Mannheim Steamroller’s Chip Davis Talks About His Love of Wyoming

Mannheim Steamroller will be performing in Casper at the Events Center this Friday. We visited with founder Chip Davis about 35 years of Christmas tours and his lifelong love for Wyoming.

Chip Davis was kind enough to join us via the phone to talk about Mannheim Steamroller's record of 35 consecutive years of touring. We asked him about how his show has changed over the years since 1984.

Chip Davis: "The technology is considerably updated from the early days. Like for example, if I wanted to have fog come out over the stage, we had a big 50 gallon drum of hot water with a heating element in the bottom with a block of dry ice in it and hope it went the right direction."

Chip is a part-time resident of Jackson, Wyoming and has a lifelong love for the Cowboy state and especially Yellowstone. He was extremely active in the recovery after the wildfires devastated the park in 1988. He did concerts for 3 years telling the story of what happened during that fire season and some of his ushers were Yellowstone park rangers. It's one of the reasons why Wyoming has always held a special place in his life.

Chip Davis: "I've been going to Wyoming with my parents since I was 5 years old...I've had a place in Jackson Hole for 25 years now. My kids have all grown up going to Wyoming as well."

Since Mannheim Steamroller is famous for their Christmas performances, we asked Chip what his favorite Christmas song is.

Chip Davis: "That's like saying...which one of your 3 kids is your favorite?...They all, just like children, have their own personalities...When I Mannheim version it, I'll make sure not lose the essence of that tune."

You can see Chip's creation, Mannheim Steamroller, at the Casper Events Center this Friday, December 13. There's a reason why this tour has become an American holiday tradition.