This year, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado is celebrating 75 years of hosting events at the iconic outdoor venue. As part of the notable anniversary, the National Park Service officially designated the majestic location outside of Denver as a National Historic Landmark at a ceremony earlier this month. For this week’s edition of Saturday Stream, below is a Spotify Playlist featuring officially released recordings of performances held throughout the storied history of the frequent concert hosting facility.
The collection of tracks making up the playlist begins with a pair of recently issued Grateful Dead favorites which were played in July 1978 one night after the band made the first of several appearance at Red Rocks. A rendition of “Estimated Prophet” from the So Many Roads compilation from the following Summer Tour is also featured in the set that plays out chronologically culminating with highlights from 2015 concerts by Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Amos Lee and Joe Bonamassa.
Also selected was the well-known 1983 recording of “Gloria” by U2 during which Bono famously declared “This is Red Rocks … This is the Edge.” Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and his band’s rendition of “First Tube” from 2002 can be found among tracks from Dave Matthews Band trips to Red Rocks in 1995 and again in 2005. A pair of 2009 Bisco Inferno tracks by The Disco Biscuits were chosen, as were the two 2012 and two 2014 Umphrey’s McGee Hall Of Fame entries.
Other live at Red Rocks performances featured below include songs by Jack Johnson, Mumford & Sons, John Butler Trio, O.A.R. and the supergroup A Perfect Circle.. There’s plenty of improvisation across the nearly three and a half hours of live audio from the past decades on the gorgeous rocks, stream here:
