WILDFLOWER 2000: Here we go again. The publicity is calling him "the new Nat King Cole" or "this generation's Johnny Mathis". Whose generation, I wonder?! This guy's OLD! His name is Donny Gerrard, and he was the lead singer to the 70's Canadian group Skylark, which also spawned the career of record producer and Mathis friend David Foster. His 1999 CD, The Romantic, contains several classic songs, including a couple that were made famous by the great Nat Cole, and there's even one attempt at a Mathis classic, "That's All". I've sampled some of the downloadable snippets, including a re-make of "Wildflower", and conclude that it's a very good album. While he's no Mathis by any stretch, Donny Gerrard still has the rich, powerful voice that made "Wildflower" a hit in 1972.
Who can ever forget Johnny Mathis' own hauntingly beautiful rendition of "Wildflower" on that most classic LP, Killing Me Softly With Her Song. It's hard to describe how much I love that special album. Of course, I was unaware of it when it first was released, but it remains one of my greatest discoveries after I had grown up. That album sends chills to this day. Why it has not been digitized and re-released is one of life's eternal mysteries.
ON WITH THE SHOW: Mathis performs Thursday, June 14th with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra at the AmSouth Amphitheatre in the Nashville suburb of Antioch, Tennessee. This is apparently part of their "Legends of Music" series.
Tickets are on sale for the shows at the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno, Nevada. Prices are $50, $44, and $30; call (800) 687-8733 for details or use the online form.
Mathis returns to the Westbury Music Fair on July 20th & 21st. Tickets are on sale NOW online via Ticketmaster for these new dates.
Tickets are now on sale for the shows in Hyannis, Massachusetts, at the Cape Cod Melody Tent on Saturday, August 4 and Sunday, August 5. New Englanders can still buy tickets for the North Shore Music Theatre concert in Beverly, Massachusetts, north and east of Boston near Salem, on Wednesday, August 15 and Thursday, August 16.
Tickets for the concert in Saratoga, California (a suburb of San Jose) on Thursday, August 30th are on sale now. Since it's on a Thursday night, it's probably not a good gig for out-of-towners unless one no longer works for a living. There is a ticket limit (6) and prices are from $65-$100.
Two casino shows are set for October: Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut (next to North Stonington, off Route 95, again don't ask where that is) on October 5th and 6th, and at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19th and 20th. Tickets may not be available yet, call for details.
MORE NEW CONCERTS FOR 2002! In addition to the Thursday, Feb. 7th concert in waterlogged Houston, Texas at Jones Hall, POLLSTAR shows a new dates for Savannah, GA on February 9th at the Johnny Mercer Theatre, and Charlotte, North Carolina (watch out, Fab) at the Ovens Auditorium on May 4th. Obviously tickets are not on sale yet, but I think the fact that he has started booking next year's shows and is still very much in demand is FANTASTIC!
Sorry, still no Canadian or other foreign dates that I can see. I'm not sure what's behind this apparent need to be well paid--out of character for someone who didn't used to care about money, but I think he's gotten the idea that the overseas gigs aren't going to be worth his while. I think I'd find some way to let Mathis know this is not the case, and that you'd like to hear him sing, too.
In the meantime, to those who have lived in the United States without having seen Johnny Mathis in concert, what's up with that? There is ample opportunity, so you don't have any excuse in the world. Mathis is one of a kind, and while he remains at the top of his class he's getting older, so if a date with Mathis isn't important enough, and you'd rather be home watching a TV sitcom, well, ultimately it's your loss.
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