By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The reason Ted Vigil switched from rock and roll performer to John Denver tribute artist will be apparent when he steps on stage for a concert here Saturday.
More obvious still when he starts singing.
Vigil, a John Denver tribute artist and dead ringer for the singer-songwriter, will perform 7 p.m. at the Sitka Performing Arts Center.
Ted Vigil. (Photo provided)
The show will feature mostly John Denver tunes, such as “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” Also on tap are fiddle tune, and a few originals. Fiddler and vocalist Amy Daves will accompany him.
Vigil is originally from Olympia, Washington, and spent a season in his 20s as a fisherman in Dutch Harbor.
Asked how he became a tribute artist, he said, “I think it just found me and it was meant to be.”
While making his way as a rock and roll musician, he was performing at a singing contest in Nevada in 2006.
“I ended up joining the country category,” and winning, he said. After he’d played a set that included some Denver tunes, some pointed out the obvious, that he looked just like the late artist, and should consider performing tunes by him.
Denver, one of the biggest artists of the 1970s, died in 1997 when his small plane crashed into Monterey Bay. He was 53.
The contest Vigil played in nine years later, and comments from audience members, ended up charting a new course for the former rock and roll artist.
“The next thing I know I’m touring the world, doing this,” Vigil said. “Everything just moved really rapidly.”
Vigil, 58, attributes the popularity of his shows to the audiences’ connection with the music and artist, and a chance to “go back in time and reminisce.”
Besides that, Vigil said, “He wrote great poetry, great music, beautiful music. ... People relate to the music, and young kids come to the show and enjoy it.”
Vigil has worked with Denver’s guitarist Steve Weisberg to fine-tune his guitar skills and has tried to do his best to honor the legendary artist, although he added, “I still have a lot to learn.”
The concert also will include other music, including one of Vigil’s original songs and a fiddle tune by Daves, who will pitch in on vocals as well.
The concert was scheduled to happen two years ago following a suggestion from Mary Hames who had heard great things about him, and thought he might be a good performer for Sitka. One day, her husband, Roger, spotted Vigil on an Alaska Airlines flight from California to Seattle, and joked, “John Denver just got on the plane.”
It turned out to be Vigil. Mary asked for his business card after they got off the plane, and casually invited him to come to Sitka. She later offered to sponsor the show as a fundraiser for the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.
Like many musicians, Vigil took a break from live performing during the start of the pandemic, but started up again in 2021 and has been busy at it since then.
Roger Schmidt, director of the Fine Arts Camp, said he’s excited to have Vigil in town. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to camp scholarships for students in need. Requests for financial help this year are at an all-time high, he said.
“There’s lots of families in need this year,” he said. “We’re grateful for the support of the Hames family in this fundraising concert. One of the things I’m looking forward to is, this is a family friendly concert, and the arts are a really good way to bring our community together.”
Vigil plans to stay a few extra days in Sitka, and get out on the water for some fishing.
“I’m just super excited to be in Alaska,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
Tickets are $20 at fineartscamp.org under “Shows,” and at the door.
