VALDOSTA – Deb De Lucca and Sam Hyman don’t pretend to be Carole King and James Taylor but they admit they do look like the singer-songwriters and sound like them.
They are scheduled to bring “Troubadours,” a James Taylor and Carole King tribute concert, Feb. 13, to Valdosta as part of the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts Presenter Series.
“We’re not doing an impersonation act,” Hyman said.
They sing King and Taylor’s respective songs and tell some stories.
“We’re almost teaching about the music,” De Lucca said, “as well as performing it.”
Valdosta audiences can expect De Lucca and Hyman to respectively perform several King and Taylor songs solo and perform together on the Performing Arts Center stage.
“Troubadours” joins De Lucca and Hyman’s solo careers. They each have solo acts performing as King and Taylor but perform several dates per year as a duo act. She lives in New Jersey and he’s “about eight hours away” in a Pennsylvania town.
De Lucca’s King solo act is called “Home Again – A Tribute to the Music of Carole King.” Hyman’s solo act is called “Steamroller – The Music of James Taylor.”
When performing as “Troubadours,” the act is backed by De Lucca’s band, they said during a joint phone interview with The Valdosta Daily Times.
“They’re very generous,” Hyman said of the band. “Every single band member loves the music.”
In the late 2010s, De Lucca said her agent discussed adding a new dimension to her show, saying “I should have a guitar player that plays JT songs.”
Hyman and De Lucca were introduced. They didn’t discontinue their individual acts but joined forces for “Troubadours.”
“We didn’t know each other before,” Hyman said. “We became friends on stage.”
“It’s kind of like an arranged marriage,” De Lucca added.
Hyman began as a musician performing numerous cover songs and original works.
“I always loved James Taylor but I was not a rabid fan,” Hyman said. “When I played, people told me I sounded like James Taylor.”
People convinced him to try his hand at a Taylor-style show. He did and it attracted management to promote “Steamroller.”
Hyman still pens original songs but said, “I’m paid to play James Taylor songs. People would walk out if I played my originals.”
De Lucca said King has “always been a part of my life in a weird way.”
She said she grew up with her mother regularly playing Carole King music, so the music is a “fond memory and I already knew the words to all of the songs. So playing the piano it was natural to fall into playing Carole King songs. … Also, my hairstyle resembled hers when I was a child. In the fourth grade, I had a teacher say, ‘You look like Carole King.’ And nothing has changed. I still have the same hairstyle.”
Asked if either King or Taylor have ever visited their tribute shows, De Lucca and Hyman say no. Hyman added it could be possible, saying Taylor is known to quietly visit tribute shows.
“If I ever see him in the audience, I’m inviting him on stage,” Hyman said.
Together, King and Taylor have so many songs that De Lucca and Hyman have a rich repertoire to choose from.
King penned “I Feel the Earth Move,” “A Natural Woman,” “Up on the Roof,” “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow,” “One Fine Day,” “So Far Away.” In King’s case, other artists often had hits with her songs. Including James Taylor with “You’ve Got a Friend.” Taylor songs include “Fire and Rain,” “Carolina in My Mind,” “Sweet Baby James.”
“It’s literally hit after hit after hit,” De Lucca said. “We try to put on as much as possible.”
“Troubadours” is scheduled to play 7:30 p.m., Feb. 13, Performing Arts Center, 3101 Barack Obama Boulevard. It is the second show of the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts Presenter Series 2023-24 season. The last show will be the nationally touring “Little Women: The Broadway Musical,” 4 p.m., March 10, Performing Arts Center. More information: Visit the arts center, 527 N. Patterson St., call (229) 247-2787, or visit turnercenter.org. The Valdosta Daily Times is a long-time Presenter Series sponsor.