Beverly McClellan

BEVERLY McCLELLAN

The Stiefel Theatre

Salina, KS

© Lydia Lowe 9/30/2012

Beverly McClellan . . .If you’ve seen The Voice on television, you probably have seen Beverly McClellan.  McClellan was on The Voice.  When I got a chance to interview her after her she finished her set, she said that a friend had talked her into going on the show due in part to the fact that the judges on the show don’t get to see the person singing until after they’ve sung.  It’s all about what they hear.  McClellan has a unique look and a unique sound.  If you hear the voice first, the unique look only adds to the total package.  She opened for Steve Vai at The Stiefel Theatre on Sunday night and she was great.  

McClellan is just herself.  No pretense, no put-ons, just her and her music.  There’s always a smile on her face and a song in heart.  She radiates sunshine from deep inside.  You can see it on her face and hear it in her voice.

She did several songs with Vai’s acoustic guitar player and several songs with harpist, Deborah ??=Conant.  McClellan’s rendition of Otis Redding's “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” was truly inspired.  I knew the song, I knew the lyrics but McClellan gave it her own twist.

McClellan had people on their feet throughout her set, singing along with the songs that we all knew, and keeping time with the beat to her own original tunes.  In the end, no one wanted to see her go.  She got a standing ovation.  She confided to me later that she was really got by that as she had never received a standing ovation before.  McClellan is most definitely on her way up.