Slideshow: Sizing up Pacific Amphitheatre's summer season
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WILLIE NELSON vs. MARTINA McBRIDE
You can never go wrong with the ol' Red-Headed Stranger, and what better time for an evening of old-fashioned country than opening night of this year's OC Fair (July 13, $29.50-$59.50)? Then again, as with B.B. King, if you've seen Willie at any point this past decade – or the decade before that, or the decade before that – then you've definitely seen what one of our greatest enduring musical legends has to offer live.
McBride, however, playing Aug. 10 ($35.75-$65.75), can still surprise, if not with her reliable song selections than with her astonishing vocal ability, which seems more malleable and powerful as she approaches her 46th birthday than it has at any other time in her career. Neither show will let you down, but Martina's performance may be the one to really lift your spirits.
You can never go wrong with the ol' Red-Headed Stranger, and what better time for an evening of old-fashioned country than opening night of this year's OC Fair (July 13, $29.50-$59.50)? Then again, as with B.B. King, if you've seen Willie at any point this past decade – or the decade before that, or the decade before that – then you've definitely seen what one of our greatest enduring musical legends has to offer live.
McBride, however, playing Aug. 10 ($35.75-$65.75), can still surprise, if not with her reliable song selections than with her astonishing vocal ability, which seems more malleable and powerful as she approaches her 46th birthday than it has at any other time in her career. Neither show will let you down, but Martina's performance may be the one to really lift your spirits.
TEXT: BEN WENER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER / PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
