EVANSTON — Nearly 1,000 people turned up at Evanston High School on Saturday, Nov. 30, to usher in the holiday season at the Bar J Wranglers Christmas Concert hosted by Evanston Cowboy Days. Dustin Matthews, with the Cowboy Days committee, said they believe 900-950 people were in attendance for a performance that included holiday favorites and classic cowboy tunes, as well as a whole lot of joking and good humor. 

The Bar J Wranglers, out of Jackson Hole, opened the evening with an a capella version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” before breaking out the guitars, fiddles, banjos and more to keep audience members tapping their feet throughout the evening. Showing off their impressive and considerable musical skills were brothers Bryan and Scott Humphrey and fellow bandmates Danny Rogers, Tim Hodgson and Donnie Cook. Later in the evening, Bryan and Scott’s father Babe Humphrey joined in for a few tunes. 

Other musical selections throughout the night included a Bar J Wranglers original tune, “On a Christmas Morn,” and Christmas classics “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bells,” the latter of which featured some non-traditional yodeling from Bryan Humphrey. In response to his bandmates commenting on his “caterwaulin’,” Bryan said, “Yodeling is like indigestion; every once in a while you gotta let one fly.” 

The quintet then left the Christmas tunes behind for a bit to focus on “the cowboy songs we grew up on, the kind that aren’t heard much anymore.” Rogers proved himself more than capable of handling the deep bass vocals of “16 Tons,” Hodgson let his fingers fly on “Fiddlin’ Man,” and Cook had himself some fun on the banjo during “Foggy Mountain Breakdown.” 

One of the definite highlights of the evening, both musically and in getting the entire audience laughing, was the tune, “Uncle Noah’s Ark,” which featured all five main musicians showing off their best animal impressions, including ducks, sheep, cows, goats, pigs, roosters, frogs and, somehow, the Geico gecko. 

After Babe joined in, the performance included a tribute to veterans with another original tune, “Prayer of a Soldier,” as well as thoughts on aging and staying young with, “Don’t Let the Old Man In,” and, of course, more Christmas tunes. 

Following an audience standing ovation, the Wranglers returned to the stage for an encore performance that included, “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Let It Snow.”

The group’s visit to Evanston, as well as their decision to donate a percentage of the proceeds from merchandise sales that evening to Evanston Cowboy Days, was definitely a hit. Matthews said, “It was a great success and we hope families enjoyed it.”

Matthews said the concert had been several years in the making and the timing had just never worked out, but, “It’ll likely be a yearly thing now.” Judging by the audience reaction to this concert, locals will be delighted by that news.