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The Grand Jubilee Show has been a favorite since my wife and I started coming to Branson five years ago. Start with the dynamic Grand Band; top musicians in their field who can produce music of any genre you care to hear, and they all do it extremely well. For the Grand Jubilee show, the music is country, rock and gospel. Award winning Danny Yancey is the music director and plays the pedal steel, banjo, and rhythm guitar. Danny is endorsed by the Gibson Banjo Company and in this show you can see why. Matt Hanshaw plays lead guitar with a vengeance and he does some flattop picking in the bluegrass segment that the audience just can’t watch fast enough. Robbie Blackwood lives behind his drums, he plays for 3 shows per day at the Grand Country Music Hall, and then again on the live Branson Country USA radio show on Friday nights. He is fun to watch as his solid driving beat is precise, moving, and colorful with the occasional twirling drumsticks, and yet he doesn’t dominate the other instruments or vocals no matter how soft the songs get. I’ve watched Larry Allred closely on electric and upright bass. His light-hearted personality would make you think he doesn’t take his musicianship seriously. Wrong. Larry is very serious about his bass playing. He is as much into the tempo of the music as the drummer and if you watch closely, you can see him coordinate with the others by eye contact and body gestures. I really like to see and hear him walk all over that bass on several numbers - almost like he were playing lead guitar. Larry is also very serious about his singing; he provides backup vocals during this show but is a fine solo performer as well. The wild man on the fiddle just can’t be beat. Wayne Massengale is a master on the fiddle and a veteran entertainer. He gets the crowd into his music every time he is featured. Not only is Wayne expert on the fiddle for bluegrass and country numbers, he also provides the smooth violin sound for more classical songs - you know, the sweet background sound in a sad, serious song that conjures up a tear in the eye and a lump in the throat. Wayne uses that fiddle to elicit the desired emotion from the audience. Wayne also plays rhythm guitar, mandolin, conga drums, tambourine, and sings backup vocals. The piano/keyboard sounds come from Michael W. Davis. Michael does all the vocal arrangements for the Grand Jubilee show. When you watch him play the piano you immediately see, as well as hear, the musical talent. He is all over that keyboard like he was born with it and he is versatile in singing various backup vocal parts. He is also terrific as the lead vocalist on, “Born to be Wild” and, “Crocodile Rock.” And there is more instrumental talent on display when comedian Jim Dandy is featured playing nearly every instrument on the stage. A favorite is when he plays twin fiddles with Wayne Massengale. Host Mike Patrick is also an accomplished piano player and vocalist; he performs the Jerry Lee Lewis hit, “Great Balls of Fire.” His piano playing makes him one of my favorites because he is so much fun to watch as well as listen to. He is a fine singer who sings what I consider my kind of music. I also enjoy his talents on the Sunday Gospel Jubilee and Ozark Mountain Jubilee shows at Grand Country Music Hall.

The stars of the show are the New South Quartet, Todd Bradshaw, and Jackie Brown. The show opens with New South taking the stage by storm and instantly gets the crowd roaring with enthusiasm. Their powerful harmonies and vocal ranges are amazing; from the goose bumps you get hearing Scott Leven’s powerful, smooth tenor singing to the vibration you feel in the arms of the theatre seats from Mark McCauley’s deep bass voice. In just a few short years, Trey Wilson has become a quality, high-energy, veteran quartet lead singer. He was good in his first year here and has only gotten better. He can deliver the most complex vocal arrangements with the soft, calm voice and build up to a powerful high while taking the audience along for the ride all the way to a standing ovation. That was the case last year following the quartet’s rendition of, “How Great Thou Art.” I didn’t think they could possibly replace it this year but they outdid themselves again with their version of, “The Lighthouse.” Everything these guys sing is done with total energy and absolute perfection but you can see their music comes from the soul when they sing gospel. Jason Pritchett sings baritone this year. From the first show of the new season, Jason fit right in with the group. He provides a smooth baritone voice that brings the extreme vocal ranges together to provide the solid quartet sound. There is plenty of action on the stage with New South as well as several costume changes throughout the show. They are all over the stage interacting with the band and the audience. They make each member of the audience feel like they are performing just for them. Be ready to do some, “YMCA” with the Village People; a crowd favorite.

Jackie Brown, formerly of The Legends in Concert and The Entertainers, is the featured female vocalist. What terrific talent this lady brings to the show! She can sing anything and make you believe it’s her genre specialty. She is also a terrific dancer, including clogging, in the afternoon Comedy Jamboree 2 PM show. The other featured soloist is Todd Bradshaw who is exceptional on both old classic country as well as the new country sounds. He does a great job on Elvis songs, George Jones, Buck Owens, Roy Orbison (last year), Dwight Yokum, and many others that are non-country.

The special lighting effects and sound are superb. I’m no technician but I can appreciate the special effects and the contribution they make to the mood of the number being performed. Several shows in town have good special effects but it takes creativity and skill to make the lighting and sound at one with the performing artists on the stage. The folks at Grand Jubilee, Stan and Phil, have found the right formula. Great job guys. And designing the costumes and keeping them up and ready has to be a tremendous task for so many in this cast. Deb Rainwater does a great job in making it all happen.

Putting the whole show together, holding it together, and making it all flow, are emcee extraordinaire, Mike Patrick, and sidekick comedian Jim Dandy (also musician extraordinaire). As emcee for the show, Mike is also the straight man for Jim Dandy and his antics. They both have comedic instincts and work exceptionally well together. Some of their routines will just have your ribs hurting from laughing so hard. As many times as I’ve seen this show (I did say it was a favorite) I still enjoy seeing them throw in some one-line, unexpected zingers and then watch the other have to ad lib to keep to the basic script of the show. This keeps the show fresh and allows the cast to genuinely enjoy performing together six nights every week. When you leave the show you will know you had a great time and you will know the cast had a great time performing for you. These folks are all true professionals, and just as important, they are all deep-down good people.

Bob Cort, Editor