There is no better way to get cozy and ring in the holiday spirit than to spend the evening with 16-time Grammy-winning producer and songwriter David Foster and singer-actress and American Idol runner up Katharine McPhee at their Atlanta tour stop at Fox Theatre on Dec. 11.
As they prepare to visit venues across the country with their touring show, “An Intimate Evening with David Foster and Katharine McPhee,” the pair spoke with me in a video interview about the tour and what audiences can expect. Sitting together in front of their Christmas tree at their Los Angeles home, Foster and McPhee approached the conversation with the same chemistry they bring to the stage.
Before the pandemic, Foster toured a few weeks a year while McPhee joined only occasionally. When the pandemic shut performances down, they reevaluated and decided to try appearing as a duo more consistently.
“We just decided to try touring together and melding mostly his music and some of the stuff I’ve done,” McPhee said. “We still do our own performances too, but it’s not nearly as fun and it’s a lot more pressure to do a project on your own. We’ve become very dependent on doing shows together, and we like having that relief when we see the other come on stage.”
The setlist for the upcoming “Intimate Evening” show, which McPhee said Foster usually assembles, includes songs Foster wrote or produced over four decades. He also shares personal stories about the music and the artists behind it. The performance features Foster’s work with Chicago, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé, alongside McPhee’s songs from American Idol, Smash and Waitress, as well as several holiday selections.
“In the same way you can listen to a Broadway soundtrack before you see the show to get familiar with the songs, you can do the same for our December dates by listening to our holiday album, “Christmas Songs,” McPhee said.
McPhee joked that Foster rarely changes their setlist, describing him as someone who believes “if it’s not broke, why fix it,” though the December performances will force some variation as more holiday music is added.
“The worst thing I can hear when I go see a legendary artist is them saying they’re going to be playing songs off their new album,” Foster said with a grin. “I don’t want to hear the Rolling Stones’ new album. It’s great, but I want to hear the hits.”
I asked the couple whether the idea of an “Intimate Evening” reflected their life at home as two musicians sharing a household. They said they don’t play music around the house as often as people assume, but agreed that performing together creates a feeling of openness and vulnerability.
“Being on stage is kind of like having a camera following you around, and eventually you just forget the camera is there, the same way you forget an audience is there,” Foster said. “It’s a magical thing that happens, and then you can really become yourself.”
The couple’s 4-year-old son, Rennie, has already drawn attention online after a video of him playing drums at age 2 circulated widely. While he won’t be joining his parents on stage, he’s growing up in a home where a spontaneous jam session is never far away.
“When he was three, he was on tour with us… but then he started asking for more money,” Foster joked.
Since they’ll be on the road through much of the busy holiday season, McPhee said she’s trying to make the most of the time at home. She said she’s especially looking forward to hosting their second annual Christmas party, complete with fake snow for the kids and a full band of musicians.
The musical duo would not name any names of potential guest appearances for their upcoming tour, but they did say they have many talented friends who are local to Atlanta whom they might just call upon to join them at their Dec. 11 performance at Fox Theatre. Tickets are available for purchase here.
