Todd Murray
’64 to ’74: Songs I Knew and Now I Understand
Brownville Concert Series, Brownville, NE, April 10, 2026
Reviewed by Jan Chism Wright
Once again Todd Murray thrilled Brownville audiences with another hit show, this one directed by Andrea Macovicci and entitled ’64 to ’74: Songs I Knew and Now I Understand, which was a seminal period in a changing musical landscape. His brilliant line-up started with a medley of “Fly Me to the Moon” (Bart Howard) and “L-O-V-E” (Bert Kaempfert/Milt Gabler), which showcased his velvet crooning style and reminded us that we were once again indeed flying to the moon. He continued the journey with a contrast to the British invasion that included Beatle songs “Michelle” and “Here Comes the Sun” as well as some numbers by Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young among others. These demonstrated his amazingly versatile singing styles. He charmed the audience with the personalized stories behind these choices. His rendition of “Sunny” (Bobby Hebb) brought the crowd to its feet for a standing ovation, and that was before intermission.
The musicianship of the band members was outstanding. Gerald Sternbach is a music director, composer, and award-winning pianist with a résumé as long as your arm who has accompanied Marilyn Horne, Florence Henderson, Carol Burnett, Nancy Wilson, and many others. International award-winning guitar artist and composer Sean Harkness displayed his great rock chops, and New York bassist Steve Doyle switched to bass guitar to a great rock-and-roll style, all of which made for a tight band. And up front was Todd Murray with his good looks, charisma, and caramel-coated voice.
The second half of the show continued with this blast from the past but with deep and interesting side bars. There were also some audience sing-alongs. Even those who did not know the words to all the songs caught on fast. These songs included some from the Mamas and the Papas, Kenny Loggins, Jimmy Webb, a country crossover, and a Todd Murray original, which was performed for the first time here in Brownville. The finale was Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubles Water” that once again brought the entire audience to its feet for a standing ovation. The encore brought another standing ovation (let’s not spoil the ending). That was three standing ovations on all three nights. It doesn’t get any better than this!
