Celebrate Red Rocks' 75th Anniversary With Five Killer Performances June 15, 2016 17:28
Photo via RedRocksOnline.com
Today, the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre celebrates it's 75th anniversary, and that's something that simply cannot be overlooked. Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, 10 miles west of Denver, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a seating area for up to 9,525 people in between. The amphitheater is owned and operated by the City and County of Denver, Colorado and is located in Red Rocks Park, part of the Denver Mountain Parks system.
The earliest notable rock-and-roll performance at Red Rocks was by The Beatles on August 26, 1964, the only concert not sold out during their US-tour. The beautiful and unique setting has led to the venue becoming a favorite for many performers, including Jimi Hendrix on September 1, 1968. U2 performed at the amphitheatre on June 5, 1983 during their War Tour, in front of a crowd of 9,000 people.
Red Rocks was one of the favored venues for The Grateful Dead and the venue has become a traditional stop for many subsequent jam bands. Widespread Panic holds the record for the most sold out performances at Red Rocks (48 shows). Blues Traveler has played the venue every Fourth of July since 1993, except 1999 when lead singer and harmonica player John Popper was unable to play due to heart surgery. The venue has also seen numerous performances from the likes of Phish, My Morning Jacket, Tedeschi Trucks Band, String Cheese Incident, Umphrey's McGee, STS9, and so many more.
In honor of Red Rocks' 75th anniversary, we've included video footage of five of our favorite performances below. We feel confident that we can speak for the all music fans when we say, "Thank you, Red Rocks, for providing an endless amount of memories to music fans far and wide!"
Watch Widespread Panic entire show at Red Rocks on 06.28.2002 here:
Watch Phish's entire first set at Red Rocks from 07.30.2009 here:
Watch String Cheese Incident's "Incident on The Rocks" from 07.23.2013 here:
Watch Umphrey's McGee's entire show at Red Rocks from 06.07.13 here:
Watch My Morning Jacket's entire show at Red Rocks from 05.29.16 here: