I have been very fortunate enough to see the incomparable Judy Collins, live in concert, three times in the last 7 years. At the Grammy Awards in 2017, with Stephen Stills in 2017, and, this past Saturday evening at The Kent Stage and this past show was just a delight! “An Evening With Judy Collins & The Chagrin Falls Orchestra.”
Judy Collins made this one of the best “story teller” type of concerts I have ever seen. She covered the songs of her career, told the stories of how they came about, spoke of her time with Leonard Cohen, Stephen Stills, and, Kris Kristofferson among others. She also had some pretty comedic moments mixed in with her set. My favorite was the story about her friend who was trying to quit smoking. Judy Collins said she referred him to her one doctor who was very good at helping people with this problem. She said that she talked with her friend after his visit and said that the doctor had asked him if he really wanted to quit smoking, he said “no”, the doctor told him that every hour he smokes, one hour of his life would be taken from him and given to Keith Richards! She injected more humor during her set too.
The night’s focus was on her music and she performed it extremely well and sounded fantastic. She told the crowd that she is 85 years old now. She still commanded the stage, the crowd, and, was brilliantly accompanied by the Chagrin Falls Orchestra. My favorites were “Where Have All The Flowers Gone”, “Send In The Clowns”, and, my favorite song of the evening (not on the “set list”) and the last song of the evening, “Amazing Grace”. She returned to the stage, asked the crowd to please join her in singing with her, and, the orchestra, this incredibly iconic song. I think every single person in the room was singing along. One of those “concert magic moments”!
I really enjoy these “story teller” type of shows with these iconic artists. They, as Judy Collins, really seem to enjoy singing songs from their careers, telling the stories from their personal life’s and the stories of their professional life’s too. At the end a well deserved and very well earned standing ovation was given by everyone in the room!’
Another incredible concert at The Kent Stage! (Make sure to check out The Kent Stage’s “EVENT” page for upcoming concerts!
I’ll see you there.
