"A Night with Leslie Vincent" at The Belvedere at Crooners Supper Club

I'm becoming a regular at Crooners Supper Club. I returned for my fourth concert this year in their new outdoor venue The Belvedere, this time to see the multi-talented #TCTheater artist Leslie Vincent and her amazing friends. It was such a glorious night, so full of the joy of music and community. It really feels like our vitally important performing arts community is starting to come back to life again*, and Crooners has been leading the way since last summer.

In addition to appearing on music-theater stages around town, Leslie released her debut album last spring, a jazz album called These Foolish Things, comprised of mostly jazz standards that sound familiar yet new (available on Bandcamp). She had a delayed album release concert at Crooners outdoor drive-in venue last summer, focusing mostly on the album, plus some additional jazzy goodness. This year's show was more of a mix of songs from her album with other jazz, pop, and original songs (did I mention she's a songwriter too?). She also invited a few of her friends onstage for some really great duets.

An unassuming superstar, Leslie Vincent is charming and genuine on stage, not afraid to laugh at herself or tell silly stories. This combined with her talent vocally and as a performer makes for a really entertaining show that feels like you're hanging out with friends. Speaking of Leslie's friends, she was joined by her Champagne Drops duet partner Emily Dussault for some out-of-this-world harmonies ("Oh Heavenly Day" indeed!). For more of their amazing harmonies and songwriting skills check out their recently released album called Side by Side. #TCTheater artists Max Wojtanowicz and Kate Beahen also joined her for a song or two, and it's great to see artists performing together again.

If you're looking for outdoor entertainment this summer, I highly recommend checking out the line-up at Crooners (they also have two indoor performance spaces). The tented outdoor venue is pleasant even in the heat, with food and drink service available before and during the show.

Here are a few other theater-adjacent shows coming up at Crooners:

• An Evening with Kate Beahen in the Dunsmere Jazz Room on June 19 (two shows)
• Erin Schwab's 50th Birthday Bash on the Main Stage on June 19
• An Evening of Showtunes with Tyler Michaels King and Friends at The Belvedere on July 8

I hear that Crooners is interested in producing or hosting more cabaret or revue style theater-adjacent shows, so keep it in mind and follow them to find out what's upcoming, or contact them if you're looking for a venue for your own show.

Leslie and her awesome four-piece band

Leslie and Max

Leslie and Kate

Leslie and Emily, aka The Champagne Drops

*For a full list of outdoor performances in 2021, click here.