The Story Behind Bublé & Beyond
Meet Kerst J. Lehmann
Kerst J. Lehmann grew up in Germany around his grandparents who spent their working lives as celebrated operetta singers. Their voices were the first music he knew as it carried him through his childhood. Both remain his greatest inspiration, musically and morally.
He moved to Florida in his early twenties to continue their legacy overseas. Every time he steps on stage and in front of a crowd, he is living his own American Dream.
His show, Bublé & Beyond, grew out of solo performances in local restaurant and small theatres. The music of Michael Bublé, and the Great American Songbook singers who shaped him, gave Kerst a repertoire that fits his voice and his instinct for pulling a room in. The “beyond” in the name is the soul and standards catalog the band reaches for as the night unfolds.
About The Band
Behind Kerst is a 7-piece band, eight musicians on stage once the frontman steps out. Complemented by a horn section of trumpet, trombone, and saxophone/flute; a rhythm section of piano, bass, drums, and guitar, nothing runs on a backing track. Every note the audience hears is played in the room that night.
From the first downbeat the band brings the swagger of a Vegas big band; later in the show, the lights drop and a single ballad holds the audience in complete stillness.
The setlist is sequenced, not stacked. The opening songs set the pace, followed by tunes honoring the Great American Songbook; the writers and singers Bublé learned from. Later on, soulful songs bring the night home. From "Feeling Good" and "Sway" to "Can't Take My Eyes of You" and "Let's Stay Together", the show flows effortlessly from energetic to intimate and back.
The arrangements are written especially for this band, with the horns carrying the swing, while the rhythm section complements Kerst's voice incredibly well.