As a young musician, Chris LeGrand wanted to make his own name, writing his own music.
“People would say ‘you look a lot like Mick Jagger.’ When you’re 15 to 18 years old, that’s the last thing you want to hear,” said LeGrand, who stopped fighting the comparison and started performing as Jagger in a tribute show that’s celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. He’s the last original member of the show.
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LeGrand will channel the front man in Satisfaction/The Rolling Stones International Tribute Show at 8 p.m., May 28, at the BEC Plex, 5955 Jefferson Davis Hwy., North Augusta. The center is next to the Antique Mall.
When he was growing up, LeGrand had an uncle who was more like an older brother. He attributes that uncle as being the person who introduced him to the music of groups such as the Beatles, the Who and the Rolling Stones.
“I had my own music I liked,” he said of the time.
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But something about the bluesy sound of the Stones and the members’ bad boy personas drew him to the group’s music.
It was the sound of Jagger’s voice especially that was the most difficult thing to mimic.
“I’m trying to emulate a British singer when I’m from Texas,” said LeGrand. “Now, it’s second nature.”
LeGrand has performed Jagger more than 4,000 times since 2001. He’s traveled around the globe to perform the music of the Rolling Stones. In 2005, the production “became the first ever Rolling Stones’ show to debut on the Las Vegas strip as part of Legends in Concert Show,” according to the group’s website.
The show also been performed in Russia.
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Although he’s never met Jagger in person, he’s seen the group in concert multiple times, and he’s had to work with his management to get permission to do certain things related to his own group’s performances.
Until the pandemic hit, LeGrand was performing at least 150 shows a year, and he’s ready to get back on the stage bringing the music he loves in this 20th anniversary season.
The show will include 30 of the Rolling Stones top hits, as well as costumes to create the entire look and feel of the band, according to the website.
The Memorial Day weekend show in North Augusta kicks off the group’s summer tour, he said. The Satisfaction show is one of five different shows the cast performs.
Tickets are $25-$35 and are available at thebecplex.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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