Branson, Missouri, is known for live shows. The more than 100 Branson shows staged each season include variety shows, musical tributes, drama, acrobatics, and comedy. Each year sees new shows open, different touring stars perform, and perennial favorites return with revamped and updated shows.
Our top picks for 2019 include long-time crowd favorites, shows making their debuts in Branson, shows in their last season, headline appearances by well-known artists, and productions featuring elaborate staging.
Billy Yates’ Hit Songwriters In The Round
Billy Yate’s songwriting-centric show returns to Branson for a second year. In each show, two Nashville performing songwriters join Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Yates on stage. The unscripted show features the artists telling the stories behind their hit songs and performing them acoustically.
Different artists are showcased throughout the season, with each duo performing in only a few shows. Billy Yates’ Hit Songwriters In The Round received top reviews from visitors in 2018 and is sure to be a hit again in 2019. Because no two shows are the same, you can enjoy this show again and again.
Get tickets and showtimes for Billy Yates’ Hit Songwriters In The Round here.
Million Dollar Quartet
The Million Dollar Quartet is another popular Branson show returning in 2019. It is based on the Tony Award-winning musical inspired by a true story. In December 1956, Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records, brought together four future rock and roll legends in the Sun Records’ storefront studio in Memphis. The impromptu recording by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time.
Featuring performances of hits from these music legends and a glimpse into their personalities and the dynamics of their relationships, the show promises to be almost as memorable as that night in 1956.
Get tickets and showtimes for Million Dollar Quartet here.
Shrek The Musical
This Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure is coming to Branson’s Welk Resort Theatre in the summer of 2019. Based on a contemporary fairy-tale book and the animated film it inspired, the story follows the journey of Shrek, a green ogre who has been mocked and feared his entire life. The show features an original score, favorite fairy-tale creatures, plenty of laughs, a moral, and a traditional happy ending. It’s a fun show for the whole family.
Get tickets and showtimes for Shrek The Musical here.
Raiding The Country Vault
This is a show for country music lovers of all ages. Returning to Branson after three successful seasons, Raiding the Country Vault tells the story of country music from the 1960s to the 2000s. It features classic tunes made famous by Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, and more, performed by a talented cast who have had their own hits, written major hits, or toured with some of the biggest names in the business.
Raiding the Country Vault won a Branson Show Award for Entertainers of the Year in 2017 and Show of the Year in 2018.
Get tickets and showtimes for Raiding the Country Vault here.
The Festival Of Wonder
For three weeks every April, the 1880s theme park Silver Dollar City hosts The Festival of Wonder. The festival features performing artists from around the globe who push the limits of music, dance, and art. The festival provides an opportunity to see the unexpected and hear instruments you’ve never heard before. The 2019 lineup includes Phoenix Fire, hailed as the world’s leader in pyro and special effects theatrics, in a multimedia show featuring lasers, special effects, and fire.
World-renowned harpists from Italy and Ireland perform music from the past, present, and what sounds like the future in the I-Harp Extreme show. Other shows include Albert Lucas, juggler, comedian, and variety artist, the acrobatic CirqUnique show, PAINTJAM featuring speed-painter Dan Dunn, and X-Pogo, the world’s extreme pogo crew.
General seating to all The Festival of Wonder shows is included with Silver Dollar City park admission on a first-come basis. For an additional charge, you can reserve VIP seating for select shows.
Get tickets and showtimes for The Festival of Wonder here.
Samson
The Bible story of Samson, who defeated an entire army and slew a lion with his bare hands, is brought to life at the Sight & Sound Theater with the help of state-of-the art technology and live animals. No one was to know the source of Samson’s superpower, but he fell prey to temptation and faced his greatest challenge in a biblical drama that’s brought to life for a modern audience.
With an original score, finely-stitched costumes, a 300-foot stage that surrounds the audience on three sides, plus a million watts of light and sixty-thousand watts of sound, this production offers an epic theater experience. See it while you can: 2019 is the last season for Samson in Branson. In 2020, Sight & Sound Theater will stage Noah.
Get tickets and showtimes for Samson here.
Branson’s Famous Baldknobbers
This country music variety show is the one that started it all. In fact, 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the first performance by the Mabe family, whose stage name hails from a fictional pack of Branson bandits. Today, second and third generations of the Mabes perform a blend of country music, gospel music, and comedy.
The show includes new and old songs interspersed with family-friendly comedic antics. Because the show is updated each year, it remains popular with return visitors as well as first-timers.
Get tickets and showtimes for Branson’s Famous Baldknobbers here.
Presleys’ Country Jubilee
The Presleys are one of Branson’s original performing families. In 1967, they built the first live music theater on what is now the Branson Strip. Today, members of the talented Presley family continue to delight audiences as they sing and play instruments.
Their show features a mix of country, gospel, bluegrass, and comedy. See for yourself why this show is one of the longest running shows in Branson.
Get tickets and showtimes for the Presleys’ Country Jubilee here.
The Haygoods
The Haygoods is a high-energy show featuring six siblings — five brothers and one sister — who have been playing music together in Branson for 27 years. Accompanied by lively choreography and state-of-the-art special effects, the Haygoods play over 20 different instruments and blend their voices in tight harmonies.
The exuberant family show includes an array of musical styles and hits of today as well as music from decades past. The Haygoods received the Branson Show Award for Entertainers of the Year in 2018.
Get tickets and showtimes for The Haygoods here.
Up Close Concerts
If you are interested in seeing legendary musicians in person, check out Up Close Concerts. Up Close Concerts brings music and comedy stars to Branson shows for limited engagements that often consist of only one show. Some of the stars featured in 2019 include Howie Mandel, Vicki Lawrence, Tommy James & The Shondells, Jim Breuer, and The Platters.
Get tickets and showtimes for the Up Close Concerts here.
SIX
The exquisite harmonies of the Knudsen brothers have earned SIX top ratings. Singing contemporary a cappella, six brothers perform songs ranging from pop to rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll to doo-wop, and gospel to patriotic.
The Knudsen brothers made their television debut on The Osmond Brothers Special in 1978 and have been performing together for forty years. Their show doesn’t involve any instruments, but at times you’ll feel certain you hear a band. The brothers have been dubbed an “orchestra of human voices.” Lively choreography and comedic sibling bantering add to the entertainment, but it is the power of the Knudsens’ voices that makes SIX stand out.
Get tickets and showtimes for SIX here.
Icons Of England: The Music Of Joe Cocker & Adele
Tribute shows are a staple in Branson. In 2019, the Tribute Theatre brings a new show to town featuring the sweet, soulful music of two of the biggest solo acts in the United Kingdom.Popular tribute artists Chance Havens and JC Marie recreate the music of Joe Cocker and Adele. Together these two perform the icons’ popular hits, including “Someone Like You,” “Unchain My Heart,” “Rolling in the Deep,” “With a Little Help From My Friends,” and more.
Get tickets and showtimes for Icons Of England: The Music of Joe Cocker & Adele here.
Want more info about Branson shows? Check out our list of 7 Key Things To Know About Branson Shows, or our list of 12 Fun Things You Never Knew About Branson, MO.
