Like so many of us, Lindsay Lavin grew up listening to The Beatles – in her case and her family’s, as she noted, to the point of being “completely obsessed!” So it was a “huge item on her bucket list” and a dream come true for her to make her return to The Green Room 42 after a long pandemic absence for a one-night-only solo concert of all Beatles songs. Lindsay Lavin: The Beatles Unplugged played on Monday, February 28, beginning at 9:30 pm, and it wasn’t just a dream for the extremely talented and personable singer, it was for her in-person and livestream audiences, as well.
A native of Miami, FL, and a graduate of Berklee College of Music, with a degree in Vocal Performance and Songwriting, Lavin was previously seen at The GR42 in It’s a Man’s World, which she co-created and performed with Ilana Gabrielle, and as a back-up singer in Titanique the Musical. Her full and resonant voice has also been heard in background vocals for such stars as Barry Manilow, Sara Bareilles, Cynthia Erivo, and others, but for her new headliner cabaret concert it took center stage and commanded it, with her heartfelt tribute to the Fab Four and to her parents for introducing her to their iconic music.
Accompanied by Musical Director Jody Shelton on piano, guitar, and vocals, and Tim Basom on guitar, Lindsay offered her expressive personal stylings through an acoustic set list of fourteen numbers, including four well-matched medleys and an upbeat encore that left everyone smiling. Interspersed between the songs were her direct-address commentary on her childhood memories of the group, its members, and their hits, singing along with her father playing them on his piano (captured in a home video she shared), concerts that she and her family attended, and her recollection of a former music teacher telling her that she sounded like Kelly Clarkson (another of her favorites) singing The Beatles, which she took as a huge compliment.
That instructor’s evaluation would prove to be a perceptive description of Lindsay’s powerhouse delivery, perfect pitch, faultless breath control, and ability to hold the long notes, while also bringing her own unique personality and emotions to the songs. It was all there, from her rich and smooth belting of the opening “Got to Get You into My Life” to her soft and sensitive rendition of “Here, There and Everywhere” (her parents’ wedding song and one of her go-to selections) to rocking out to “Helter Skelter” and slowing the tempo for an affecting “In My Life” (a duet with Shelton) and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (featuring Basom, who has been one half of the guitar section on Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen since 2017).
For “I’ve Just Seen a Face” she invited her brother Danny to join them with his guitar (she always thought that some day they’d form a rock band – but he became a lawyer, instead) and encouraged both the in-house and at-home audience to sing along to her fluid mix of “Yesterday/Let It Be” – the top two picks of Beatles fans. Each and every number was beautifully performed and enthusiastically received, resulting in an encore of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” the favorite of her young nephew and niece, who helped her close the show with their appearance on stage, and who continue the family tradition of being obsessed with The Beatles. We were all especially happy that their Aunt Lindsay is!
Running Time: Approximately 55 minutes, without intermission.
Lindsay Lavin: The Beatles Unplugged played on Monday, February 28, 2022, at The Green Room 42, inside the YOTEL, 570 10th Avenue, 4th floor, NYC.
