During the long year of the pandemic, most music lovers shared a similar question at one point: What was the last gig you went to before it all ended? It was an opportunity to reflect nostalgically on the British Columbia era (before COVID-19) when you could get together with unmasked hordes of smiling friends, dance shoulder to shoulder with strangers and maybe even watching sputum fly from the lips of loud talking friends. or musicians on stage with only minimal discomfort.

Oh, the good old days, but now they’re back, to some extent, as singer-songwriter Daniel Rodriguez will be performing two live shows at the Sheridan Opera on Saturday night. A founding member and lead songwriter of popular Colorado folk group Elephant Revival, Rodriguez has captivated audiences for over a decade with his moving writing and poetic mark of modern folk. Whether backed by a full band or the simple installation of an acoustic guitar and stool on a bare stage, Rodriguez knows how to lead an audience on a shared journey of musical connection.

On Saturday, in two separate shows at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., Rodriguez will engage actual audiences with the first live concerts at the opera house since spring 2020, when COVID-19 abruptly closed the doors to music venues across the world. Over the course of two intimate shows, Rodriguez will invite listeners into a musical world made up of both new originals and old favorites from the Elephant Revival era.

Performing in person, he said, is something that feels very new and fresh after the long COVID winter.

“There is a new gratitude. I’m so excited to get on stage and play for people, ”he said, recalling the moment about a month ago when he took the stage for the first time since the pandemic started to hit the stage. performing for a live audience at the Boulder Theater. As the band launched into the first song, they held back tears, the emotion of the moment swelling in tandem with the melody.

He is not the only one who feels a sense of joy resurfacing at the idea of ​​sharing music with others. Maggie Stevens, opera’s marketing manager, shared a similar sentiment.

“ Live music is such an important part of Telluride and providing it to the community is at the center of the Sheridan Arts Foundation,” she said. “So being able to bring this back to our historic theater after such a long hiatus is honestly a little touching for us as staff.”

For his part, Rodriguez can’t wait to return to Box Canyon, which is home to memorabilia of performing on the Town Park stage for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival with Elephant Revival, hiking to thundering waterfalls and s ‘soak up city life in the cafes of Main Street.

“It’s undeniable how special a Telluride place is,” he said.

Originally from the East Coast, Rodriguez, who has been playing guitar and writing songs since he was a teenager, has made Colorado his home since he moved west as a young musician, pursuing his dreams of the early days of ‘Elephant Revival. Inspired by the rugged landscape and a community of musicians, he perfected the craft of songwriting and learned to live cheaply and work hard. Today, he maintains a songwriting practice of finding a thread of inspiration and following it with curiosity and creativity to see what happens.

“A lot of times it’s a bit of a mystery,” he said of the creation process. “Maybe I’m just dreaming, and a thought stream or line will come through my head. Sometimes it will have a rhythm. It’s that thing that pushes its face into my reality, and it’s up to me to follow the thread, to climb the ranks. It’s like a little child on a playground that I have to follow in order to understand.

Fans of Rodriguez folk soul, beloved tunes from Elephant Revival, or just general live music can purchase $ 25 tickets to the Saturday shows online at sheridanoperahouse.com . Participants will be required to present a COVID-19 vaccination card or negative COVID test within 72 hours of the show and may be maskless; those who do not have one of these options will have to wear a mask on site. For all future performances, the opera will require proof of vaccination or a negative test; masks and pods will not be needed.

“It’s been almost 15 months since we’ve had regular lineup at the opera, and we couldn’t be more excited to start a busy summer with Daniel Rodriguez,” Stevens said of welcoming the audience to the venue. . “Having a great singer-songwriter like Daniel Rodriguez solo is so perfect because you can really enjoy the music and the privacy of the theater at the same time.