Red Rocks Amphitheatre

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Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure in Red Rocks Park near Morrison, Colorado (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 boulders angled outwards from stage left and seating area for up to 9,450 people in between. The amphitheatre is owned and operated by the City and County of Denver , Colorado. It was created by the workers of the Civilian Conservation Corps under the New Deal Act. Geologically, the rocks are representative of the Fountain Formation. Originally the place was known as the Garden of the Angels (1870s-1906), and then as Garden of the Titans (1906-28). The park, however, had always been known by the folk name of Red Rocks, which it was formally named when Denver acquired it in 1928. The amphitheatre's rocks are named Creation Rock on the north, Ship Rock on the south, and Stage Rock to the east. Red Rocks Amphitheatre was designed by Denver architect Burnham Hoyt.

1 Performances
2 Honors
3 See also
4 External link

[edit] Performances

June 3, 2006

Public, organizational and private performances have been held at Red Rocks for over 100 years. Likely used by the Ute tribe in earlier times, the earliest documented performance at the amphitheatre was the Grand Opening of the Garden of the Titans, put on by famed editor John Brisben Walker on May 31, 1906. Featuring Pietro Satriano and his 25-piece brass band, it was the formal opening of the natural amphitheatre for use by the general public after Walker purchased it with the proceeds of his sale of Cosmopolitan Magazine.

The amphitheatre's largest scale performance to date was the Feast of Lanterns on September 5, 1908. Commemorating the opening of the scenic road up nearby Mt. Falcon, it was patterned after the festival of Nagasaki, Japan, and featured four military bands and fireworks off Mt. Falcon, Mt. Morrison and two intermediate hills.

Renowned opera singer Mary Garden put Red Rocks on the world musical map with her performance on May 10, 1911. Having performed at many opera halls around the world, she pronounced Red Rocks the finest venue she had ever performed at.

Upon the full construction of the amphitheatre to its present form by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the venue was formally dedicated on June 15, 1941. It has held regular concert seasons every year since 1947.

The first performance of each season is the Easter Sunrise Service, a non-denominational service on Easter Sunday of each year, known for its beauty and inspiration.

The earliest notable rock and roll performance at Red Rocks was by the Beatles on August 26, 1964. When Ringo Starr returned to Red Rocks with his All-Starr Band on June 28, 2000 he asked if anyone in the crowd had been at the Beatles concert thirty-six years earlier. On August 26, 2004 the East-Coast-based Beatles-tribute band, "1964" was flown to Denver to re-enact the Beatles concert held at the site exactly forty-years earlier to the date.

Female rock icon and Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks released a 60-minute long DVD of her 1986 concert at the amphitheatre, towards the end of her Rock A Little tour. It is her only live DVD and is considered her most accomplished work, with the singer herself considering the experience legendary.

Red Rocks was one of the favored venues for the Grateful Dead.

One of the notable performances given at Red Rocks was by the rock group U2, who released two tracks from a Red Rocks concert on their 1983 live album, Under a Blood Red Sky and a full concert-length video of the same appearance, segments of which were frequently shown on MTV.

Other Red Rocks material on CD and DVD include Dave Matthews Band's albums Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95 and Weekend On The Rocks, The Samples live album, Live in Colorado, John Tesh's Live at Red Rocks and Worship at Red Rocks, the Incubus DVD Alive at Red Rocks, Steve Martin's comedy album A Wild and Crazy Guy, The Moody Blues's A Night at Red Rocks With the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and Boukman Eksperyans' album "Live At Red Rocks". The live Neil Young album, Road Rock Vol. 1 and its accompanying DVD Red Rocks Live was filmed and recorded at Red Rocks in 2000 during the "Silver and Gold" tour. Local Colorado band Big Head Todd and the Monsters released a DVD and live album of a notable 1995 performance in 2003 capturing what has become a local annual early season tradition. During the 1970s and 1980s, local folk-rocker John Denver recorded several world-televised concerts at Red Rocks.The Killers have also played at Red Rocks during Next Fest in summer of 2005.

A two-volume album, Carved in Stone, features live performances by various artists at Red Rocks, including R.E.M., Ben Harper, Coldplay, The Allman Brothers Band, and Phish, with proceeds going towards a fund for preservation of the park and amphitheatre. The amphitheatre was the starting and finishing line of the reality show The Amazing Race 9.

The self-proclaimed "Greatest Band on Earth," Tenacious D, performed at Red Rocks August 24, 2001.

Canadian rock icons RUSH had never played Red Rocks until their 30th anniversary tour on June 29th, 2004. Geddy Lee is quoted as saying, "It's an amazing location. One of the most beautiful concert venues in America...or anywhere. I would hazard a guess that it's one of the most beautiful anywhere. It was great, I was happy to do it." [[1]] Pictures of the concert can be seen on Rush's website. [[2]] Rush will return to Red Rocks for their Snakes & Arrows tour on August 8th, 2007.

British rock band Oasis performed a concert at Red Rocks during their 2005-2006 Don't Believe The Truth World Tour. A portion of the band's new rockumentary "Lord Don't Slow Me Down" was filmed at Red Rocks.

Las Vegas Synth Rock group The Killers are scheduled to play a concert at the Amphetheatre on May 17th, 2007.

French House icons Daft Punk are scheduled to play on July 31, 2007.

[edit] Honors

After Pollstar magazine awarded Red Rocks the honor of best small outdoor venue for the 11th time, the leading concert industry magazine decided to name the nationally coveted honor the Red Rocks Award. It is voted on annually by the magazine's membership.

The American Institute of Architects selected Red Rocks to be Colorado's entry at the National Gallery of Art for the AIA's Centennial Exhibition in 1957.