Red light illuminated the interior of Dan’s Silver Leaf in Denton as El Nuevo Mi Son, a local band, set up on stage. Old friends, fans, bandmates and family members of Joe Cripps, the internationally known percussionist who went missing in 2016, mingled during the hour before the band started playing.
They were all there to commemorate Cripps’ birthday for the second year in a row after he went missing. Cripps would have been 54 years old. On his 53rd birthday, Mayor Chris Watts declared Jan. 5 “Joe Cripps Day” in Denton.