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BIOGRAPHY - A summer trip through the Canadian Rockies inspired Chris Collins to return to the musical roots that he nurtured during his teenage years. Chris learned to play guitar on his own, using a beat-up old guitar that he borrowed from a friend. He found himself inspired by the music of John Denver, Dan Fogleburg and James Taylor, and he earned extra money for college by playing cover songs. Time has a way of making us put some things aside, and Chris was no exception. He spent the next several years of his life raising his family and enjoying life. But, in the summer of 2000, music re-entered the life of Chris Collins during a trip through the Canadian Rockies. He bought a guitar in a small Canadian town, and by the end of his Rocky Mountain holiday, Chris had written several songs. His guitar has never been far away from him since those special moments in the mountains, and Chris has proven himself to be one of the most talented troubadours of our time. Since returning his focus to his music, Chris has been selected twice as a Top Ten Regional Singer/Songwriter at the Kerrville Folk Festival in both 2002 and 2004. He was a 2004 Finalist at the Wildflowers Songwriters Competition, and was also nominated for Song of the Year and Producer of the Year for the My Texas Music Awards in 2003. Chris is a Featured Artist for the month of September on the 2004 mytexasmusic.com calendar. He co-founded the Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians and has been the host of a popular radio music show on KPFT-Houston since 2003. Chris has also established a name for himself in the state of Colorado, where he performs each October at the annual John Denver memorial week in several concerts and events, including John Denver’s Windstar Foundation, and he will be headlining his own concert there in October, 2005. On top of all of his professional performance credits, Chris is co-owner of A Songwriters Studio in Houston, Texas. The music of Chris Collins is guaranteed to make you smile, tap your toes, and bring back memories of a simpler time. Whether he is singing songs from his original album “Alberta Skies”, or paying tribute to the artists who inspired him by sharing their music with his audience… Chris has a special way of making each person feel like the song he is singing is being sung just for them. He is one of those artists who doesn’t come along every day, and his musical mark will be the legacy he will share with everyone who is lucky enough to listen to him.
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PRESS RELEASE: Chris Collins has always been a mountain boy at heart. Raised in the rolling hills of Wisconsin farmland, Chris’s love for the high country began early with family trips to the Smokey Mountains and later to the great west mountain ranges. You don’t have to listen closely to hear the effect that the outdoors has had on him. Music became a serious part of Chris’s life when he learned to play guitar at the age of seventeen. He played his way through college and all the way to Colorado. Where he had some close brushes with fame, appearing on network television shows in Milwaukee and Denver back in the 70's. After a fifteen year absence, Chris Collins broke back into the music scene in 2002 after a fifteen year absence from performing. Since that time he has released two albums, Alberta Skies and A Tribute to John Denver. Chris was chosen as a Top Ten Regional artist at the Kerrville Folk Festival in both 2002 and 2004. He also was a songwriting finalist at the Wildflowers Festival in 2004. Also in 2004, Chris was nominated for two My Texas Music Awards for Song of the Year for his song Cheyenne and Producer of the Year for his Alberta Skies CD. Chris performed with the Midland Odessa Symphony in the fall of 2005. Chris is a featured performer at numerous concerts every October in Aspen at the annual John Denver Tribute Celebrations. With his band, Boulder Canyon, he joins with Mark Cormican in presenting a special concert called Friends With You. Besides his own music, Chris is devoted to helping other Houston musicians. He is co-founder of the Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians and Radio Show host on 90.1 FM, KPFT for the HAAM radio show which airs at 3:30 pm every Monday. In the spirit of helping other Chris Collins and Saylor White joined forces to open a recording studio in Spring Branch called A Songwriters Studio. They specialize in helping artists bring out the best in their music.
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Review from mytexasmusic.com I’m not always comfortable telling you that an artist ‘sounds like’ another artist, or ‘looks like’ another artist, but you’ll have to forgive me this time. Chris Collins is a big John Denver fan and loves the outdoors, especially the mountains. Sounding familiar? I remember seeing Chris for the first time at the Green Mountain Energy Folk Music Festival in Houston and as he took the stage I noticed a slight similarity to John Denver. The ever-present smile, the round wire-rim glasses, the sandy brown bangs, and a certain stature just took me there. Then Collins sang. While he’s not trying to be a Denver knock-off, he possesses some of the same tonal qualities which made Denver famous. Enough of the comparison, because that’s where it ends. Chris Collins has a rich Texas-tuned voice that exudes comfort and trust as he spins songs about the pleasantries of nature, beauty, family, and legend. This disc was expertly produced by Collins with the recording tools of Haniel Trisna and 6 Tone Productions. Now if you’ve been reading my reviews for years, you know that I like it when 6 Tone sticks to rock music, but I must say this disc breaks the stereotype. Whatever their level of involvement, it was just enough, and under Chris' guidance, this shapes up to be a fantastic disc. The award nominating committee will look long and hard at this CD. Collins' vocals are superb, Jeff Duncan’s fiddle/violin work is perfect, and Wayne Wilkerson turns in an award-worthy performance as well. The CD is “ALBERTA SKIES".
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Review from Bill Reed, freelance music critic Like a breath of fresh country air, Houston-based singer/songwriter Chris Collins brings his own unique impressions of folk music forward into a recently released debut CD album, Alberta Skies. From the very first track onward, his stylish blending of old-school folk rudiments with Neo-John Denver vocal arrangements is indeed reminiscent of the kind of acoustical genres popularized during the sixties and early seventies. Throughout the album, Collins combines various intricate, stationary-picking styles on guitar and five-string banjo with vocally harmonious melodies that range from caressing legatos to toe-tapping, syncopated belts of exuberance. His mosaic mix of playing and singing ventures along a complete spectrum of musical mood—from the light-hearted lilts of Wildflowers and the bluegrass strains of Jack Daniels to the more moving and solemn meaningfulness involving the cycle of generational responsibility explored in the ballad-styled Daddy's Farm. Beyond the mantras of wilderness-territory yearnings exemplified in the opening title track, the joyous The Rhythm—a favorite opener in his live stage acts and a signature number of sorts—is definitely a "keeper" and one of his staple tunes of hand-clapping motion. The thoroughly Denverish Cheyenne and Mountain Rose are two of the best cuts on the album. The more pop-contemporary Synchronicity unmistakably has that proverbial "hook" to it that all songwriters diligently shoot for. Not only do I believe that this particular piece deserves some airplay, but I also think it would make an excellent background love song soundtrack for a romantic comedy film. Fresh and exhilarating, this new collection of songs is a veritable triumph for the folk-bluegrass style of music in the new millennium. Those who enjoy purist folk music, or even older style acoustic-based country toward the bluegrass side, will find a great listen in Alberta Skies. --Bill Reed Houston Freelance Music Critic |
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