By Craig Horleman

For Tristan McIntosh, it was the perfect marriage of singer and song when she was offered an opportunity to join a show that would celebrate the career of the legendary Linda Ronstadt.

“I always kind of knew it was going to be a good fit just because, especially at the time (of auditioning), she was huge for me. And also the songs that she sings are vocally really challenging. So in learning her material, I learned a lot about my own voice,” said Ms. McIntosh, who finished sixth in Season 15 of the hit talent show “American Idol.”

“Sonically, she just had a really great catalogue. That was a big part of it, too.”

Ms. McIntosh and a five-piece backup band bring The Linda Ronstadt Experience to the Smyrna Opera House Saturday night, showcasing the songs that Ms. Ronstadt made famous.

The show takes audiences on a musical journey of smash hits such as “You’re No Good,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “That’ll Be The Day,” “Blue Bayou” and more. The repertoire spans from her early days with The Stone Poneys, the 1970s where she helped forge the country-rock sound with renditions of songs by The Eagles, Jackson Brown and Warren Zevon, into the 1980s where she bridged new wave into huge hits with her chart-topping 10th album “Mad Love.”

In 2017, bassist Junior Boyne ran an ad seeking a Linda Ronstadt-style singer. After a few weeks, Ms. McIntosh’s mother replied to it.

“People always said that I kind of sound like her, so she said ‘Why don’t you audition for this’ or ‘Why don’t I contact them?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, why not?’” Ms. McIntosh said Wednesday from Atlantic City, New Jersey, where she was preparing for a show that night at Caesars.

It was decided that her closest musical collaborator, Bronson Bush, would fill out the role as one of the band’s guitarists, joining musical director Adam Michael Rothberg on keyboards, guitars and harmony vocals, Mr. Boyne on bass, Ethan Leff on drums and, on alternating shows, multi-instrumentalists Peter Adams and Andy Santospago contributing pedal steel, guitars, harmonica, banjo and harmonies.

“Tristan brings talent, charm and beauty in the role of Linda Ronstadt. (She has) a voice mature beyond her years and (is) a pleasure to work with,” Mr. Boyne said.

Just 22 years old, Ms. McIntosh says the whole journey has been an education for her.

“It’s definitely been a learning curve for me. I feel like I just learn a little bit more like every time we go out on the road, and it’s just fun to be able live life as a musician,” said Ms. McIntosh, who said she had to get a part-time job away from music during the COVID shutdown.

She said the reception she has been getting after shows has been gratifying.

“The feedback is overwhelmingly positive from fans and you can even see that online. But yeah, we have a bunch of really amazing, loyal fans who come to every show in their area. It’s been really amazing,” she said.

“People really appreciate it because you can’t go see her in concert anymore.”

Ms. Ronstadt reduced her activity after 2000 when she felt her singing voice deteriorating, releasing her last full-length album in 2004 and performing her last live concert in 2009. She announced her retirement in 2011 and revealed shortly afterwards that she is no longer able to sing as a result of a degenerative condition later determined to be progressive supranuclear palsy, similar to Parkinson’s disease.

A documentary based on her memoirs, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” was released in 2019, where she was shown singing briefly.

Ms. McIntosh said she thinks the fact that Ms. Ronstadt is no longer singing adds to the allure of the show.

“I think it does for the people. Because, this is as close as you’re going to get. And my band does a really, really good interpretation and mixture of live versus recorded versions of songs that are as authentic as possible,” she said.

Ms. McIntosh said there are songs she looks forward to singing in the show.

“Especially the ones that are really hard like ‘Hurts So Bad.’ That’s one of my favorites. ‘Tumbling Dice’ by the Rolling Stones and we just added ‘Ooh, Baby Baby’ by Smokey Robinson,” she said, adding the Ms. Ronstadt never wrote her own music “but she sure could pick them.”

Ms. McIntosh said one of the many reasons she has established such an affinity for Ms. Ronstadt’s music is the “challenging” aspect of the material.

“It’s never boring. It’s always different. She did something that I want to do. She crossed so many genres. She covered everything that she wanted to despite everybody saying you have to do one thing,” she said.

“I always found that really inspirational and that attitude is just similar to mine. She was also a little bit shy on stage like I am.”

“American Idol” viewers saw that versatility from Ms. McIntosh when she performed country and pop tunes. She also has delved into the jazz world. The Nashville resident said she has always wanted to sing since she was young.

“Around 10 years old, my mom heard me singing in the kitchen and she was like, ‘That’s kind of good.’ She took me to a vocal teacher and she was like, ‘OK, tell me if my daughter has talent. If not, don’t waste my time and my money.’ That person could have decided my fate right there. They could have said no, but they said ‘She’s got talent’ and ever since, I started taking lessons and making music, she said.

As for the future away from the Ronstadt project, Ms. McIntosh said she is writing her own material but is on a deliberate pace to record any of it.

“I don’t feel like I have the right songs yet. It’s a very slow process for me with writing unfortunately — especially during the winter. I don’t know, I just lose my creativity a little bit,” she said.

Tickets for Saturday’s 7 p.m. Linda Ronstadt Experience are $25 general admission with VIP tickets sold out. To obtain them, visit here, call 302-653-4236 or visit the box office at 7 W. South St.

Songwriters in the Round

As we told you last week, also Saturday night, is another in the series of Songwriters in the Round shows at Dover’s Patchwork Playhouse.

The evening, which starts at 7 p.m., will feature Smyrna’s own Sol Knopf, John Faye, of the alternative rock group The Caufields and popular Milton-based singer/songwriter Christine Havrilla.

Tickets are $24 and can be purchased here.

The Patchwork Playhouse is at 140 Roosevelt Ave., Dover.

Dessert Theater auditions

Back to the Smyrna Opera House, the venue’s Dessert Theater’ upcoming play “In the Rest Room at Roseblooms” will be held Sunday and Monday at the opera house from 7 to 9 p.m.

The cast calls for four mature women and several walk-on roles for women. Some of the parts have been previously cast.

The play dates are April 29, 30 and May 1.

Rehearsals are Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays 7-9 p.m. starting March 13. Readthrough is March 7.

For more information, contact Pat Musto 302-242-3171 or patmusto@hotmail.com.

The Smyrna Opera House is at 7 W. South St.

Funny fairy tales

The bedtime stories in Second Street Players’ winter children’s stage selection this year will be familiar to many but there is something not quite right with them in this stage presentation of SSP presents “Bedtime Stories (As Told by Our Dad) (Who Messed Them Up).”

Directed by Lauren David and Lorraine Leavel, it’s Dad’s turn to tell his three rambunctious kids their bedtime stories, but when he gets fuzzy on the details, the classics get creative: a prince with a snoring problem spices up “The Princess and The Pea.” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” cries dinosaur instead and “Rumpelstiltskin” helps turn all that pesky gold into straw.

All performances will be at the Riverfront Theater, 2 S. Walnut St. in Milford and are scheduled for today, Saturday and Sunday.

Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m. Friday night performances are pay what you can, donations only. Saturday and Sunday ticket prices are $5 children and $10 for adults.

For more information, visit here.

Now Showing

New this weekend in theaters is The Foo Fighters in the horror comedy “Studio 666.”