“Good mornin’, America, how are ya?” The words should be familiar — they kick off the chorus of the pop-and-country classic “City Of New Orleans” — and Michael Martin Murphey puts the train the song was named after to good use beginning this Fourth of July weekend. Starting Friday, Michael plays three straight days at the Fir Amphitheater, a mountain-top venue in Colorado that can only be accessed by riding the rails through La Veta Pass. And the train that fans take to reach the Fir is indeed the City of New Orleans, the same train Steve Goodman rode through Illinois when he was inspired to write his best-known song. “City Of New Orleans” became a pop hit in the early ‘70s for Arlo Guthrie and a No. 1 country hit for Willie Nelson in 1984. Read More