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A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
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Having been to the Tivoli Theatre many times since it reopened nine years ago, including for my son dancing in some pantomimes when he was younger, I am very fond of the venue. It’s a gorgeous theatre and it has some really varied and interesting acts, so I was delighted to be invited to come along and review GlasVille.
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I must admit I hadn’t heard of them before but a quick internet search showed that they are a band from Glasgow that cover various country artists. Right up my street! My husband and I, pre-pandemic, used to go to Country 2 Country, the big country music festival down in Glasgow every year and we absolutely loved it. The show by GlasVille included many of the artists that we had enjoyed there such as Keith Urban, Luke Combs and Cam.
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This concert was the first time GlasVille appeared with their new lighting show (well done Steven) and it was absolutely fantastic, really adding to their performance. They are not just some musicians doing covers on stage, they were all dressed accordingly (Jenna’s silver sparkly cowboy boots where especially notable) and obviously it was nice to see a cowboy hat on stage too. However they aren’t just a cover band, they’re very accomplished musicians in their own right, and they’ve picked a set list that would please most country music fans in some way. So many big names were included such as Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw and Zac Brown. Apparently the band started out doing songs from the TV series Nashville and they treated us to a couple of numbers from that including Don’t Put Dirt On My Grave.
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There’s something for everyone in an evening with GlasVille, and they are all about audience participation. At one point they tried to frisbee plastic glittery cowboy hats out into the crowd, much to the glee of several of the front row who managed to catch one! The hats did not travel very far, but it was quite a fun spectacle to watch them try! The band encourage us to take photos and videos to share on social media, even when they were doing a Miranda Lambert song. As they said, unlike her, they are not presenting their own hard work, they’re just covering other people’s song so they are happy for you to have fun, sing along, take selfies and enjoy yourself. At one point guitarist, or is that dancer, Mike came out into the audience whilst still playing. It was very much a party atmosphere, with people going to buy drinks during the show just like in a proper Nashville bar, Lee and Jenna even taught us a line dance for one song. There was no interval, the music started at 8pm and it was almost 10 before they stopped entertaining us, so it was a good length of set.
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After their “last song” they did respond to cheering and clapping and came back on stage to do some more songs. The first song of the encore was a bit of a surprise but definitely not an unwanted one and it went down well with the crowd! We were all left with big happy smiles on our faces and lots of us managed to get selfies with the band at the end as they were kind enough to hang around and meet their new fans. Tickets for next year are already available and I suspect will sell out even sooner than this year’s two dates did.
Buy your tickets now: https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/glasville-2024
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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