Appalachian High, Pennsylvania! July 16, 2001 by Donna Lynne Pinto The first Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania tribute to John Denver was held on Father's Day 2000. It rained hard but still was an absolutely glorious day! What better place to celebrate "The Man & His Music" than high in the Appalachian Mountains at a raptor reserve? The Year 2001 tribute held July 15th was another beautiful day; and it was all sunshine on our shoulders. Coordinator Judith Gabriel needs to be amply thanked for putting this event together! Although she calls it "my gift to John" it is really a gift to us all! The day started with about 2 hours of retrospective video that emphasized John's environmental endeavors. I'm an avid video collector and there were even some neat video vignettes I had never seen. A demonstration of raptors followed; many of us chose to pick out our spots at the outdoor amphitheater and eat lunch. It was then time for the afternoon musical celebration! Judith managed to acquire five of the best folks who perform John's music straight from their hearts. Pennsylvanian Charlie Zahm & Maryland's Tad Marks managed to fit a set in before heading off to another gig in their busy schedule. Frank DeLaMarre drove down from Michigan, Christopher Westfall came over from New Jersey, and Mack Bailey even interrupted his family vacation at the beach for this special day. Charlie & fiddler Tad ROCKED! I especially loved Tad's silly imitation of an eagle during the "All Aboard!" salute medley of "Steel Rails/Orange Blossom Special." Tad's fiddling was great on "Rocky Mountain High" with his echoes of "Colorado"; he's developed a real feel for John's music through Charlie. And Charlie's "Love is the Master" Wow! The other Charlie in the JD Music Appreciation t-shirt (Charlie White from Florida) was very pleased with the a Capella "Whalebones and Crosses." Frank's highlight to me was possibly the last song John composed, "Yellowstone, Coming Home". Fittingly, he sang the very difficult "The Eagle and the Hawk". Frank was even kind enough to give away free cassettes of his "Take Him Home" tribute to John. Chris did a powerful "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream" a Capella...it was awesome. His heartfelt tribute "No Difference" and another unreleased JD rarity, "Blue Water World" were also highlights. The most emotional song, though, was "The Wings That Fly Us Home" performed in dedication to the JD Family's good friend, Patty Peavey. Chris called event coordinator Judith Gabriel up for his finale, a rockin' "Wild Montana Skies." "The Wildlife Concert" co-producer Max Langstaff gave an interesting and funny speech next. Max told a story about squatting in the Arctic Wilderness and meeting a wolf! He had Frank, Mack and Chris do "Falling Leaves." At Max's request, Chris did "Healing Time on Earth" and Kate Wolf's "Give Yourself to Love." Max feels Kate's composition really is one of the songs John was going to write, but didn't. As usual, Mack was warm and fun! Highlights included "Sunshine On My Shoulders," "Boy From the Country" and a beautiful Bailey composition about losing loved ones, "Just Because I'm Not There." We all enjoyed his silly "Hot Tubs of Tears Over You" for wacka-do wacka-dos...it's easy to see why he recorded the song several times between his own and Hard Traveler albums. The group finale was tons of fun! Singalongs included "Back Home Again", "Grandma's Feather Bed," and "Country Roads." Frank did a brand new song he co-wrote with Windstar Choices presenter John St. Augustine called "The Human Family." Chris's new composition "I'm Coming Home" was also great. These guys write songs like John would. Mack did a lovely "Tenderly Calling", then it was time for the grand coda, "Calypso." Mack & Chris jumped up in the air on the last notes just like JD used to do. It was easy to see that late night jams at the Aspen memorial week made folks tight musical friends. Although the afternoon celebration was over, many of us chose to hike up to the two benches dedicated to John and explore Hawk Mountain's facilities a bit before moving out. One of the benches is simply at the most visually staggering position at Hawk Mountain. What a glorious day to celebrate the man & the music that brought us all together...a JD folk festival Appalachian High! Pennsylvania! Thanks again to Judith, Hawk Mountain, and the five magical musicians for their friendship and sharing John's music with us! __________________________________________________________ If you would like a copy of the video write to Donna at Mack Bailey http://www.mackbailey.com Frank DeLaMarre http://www.frankdelamarre.com Charlie Zahm http://www.charliezahm.com <<<<< o o o >>>>>