 A visit to the John Denver Memorial in 2012.
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From the late 1960s until his death in 1997, John Denver was one of my greatest inspirations and influences. I first saw him perform at The Main Point, a coffeehouse just outside of Philadelphia, when he was still a member of The Mitchell Trio. Two members of the Trio could not make it that evening, so John did a solo performance. Having no idea who John Denver was, most folks decided not to pay for the show and left. I was a counselor at a summer camp on a night off and with nothing else to do, so I decided to stay and see the show. John did three sets that night. Normally, the audience could only sit through one set, but, since the audience that night was so small, we were permitted to say through all three shows. All I can remember thinking was "This guy is awesome, you need to get him back." The rest, of course, is history.
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John found his spirt aroused in the Rocky Mountains, where he made his home in Aspen Colorado. This song was a tribute to that experience
John Denver at five years old.
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My song, "A Rocky Mountain Memory" from The Boomers album Seasons is my tribute to John Denver, who I consider one of the greatest singer-songwriters of our generation. As I mention in the liner note of the Portrait CD, I’ve loved John Denver’s music over the years and always wished I had the vocal range to sing all of his songs. I still sing several of my favorites, including "Rocky Mountain High," "Poems, Prayers, and Promises," "Back Home Again," "Country Roads," "Matthew," "Grandma's Feather Bed," "Wild Montana Skies," "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and, of course, the Steve Gillette and Tom Campbell tune, "Darcy Farrow," which I include on Portrait.
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 The original "Folk Faculty" at an early performance. Members, from left to right: Joe Lombardi, Mark Sutherland, Stella Capek, and Ralph McKenna.
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In addition to playing music with the folk group The Boomers, I play with a group of Hendrix College faculty at various campus venues, including coffeehouses, benefits, and events for alumni and parents. With a love of folk music, especially songs from the folk revival of the 1960s and 70s, we began jamming together fairly regularly, a prelude to more formal performances as The Folk Faculty. Original members included myself, Mark Sutherland (Biology), Stella Capek (Sociology), and Ralph McKenna (Psychology). Over the years other faculty or staff, including Jay McDaniel (Religion), Steve Karafit, Danny Henderson (Kinesiology), and David Hinson (IT) would join us on various occasions.
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The Folk Faculty performing at Hendrix College for the Red Light Revue benefit in 2014. Left to right: Danny Henderson, Joe Lombardi, Ralph McKenna, Stella Capek, and Mark Sutherland.
The Folk Faculty sing with Joe following his retirement 'Last Lecture' on April, 2014. From left: Stella Capek, Ralph McKenna, Joe, David Hinson, and Mark Sutherland.
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The Folk Faculty, Joe Lombardi, Mark Sutherland, Stella Capek, and Ralph McKenna, performing for Hendrix College Parents Weekend in 2015.
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Participants of a symposium on 'Music in Environmental Education' at the national meeting of the North American Association for Environmental Education in Virginia Beach, VA in 2007. From left: Joe Baust (symposium organizer and past president of NAAEE), singer-songwriter John McCutcheon, Joe Lombardi, singer-songwriter and labor organizer Joe Uehlein, singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary), and music teacher John Shortt (seated).
A group, initially known as "The Four J's," plays mostly sing-alongs for residents of Brookdale, an assisted living center, in Conway, AR. From left: Mike Manion, Joe Lombardi (with banjo), Betty Ding, Jeff Clanton, David Allen (Jay McDaniel not shown) and Brookdale resident James Henry.