I attended Don McLean's American Pie 50th Anniversary Tour in Hurstville recounting how the Day the Music Died inspired him to write one on the famous albums of all time.
I was abit let down that Andrew Farris of INXS wasn't the support act for that night's gig but in his place was Australian singer/songwriter and actor Jamie Reyne (son of Australian Crawl singer James Reyne). Once Don got on stage, it was game on.
Now 77 year old Don McLean made it clear that this tour wasn't just a celebration of the American Pie album but also his farewell tour. In-between songs he would tell little stories about his life and his songs. He also mentioned how he one of the last of his generation who is still in the game (everyone else is dead and there's a tribute act for them) and how Taylor Swift is the next thing in music.
He played his hits from his career such as And I Love You So (he admitted it became an Elvis Presley song once the King did a cover of it), Castles In The Air (my favorite Don McLean song), Vincent (his love letter to Vincent Van Gogh) and a 15 minute reprise of American Pie (dedicated to the death of Buddy Holly and sign of the times in the 60s). He also strummed songs from "The Freaks" that inspired him like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly and the Weavers.
It was truly a night of America.
Click here to catch him in his remaining Aus tour dates: https://www.oneworldentertainment.com.au/don-mclean-2023
Nice write up! One of those problematic artists for me. I'm old enough to have an original copy of this album, and despite my musical taste moving elsewhere that album remained a favourite for many years. Turns out that Don was a bit of an arsehole to his first wife and daughter though. I know the music is separate but sometimes it's hard to separate the artist from the real person they are. His contribution to music is huge, haven't played that album in a while though.