by VICTORIA HENLEY
CTFashionMag.com
Branson’s premier destination for top billing acts and celebrity entertainers from across the United States , the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts features a vast array of entertainers and touring acts just as impressive and distinctively iconic as the theater’s stately architectural aesthetic and elegant white columns.
Featuring a stellar rotating line up of bands, solo artists, and internationally recognized variety acts, including the Oak Ridge Boys, Jimmy Fortune, The Gatlin Brothers, The Bellamy Brothers, Gene Watson, and specialty, limited time events ensuring that you and your family will find just the right performance on the Mansion Theatre’s thrilling roster of shows to excite and delight you.
I was afforded the exclusive opportunity to spotlight two wildly popular, award winning artists for special performances on the legendary Mansion main stage.
THE OAK RIDGE BOYS
The legendary Oak Ridge Boys, a recurring favorite headliner at the Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts (who are scheduled to play through till Nov. 16), are celebrating decades of sold out tours, chart topping singles, and internationally recognizable hits.
Since the group’s inception in the 1940s, the Oak Ridge Boys first gained popularity as a Southern gospel group in the 1950s when they were known as “The Oak Ridge Quartet.” The group changed the name to The Oak Ridge Boys in the 1960s and remained a gospel group until they shifted the focus of their genre to country music, while still incorporating the beloved gospel elements for which they had previously become known and loved into their mainstream singles and albums.
Guests of the Oak Ridge Boys’ at The Mansion Theatre can expect to enjoy not only brand new Oak Ridge Boys hits, but also all of your favorite charttoppers thay caused legions of fans to fall in love with this tremendously talented group throughout the decades.
Also, be sure to check out my exclusive interview with the Oak Ridge Boys by Searching “Backstage Pass with Victoria” on www.Iheartradio.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
JIMMY FORTUNE
Following his monumental 21 year career singing tenor for the world renowned Statler Brothers, Jimmy Fortune embarked on the deeply rewarding, yet admittedly petrifying, adventure of establishing a solo career after The Statler Brothers announced their retirement, much to the chagrin of their ardent fans, and Fortune, was far from ready to retire. Fortune steadily released content, prepared tour dates, and rather quickly established himself as a viable solo artist, gaining a widespread fan base of both The Statler Brothers’ lifelong supporters as well as new admirers, who quickly fell in love with Fortune’s raw, real, touching, and undeniably charming songwriting abilities and stage presence.
Fortune, who sticks around until Nov. 9, maintains a warm rapport with his audience throughout the content-packed two hour set, which is a compilation of his career- defining hits with the Statler Brothers, as well as his original music, ranging from his initial EPs released upon his establishment as a solo artist all the way to more modern fare.
His full-scale live band performs stunning instrumentals, each shining in their area of expertise, including the remarkably talented fiddle player, Ivy Phillips, who also allows her stunning vocality to shine on a solo rendition of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.”
A few of the many standout moments in this acclaimed show include a toe-tapping tribute to John Denverwith a rendition of “Country Roads, Take Me Home,” a heartfelt performance of the Statler Brothers’s “Too Much on My Heart” and a rousing rendition of the iconic “Flowers on the Wall.”
Humorous stories and anecdotes are an integral part of Fortune’s performance, and he shares some extremely funny and relatable moments regarding life on the road and memories made with The Statler Brothers.
Devoutly spiritual, the singer/songwriter speaks openly about his love of Jesus and reliance on God, sharing about his father’s bout with alcoholism, and the subsequent effects it had on he and his family.
Fortune pays homage to his strong faith with a myriad of traditional hymnals and some contemporary works including the beloved “How Great Thou Art” and “God’s Amazing Grace.”
Be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Jimmy Fortune by searching “Backstage Pass with Victoria” on www.IHeartradio.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
Special thanks to the wonderful Christy for facilitating our visit for this spotlight feature.
WEBSITE: www.themansiontheatre.com
PHONE NUMBER: (417)335-2000
INSTAGRAM @themansiontheatre