Don McLean brings "American Pie" to the Kavli next Friday

A Songwriters Hall of Famer sings the song that's in the National Recording Registry, at an 1,800-seat room on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, on Friday, Nov 6.

Some songs every person in the room knows all the words to. Next Friday in Thousand Oaks, 1,800 people will get to find out whether they still remember the eighth verse.

Don McLean plays the Fred Kavli Theatre at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center on Friday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. TOARTS is presenting the show at the theatre at 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Tickets are through Ticketmaster, and the venue's show page has the rest.

The Kavli date is part of a short Southern California swing. McLean plays San Diego the night before and the Inland Empire and Orange County the two nights after. For Westside and Valley readers, the Conejo stop is a 1,800-seat hall built for listening rather than shouting.

The résumé on the venue's listing is mostly hardware: Grammy honoree, Songwriters Hall of Fame member, BBC Lifetime Achievement recipient. "American Pie" is part of the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry, which is about as close to permanent as American pop music gets. Even so, it's been a working song all along. McLean has kept it on the road for decades, and the people who come out for it range from those who bought the single to those who learned it from their parents' car stereo.

He has also kept marking its anniversaries in the right places. On Feb. 3, 2021, McLean opened the song's 50th-anniversary tour at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, the room tied to "the day the music died" that the song mourns. His site later reported he returned there for a sold-out concert honoring that day. In Canada, Universal Music has certified "American Pie" multi-platinum and "Vincent" platinum. "Vincent" is the other song the room will be waiting for, the quiet one about Van Gogh that tends to drop a big hall to a whisper.

The 1,800 people at the Kavli will know the words; the question is how many verses.

McLean isn't only a catalog act, either. He has released a newer album, *American Boys*, and his site keeps a steady stream of news: a Manchester concert film out digitally, a TV special on RFD-TV, a picture-book retelling of "American Pie" that he took to *GMA3*. Expect the hits, but expect a songwriter who still treats a set list as something to think about.

A few practical notes. The show starts at 8, so give yourself time to park on a Friday. The Kavli is a seated, proscenium-style theatre, so where you sit matters more here than at a club show. Check the seat map before you buy.

There aren't many singers left whose biggest song is also a piece of American history. Next Friday, one of them is playing in Thousand Oaks.

Sources: Don McLean – Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Thousand Oaks (TOARTS) (bapacthousandoaks.com); Don McLean Sets Special Concert Event on February 3 at the Surf Ballroom to Kick-Off 'American Pie' 50th Anniversary Tour (donmclean.com); Don McLean Honors 'The Day The Music Died' with Sold-Out Concert at Surf Ballroom (donmclean.com); Don McLean Awarded Multi-Platinum Award for American Pie and Platinum Award for Vincent by Universal Music Canada (donmclean.com); Don McLean Releases 'American Boys' Album (donmclean.com); Don McLean's Live in Manchester Concert Makes Digital Debut (donmclean.com); Don McLean: American Troubadour on RFD-TV (donmclean.com); Don McLean Promotes 'American Pie: A Fable' on GMA3 (donmclean.com); Tickets – Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.com); Vincent (Don McLean song) - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)