Country hits are ‘Brewin’

SUN CITY – Alan Eugene Jackson has graced the country airwaves and audiences around the globe since beginning his career in 1989.

The 58-year-old singer-songwriter, known for songs like “Chattahoochee,” “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere,” and “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” has remained one of America’s top country vocalists over his near three-decade career.

On Thursday, June 28, Sun City will be treated to a special concert in Drendel Ballroom, performed by a man who could very well be Mr. Jackson himself.

“People have always been amazed by the look. They always ask me if he’s had plastic surgery because he looks too much like Alan. And his sound. That’s probably the closest sound you will hear to Alan’s singing. He’s just dead on,” Nick Hill of Midwest Entertainers Inc. said of his client Doug Brewin.

Brewin, who has been in the game of performing as an Alan Jackson tribute show for years – Hill was unsure of the specific number of years – strives to make each show a “fun, entertaining Alan Jackson tribute that is an accurate representation both visually and musically. I try to be as detailed as possible in creating the look and sound of AJ, and most importantly respectful to Alan’s music,” he writes on his official Midwest Entertainers page.

Hill agreed, adding that when watching his client’s shows, he always tries to get the reaction of the crowd.

“They always tell me you’d think it was Alan Jackson singing the song himself,” he said.

In addition to his shows, mostly booked at casinos or fairs, Brewin works for the Legends in Concert show in Las Vegas and the Carolinas.

The show at Sun City, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time, will run approximately 90 minutes, the average length of one of Brewin’s shows.

“It’s usually two 45-minute sets, but a lot of the time, he’ll just go on through. He kind of bases it on the audience or the venue he’s playing in,” Hill said, adding that the show has a pre-prepared set list. “We can’t just take everyone’s request, because after a while, it would just create too many cracks.”

However, Hill ensured any fan of Jackson will be able to hear his hit songs over the last 23 years.

“The man was a three-time entertainer of the year, so we have to pay respect and do all of the songs notable enough to get him there,” Hill said.

Those who aren’t able to attend the Thursday show are also encouraged to travel over to Des Plaines on June 30, when Brewin will share the stage with a Rod Stewart tribute act at the Des Plaines Theater.

“One of the things about country that I just love is that you don’t know who will show up,” Hill said. “We have young ones in the crowd and we have older generations who still come to hear the songs they know. Country music is kind of in a class of its own in terms of commercial appeal.”

However, for Brewin, one of the most rewarding aspects of working his show is when audience members appreciate his work so much, they approach him and exclaim they are going to go buy country albums.

“I say, ‘Yes, you do! And I know you’ll love them!’” Brewin writes on his page. “I’m not out to convert anyone, but it’s exciting to see people discover and appreciate great country music.”

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