Branson - George and Shoji

I've fallen behind again writing the blog so I'll do a quick catch up. The 3rd show we saw in Branson was the George Strait Tribute show. James Garrett heads a list of top Branson entertainers who along with featuring the music of George Strait highlight music from other great artists, a little bluegrass,
comedy and gospel sprinkled along the way.

We have been really enjoying these tribute shows. The theaters are small so you are very close to the performers and they are all very good professional entertainers. This the the bio for the George Strait tribute cast.

James Garrett was with two-time Grammy winning group, The Kendalls as lead male vocalist and rhythm guitar player. He has performed with Marie Osmond and the Osmond Brothers. James has toured with various artists, including Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs, and Glen Campbell. This great live show features legendary Branson gospel singer/songwriter Randy Plummer who has been performing in Branson for over 35 years. Randy was awarded the 2007 male vocalist of the Year from Branson‚
Gospel Singer/Songwriter Association. You will also experience the musical talent of fiddle player, Shawn Pittman (Roy Clark's very own fiddle player) and James's bandmate from "The Kendalls" - mandolin player, Ricky Wood.

In the afternoon after the show we went to the downtown historic district and the new lakefront plaza. The Plaza is an urban town center with shopping and restaurants on the ground level and Westgate timeshare condo's on the 2nd and 3rd levels. We enjoyed dinner at an upscale Mexican restaurant overlooking the water.

Wednesday we went to the movies to see the new Spider-man movie, Millie liked it, I thought it was OK. That evening we had front row seats to see Shoji Tabuchi, the Japanese fiddle player. His musical production covers all genres of music from the big band era to today, except maybe rap or whatever the youth of today call that awful stuff they listen to. The cast includes dancers, a band, and vocalists in addition to Shoji who performs in probably 3/4 of the show. Yes the rest rooms at the Shoji theater are opulent.

Pool table in the Gentleman's rest room

Lady's rest room at the Shoji theater

All too soon our Branson adventure ended, we packed a lot of entertainment into our 5 day stay, but it is now time to move on, next stop St Louis to ride to the top of the Gateway Arch.