Maryville native returns for concert
Todd Bradshaw
“No shoes. No shirt. No problem.” That’s the title of one of four-time Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney’s more famous songs and Maryville residents will possibly have the opportunity to hear that song performed by Chesney — sort of.
On Sept. 12, Maryville native and graduate Todd Bradshaw comes back to his roots to headline a benefit concert for the Maryville R-II Educational Foundation.
“I always love coming back and performing in my hometown,” Bradshaw said. “I’ve always had a lot of support there and everybody’s been so kind and helpful along the way. I always love coming back home.”
After graduating from Maryville High School, Bradshaw attended Northwest Missouri State University, where he received a degree in geography and economic development, but receiving his degree was more of a formality.
“I had never planned on using my degree,” Bradshaw said. “I wanted to get my degree so I could have that piece of paper, but I wanted to pursue music after that. I looked at it as a time for me to graduate and get my degree.”
During college, Bradshaw sang at Worlds of Fun for four summers and accumulated more than 1,200 performances over the four years. He said that the opportunity during college to “cut his teeth” in the entertainment was incredible.
Once he graduated college, Bradshaw set his sights on the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Branson, Missouri.
“I sent off an audition tape down to Branson and I got my own show down there,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw’s singing career in Branson started with the Christmas show at Shoji Tabuchi Theater in 1999. After that, Bradshaw moved to the Lost in the Fifties show and performed there for a few months.
Over the years, Bradshaw has been a part of several shows and theaters in Branson including Sundown Jubilee at Silver Dollar City and spent 10 years as the male vocalist at The Grand Jubilee and Comedy Jamboree at the Grand Country Music Hall.
Bradshaw was out of the music industry for 18 months before he found his current gig, being Kenny Chesney.
“I had auditioned for Legends in Concert a couple of years prior and they were looking for a country act, a hot country act for last summer,” Bradshaw said. “I did the summer run for 2014 at Legends in Concert in Branson and I did the spring run at the Legends in Concert.”
According to its website, Legends in Concert is known as the pioneer of live tribute shows and possesses the greatest collection of live tribute artists in the industry.
Bradshaw is performing as Kenny Chesney at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for Legends in Concert, but Bradshaw’s journey to the spotlight was an unusual adventure.
“I was performing at The Grand Jubilee and one night the Tim McGraw from Legends and Buddy Holly from Legends came over to the show,” Bradshaw said. “The Tim McGraw performer came over to me after the show and told me I could pull off Kenny Chesney really easily, so I went back and talked to our lady vocalist, who used to be a singer and dancer at the Legends show. She told me if she ever saw the general manager, she would mention me to the general manager and she happened to run into her the next day.”
Bradshaw had to do a live audition for the Legend in Concert producers because the company wanted to make sure that Bradshaw looked like Chesney, acted like him, performed like him and talked like him.
“I had heard from a few people that I looked like him along the way,” Bradshaw said. “I thought that I could change my voice up a little bit and with the hat and cut off sleeves, I thought I could pull it off.”
While the performance at the Maryville R-II Educational Foundation is still a month away, Bradshaw is figuring out what kind of performance he’s going to have on Sept. 12. He said it’s going to be a mix of cover songs that he performs and a Kenny Chesney set.
One aspect of Bradshaw’s career that he hasn’t ventured into yet, is song writing. Bradshaw said that he’s always been interested in the possibility of writing his own songs.
“I would love to get into the song writing platform, but I haven’t went down that road yet,” Bradshaw said. “I love doing covers because it’s a lot of fun.”
According to a release from the Maryville R-II Educational Foundation, board member Kelley Baldwin said that Bradshaw is a great musical act.
“Todd is such an electric and amazingly talented performer who has been loyal to Maryville and to the people who live here,” Baldwin said. “We were thrilled when he offered to bring his Kenny Chesney act back home to raise funds for our community’s schools.”
The event includes a dinner catered by Wabash Junction at the Maryville Country Club. Only 100 tickets are available for the private concert and the foundation said early registration is encouraged.
The social hour begins at 6 p.m. with dinner beginning at 7 p.m. and the concert will immediately follow. A ticket is $50 per person and includes dinner and the concert. Individuals must be 21 years old to attend and the foundation requests casual attire.
For more information about the event, visit www.foundation.maryville.k12.mo.us or contact Baldwin 660.562.7433. To purchase tickets, visit the school district office at 1429 South Munn Avenue in Maryville during business hours.
