More than seven inches of snow was not enough to deter die hard fans of The Embers as 100 people showed up to watch the Christmas concert at the Andy Griffith Playhouse Friday night.

Five of the seven Embers band members traveled from Raleigh on the group’s tour bus to Mount Airy Friday afternoon, arriving at the playhouse at 3 p.m. to set up for the show.

Executive Director of the Surry Arts Council Tanya Jones said the phones rang off the hook Friday afternoon as fans called to see whether or not the show would go on. She said more than 300 tickets for the show had been sold.

The original Ember, Bobby Tomlinson, said they knew the snow was coming, but it was decided that the show couldn’t be moved to a different date.

“We knew two or three days ago about the snow, and we tried to move it to the Sunday or Monday after Christmas, but it just couldn’t be done,” Tomlinson said.

Sue Johnson, who works at Camp E-Mun-Talee, said she didn’t even get off work until 4 p.m. Friday, and it took her more than an hour to make it from Lowgap to her home off Franklin Road. She drives a four-wheel drive vehicle that got her and her husband, Steve, to the show. They were seated on the front row waiting for the 8 p.m. show to begin.

Behind the scenes, Tomlinson got word from that two band members, Matt Kosma, who plays saxophone, and John Ray, who plays bass, were stuck on U.S. 52, two miles south of the Interstate 74 split. They said there were two jack-knifed tractor-trailers blocking the road.

Johnson offered to go pick them up, but the men didn’t want to abandon their vehicle on the side of the road.

At 8:30, the lead vocalist for the group, Wayne Free came out and announced that despite the missing band members, they wanted the show to go on for those who braved the snow to be there. He asked the audience to give them 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes preparations to pull together a show that could go on without the two band members.

At 9 p.m., the band emerged all dressed in white tuxedos with wing-tipped patent leather shoes. Stephen Pachuta, who has played the trumpet for the band for the last four years, took Ray’s place and played the bass.

The crowd applauded with excitement as the show started despite the set back.

“The phenomenon in Mount Airy is so funny. It’s just amazing,” said Lynn Hallman, referring to the 100 people who came to the show.

The band played songs like “Shimmy in a Winter Wonderland,” “Let It Snow” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

As the band prepared to play the last song, Ray and Kosma came through the stage doors. They said they weren’t sure what to do, but the band saw them and urged them to join the band on stage even though they were still dressed in street clothes.

David Dixon, who plays guitar in the show, handed Ray his jacket as he pulled the bass strap over his shoulder. Kosma played his saxophone that was covered in frost as Pachuta joined him on the trumpet. Both Ray and Kosma still had snow on their boots as they played the last song.

They ended with “Feliz Navidad,” accompanied by the audience who was on its feet clapping to the beat.

N.C. House Rep. Sarah Stevens came out to see the concert with her husband who drove their four-wheeled drive to the show.

“I just love The Embers Christmas spirit,” Stevens said.

Dixon said he really enjoyed the intimacy of the concert with those who came out to see the show.

“That was special. I was relieved to see the guys show up. That was cool. I’m glad that everybody left smiling,” Dixon said.

Ted Angell and his wife, Shirley, came from East Bend to the concert. It took them more than two hours to get there.

He said, “The roads were really bad by Shelton Vineyards.”

Still, the couple braved the falling snow. Angell said, “We just wanted to hear the music. We love the music.”

He said he had seen the concert before. “It was great,” Angell remarked. “They’re a good group. We really enjoy them.”

After the concert, he said, “It was great. Worth the drive and worth wait.”

Bobbie Hinton and Brian Bennett drove from South Main Street to attend the concert.

“We love The Embers,” said Hinton. She went to the Embers concert at the Blackmon Amphitheatre earlier this year.

This was the first Embers concert for Bennett. He was surprised at the number of people that braved the snow.

“This is way more people than we thought,” said Bennett.

Before the show, he said, “They’re a good band so I know they’ll perform well. I just like to hear great music.”

Hinton said, “I’ve been before. I love it. It gets me in the mood for the holidays.”

The band signed autographs and sold copies of its new CD, “I Love Christmas Music,” in the lobby after the show. The members thanked those who came and posed for pictures with the die-hard fans.

The band had to be in Greenville, S.C., at 2 p.m. Saturday for a 7 p.m. show.

Dixon said the weather should be a little better for a cruise on Carnival cruise lines in February that will feature The Embers.

For more information about the four-day cruise, visit www.theembersband.net.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.