Moon Cookie Cafe will present Michael Johnson Saturday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m.

Johnson is a crossover folk/country pop singer-songwriter. His newest CD, Departure, is his first on the Vanguard label.

“Johnson is revered as a great songwriter,” Meg MacDonald, publicity director for Vanguard said. “He is seemingly at home in any genre — whether it be rock, jazz or blues. There is no limit to his range.”

Johnson, a native of Denver, began to play the guitar at age 13 when he contracted pneumonia. Concurrently, his brother was in an auto accident and suffered a broken leg. The boy’s parents moved their hospital beds into the living room and bought them a guitar to entertain them.

In 1963, Johnson went to Colorado State University to study music. When he won an international contest in 1965, his college career was cut short. First prize included a deal with Epic Records.

Epic released the single “Hills,” written and sung by Johnson. But only 23 copies were sold.

Another part of the prize was a two-week stint in a Chicago pub. That two weeks stretched into 20 more and Johnson found himself touring extensively in clubs and colleges, finding an enthusiastic audience everywhere he went.

Later, he signed on with the Chad Mitchell Trio for a year, spending some of that time co-writing with another member, John Denver.

In 1971, Johnson signed with Atlantic Records and released his first album, There Is A Breeze.

His next album, For All You Mad Musicians, released in 1975, was self-produced, and he followed that up with Ain’t Dis Da Life which added a rhythm section.

Teaming up with Brent Maher and Steve Gibson in Nashville, Tenn., Johnson created a two-song demo consisting of “Bluer Than Blue” and “Almost Being In Love” from the Broadway musical “Brigadoon.”

EMI America quickly signed him after hearing the demo and released the Micahel Johnson album in 1978.

The first single from the album was “Bluer Than Blue,” and it reached the top of the charts on both the pop and Adult Contemporary charts and received a Grammy nomination.

Touring has become important to Johnson in recent years.

“He was the opening act on the Wynonna and Clint black 91-city tour in 1993,” MacDonald said. “This year, he opened for Grammy-winning singer Alison Krauss on a 50-city tour.”

His newest CD, Departure, signifies his desire to move away from all of the different designations of his music. While Johnson focuses mostly on love songs, he does tackle other issues on the new disc.

“A song called ‘Software’ is unique,” Tom Clark, Moon Cookie Cafe’s publicist said said. “It features synthesizer music and is about his love-hate relationship with his computer.”

Clark sees Johnson’s appearance as “The After Garth concert” in Ames this week.

This refers to the fact that Garth Brooks appears in Ames Thursday Friday and Saturday, while Johnson appears Saturday as well.

“It’s going to be a high-quality music experience,” Clark said. Tickets are $6 at the door. There are no ticket pre-sales.

The concert will feature coffee, tea, soft drinks, cookies, cakes and pastries.

Moon Cookie Cafe is designed as a non-alcoholic alternative for people of all ages to attend and hear music. The show starts at 8 p.m. and the cafe is located at 1015 North Hyland Ave.