The Kravis Center of the Performing Arts is in West Palm Beach, Florida. This lucky facility was the home to the opening concert of Clay Aiken‘s 2012 Joyful Noise Tour. The November 23rd concert was filled with excited fans and music lovers who enjoyed a night of music, laughter, and Christmas cheer. Clay was joined on the stage by his musical director, Ben Cohn and a full orchestra.
While talking to the audience, Clay gave a special “heads up” to the French Horns in the orchestra. He thought all the brass section was special.
There was a great review for this concert from The South Florida Gay News:
Clay Aiken in West Palm Beach – Through Tears and Joy
American Idol Season 2 runner up Clay Aiken brought joy and tears to the Kravis Center of the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach recently with his Joyful Noise Tour. He returned to the holiday circuit after a five-year break.
A lot of former idols lose their appeal fairly quickly, but it was evident that Aiken still had his, with fans showing up all the way from Tokyo and Brazil.
The concert was filled with a mix of traditional religious Christmas songs like O Holy Night, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, Mary Did You Know and secular ones like My Grown up Christmas List, Don’t Save it All for Christmas Day and Jingle Bells.
While Aiken’s voice soared on every note it was his down home charm that made the concert memorable. He told stories, interacted with fans and was not only charming, but surprisingly funny.
After watching him on stage it’s easy to see why he’s garnered a loyal, almost fanatical following, over the years. When he asked how many of his fans had been to all of his holiday tours a surprising number of them screamed out.
While most of the concert was filled with laughter and smiles there was one part that was especially sad. Throughout the performance there were prerecorded fans speaking about holiday memories, including a woman who had lost her son close to Christmas, and she used the holiday spirit to help her grieve and move forward again.
The only criticism of the night would be at times the live orchestra seemed to overpower his voice. But that could have also been due to the fact that Aiken admitted he was battling the flu so perhaps his vocals weren’t at full power.
It was fun going through the pictures from Florida!
And – check out this great video.
It has a small chat from Clay followed by a song that highlighted Clay’s beautiful voice and…french horns!
This is so much fun. I am so glad we have wonderful YouTubes to see and hear Clay this Christmas!
It’s always wonderful hearing Clay sing a beautiful holiday song!
Did you attend one of the concerts in the Joyful Noise 2012 Tour?
What a great review of Clay in West Palm Beach, Florida! Makes me proud for him. You can never go wrong in spending your money on anything Clay – especially a show in a Christmas Tour! So miss him doing the touring! It makes a person excited just reading about his performances let alone being there in real life! Thank goodness for the videos!
This time of the year is so hectic! Listening and watching Clay's Christmas performances is my gift of the season! The spirit is brought back to me with his glorious voice! Thank you, CANN!
So lovely listening to "The First Noel" again. Gonna have to bring out my Clay Christmas Music.
it sure is lovley hearing clay sing the first noel all over again
I have great memories of that tour. We came from East Tennessee down to stay at Siesta Key while I went to see Clay at Sarasota and Clearwater. Clay was a few seats away from me on "All Year Long" (towards the end of the song) at Sarasota. I met some Claymates who lived there after talking with them on the OFC. I had only seen Clay in concert 4 times until that trip.
Loved Clay's Christmas Tour. He's my Sound of Christmas. I listen to Merry Christmas with love the entire month of December.