 He was signed by the Salt Lake City based independent label (a subsidiary of Bonneville Worldwide Entertainment) and "Circle of Friends" was re-released in 1997 on the BWE label, with the addition of a few new songs, including, perhaps oddly, the title track.This brought Johns music to a broader audience and allowed him to establish connections which would lead to future collaboration.During the late 90s, he was a finalist in several other festival contests, including the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Colorado and the Napa Valley Music Festival in California.