As 2023 wraps up, and the holidays are in front of us, there are plenty of Christmas shows to choose from as they come through your town. The Riviera Theatre brought country artist Crystal Gayle to celebrate this year holiday season. Gayle surrounded herself with a 7-piece backing band.
After a few traditional Christmas covers including an instrumental cover of “Sleigh Ride” opened the show. Gayle joined the band for the 3rd song “Winter Wonderland.” She was all smiles and still has that hair that basically goes down the length of her body. She made periodic jokes about her hair during the show. Jay Patten handed various instruments including the saxophone. He also took lead vocals on 2 tracks including “Special Kind of Christmas.” After being on tour for 50 years, Gayle still has a nice range and knows how to deliver a song. She shared stories about growing up in family of 8. She was the 2nd last, and her bigger sister was Loretta Lynn. She paid homage to her sister by doing a few of her numbers. Her current bass player Michael Lusk was also the bass player for Loretta for over 20 years. Lusk sang “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and did the number justice. Lynn shined on the final track of the evening “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
This is the 2nd time I seen Gayle perform and the 1st time seeing her do a Christmas show. It was quite an entertaining show all around!
Setlist:
Sleigh Ride (Instrumental)
God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen (Instrumental)
Winter Wonderland (Richard Himber and his orchestra cover)
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra)
Silver Bells (Bing Crosby cover)
Why Have You Left the One You Left for Me
Talking in Your Sleep
Ribbon of Darkness (Gordon Lightfoot cover)
Walkin’ After Midnight (Lynn Howard cover)
Special Kind of Christmas (Jay Patten cover)
Ready For the Times to be Better
Coal Miner’s Daughter (Loretta Lynn cover)
Set Me Free
A Holly Jolly Christmas cover (The Quinto Sisters cover)
Blue Christmas (Doyle O’Dell cover)
O’ Christmas Tree
Good Old Country Christmas
Go Tell It on the Mountain (traditional cover)
Away in a Manger (traditional cover)
O Little Town of Bethlehem (Lewis Henry Redner cover)
Silent Night (Jospeh Mohr & Franz Gruber cover)
The Little Drummer Boy (The Trapp Family Singers cover-instrumental)
When I Dream
Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (Harry Reser and his Orchestra)
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Irving Berlin cover)
Let There Be Peace on Earth (Champ Butler)
Don’t Make It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
I Saw the Light (Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys cover)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We would like to thank David Fillenwarth from the Riviera Theatre for the credentials to review then show.
