Inside American Pie.
Tuesday 3rd March 2026.
Review by Trevor Locke.
I attended the European Premier of a show that was part musical, part concert and part talk; all of these were jumbled and wrapped together to tell a story; the result was a musical entertainment like no other. The show runs at Curve Leicester from 26th February to 14th March.
It is about Don McLean’s classic song American Pie, recorded and released in 1971 as part of the album of the same name. Listeners have long been mystified by the meaning of the lyrics. The show presented a history of post-war America. I was delighted to be present at this show because I have a very old cassette tape recording of the McClean album, which I have been listening to since the early 1980s. It’s a song I know well. So why this particular song?
McLean, who was born in 1945 in New York, recorded his famous song in 1971 to memorialise the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson) when the aeroplane in which they were travelling crashed in 1959, killing everyone on board. That was the ‘day the music died.’
What we heard at Curve was a story both about music and about the country in which that music either originated or in which it was performed. I was impressed by the quality of the performance; the ensemble’s playing and singing were faultless. On stage, there were more instruments being played than there were musicians. A group of highly talented performers – Mike Ross, Alicia Toner, Brielle Ansens, Greg Gale and Kirk White – all of whom sang (including the drummer) and played a variety of instruments. Their vocals were impressive. What we got was a show that was not only highly enjoyable but also very informative.
I don’t want to give too much away about the story; I would rather my readers go to see it. Having said that, some background: in 1958, Buddy Holly was killed when the plane in which he was travelling crashed. Holly had been one of the great artists who had ushered in rock and roll, marking the style of that decade in the United States. There was a fear of rock and roll in America in the 1950s. The majority of people were Christians with deeply held beliefs. The song refers to a number of tragedies; there were references to the deaths of JFK, RFK and MLK. Also, three iconic music artists died, all at the age of 27: Jimi Hendrix (in 1970), Janice Joplin (1970) and Jim Morrison of The Doors (1971). Their contribution to the music of the seventies was inestimable.
Drugs featured in the lyrics with the phrase ‘eight miles high’, a phrase that appeared in several songs, including those of McLean, with its connotations of LSD. I recall there was a band of this name from Leicester a while back.
What I liked about the show was the audience interaction. At the final song, a lot of them joined in with the chorus. The musicians on the stage clearly enjoyed every minute of what they did. After the show had ended, the audience gave them a richly deserved standing ovation.
There was a remarkable song list that illustrated a variety of aspects of what was being talked about. Here are a few of the titles from that list: Chantilly Lace originally performed by The Big Bopper. Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Pete Seeger. The Times They Are A-changing, Bob Dylan. Imagine, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Little Girl Blue by Janice Joplin and, at the end of the show, Don McLean’s American Pie. So the songs painted a portrait of the kind of music being listened to at the time, as well as adding extra dimensions to the story.
Mike Ross thanked people for their work, including Curve’s Chris Stafford, Chief Executive and Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director.
In previous reviews of shows at Curve, I gave a rating of up to five stars. I have no hesitation in giving Beyond American Pie a rating of *****
