Don McLean

Excellent performance by Don McLean. Sang all the hits and plenty of new and old songs. Spoke to the audience between all songs which was very candid and honest. Got the entire audience on its feet clapping and singing to his national anthem, AMERICAN PIE !!

Don McLean and the backing musicians were excellent- this was an extremely good show, and more than worth our two-hour drive. Don himself was personable, and his choice of songs (from his huge repertoire) was great. We got 90 minutes of pure Don McLean, with no intermission and no breaks while other musicians soloed or jammed; he gives a great performance. The venue was very good, though the sound-balancing was not. There were many songs when the lyrics were difficult-to-impossible to hear because one of the guitars was so loud. Given that lyrics are what Don McLean is probably most famous for, that was a shame.

Awesome concert! Loved the music, the stories, and the banter. No merch, no autographs, no nonsense.. but that’s ok! Just wish they would’ve done an encore.

Let's just say that Don doesn't have the voice he used to have. However, being able to see and hear the man who wrote and sang one of the most Iconic American songs of all time was an honor and a wonderful occasion. The last song of the night was of course Amerian Pie and Don had the entire audience standing and singing along with him for a good five minutes which was just an awesome experience for everyone at the show. Would I do it again? You bet.

show was great. he always gives so much information from his experience and performs nicely. always good to hear his signature song in person not just on radio

Don McLean was absolutely outstanding. His voice is still strong and clear and he was ver engaging with the crowd. He told wonderful stories and sang for two hours. He was wonderful on And I Love You So, held the audience in his hand with Vincent and Crying. Lastly, He rocked American Pie and the entire audience was on their feet . Don M cLean is truly an American legend and icon. What a show.

Wonderful venue & great opening act with Al Stewart. Al’s band exceeded our expectations as I also heard this comment after he performed from so many others. Don McClean is still brilliant as a singer /songwriter and moved us to tears with his ballads. They are so thoughtful and deep. It was a great night of excellent performances. There was a terrible storm unfortunately with tornado watch ; so lots of folks were leaving quickly at the end otherwise I think he would have done an encore. Great sing along with Bye-Bye Miss American Pie. Won’t ever forget it!!

Don was in good form and his band was outstanding. The Blue Note venue made it an event we will never forget. It was raw music at its best

Don McLean@The Regent on Broadway Palmerston North New Zealand May. 7th, 2023 Excellent show:..there was confusion about the start time; electronic tickets showed 7 pm, web site showed 7.15 pm...also no mention of a warm-up act. No preshow advice on taking of video. Safety briefing. Etc. I loved Kane Parsons; what a fantastic performer. His guitar playing was the same quality as the Don McLean backing band. Kane’s choices of songs showed a journey and that he had thought about the audience. His voice was clear and on key. Loved his “mouth trumpet” as part of the “Ring of Fire ‘ rendition. Don McLean...how does he do it...the performance was slick, with incredible backing..... His music is timeless.... and I knew the words ..!!!! Thanks for coming to our amazing Regent on Broadway theatre. Palmerston North...it wraps around outstanding performance & sound, and it delivered. A full house, and there are no bad seats !!

Really enjoyed the concert. The guy on the piano was amazing. They all were, but I just loved the energy of the piano guy and I love the piano anyway, so it will always be a draw card for me. I really enjoyed the story telling and got a few laughs. Plucking guitar playing was also pretty cool. Overall really good just a bit disappointed with the ending, just thought that they would come back and do one more.

I loved seeing Don McLean live! I had such an amazing time! His performance was immaculate and Andrew Farriss was fantastic too! Both performances were shows of a lifetime. Although it’s so sad that we won’t be able to see Don McLean on tour again, he definitely went out with a bang after getting the whole crowd to dance and sing to American Pie. Thank you for a great night!

The first 45 minutes was promoting songs of a new album I didn’t know and playing songs I didn’t relate to the songs I came to hear. The last 45 minutes covered the sentimental favourites we all love and attribute to Don McLean. He also left the stage without saying goodbye. I thought he was coming back to do an encore but he didn’t so that was disappointing. So I loved the 2nd half of the concert only. He could have come back and sung ‘Crying’ or ‘Wonderful Baby’ or ‘Since I Don’t Have You’ or ‘Crying in the Chapel’. He’s now 77 so he probably needed to have a rest by 9:45pm when it was over. Understandable but please finish with a bow with the muso’s on stage.

Don McLean: 3/25/23 “‘ICONIC’, the best way I’m able to describe my first experience seeing singer-songwriter Don McLean live! The folk rocker with 20 studio albums and 12 charted singles played Brookhaven’s Cherry Blossom Festival Saturday. The festival just outside Atlanta which attracts 20,000 people annually has been known for bringing in big name artists and when I saw Don’s name in the lineup earlier this week I had to jump on the opportunity. Checking into past dates he’d only played the area twice in the last eight years so despite the morning rain I was determined to brave the 2 hour 20 minute drive in hopes of seeing some clearing. The rock ’n’ roll powers that be shown favorably on the crowd as the clouds dissipated giving way to mostly sunny skies and a temperature of 82° by showtime! Arriving with only 5 minutes to spare I followed the electrical cords like a pathway (which no one apparently wanted to stand on) splitting the crowds all the way down to the front row and center of the stage. A simple stage set from left to right set the order as such: keyboards, Don’s mic and guitar, drums, bass, and guitar in front of a video screen backdrop with interchanging scenes such as a waving flag during ‘American Pie’. At 2:40 the 77 year old icon took the stage for a 1:08 hour / 15 song set sandwiched in between performances by ‘Deep Blue Something’ (Breakfast At Tiffany’s) and ‘Band Of Horses’. Beginning with Johnny Cash’s ‘So Doggone Lonesome’, and Gene Vincent’s ‘Lotta Lovin’ he rolled through a set of mostly covers (eight of them). ‘Make my guitar just a little louder and a little brighter if you can’, he addressed the crew ‘The soundcheck was at 8 am, I slept in’. From his 2018 album he performed ‘Botanical Gardens’ and ‘The Lucky Guy’ grateful for the rounds of applause resounding for songs that we likely wouldn’t know. His gruff vocals now beginning to warm up he chuckled, ‘You’ve come to hear the music! You’re making me feel better, I haven’t felt too well all week but I feel pretty good now.’ Next was ET’s ‘I Never Could Say No’ with some great bottleneck finger slide from Vip Vipperman on the slide guitar (a studio musician in Nashville since the 70’s). Later in the set Vip would perform an incredible rendition of Santo & Johnny’s ‘Sleep Walk’ again on slide via his light green Stratocaster referred to as ‘the green machine’. ‘This will be my last show in my own country for a while’ Don who has performed over 20 world tours said while introducing his own song ‘Jerusalem’ informing us he would be leaving after this show from LA to Sydney Australia for five weeks. Next up was ‘Crossroads’ from the American Pie album performed beautifully with just voice and piano. Tony Migliore his keyboardist (a top producer and studio musician in the Nashville scene) who’s been with Don for 37+ years was featured on the two songs. 1991’s ‘Headroom’ followed by Elvis’ ‘Little Sister’ again featuring Tony came next, ‘Help me out Tony!’ Explaining that his song writing is based on real life experiences Don mused, ‘One thing that you gotta do if you want to write songs is you have to fall in love’. Through a progression of song lyrics he exemplified the process of falling in and out of love. ‘Have you met Miss Jones’… then you meet her… ‘And I love you so’… and you have a baby ‘Wonderful baby’… maybe catting around a little bit and then a ‘Your Cheatin Heart’… you get a divorce ‘DIVORCE’ then… ‘She got the gold mine and I got the shaft’… and then the sadist song of all, ‘I was alright for just a while’. Those leading words of Roy Orbison’s (and his own #2 single) ‘Crying’ proved to be an audience favorite. Two covers were played in tandem immediately following, Gloria Lynn’s ‘Drinking Again’ and Buddy Holly’s ’Not Fade Away’. Don then read an excerpt from George Orwell’s social science fiction novel ‘1984’ and recited a poem ‘Vacant Luxury’ noting several stunning similarities to today. ‘Just a little something to think about, I still want to use my brain despite of the fact that the computer wants to eat it.’ Rounding out the set was, you guessed it, 1971’s iconic number one about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation ’American Pie’. With a commanding, ‘Do you wanna sing it more, well stand right there and sing it’ we sang every word of verse one and the chorus as a reprise. It was a surreal experience! Notably missing from the set were ‘#7 Castles In The Air’ and its B-side ‘And I Love You So’, along with the well known #2 ‘Vincent’. At the end of the day I couldn’t help reminiscing that I indeed witnessed a piece of rock ’n’ roll history live in ‘American Pie’. Listed as one of the top five songs of the 20th century by the Recording Industry Association of America behind only ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘White Christmas’, ‘This Land is Your Land’ and ‘Respect’ it is truly a masterpiece. It’s possible that I may have heard that song in passing on the radio more than any other and I never stopped to change the channel without finishing it as a sing-a-long!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #765)

Great concert. Don’t know him personally but he seems like a great guy. Got the crowd into it. Played songs we all wanted to hear. Kept the music going. An hour and a half long. The crowd was full of oldsters. They didn’t press McLean for an encore. I was ready for more the oldsters were heading for the door.

If my eyes had been closed, I would have thought that I was at a Willie Nelson concert. Like most attendees, I was there to hear the original and entire 8 and half minute version of American Pie. Most of the other songs were just a labor intensive period until the water broke. Unfortunately, Don’s current version of AP was less than what I had expected and I guess that’s what 50 years does to one’s voice. In other words, it was acceptable and it brought back many childhood memories, but it’s not the rendition that I had hoped to hear. It has become more countrified, the range of his voice tempered by age along with a vibrato that he employs with all of his songs. I frankly thought that the instruments were overwhelming loud as well. Regardless, I still made myself enjoy it but I’d make AP the encore song so that everyone leaves a bit happier than when they came vs playing a couple of unknown songs as the finish. I don’t mean to be harsh because he has a lovely personality and his band mates were sufficient for the stage show, but I’ll always prefer his albums. Don’t not go see him because of my review.

Don is a national treasure! He rocked the stage like only he can, preforming a set of original songs, Cash and Presley covers and new material from his forthcoming album. With his storytelling, whit and humor he makes an audience of thousands feel as if you just dropped in to reminisce with an old friend.

We saw the show in VT on April 23 then the next night in NH on April 24 - simply FABULOUS!!! - NOT to be missed - 50th anniversary of "American Pie" celebrated with Don McLean - OUTSTANDING!!!

The concert was UNBELIEVABLE!!! From the venue to the entertainment...A++++ The concert was on the anniversary of the Holly, Valenz, Big Bopper plane crash...AND the 50th anniversary of American Pie! A true HISTORIC evening! We even visited the crash site!! A MUST see!

Top artist and perfect location outside in the woods. Fantastic he tributed Elvis with three songs: And I Love You So (“His version was the best”), Little Sister (“I really like his stuff”) and Are You Lonesome Tonight (“Slow songs are the hardest”).

Respekt muss man für den Auftritt beim Jahrgang 1945 des Altmeisters definitiv zollen. Musikalisch betracht eine solide Vorstellung. Sieht man davon mal ab, war es lange Zeit eine unglaublich träge und müde Vorstellung, bei der man sich fragt, ob das Publikum oder die Musiker steifer bis zug Regungslosigkeit agierten.