The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll took Kingwood by storm at the Keller Williams Concert at Kings Harbor last Friday night. An estimated 2,000 people braved the threat of rain, which never materialized, to see Las Vegas entertainer Donny Edwards perform his true tribute to Elvis Presley.
The ultimate tribute band FEVER kicked off the concert with a series of solos by its three female vocalists. Courtney Guyon took the lead singing a “one hit wonder” by Spiral Staircase called “I Love You More than Yesterday” accompanied by a blazing horn section. Camille Davis stepped up to the microphone to belt out “Chain of Fools” and give a tribute to the late, great Whitney Houston. Amber Nickelson took on a difficult cover to duplicate with Adele’s “Someone Like You,” hitting the high notes with panache.
When the band began playing “Tequila,” it was time to switch gears to an oldies set by Wayne King, who sauntered out onto the Plaza in vintage ’50s attire. As soon as he started singing “The Wanderer,” the crowd joined him on the Plaza to dance. A saxophone solo during the song allowed King to catch his breath before grabbing his guitar for the next song, “Peggy Sue.”
King continued the “do-op” set with “Your Sixteen” followed by “Sea of Love,” which he crooned to a special lady pulled out of the crowd. He danced with her to Conway Twitty’s “Only Make Believe” and finished the set with “Magic Moment” allowing the saxaphones to take center stage once again.
As the sky darkened, the band took a break and the evening’s Master of Ceremonies Roland Duhon representing the Agents at Keller Williams Realty Northeast took the stage. He introduced Donna Lewis, executive director of Mothers Against Cancer, the concert’s guest charity.
Lewis spoke about the upcoming fundraising event by the Kingwood based non-profit organization. She said that MAC will hold its first ever Virginia Grandy Fun Run on Oct. to honor one of its own members who recently died from cancer and encouraged the crowd to sign up for the event.
Duhon then thanked the band sponsors: Edward Jones Investments and the Kings Harbor tenants. He introduced Steve Heller from Edward Jones who spoke to the crowd about how his company can help address the important financial issues of retirement planning.
The Dallas-based FEVER band returned for a second set, starting out with “Rollin’ on the River” sung by Davis. They continued with hits such as Aretha Franklin’s “I Will Survive” and Tammy Wynette’s “Crazy.”
When they played “Green Onions,” it was the cue for Wayne King to appear dressed as Roy Orbison. Wearing the Orbison trademark black sunglasses, King not only looked like the ’50s crooner, he nailed his voice too when singing: “Only the Lonely” and “Pretty Woman.”
With questionable weather looming, the band decided not to take a second break and bring Donny Edwards out right away. When Edwards appeared on stage in a white jumpsuit, reminiscent of Elvis’ Las Vegas show days, the crowd spilled out onto the floor in front of the stage. An energetic Edwards opened his act with two Elvis hits: “See See Rider” and “Burning Love.”
He took a break from singing and dancing to announce: “It’s good seeing you, Kingwood. I think I’ll slow it down a bit.” He proceeded to sing: “My Way,” ending with the Elvis’ famous line: “Thank you, thank you very much ladies and gentlemen.”
Edwards opted next to sing the classic “Blue Suede Shoes” which caused the crowd to initiate a dance along. He kept them shaking in their shoes by singing “Johnny B Good.” Determined to please the audience, Edwards said he’d take requests, explaining “write it down and give it to me in ink pen, in lipstick or on a hundred dollar bill.”
He honored the audience wishes with “In the Ghetto” backed-up with terrific harmonization by the FEVER ladies, “Kentucky Rain” and “Jailhouse Rock.”
With the threat of rain now past, Edwards took the opportunity to talk to his fans: “There’s nothing like coming back home to Texas,” said the Lake Jackson native who now resides in Las Vegas. He noted that after Nevada, Texas was the place that Elvis performed the most in his lifetime.
After the short rest, Edwards gave a dynamic rendition of “Suspicious Minds,” encouraging the crowd to sing along. The band built up the pace and Edward built up a sweat, moving faster and faster to the beat and gyrating like Elvis was known to do.
No wonder he picked a slow song for the next number. Unaccompanied, he sung the “Hawaiian Wedding Song,” saying he just recently learned the words to the song on a trip to the islands.
The band’s namesake song “Fever” followed which heated up the Harbor once again with dancers. They kept moving as Edwards sang “Hound Dog,” then he brought up a young girl for her birthday to sing along with Elvis to: “Viva Las Vegas.”
Edwards and the Fever ladies sang together, “An American Trilogy,” a favorite of Elvis’ dad Vernon Presley. That medley included American classics: “Dixie,” “Glory Hallelujah” and “Hush Little Baby.” The crowd was appropriately silent for Guyon’s flute solo during the last of the three songs. The ladies continued to back up Elvis, echoing his refrain in “Tell Me Why.”
The tune “Until It’s Time for You to Go” indicated the concert was winding down as did Edward’s statement: “There’s been 44 presidents, but only one King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Elvis is forever. May God bless you as he’s blessed me.”
But the crowd wasn’t ready for the night to end. Responding to a standing ovation, Edwards’ encore was “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
He stayed on for a meet and greet with his many fans after the concert. Meanwhile, Duhon announced the final winning tickets for the charity prize raffle and the Kidz Korner drawing for the “20 BMX bike donated by Signorelli Company home builders. It was truly a night to remember!