The rig guzzled two tanks of gas as it clicked off three hundred miles in a day recently. We bid farewell to the Mississippi River and Missouri River while crossing through miles of steep rolling hills and hollows in the heartland of the Ozark Mountains getting us to Branson. Here is the place where older folks have the reputation of coming as a destination to see live music shows. It isn’t like heading for New Orleans’s jazz, Louisiana’s bluegrass, Nashville’s live country music, or Las Vegas glitz. Mind you, JR and I aren’t exactly old by any means with the Branson crowd, but since it is featured in 1000 Places to See Before You Die we said what the hell, why not give it a shot. Yee hah, maybe we could add a few Ozark or Hilly Billy tunes to our music repertoires
Don't let this small-town, rural surrounding and atmosphere fool you. It lies high up in the Ozark Mountains and is thriving in spite of being in the recent wake of a February tornado. Fortunately only a dozen or so buildings took the hit.
We’ve discovered there's a side of Branson that evokes Las Vegas without the casinos. Entertainment is nonstop on The Strip, a seven-mile stretch of live music and comedy shows, numerous restaurants, theme parks, shopping outlets and a myriad of hotels. Some folks call Branson the Live Music Capital of the World, where over 100 music and comedy shows run daily in over 53 theaters.
The Pea Patch RV campground hosts provided us with a good map and list of all the theaters and time schedules for shows. The first day at Pea Patch with Wi-Fi we determined which shows might be worth seeing. We managed to book reservations with just one phone call through an agency that delivered tickets in an envelope right to our doorstep within an hour.
Wow…talk about convenient service.
Over the week here in Branson we’ve enjoyed several live theater shows such as SIX the Brothers, Buck Trent on his banjo, Clay Cooper’s country western music express, and Branson’s Show of the Century 100th Birthday Celebration.Five miles within the mountain ridge of Branson lies Silver Dollar City. Purchasing a two day pass for the price of one was the way to go as the place is definitely a hoot.
The SDC old Ozark frontier theme park experience was so realistic and there was so much to look at everywhere. One can’t help but love all the characters dressed in Ozark clothes and the acts they put on. We laughed a lot and had a great time seeing all the performers each day at the various theater shows within the park.
We saw favorites such as:
La Bella Musica with classically trained operatic tenor,Aaron Caruso,who recently performed at Carnegie and World Accordian Champion,Cory Pesaturo.
A Traditional Hawaiian Country Music Show starring four-time Grammy winner George Kahumoku.
Peruvian Yawar Chicchi Scissor
Dancers who were amazing.
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| Limbo Man |
A Russian Academic Band
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| Ireland harpist Dearbhail Finnegan with husband on the flute |
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| Ecuador Manta flute and guitar players |
Without a doubt hands down, Silver Dollar City’s Spring World Fest has been the neatest attraction of all at Branson
