The last time that I saw John Denver in concert was at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis in early December 1996. John divided the evening in half: The first set was made up of his songs, and the second set was all about the holidays. When intermission ended and the lights were lowered, our attentions were drawn to an on-stage screen. As an introduction to the second half of the program, we were treated to seeing the 17-year-old video of John performing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with the Muppets. Complete with John wearing his black top hat. We cheered and applauded this unexpected surprise, as John returned to the stage. He was laughing. "Who WAS that guy?" he asked. We laughed, too. It has been a great memory to hang on to.

Veteran tribute artist Chris Collins and his bandmates promised us a combination concert tonight, too. They chose NOT to divide the sets. Instead, they mixed John Denver's songs with holiday classics, throughout the program. They gave the audience a terrific chance to remember, to sing, and to celebrate.

The group selected the best of John's tunes from its traditional catalogue. These included "Leavin' on a Jet Plane," "Back Home Again," "Sunshine on My Shoulders," "Grandma's Feather Bed," "Rocky Mountain High" and "Calypso." Added in were "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Winter Wonderland," "The Christmas Song," and more. It was wonderful to hear the pensive song that Steve Weisberg wrote for John Denver, "Christmas for Cowboys," which first appeared on the Rocky Mountain Christmas album in 1975. (50 years ago!) We don't get to hear this song often enough. The band also offered an original song, "Snowing in Colorado."

Overall, they chose a nice variety of songs to entertain and engage us. A rousing rendition of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" ended the main part of the concert. The full audience participated in the encore of "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night."

Chris always weaves his good sense of humor into both his chatter and his music. He knows what audiences expect and deserve. His usual, talented colleagues accompanied him tonight. Alexander Mitchell sang harmonies and played lead acoustic guitar, harmonica and a really mean fiddle. Nigel Newton sang and added intricate keyboard lines. Ralph Gordon added the bottom with his resounding upright electric bass. Chris sang and alternated between his acoustic 6-string and 12-string guitars. With such steady experience that can keep good time, no drummer is necessary.

Jonathan's occupies a somewhat quirky building, originally a private residence. It features a fine restaurant on the first floor, and a performance venue on the second. An arrangement of narrow tables and chairs can seat up to 250 people. Most of the chairs were occupied tonight. And most of us were singing along. Sometimes, loudly.

I took some time to look around at the crowd, during the music. Most folks were singing along, at least on the choruses. Some barely moved their mouths, but they were still participating. Maybe, without even realizing it. Automatically remembering melodies and lyrics that perhaps they hadn't thought about in many years. I could see how much both kinds of music meant to these people ... maybe even more so, at this time of year. Maybe even more so, in the midst of national political turmoil. Music can bring us together and give us common ground, more than anything else can. Wouldn't John love to see this? Would he be surprised? Delighted? Wistful? All of the above?

The well-worn phrase, "A good time was had by all," doesn't adequately cover the mood of the room on this night. The music carried us higher and higher, to a level of PURE FUN and PURE JOY. I think that everyone felt the merrier for having been here. Thanks, Chris. Thanks, Boulder Canyon. Thanks to the time of the season. And thanks again, as always, to John Denver.