The country superstar performed a sold-out theater show in the San Bernardino area
Reba McEntire is celebrating 50 years in the entertainment industry in 2025! The country icon has a storied career that features countless hits, films, Broadway, and two successful TV sitcoms and she doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The multifaceted star glamoured in her in black pants, sequined shirt, and matching teal and leather cowboy boots and western jacket Thursday night (Mar 20th) at Yaamava Theatre in Highland, California.
Once known for having as many as 14 costume changes, Reba kept it simple with only changing for the “Fancy” encore. She ripped through 23 songs in 90 minutes with a varied setlist featuring early hits to current songs with a few surprises in between.
She kicked off the night with her latest No. 1, “Turn on the Radio,” before jumping to 1996 with “The Fear of Being Alone.” She went far into her early career to play her first Top 10 hit from 1980, “You Lift Me Up To Heaven,” and her first No. 1, “Can’t Even Get the Blues,” which came two years later.
“I’m Gonna Take That Mountain” from 2003’s Room to Breathe is always a fun song to hear live. The bluegrass track fit well in her mostly-uptempo set with its tight backing vocals and Reba’s bird-like quells. The saxophone made a return for these shows. A beautiful addition to “You Lie,” Carmella Ramsey shines alongside guitarist Jeff King as they duet at the end of the song. Reba joked that the two musicians scored a “tie” as audience cheered.
The superstar pulled out a rare album cut with the fan-favorite “Maggie Creek Road.” She told the audience she championed for the song to be a single, but was vetoed by her record label at the time.
Another rare song to hear live is Reba’s version of the Annie Get Your Gun track, “You Can’t Get a Man With a Gun.” She played Annie Oakley for six months in 2000 before taking Hollywood by storm with the eponymous Reba sitcom. The famous “I’m A Survivor” theme song followed with images from the show displayed on the large screen behind her.
Arguably the biggest highlight of the night was the surprise appearance of the Happy’s Place cast, McEntire’s newest sitcom on NBC. Reba was about to introduce the theme song when her boyfriend and co-star Rex Linn appeared on stage as his character Emmett. He told Reba, who portrays Bobbie the co-bar owner on the series, that the rest of the staff were not at the Tennessee-based bar because they were in attendance of the show. The crowd erupted as the lights were shown on the third level where they Melissa Peterman, Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, and Tokala Black Elk were seated, waving to the audience. The fun moment was captured by TMU and can be seen below.
In true Reba fashion, she honored two of her musical heroes — Aretha Franklin and Dianna Ross — with “Respect” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” respectively. The sax returned in the latter, making for a flavorful moment. Sandwiched in between was a cover of Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now,” a song she’s been performing on this run of dates.
Other concert staples such as “The Night The Light Went Out in Georgia,” “Is There Life Out There,” and “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” (WHIHFY) were among the final songs of the main set. Following “WHIHFY,” the crowd began chanting “REBA!” before the band kicked into “Fancy” as the show ended with a standing ovation.
Four more live dates are on the calendar through May. It’s unclear if additional shows will be added before she returns to Universal Studios to begin work on season two of Happy’s Place later this year.
The cast of Happy’s Place in attendance of @reba at @Yaamava @Followtheblonde #reba #HappysPlace pic.twitter.com/k6T8sbpCGZ
— The Music Universe (@themusicuni) March 21, 2025
