Review: THE BRYCE EDWARDS FRIVOLITY HOUR Packs Birdland

There is such satisfaction in watching an artist you support succeed.  Even more, there is satisfaction in being there from the beginning… or, at least, almost the beginning.  Bryce Edwards has been at it for a long time - in spite of his relatively young age, the entertainment powerhouse has been pursuing a lane in the industry for so long now that he has managed to find himself, find his voice, learn his trade, and create his brand.  And on November 15th of 2022, this writer saw young Master Edwards in an episode of THE LINEUP WITH Susie Mosher (from whence cometh only good things) during which I sat up and took notice.  I may even have cocked my head to one side and made the Scooby Doo “Roooooo?!” sound.  Flash forward some sixty-seven days to Bryce Edwards’ solo show debut, which packed The Original Room at Don’t Tell Mama so full that the performance was delayed nearly half an hour as the staff worked every bit of their expertise and prowess to get in the overflow of audience members.  Had there been rafters, the people would have hung from them.  Et voila - a star was born.  And ever since that day on January 21st, 2023, Bryce Edwards has been playing out around the country and selling out the main room upstairs at Birdland - done at twenty-four… at least a kind of done, since Bryce Edwards is continuing to grow his audience, his fan base, and his visibility, which will, no doubt, be an ongoing process for many years to come.  And the reason for Bryce Edwards’ success?  (That is, other than a seemingly unending well of talent.)  Bryce Edwards is an original.

Now, let us not confuse the definition of the word original.  If this were one hundred years ago, Bryce Edwards would be a talented fellow, he would be a working artist, but he would not be an original.  That was, after all, the era of The Vaudevillian, and there were men and women everywhere who did what Bryce Edwards does.  But it isn’t a hundred years ago.  And although there are people who love Vaudeville, people who remember with fondness and longing the artform, people who listen to and sing the material, there are few who make it their mission to perform this genre of work, few who make it their passion to spread this particular joy, few who make their living in spats, suspenders, and boaters.  Enter Bryce Edwards who embodies, in his music, in his mode of dress, in his hairstyles, and even in his exaggerated facial expressions, the greatness of Vaudeville performance.  Singing songs like opening number “Fascinating Rhythm” (which he tells his audience is 100 years old now!) and “Makin’ Whoopee” (a bonafide treat in his hands) the versatile virtuoso of six different instruments is equal parts Al Jolson, Rudy Vallee, and Bryce Edwards for nearly ninety minutes of sustained and uninterrupted electrifying entertainment - at least that’s what his latest sold-out house at Birdland had on September 9th.  Whether playing one of those six instruments, blaring out vocals like a megaphone, or discussing his love of the music, the era, the artform and the artists, Bryce Edwards simply laid them in the aisles.  They loved him.  They love him: present tense.  They are going to love him, and for a long time.  The gentleman is irresistible.  Indeed, one member of the cabaret community could be heard to say, on his way out the door, that one of his favorite things about the show is that, for all the chit chat about Al Bowlly, The Goofus Five, and the other creatives who brought this music into the light, the program never savored of being a lecture.  It was all enjoyable and all entertainment, passionate and purposeful, from a man who didn’t just think to himself, “You know what would make a good show?” but, instead, an artist who put his ardor, his true love, in the center spot.

And speaking of true love, Mister Edwards also welcomed to the stage (along with his AMAZING band) Reilly Wilmit, his guest artist for the night and his steady girl in real life.  The duo performed together in his DTM solo show in 2023 and again at Birdland, so one may assume that the enchanting lady in red accompanies our genial prodigy to as many gigs as she possibly can, which is lovely and romantic, and rather in keeping with an era when boy-girl acts lent themselves to songs like “By The Light of The Silvery Moon” and “Shine On Harvest Moon.”  None of that on this night, for the twosome went with evening highlight “Home in Pasadena” and the peppy charmer “Button Up Your Overcoat.”  These young ‘uns are as delightful and cute as they can be, and Ms. Wilmet is a good ballast for the hyperactively animated Mr. Edwards, a ground, if you will, for his ether.  Wonderful whimsy abounds.

Other highlights in the madcap evening appropriately titled The Bryce Edwards Frivolity Hour (indeed!) were “Vo-Do-Do-De-O Blues” and “Help!” (not The Beatles song), as well as a marvelous “Song of the Wanderer” by the aforementioned Al Bowlly, made all the more wonderful by the band, one of the best you’ll ever hear:  Scott Ricketts on Cornet, Ricky Alexander on Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, and Vocal Harmonies, Conal Fowkes on Piano and Vocal Harmonies, Jay Rattman on Bass Saxophone.  And while it is true that the gents in the band made every number better, it cannot go unsaid that this is the Bryce Edwards show, and when he sings, when he vocalizes, when he plays any of those six instruments, when he cracks wise and waxes poetic, it is Bryce who brings the magic.  He is surrounding himself with like-minded musical proficients who rise to his level while raising him higher, but at the core of the production is Bryce Edwards, and there is nothing frivolous about that.  Bryce Edwards is keeping alive a musical genre, a performance style, in fact, a balance of elegance, class, and wonder that people still want to enjoy.  He is preserving a moment in time, in entertainment, in history for the multitudes of people who still yearn for it.  What a job for a young man - and what a young man is Bryce Edwards for taking it on with such style and flair.  Simply put: he is not to be missed.

Find great shows to see on the Birdland website HERE.

Visit the Bryce Edwards Facebook page  HERE  and Instagram page HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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