Musical acts aren’t just playing Red Rocks anymore, they’re taking the show on the road to other Colorado venues
Live-music options are finally meeting demand — and eroding contracts that prevent artists from playing too close
John-Ryan Lockman/Courtesy photo
When Brent Fedrizzi drives the 70 miles from Denver to Colorado Springs, he sees concert fans — and lots of them.
“If you’ve been to those communities up and down I-25, you can see that there are a lot of folks living and working and playing there that can support their own shows,” said Fedrizzi, the co-president and COO of AEG Presents Rocky Mountains. “And now we have the extra tools to do that.”
Those tools include new venues such as Sunset Amphitheater, the Springs’ upscale space scheduled to host OneRepublic, Dierks Bentley and other big acts when it opens in August. The 8,000-capacity venue is helping to soak up a growing demand for live music along the Front Range and in the high country — and loosening Denver’s historic grip on the state’s biggest concerts.
Artists such as Vampire Weekend aren’t just playing Red Rocks Amphitheatre (July 19) when they visit Colorado. They’re also booked at the 3,656-capacity Dillon Amphitheater (July 20), and maybe even Vail’s Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. When Slightly Stoopid this month announced its Aug. 8-10 Colorado run, it included all of them.
Read more from John Wenzel at DenverPost.com
