They spent years traveling with Frankie Valli as his backup singers. Now, The Modern Gentlemen are touring with great success. The quartet will bring its unique sound to Aiken’s Amentum Center for the Performing Arts.
“Working with him helped us get our sound,” said Brian Brigham, who had been working at Disneyland when he heard about auditions for a singing group. His brother, Brandon, is also part of The Modern Gentlemen, but he joined a few years after it was founded.
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Valli picked out singers he liked, and they were soon singing at Valli’s house around his piano, creating four-part harmonies.
Brigham said the nearly 15 years he worked with Valli were amazing. He and the other singers joined him at a time before the hugely successful musical “Jersey Boys” came to the stage, and he was with Valli when the singer came to Augusta in 2016.
Brigham said he remembered the concerts and the group got a tour of the “golf course” while in the Garden City.
When the musical began touring the nation, the singer would piggyback on the touring company’s performance, hitting the same cities to drive the momentum.
Brigham said they watched as the musical caused a resurgence in Valli’s career, and it was an exciting time.
The group performed in front of huge audiences with Valli, including 40,000 people at the BBC Proms in the Park. Other concert appearances included “A Capitol Fourth” in 2014 in Washington, D.C. with Michael McDonald, Patti LaBelle and John Williams. The group toured the United Kingdom, Asia, Israel, Canada, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, according to the group’s website.
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With all that time spent with Valli, The Modern Gentlemen do bring a few of the Four Seasons style into the repertoire, but the group sings all kinds of music.
“We sing Motown to Beach Boys to the Beatles and Bee Gees,” he said.
And the concert is appropriate for all ages.
“The audiences for our shows range from 2 to 92. The music is a safe place for them to come. We span six decades of music,” he said.
All of the vocalists are lead singers, but the individuals can blend together with their harmonies.
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The group has been touring on its own since 2018. During the pandemic, members created their first Christmas album.
A limited number of tickets remain for the June 10 and 11 performances which begin at 7:30 p.m. both nights. The concert was rescheduled from 2020. For tickets go to apagonline.org.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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