It was a once in a lifetime experience that I got to have... TWICE! This is what it was like to play in the open air to a packed house at the most iconic amphitheatre in the world. No pressure... right?! That's what I kept telling myself as I walked into the loading area, hours before show time. I got the invitation thanks to a referral from Mark Johnson, who was to become a future friend, but at that time we hadn't yet met. Mark had high level industry connections and was already working with venues like Red Rocks, Madison Square Garden, and Carnegie Hall along with world famous acts, like the Beatles tribute band "1964". My opportunity to play Red Rocks allowed me to partner with PBS Denver and the Denver Post. My shows would be part of their yearly fundraising efforts.

There's a thousand details to attend to when getting ready for a major show. In my case, I would be performing my tribute to John Denver to his home state crowd that knew and embraced him more than probably anywhere else in the world. It was the state he absolutely loved and had chosen to live in, and by his own admission... Red Rocks was his favorite venue in the world. He'd played there a grand total of 17 times in his career. I needed to make sure I wouldn't disappoint his loyal fans. So the planning began. I knew I would be bringing along Steve Weisberg... John's lead guitar player for his most famous years. Steve and I had done a handful of shows together as a duo, so I knew it would also be tremendously meaningful for Steve and the audience.

Next I had to choose the songs. Performing John's greatest hits were a given, but the remaining songs I needed to choose carefully. I wanted to give the audience my best version of me taking them back to what it might have felt like seeing John Denver in concert at the height of his prime in the mid 70's. It would be 12 years since his passing that the show would be happening. I had to get the band rehearsed, choose the promo photos, verify backline requirements, plan a stage plot that would play the best, prepare merch, plan a pre-party for close friends and a few of John's super fans who also deserved to be included. In short, it was a ton of details.

Almost every single night was a personal two hour rehearsal. I imagined every detail, from how I would take the stage, greet the audience, set up the songs, and create "moments" that would move the show along. I could feel the pressure of it all, but I also remember having a deep sense of "I've got this" that surprised me a little bit. I wanted ot do everybody proud, and hopefully be able to leverage the experience into more shows of importance throughout the country. Prior to the first Red Rocks concert, I had only played to 10,000+ people once before. I would be much better prepared this time!

There were many people behind the scenes who helped me during this timeframe with many other details. I won't go into all their names and what they did or this article would easily be twice as long, but my love, thanks and appreciation for them still endures. Walking into the pre-party with friends, family, management, and band was a "this thing is really happening" moment for me. It's all a blur in my memory now, because the overwhelming single item in my mind was the show... and making it a success.

I remember walking onto the stage on the day of the show, just standing there and looking at all the seats. I saw the familiar Red Rocks towering over the sides of the venue, and wondering if I'd be seeing the moon rising up behind the crowd as the sun went down. I'd seen photos from practically every superstar entertainer I grew up loving who had played in this exact venue, and now it was my turn! I was joyful from the inside out! I let the band start setting up as I hiked out into the venue. I said hello to vendors getting ready for the show. I weaved in and out of seats from bottom to top so I'd know what their sightlines would be. I took a few photos with my phone. I overheard the voices of excited fans who had arrived even before sound check to make sure they got great seats, so I ventured over to a side entrance and talked with them... inviting them to enjoy the sound check with us. It made me feel like a star as I told them it was my show and I really hoped they enjoyed themselves and would remember John's music in the best possible light!

At soundcheck we first got instrument levels for the engineers, then we rehearsed the "play-in" music and me walking on, greeting the crowd, picking up my guitar and launching into the first song. We then went over a few songs to let the engineers get a grip on any problem frequencies that might arise when we were all playing in unison. After a few adjustments were made, we were ready for the show. We went into the cafeteria and everyone (but me) enjoyed an awesome meal and relaxed a little before it was time to get dressed in our show clothes and stand by for our introductions. A few photo's were taken behind the scenes, a couple of interviews took place and then it was showtime!

I wasn't nervous when we got our cue to do our walk-on, but I did suffer a bit of dry mouth for the first 3-4 songs until I got into my rhythm. The audience was very gracious and excited. Of course, they knew all the words to every song! I could look out into the audience for most of the first half of the show until the sun went down. I saw pure happiness, people singing, swaying, holding hands, kissing, lifting small children so they could see better as they sang along with "Grandma's Feather Bed"... and to me, it felt like I was doing what I was called to do. I got to tell a few personal stories about John that Steve Weisberg had shared with me, and at one point in the show, Steve got to express his gratitude from playing with John during his most famous years!

We had a break in the middle of the show so people could get food, drinks, wares from the vendors, and take a bathroom break. I started the second half of the show all by myself. Just me walking out and picking up my guitar. I wanted the audience to also experience how well John's music translated in the same way he experienced his own songs for the first time... right after writing them. Of course, for most of the audience, they had seen the same thing happen with John, but for those folks who never got to personally see him in concert, they were particularly emotional about it... as many of them shared their experience with me after the show.

I'm not going to pretend that everything went exactly as I prepared it... because there were a few small burps in the show. A forgotten lyric (twice), a missed cue by me on the guitar that for a quick second put me out of sync with the band, and especially as I look back on the first show, I sometimes spent way too much time telling a story or setting up a song. Overall though, the show was a great success! The venue was absolutely packed! I could feel the audience swells with the music. I could see their love for John in remembering him. Many people, after the show, expressed their appreciation for me being me and not trying to look like John or say "Far Out" every time I opened my mouth. At the mid-show break, my sponsors at PBS backstage told me they would like me to announce that because of the great success of the show, that I'd be coming back again the next year! As I made that announcement near the end of the show, the audience erupted in applause. It was such a tremendous validation to me that I was doing things right!

After the show I got to take the band over to the merchandise tent to sign CD's and posters, take pictures with fans, hear their thoughts about the show, their own JD experiences, and to generally celebrate the evening! After a very long day, we all packed up our gear, loaded up our vehicles, and went to our motel rooms to prepare to leave the next morning for home. The job was done! As I myself got on the road the next morning I was able to get back into context with the rest of the country... and musically speaking... it was a tough time.

That first show was in June of 2009! Amid the excitement of all the preparations, getting on the road was a welcome experience. I had to drive from my home in Arkansas because I had so much gear and product that I needed to bring. I didn't want to ship it to the venue and risk dealing with a broken instrument, or CD's not arriving on time, etc... A little over halfway there, as I was listening to the radio, it was announced that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, had just passed away. It was June 25th. My show was on the 27th. I could barely believe it! I was only 3 weeks older than Michael and I had followed his career and music since I was a kid. I listened to as much news as I could, but I had the enormity of my own event pressing down on me and I just couldn't keep up. I had to compartmentalize my sorrow and stay in context for my next two days in Colorado. As I drove home, the country was still reeling of course, and a large part of my trip home was listening to the news and catching up on what had happened. So, that's what I did.

Almost on cue, as I was arriving back home, my phone rang. It was an emergency call from one of my sisters telling me that my older brother Bo, had just been rushed to the hospital after suffering a major stroke and heart attack. I literally had to drop all my things and immediately drive to the hospital in Little Rock (about an hour away) as we didn't know if Bo would make it through the day. I took off and almost immediately again, my phone rang with a call from Steve Weisberg. What I thought was going to be a quick celebratory call about the show, ended up being anything but. Please understand that I love Steve also like a brother... he was my guitar hero growing up... but sometimes brothers are on different wavelengths. As Steve launched into a very dismal appraisal of our show, my performance in particular, and everything that in his estimation had gone wrong... I just let him vent as I stoically only responded occasionally with... "Okay... go on." I was on the phone with him until I hit the parking lot of the hospital, and then told him quickly about my brother and that I had to go.

Bo lived another two weeks in the hospital in serious condition, paralyzed completely on one side of his entire body, including his mouth. It prevented him from eating or drinking on his own. He had tubes coming in and out of him everywhere, and had to be restrained in the bed because of him pulling tubes out. He was miserable. I was at the hospital almost every single day for those two weeks until he started on a series of heart attacks every hour or so, that ultimately led to his passing away at 57 years old.

Steve didn't know any of this was going on. I should've stopped him a minute into our phone call, but my head wasn't in a good place either. He would've understood and saved his feelings for another day. Steve suffered through me not returning his calls for months and months. He tried getting through to me to make it better and clear the air. He too paid a price and of course was very apologetic when we did finally start speaking again. Steve and I would again join forces for the 2010 show at Red Rocks, and all together, we did 33 shows with each other until his untimely passing in May of 2014. My music had never sounded better than when Steve danced around my songs with his creative and tasteful lead lines and counter melodies. I miss him tremendously!