This Legends In Concert Myrtle Beach Review is sponsored.
At one point during the Legends In Concert show we saw, Jake Blues (Dan Meisner) broke character.
He stopped to ask if people were drinking. Then joked, “The more you drink, the more we look like the real thing.”
It didn’t matter that Dan Meisner isn’t John Belushi or that Kenny Barret isn’t Dan Aykroyd.
It didn’t matter that Bruno Mars seemed a little taller than 5-foot-5 that Saturday night. Because when Isaiah (who uses a mononym) sat down at the piano as Bruno Mars to accompany himself during If I Was Your Man, nothing mattered but his voice.
So, to say we enjoyed Legends In Concert, that we were lost in the impersonations, well, that would be an understatement.
Legends In Concert Myrtle Beach Review
Let’s talk about Legends In Concert for a minute.
It’s a tribute show with a handful of acts (four, five, maybe six depending on the season and location) performing nightly.
There are six year round venues for Legends In Concert: Branson, MO; Foley, AL; Wakiki, HI; the Norwegian Pearl of the Norwegian Cruise Line; The Tropicana Las Vegas; and, of course, Myrtle Beach, SC.
Then, there are seasonal productions in six locations: Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, NJ; Fort Atkinson, WI; Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.; Long Island, NY; Melbourne, Australia; and Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side).
So, even if you don’t live near Myrtle Beach, you can still check out a show.
Different acts perform at different venues, and the acts change often, so you can check out the show a few times a year and see something completely different every time. You can actually go to the same venue twice and you might end up seeing two different Elvis impersonators.
I mean, there was a Fat Elvis and a Skinny Elvis, right?
For the rest of this, though, we’re going to focus solely on the Myrtle Beach Legends In Concert and performers we saw.
When we were at Legends In Concert Myrtle Beach (2925 Hollywood Dr., located at Broadway at the Beach), our show opened with Roy Orbison (Brian McCullough). We knew he was performing that day (you can see the Legends In Concert Myrtle Beach 2020 schedule online), but Pete and I couldn’t think of what Roy Orbison sang.
When the first lick of Pretty Woman started, Pete said, “Oh that’s what he sings.” We learned he also sings You Got It. So two of his three songs were ones we knew all the words to.
And that’s the thing. If you know the words and can sing along and really dispel belief for the night, you’re going to have a great time.
If you don’t know the acts well, you might be a little less entertained during the approximately 2.5 hour show.
Honestly, though, all the performers were great. But, I definitely say that because I was singing along, dancing in my seat, serenading Pete.
After Roy Orbison was done, The Blues Brothers came out. I was laughing the entire time at how they were dancing. That’s part of reason the SNL skit with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd was so popular. All the songs they performed were really popular — rhythm, blues, and one heehaw country song. It was so much fun to sing along and laugh with them.
And they really engaged the audience. They picked someone in the front row, Linda, and pretended she was Jake’s ex-girlfriend. They kept joking around about how Linda broke his heart, and at one point, Jake even reached down from the stage to grab her hand. Linda was a great sport. She took his hand and danced right along with him, which was really funny.
So when the Blues Brothers were done, I was convinced they were the best part of the show.
But then Dolly Parton (Karen Hester) came out, and she was amazing. She sounded exactly like Dolly, laughed just like her, and she could sing. Plus, she performed my favorite Dolly Parton song — Jolene — so I was happy.
Before she sang Jolene, though, she told the whole backstory about being a new bride and her husband catching the eye of a bank teller … Jolene. She told that story like it was her own to tell. Because during Legends In Concert, these performers are the legends and every story is theirs to tell.
When she was done, I was convinced she was the best part of the show.
Then, after intermission, Bruno Mars came on stage. And, you guessed it, I was convinced he was the best part of the show. But seriously, he was so good. He came out and did almost all the poppy Bruno Mars songs we all love. He didn’t perform Happy or The Lazy Song so I was bummed about that. But, he accompanied himself on piano for If I Was Your Man and it was so impressive, I can forgive him for omitting my faves from his set list.
Like honestly, that part of the show was amazing. I was shocked when he went up to the piano and started playing. Not only does he have to have the stage mannerisms and look of Bruno Mars, plus he has to sound like him, now he had to play the piano like him too. And he did it all.
I knew every word to every Bruno Mars song he sang (thanks to Top 40 radio) so I really felt like I was at a Bruno Mars concert.
And then, Elvis (Travis Powell) took the stage to close the show. Honestly, not my favorite part of the evening. He was good, and it was so heartwarming when he thanked the veterans and active military personnel and sung patriotic songs. And his version of Elvis’ Grammy winning How Great Thou Art filled the room. But he didn’t sing the songs I wanted to sing along with, like Hound Dog, A Little Less Conversation, and Can’t Help Falling In Love.
So that’s the difference between why I loved “Bruno Mars” and didn’t love “Elvis.” I wasn’t as engaged.
Keep that in mind when you’re ordering tickets.
If you don’t know George Strait, don’t go on the days he’s performing. You won’t enjoy it as much. But if you love Michael Jackson, go when he’s performing. You’ll really enjoy singing along to your favorite MJ songs.
If you read reviews about the show online, that seems to be the main difference between a 5-star and a 2-star review. If you know the acts, if you can really get into it, you’ll love it.
The most mindblowing part about the whole night was the band. The four piece band was amazing, playing everything from bluegrass with Dolly Parton to rock with Elvis to, well, whatever you call the guitar parts in a Bruno Mars song. That band could do it all. And the two women — Angie and Taylor — who sang background for every act were great. There were also two dancers — Lisa and, um, sorry, we missed the other woman’s name — who were great too.
After the show, the acts all came out to the lobby where the audience was exiting and were so kind. They posed for pictures with every guest who wanted one. That was so nice of them. It really leaves you with a good feeling and, honestly, makes it feel like your money was well spent.
Cyndi Lauper is performing at Legends In Concert Myrtle Beach this summer and I’m already asking Pete if we can go back. Cyndi Lauper was my first record, so it would be amazing to see Girls Just Wanna Have Fun performed live. Even if it’s by “Cyndi” not Cyndi.