PALM COAST, Fla. – Decked out in her Crystal Gayle t-shirt, cowgirl skirt and boots with bling, Leanna Lane has seen 84 Crystal Gayle shows and she’s not even 30 years old yet.

Traveling with Laura Lane, the Winter Haven resident is on her way to see Crystal Gayle perform over the next two nights at the sold out shows at the Orange Blossom Opry House.

“She follows her and we’re going to the next two concerts over the next two days,” said Laura Lane. “We travel around to go see her.”

“Tonight is my 84^th concert. I’ve been following her since I was 22,” shared Leanna Lane, who in addition to her music, loves how personable the country music star is with fans.

Not the only super fan in the house, Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center Director Amelia Fulmer has been a Crystal Gayle fan since childhood. Having the country music legend perform at her venue is a dream come true.

“My entire life I’ve loved Crystal Gayle it seems like. I was so excited to have her here. I grew up singing her music. A lot of her music, even as early as COVID, there’s a song she sings, ‘I’m Waiting for the Times to Get Better’, listening to that over and over it got me through COVID. We were all thinking that,” she said.

“This was a dream come true. We’ve been working hard to get her routed here, and to hear her tell an audience member that she thought the sound system was great, made me happy too because we worked really hard to get that new sound system this year,” said Fulmer proudly.

Heading in from Ormond Beach with girlfriends, Kristine Stein was particularly impressed with the fiddle player. Seeing Crystal Gayle perform was a treat for the group.

“We thought it was wonderful. That fiddler player, I’d love to see him in concert some place,” she added. “Her long hair is amazing. She’s still got it.”

Enjoying the venue, they’re already making plans to return to see ABBA in February.

Filling the venue, audience members clapped and sang along throughout the show as the hitmaker’s set list waltzed through the decades. Gayle, the youngest of eight children, shared personal stories during the show, including ones about her big sister, Loretta Lynn, who passed away in 2022.

“My sister gave me so much advice and gave me the best advice ever,” shared Gayle. “She told me to quit singing her songs. She said we have one Loretta Lynn, we don’t need another. She was right. She knew the business. She knew I had to make it on my own, in my own direction. That’s why my music was very different from my sister’s. She knew that’s what I had to be.”

Phones popped out across the venue as she went into fan favorite “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”.

A regular at the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center, Greg Feldman thoroughly enjoyed show, staying to grab a photo with the star.

“It was one of the best we’ve seen thus far,” said Feldman.

“Crystal can hold an audience, entertain an audience, the variety of her singing, they did everything from jazz to country. A great group of six back up musicians that are so unbelievably talented and of course, Crystal Gayle stepping up there, and just blasting it out, entertaining the audience, brought them to their feet more than once. It was a fantastic show,” he said.

Both Feldman and musician Vern Shank, noted the smooth transitions through her songbook during the show.

“I like how her music has always transpired different styles of music. You see her country roots but she influences the jazz, and also New Orleans kind of jazz and swing as well,” said Shank. “She’s got three or four flavors and it makes it her style. I don’t think there’s too many other people who can blend the country and spin into a swing, New Orleans jazz thing.”

“She’s got some star power for sure.”

Crystal Gayle was part of a special trio of country music performances this season that featured The Gatlin Brothers, The Isaacs. The Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center will host singer Lee Greenwood on January 23, 2025. For information on tickets, visit www.FlaglerEntertainment.com.