Red Rocks Amphitheatre facts for kids

"Red Rocks" redirects here. For other uses, see Red Rocks (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Construction


Location	Red Rocks Park 17598 W. Alameda Parkway Morrison, Colorado, U.S.
Coordinates	39°39′55″N 105°12′21″W / 39.66528°N 105.20583°W / 39.66528; -105.20583
Elevation	6,450 feet (1,970 m)
Owner	City and County of Denver
Operator	City and County of Denver
Capacity	9,525
Opened	1906; 119 years ago (1906) 1941; 84 years ago (1941)
Architect	Burnham F. Hoyt

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is an amazing outdoor concert venue in the western United States. It's located near Morrison, Colorado, about ten miles (16 km) southwest of Denver. The city of Denver actually owns and runs it.

What makes Red Rocks special are its huge natural rock formations. Two giant rock walls, "Ship Rock" and "Creation Rock," stand on either side of the seating area. A smaller rock, "Stage Rock," is right by the stage. Together, these rocks form a natural amphitheater. It can hold 9,525 people! While it's famous for concerts, many other events happen here all year.

In 1957, the American Institute of Architects chose Red Rocks as Colorado's special entry for a big exhibition. Later, in 1999, Pollstar magazine named Red Rocks the best small outdoor venue for the eleventh time. After that, they even renamed the award the "Red Rocks Award" and stopped including Red Rocks in the competition because it won so often!

In 2020, construction started to update the stage roof. This work was finished in the summer of 2021.

The Story of Red Rocks
Famous Shows and Moments
- Rock and Roll History
Recordings Made at Red Rocks
Red Rocks in Movies and TV
Colorado Music Hall of Fame
Images for kids
See also

The Story of Red Rocks

The theater in 1944

The amazing rock formations at Red Rocks were created millions of years ago. They are part of the Fountain Formation. A huge geological event called the Laramide Orogeny lifted and tilted these rocks. This is the same event that formed other famous Colorado spots like Garden of the Gods and the Flatirons. The rocks get their reddish color from minerals that have oxidized, like rust.

Native American tribes, like the Ute tribe, likely used these grounds long ago. In 1820, an Army group led by Stephen Long rediscovered the area. The Colorado gold rush in the late 1850s brought more people to the area.

The first recorded owner was Marion Burts in 1872. He called it the "Garden of the Angels." He sold it to Leonard H. Eicholtz, who turned it into a park in 1878. Almost 30 years later, in 1906, Eicholtz sold Red Rocks to a famous magazine editor named John Brisben Walker.

Walker renamed the site "Garden of the Titans." He added a temporary stage for concerts. He also built a funicular railway, which is like a small train that pulls cars up a steep hill. This railway took tourists to the top of Mount Morrison. It ran for about five years, starting in 1909.

In 1927, George Cranmer, who managed Denver Parks, convinced the City of Denver to buy Red Rocks from Walker. The city paid $54,133 for it. That's when it officially became "Red Rocks Amphitheatre," a name people had been using for a while.

Cranmer then worked with Denver's Mayor Benjamin Stapleton to build the amphitheater we see today. They got help from architect Burnham F. Hoyt and Stanley E. Morse. Workers and materials came from government programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). These were part of the New Deal program. Construction began in 1936. The amphitheater officially opened on June 15, 1941, with a performance by Helen Jepson.

Famous Shows and Moments

View east from top of Red Rocks Amphitheatre

People have been performing at Red Rocks for over 100 years. The very first big show was the Grand Opening of the Garden of the Titans on May 31, 1906. Publisher John Brisben Walker put it on. It featured Pietro Satriano and his 25-piece brass band. This was the first time the natural amphitheater was officially open to the public.

The biggest show ever at the amphitheater was the Feast of Lanterns on September 5, 1908. It celebrated the opening of a road up nearby Mt. Falcon. It was like a festival from Nagasaki, Japan. There were four military bands and fireworks from Mt. Falcon and Mt. Morrison.

A famous opera singer named Mary Garden performed on May 10, 1911. She had sung in many opera houses worldwide. She said Red Rocks was the best place she had ever performed!

After the amphitheater was fully built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, it officially opened on June 15, 1941. Since 1947, it has had regular concert seasons almost every year. It was temporarily closed during the 2020 pandemic.

Every year, the first performance of the season is the Easter Sunrise Service. This is a non-religious service held on Easter Sunday.

Rock and Roll History

The first big rock-and-roll show at Red Rocks was by The Beatles on August 26, 1964. It was the only concert on their US tour that didn't sell out. Beatles drummer Ringo Starr remembered, "I remember it was very high and the air was thin. They were giving us hits from oxygen canisters." When Ringo Starr came back in 2000, he asked if anyone in the crowd had been at the Beatles concert 36 years earlier.

Many famous performers love Red Rocks. Jimi Hendrix played there on September 1, 1968. Diana Ross & the Supremes performed on August 14, 1969.

An event during a Jethro Tull concert on June 10, 1971, caused a five-year ban on rock concerts. About 1,000 people without tickets tried to get into the sold-out show. Police tried to manage the crowd. Some people without tickets tried to force their way in and threw rocks at the police. The police used tear gas. The wind carried the tear gas into the audience and onto the stage. After this event, Denver Mayor William H. McNichols Jr. banned rock concerts. For five years, only calmer acts like John Denver and The Carpenters played there.

The ban was finally lifted in 1976. A concert promoter named Barry Fey took the city to court. The court decided the city's ban was unfair. So, rock bands were welcomed back to Red Rocks! Jethro Tull played there again in 1988, 2008, and 2011.

U2 had a famous concert on June 5, 1983, during their War Tour. Only 4,400 people came because of bad weather. But the band decided to play because they had paid for filming crews. Bono, U2's singer, even went into the parking lot to tell people to move closer to the stage to make the venue look full for the filming. The concert film U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky and the music video for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" came from this show.

Depeche Mode has played at Red Rocks four times. Their 2009 show was recorded for their live albums.

The Grateful Dead loved Red Rocks and played there 20 times between 1978 and 1987. They held the record for the most sold-out shows until 2015. Now, Widespread Panic holds that record with 66 sold-out performances!

Blues Traveler has played at Red Rocks every Fourth of July since 1993, except for one year when their singer had heart surgery.

Phish was banned from Red Rocks after their concerts in August 1996. Fans without tickets caused problems outside the amphitheater. The nearby town of Morrison was not ready for so many people. Phish was not invited back until July 2009.

Geddy Lee from the band Rush called Red Rocks "one of the most stunning concert venues in the United States... or anywhere." Rush played there on several of their tours.

Many Colorado musicians have performed at Red Rocks. These include John Denver, Judy Collins, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Fray, OneRepublic, and The Lumineers. As of 2023, the Colorado band The String Cheese Incident has played at Red Rocks over 50 times!

During the 2020 pandemic, Red Rocks hosted some special shows with the Colorado Symphony Strings. They followed social distancing rules. Virtual shows were also streamed live. Other events included drive-in movies and the Denver Film Festival.

In 2021, Red Rocks Amphitheatre was named the top-earning and most-attended concert venue of any size in the world!

On August 9 and 10, 2022, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone held a live concert there. They performed music from their show with rock bands Primus, Ween, and Rush. This celebrated South Park's 25th anniversary.

On June 21, 2023, a big hailstorm happened before a Louis Tomlinson concert. Hail the size of apples injured over 90 people, and 7 went to the hospital.

Recordings Made at Red Rocks

Aerial view, January 1966

Red Rocks is a popular place for live recordings, especially videos. This is because of its unique and beautiful setting. In the 1970s and 1980s, local folk-rock singer John Denver recorded several concerts there that were shown on TV worldwide.

U2's 1983 concert video, Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, became a huge hit. The video for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from that concert was played a lot on MTV. Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks released a 60-minute DVD of her concert there in 1986.

In 1992, The Moody Blues performed live with a symphony orchestra for the first time. This was for a TV special called "A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra." They also released the concert on CD and DVD.

UAV Aerial view, January 2013

Other bands and artists have also released live albums and DVDs from Red Rocks. These include:

Dave Matthews Band with Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95 and Weekend on the Rocks.
The Samples with Live in Colorado.
John Tesh with Live at Red Rocks and Worship at Red Rocks.
Incubus with Alive at Red Rocks.
Blues Traveler with Live on the Rocks.
Comedian Steve Martin with his album A Wild and Crazy Guy.
Boukman Eksperyans with "Live At Red Rocks".
Widespread Panic's DVD The Earth Will Swallow You has a part about Red Rocks.

The Grateful Dead played at Red Rocks 20 times. Some of their performances have been released as live albums.

The live Neil Young album Road Rock Vol. 1 and its DVD, Red Rocks Live, were filmed and recorded there in 2000. Local Colorado band Big Head Todd and the Monsters released a DVD and live album from their 1995 performance.

In 2003, an album called Carved In Stone– Volume 1 featured live recordings from 10 artists, including R.E.M., Coldplay, and Phish. The money from this album helped the "Preserve The Rocks Fund" to keep the amphitheater in good shape. A second volume was released in 2007.

Phish frontman Trey Anastasio included parts of his 2005 Red Rocks show on a DVD. Country musician Gary Allan filmed the music video for his song "Watching Airplanes" at a sold-out concert in 2007. A part of the British rock band Oasis's film Lord Don't Slow Me Down was filmed at Red Rocks.

Depeche Mode recorded their show on August 29, 2009, for their live album project. Country singer Kenny Chesney included a live version of "You and Tequila" from Red Rocks on his album.

A Perfect Circle recorded their DVD A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone and Echo there in 2011.

On August 29, 2012, Mumford & Sons recorded their song "I Will Wait" at Red Rocks. This became the band's official music video for the song. They also released a full DVD of their shows from August 28 and 29, 2012, called The Road To Red Rocks.

On September 1, 2014, OneRepublic, a band from Colorado Springs, recorded their song "I Lived" at Red Rocks. They filmed the band, the audience, and a fan named Bryan Warnecke for the music video. This video helped spread awareness for cystic fibrosis and shared Bryan's story.

In 2015, Barenaked Ladies performed at Red Rocks. This show was later released as a live album called BNL Rocks Red Rocks. In 2017, the rock supergroup Bad Company also released a live recording.

Opeth released a live DVD and Blu-ray of their May 11, 2017, performance. Gojira performed the same night and released their full concert online.

The American pop-punk band Nofx released a live recording of their 18-minute song "The Decline (EP)" from a 2019 performance. Comedian Bill Burr filmed a comedy special at Red Rocks in September 2021.

Red Rocks in Movies and TV

In 1987, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart announced he was running for president at Red Rocks.

Part of the 1990 movie The Adventures of Ford Fairlane was filmed at Red Rocks. The opening scenes show a fictional rock band called "Black Plague" playing there. The lead singer makes a grand entrance by ziplining from the rocks onto the stage!