know Jason and I have PTSD from doing shows in that area over the years. Bookers who are incredibly scattered. Who do not know how to promote shows. Or worse, literally run away with your money. Yes, it has happened. So, Broward Center, you are healing years of wounds. Thank you for such a lovely experience.
And with all my talk about venues and family vibes, much love to Unity of Naples because they’ve treated me like part of their community for years. Jason and I have so appreciated being able to include Naples in our holiday tour dates for a few years now. Love ya’ll!
But most of all, I appreciate you, the audience.
I want to personally thank those of you who have made this a tradition for you and keep coming back. I recognize many of your faces every year, though I may not know your names. I always appreciate the fact that you put my tour on your holiday calendar. We had a lot of new people coming to the shows this year. Welcome! I can’t wait to see you again!
Next Stop. Six shows in Puerto Vallarta!