Photos by Andy Argyrakis

On the artist side of the coin, David Foster is already one of the world’s premier piano players, but when it comes to his work as a super producer and ace songwriter for the enormous likes of Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Madonna, in addition to discovering Celine Dion, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé, his vast body of ubiquitous work is unparalleled.

As a vocalist, Katharine McPhee is one of finest to ever appear on “American Idol,” who since went on to become an acclaimed pop, jazz and adult contemporary recording artist, as well as an actress extraordinaire whose portfolio of movies, television and Broadway includes “Waitress,” “Scorpion,” “Smash” and “Country Comfort.”

The frequent collaborators, who are married and the first to joke about their significant age difference, brought a bunch from both worlds to the Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana where they proved to be a jackpot combination for a venue that always boasts the brightest stars of any stripe.

Titled “An Intimate Evening With David Foster And Katharine McPhee,” the program fit in as many hits and covers as possible throughout nearly two hours, but was also accompanied by insightful and often humorous stories about their creation.

The 74-year-old Foster, despite battling the flu and a frog in his throat, started the performance on solo piano for snippets of his own inspirational “Snowbirds” and “Winter Games,” straight into the romance of “St. Elmo’s Fire” alongside video accompaniment from saxophone playing friend Kenny G.

McPhee, 40, soon joined him and the three-piece band, bringing her knockout vocals to such show tune standards as “Singin’ In The Rain” and “Over The Rainbow,” then guest vocalist Daniel Emmett rocked the male lead of “Man In Motion” with three-year-old Rennie Foster assisting on drums, followed by the spine-chilling “You Raise Me Up.”

“You Used To Be Mine” gave McPhee another chance to flex her stunning range, Foster picked a couple hopeful singers out of the audience from as far as Louisville and Indianapolis to get the spotlight, plus took a few local turns by acknowledging his lengthy association with Chicago/Peter Cetera in a karaoke-styled medley and even Gary’s own Jackson during solo slices of “Rock With You” and “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” by actual session drummer John Robinson.

Though it’s practically impossible to match the textbook tag team of Dion and Andrea Bocelli, McPhee and Emmett came pretty darn close, while the latter also astounded on the operatic “Nessun Dorma” prior to the pair returning to duet territory for Cheryl Lynn’s disco dancer “Got To Be Real.”

For the encore, Foster and his keys offered the gentle, lullaby-like “Love” as the Hard Rock reciprocated it right back to not only the 16-time Grammy Award winner, but the musical power couple and their supporting cast for such a classy night of classics.

For additional information on David Foster and Katharine McPhee, visit DavidFoster.com and KatharineMcPhee.net.

Upcoming concert highlights at Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana include The Jacksons (May 11); Billy Idol (May 19); Rakim, MC Lyte, Big Daddy Kane and EPMD (May 25); Manuel Turizo (May 26); Jake Owen (May 30); Smokey Robinson (May 31); Dear Amy (Jun. 8); Ben Schwartz (Jun. 14); Kevin James (Jun. 15); The Used (Jun. 20); Hasan Minhaj (Jun. 22); Boyz II Men (Jun. 23); Dustin Lynch (Jun. 28); Metric (Jun. 29); Jerry Seinfeld (Jul. 12); Jason Mraz (Jul. 19); Pete Davidson (Jul. 26); Larry The Cable Guy (Aug. 9); Stray Cats (Aug. 10); Sublime With Rome (Aug. 17); Michael Blaustein (Aug. 23); Iliza Shlesinger (Sept. 5); Brad Paisley (Sept. 6); Tesla (Sept. 20) and Aaron Lewis (Nov. 22-23). For additional details, visit HardRockCasinoNorthernIndiana.com.

Related Articles

Willie Nelson, Train, Gladys Knight and the real-life return of Ravinia Take the Train to Ravinia for another Legend-loaded summer under the stars Together and apart, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Train turn in United Center sing-a-long Train: “A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat” Tour at United Center Ravinia reveal wows with debuts of Lionel, Lady A., Morrissey, Queen Latifah, favs galore Jazz giants Herbie Hancock and Kamasi Washington embrace improvisation, collaboration Chance The Rapper, Usher and more: Special Olympics 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert at HB Pavilion Stevie Nicks slays United Center with Fleetwood Mac and solo classics, lauds late Christine McVie