Country singer Crystal Gayle enjoyed a weekend of back to back shows at the Bears Den Showroom located inside the Seneca Niagara Casino. BackstageAxxess had the privilege of reviewing the 1st night out of the 2. Gayle has spent over 50 years in the music business and has released 24 studio records and garnered various accolades during her career. You can say she has carved out a nice niche for herself over the years. Yes, Gayle still has her trademark of that long flowing lock of black hair.
Gayle brought with her 6-piece backing band which included longtime collaborator and partner BJ Patton (guitar, mandolin, flute, saxophone) and her sister Peggy Sue Wright (vocals). The band came out led by Patton as they conducted 2 instrumentals before Gayle and Wright took the stage. Gayle still graces the stage with elegance. She mostly went through her set singing medlies of most of the tracks on the setlist. She had a lot of interaction with the audience in between songs. Gayle told stories, a few jokes and answered some shout outs as well by the fans too during her set. She had no problem sharing the spotlight as well. She brought out her longtime partner BJ Patton to sing one of his original songs called “Special Kind of Christmas.” Her sister Peggy Sue Wright later came out and took lead on the song she originally wrote for her other sister, Loretta Lynn called “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Gayle and Wright both sang on “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” Of course, the crowd waited in anticipation until the first few tickles of the ivories happened, and they erupted at the start of Gayle’s biggest hit, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” She sang it with importance and conviction (not mattering how many times she has performed it in the past). Gayle closed out her set with another one of her biggest hits in “When I Dream.”
Gayle still commands the stage just as much as she always did. Her voice remains as solid as ever. For the lucky fans that hung around after the show, Gayle came out and met them to take photos and signed autographs. Not that is a true professional in every sense of the word!
Setlist:
Tennessee Waltz (Pee Wee King & His Golden West Cowboys cover -band instrumental)
Can’t Help Falling in Love (Elvis Presley cover-band instrumental)
Dancing the Night Away
Everybody’s Reaching Out for Someone (Dickey Lee cover)
Those Were the Days (Mary Hopkin cover)
Talking in Your Sleep
Ribbon of Darkness (Marty Robbins cover)
You Don’t Know Me (Eddy Arnold cover)
Why Have You left the One You Left for Me
Walkin’ After Midnight (Lynn Howard cover)
Special Kind of Christmas (BJ Patton song)
Midnight in the Desert (Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and Boots Randolph cover)
Coal Miner’s Daughter (Loretta Lynn cover with Peggy Sue Wright on vocals)
Together Again (Buck Owens cover)
I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail (Buck Owens and His Buckaroos cover)
Cryin’ Time (Buck Owens and His Buckaroos cover)
Act Naturally (Johnny Russell cover)
Blue Moon of Kentucky (Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys cover – duet with Peggy Sue Wright)
The Little Drummer Boy (The Trapp Family singers cover -instrumental)
Don’t Come Home A’Drinkin (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)
That’s What I Like About the South (Phil Harris cover)
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Somebody Touched Me
Encore:
When I Dream
We would like to thank Phil Pantano from Pantano & Associates for the credentials to review the show.
