JACKSON, MI – The Potter Center at Jackson College welcomes country superstar Martina McBride to the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, the kickoff to the 2015-16 entertainment season.
The multi-million selling vocalist gathered a group of enduring musical chestnuts and assembled a small band to record them live in the studio for her latest album. The result, a collection titled “Everlasting,” is a stunning listening experience, with McBride finding fresh nuances in familiar lyrics and working within beautifully crafted new arrangements of cherished melodies. She breathes new life into ballads like “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” and “Do Right Woman” by digging into the deeper meaning of their messages. McBride is equally refreshing on such tempo tunes as “Wild Night” and “Suspicious Minds.”
Motown gets some new twists in her versions of “Come See About Me” and “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.” The 1967 Linda Ronstadt ballad “Little Bit of Rain” becomes a standout moment on McBride’s new record. So is the reworking of the 1966 Etta James/Sugar Pie DeSanto romp “In the Basement,” where McBride is joined by pop star Kelly Clarkson. Soulful Gavin DeGraw is her duet partner on the revival of the 1962 Sam Cooke classic “Bring It on Home to Me.”
“I just meant this album to be like a gift,” says Martina McBride. “I wanted to do something different. What I love about this record is that you can just relax with it. I wanted to make an album that you could put on when you’re cooking or when you have friends over. It is like comfort food.”
Throughout her career, McBride has amassed 11 Grammy nominations, four CMA Awards, three ACM Awards, 20 Top 10 hits and six No. 1 smash singles. She has achieved such astounding success by singing lyrics of substance and songs that challenge listeners, including such enduring classics as “Wild Angels,” “Independence Day,” “This One’s For the Girls,” “Concrete Angel,” “My Baby Loves Me (Just the Way That I Am),” and “In My Daughter’s Eyes.”
Tickets are still available for Martina McBride, at $50, and may be purchased by calling the Potter Center Ticket Office at 517.796.8600, or online at www.jccmi.edu/events.