John Denver walks, sings and smiles again

It’s hard to believe John Denver died in 1997; he would have been 70 on New Year’s Eve this year. He was only 53 when he passed.

There are many very talented singers paying tribute to John Denver including Villager Roy Rivers, but hands down Ted Vigil is the one that most closely resembles John Denver and sounds like him, too. Vigil is appearing this week as part of the Village Concerts’ Association series at the Woodlands Auditorium.

John Denver started off in folk music in the 1960’s with his hit Leaving on a Jet Plane, recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. Vigil sang this and many of Denver’s signature songs including Rocky Mountain High, Take Me Home Country Roads, Annie’s Song and Sunshine on My Shoulders.

Vigil was backed up by a Portland band with keyboards and vocals, bass and a multi-talented string wiz playing guitar, fiddle and mandolin. The three band members were a perfect fit for this venue, not too loud.

The audience settled in for a high-energy performance by Vigil. Before too many songs Vigil had the audience singing along to the familiar choruses in the beloved Denver tunes. The audience also clapped along to the more foot-tapping numbers.

Tuesday nights are for the most adventurous Concerts’ Association members. The audience is the first to view the four night run. If the show is good or bad the opening night audience spreads the word and subsequent audiences reflect the spontaneous reviews. Subsequent audiences for this show will be SRO, standing room only. The price of admission is worth it just to see one of Vigil’s smiles, so reminiscent of Denver’s wide-mouth, show all your teeth smiles.

Denver wrote hundreds of songs in many different genres including folk, rock and country. Vigil’s show has something for everyone.

For those of you interested in learning more about Ted Vigil go to his website at tedvigil.com. Following the show his CD, Sing My Songs is available in the Woodlands’ lobby for $20.

For those of you wanting to get a subscription to the Concerts’ Association series including the John Denver Tribute, This Is The 60s, The Highwaymen, The Texas Tenors and Paganini, call Jim Berdahl at 922-6539. For tickets to just one show or to exchange tickets go to hsvtickets.com.