Music Variety

Music variety is the format Branson invented and still does better than anywhere else: a house band, a rotating song list spanning several decades, comedy between numbers, and a cast that has usually been playing together for years.

Thirteen productions sit here. Grand Jubilee and the Hughes Music Show are the archetype – large families or long-standing ensembles working country, gospel, pop and comedy into one bill. Awesome 80’s and Re-Vibe narrow the focus to a specific era. Rick McEwen Presents The Gambler and Lasting Impressions build around a central performer, Sons of Britches leans hardest on the comedy, and Dublin’s Irish Tenors with The Celtic Ladies brings a Celtic vocal programme that is unlike anything else on the strip.

This is the category to pick when you are booking for a group that cannot agree. A variety bill gives everyone something, which is precisely why these shows have survived decades of changing taste in town. If you want a tighter theme, the country, tribute and comedy lists are more specific.