Jim Croce’s son A.J. brings ‘Croce Plays Croce’ tour to MGM Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Known as a fabulous storyteller and singer/songwriter whose life was cut short in a plane crash after the release of just two albums, Jim Croce’s legacy and songs live on in a special show, Croce Plays Croce, now on tour and starring his son A.J. Croce.

“Croce Plays Croce – Where the Songbook Ends, The Story Begins” tour will come to the Aria Ballroom at MGM Springfield on Friday.

Showtime is 8 p.m.

Despite his death in 1973, Croce has enjoyed decades of posthumous fame with sales surpassing 50 million records, including three No. 1 songs and 10 Top 10 hits.

“Croce performs Croce” is a special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by A.J.’s late father, some of his own tunes, and songs that influenced both him and his father. Songs to be performed will include “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Time in a Bottle” (a song written for A.J.), “Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy),” “Lovers Cross” and many others.

A successful musician in his own right, it took Croce 30 years before performing any of his father’s songs in concert. But, looking ahead to the 50^th anniversary of his father’s breakthrough album, “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” he began thinking about putting a show together to honor his father.

“I began playing some of my father’s songs in shows back in 2019 to see what a show might look like, sound like, feel like and what was working and what wasn’t working. I knew that I would be opening a Pandora’s Box once I started playing my father’s music after 30 years of not playing a single song,” Croce said, adding that he wanted to do it “on his own terms” and make sure that it would be a really “solid show” for audiences.

“The response was insane. After all the years of coming to my concerts, nobody expected me to play one of my father’s songs. It became fun to just throw some of his songs in here and there. When I did, the joy and love that I felt from the audience in those moments was profound,” he added.

In 2022, on the 50^th anniversary of his father’s album, “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” he put a fall tour together featuring a seven-piece ensemble and a multimedia production. The group played the record in its entirety, and then played a second set that had some of Jim’s other hits, some of A.J.’s own music, and some of the roots music where it all came from.

“There was this beautiful thing that happened when I started playing a whole show of my father’s music, which can’t happen with just a song or two in a show. It was that people came to the show looking for this nostalgia. They were embracing that. And they were coming to hear the hits and all of them are present. But what they were not expecting was for this kind of nostalgia to come alive,” Croce said.

Croce added that he does not consider himself to be a traditional cover band.

“You’re going to hear the hits, some that I play just like you hear on the record and some that I don’t. I’m a stylist, if anything, when it comes to performing someone else’s music. I’m going to perform it like myself. But I also recognize that there are certain songs that are precious to the audience and I want to be respectful of that,” he added.

His “Croce Plays Croce” tour is a celebration of two of his father’s legendary albums, 1973’s “Life and Times,” and his final release, “I Got A Name,” in addition to songs from “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim.” This year’s tour commenced with the Oct. 13 release of “The Definitive Croce” collection. The tour will continue over the next year from coast to coast.

Over the past three decades, A.J. Croce has established a reputation as a piano player and vocal stylist influenced by a host of musical traditions and anti-heroes – part New Orleans, part juke joint, part soul. His 10 studio albums show a respect for all musical genres including blues, soul, pop, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll. He toured with B.B. King and Ray Charles before the age of 21. He has also performed with a wide range of musicians from Willie Nelson to the Neville Brothers to Bela Fleck and Ry Cooder. His albums have all charted on a wide array of charts: Top 40, blues, Americana, jazz, college and Radio 1 and the Nashville-based singer/songwriter has landed 22 singles on a variety to Top 20 charts

Accompanying him on the tour will be drummer Gary Mallaber, who has worked with Van Morrison and the Steve Miller Band; bassist/singer David Barard, who has worked with Dr. John; and guitarist/violinist James Pennebaker, who has worked with Delbert McClinton. The shows will also feature background singers Jackie Wilson and Katrice Donaldson.

Tickets, available online at mgmspringfield.com, range in price from $73.84 to $256.64 for A.J.’s Premium Seat VIP Package.

For more information on A.J., visit ajcrocemusic.com, and for more information on his father, visit jimcroce.com.