Sunday’s concert at the outdoor venue rolls out as a ‘fascinating’ collaboration with the Grand Rapids Symphony, according to Groban. The Local Spins interview with the acclaimed singer.
Josh Groban: Playing with different orchestras during the tour has been ‘a challenge and fun.’ (Photo/Jennifer McCord)
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Josh Groban is enlisting a big band for his Sunday (Aug. 30) concert at Acrisure Amphitheater. A very big band: The Grand Rapids Symphony.
The Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter is touring the country with just a pianist and guitarist, but don’t worry about a lack of musical muscle. Groban is performing with an orchestra at each of his tour stops on his “Stage, Screen, and Symphony” tour.
“We have a different symphony and rhythm section” at each concert, he says. “It’s fascinating to hear each city’s (symphony). They each have their own identity and style interpreting these classics that aren’t classical.”
The “non-classical classics” he’s referring to are the repertoire for his shows. The set list draws from Broadway shows and Groban’s latest album, “Cinematic,” which was released in May. The album is billed as “a tribute to the grand and gorgeous world of the silver screen,” and features music from such classic films as The Godfather, Casablanca, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The album – and hence concerts – feature Groban’s versions of “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” from The Lion King, “As Time Goes By” from Casablanca, and “Moon River.”
Back in GR: Josh Groban at Van Andel Arena in 2019. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
The lattermost recording featured Groban’s father, Jack Groban, on trumpet. He says his father would often play piano around the house, but the onetime trumpet player seldom if ever got his horn out as Josh was growing up.
“He did gigs in the 60s in college,” Groban says, and was a first-call trumpet player. “Then he put it away. This was his first-ever recording session. He crushed it. He just celebrated his 81st birthday. He’s the most amazing guy. I got my musical DNA from him.”
Groban says the songs on “Cinematic” and other tunes from his set, such as “Pure Imagination” (taken from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) and “Old Devil Moon” (from the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow) are the kinds of songs that filled his childhood home. “These were the kinds of songs I’d listen to growing up. My first dream was to interpret them,” Groban says, noting he did not start to write his own songs until he was 18 or 19.
Sam Strater is the senior vice president and general manager for the Grand Rapids Symphony. He says while the symphony has performed earlier this summer at Acrisure Amphitheater, this show is different. It previously played at the amphitheater on the Fourth of July and again on July 23 for a show entitled “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert” as part of the Picnic Pops series.
“We rehearse the day of the performance and do the show that night. That way we go over things with his conductor,” Strater says. “He is locked in on the tempos and transitions.” He is familiar with places Groban might want to slow things down or otherwise change things up, and he will work with the orchestra to make sure it knows such ins and outs.
Groban says playing with a different backing orchestra at each concert is different but enjoyable. “It’s a challenge and fun,” says Groban. The presence of his own pianist, guitarist/musical director and perhaps most crucially his conductor provides a layer of comfort and familiarity for each show.
Regardless of the situation, Groban says playing live for an audience is his happy place. He says that is especially true after the shutdown due to the pandemic, ad he gets energy from a live audience that is impossible to duplicate otherwise. “It’s our common humanity. I can feel their vibe,” he says.
Tickets for Sunday’s show are still available online here. Tickets range from $27.49 each for a “Summer of Live” two-pack of lawn seats to $123.45. It’s the only Michigan stop on this U.S. tour.
VIDEO: Josh Groban (Live in Cincinnati)
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