The Ford Amphitheater has only been open for a week, but the new Colorado Springs concert venue is already affecting how promoters are scheduling bands throughout Colorado.
It’s not yet clear whether promoters are now specifically choosing to schedule their bands at the 8,000-seat Ford Amphitheater in northern Colorado Springs instead of playing in Denver at either the 9,545-seat Red Rocks Amphitheatre 63 miles away in Morrison, or at the 18,000-seat Fiddler’s Green just 45 miles to the north in Greenwood Village.
It is clear that many bands will now make maximum use of their new Colorado open-air opportunity by playing both Colorado Springs and Denver on back-to-back nights.
Lauren Daigle, for example, is playing Aug. 22 at Fiddler’s Green and Aug. 23 in Colorado Springs, for a potential total audience of 26K. John Fogerty and George Thorogood are playing Red Rocks on Aug. 26 and Colorado Springs the next night. Similarly, Dierks Bentley is playing Colorado Springs on Aug. 30 and Red Rocks on Aug. 31.
But there are a lot of new ways for promoters to go, and the Ford Amphitheater is now the definite middle piece in this high-stakes shell game.
One trend is clear: Perhaps more than ever, touring bands are doubling and even tripling up their Colorado dates. But with Colorado Springs in the mix, some are bypassing Denver altogether. The question is, are they doing it because they can or because they have to?
Several are embracing a most unusual kind of double-header by playing Colorado Springs and Vail, home to the 2,600-seat Ford Amphitheater. Yes: Two amphitheaters, 150 miles apart, both named Ford. Barenaked Ladies , for example, are playing in Colorado Springs on Sept. 21 and in Vail on Sept. 22.
Vail’s venue, owned by the town, was christened in 1987 for President Gerald R. Ford. The Ford Motor Company bought the naming rights to the Colorado Springs venue, which is owned by VENU in partnership with AEG Presents. (Know before you go!)
The venerated Beach Boys played in Denver's 6,500-capacity Levitt Pavlion on Wednesday and Vail on Thursday, with Colorado Springs coming up Friday and the 2,600-seat Las Colonias Amphitheater in Grand Junction on Saturday. Walker Hayes is playing the same three non-Denver venues on the same three nights – just never at the same time as the Beach Boys.
Primus , similarly, is playing the 3,656-seat Dillon Amphitheater on Aug. 23 and in Colorado Springs on Aug. 24.
For years, cutthroat promoters observed a 50-mile no-compete radius, meaning no band could play at two venues within that distance on the same tour. That would have applied to Lauren Daigle playing at both Colorado Springs and Fiddler’s Green, but that rule has largely gone away because promoters like AEG Presents and Live Nation increasingly control bookings for entire venues.
The Ford is being promoted exclusively through AEG, which also owns the Denver Gazette. That means AEG, for the most part, will decide not only who plays at the Ford, but at what other AEG-owned venues in Colorado. You’re not competing for bands when you control both venues.
Fiddler’s Green is owned by the Museum of Outdoor Arts , but AEG also promotes its concerts exclusively. AEG has a large foothold on Red Rocks as well, but not an exclusive one, because Red Rocks is owned and operated by the city of Denver. Dates there are fiercely competitive. Red Rocks now routinely books a concert every night from April through November. So if some bands are skipping Denver, it’s not necessarily because of competition from Colorado Springs. They might be playing only in Colorado Springs because Red Rocks is not available. Score one for Colorado Springs concertgoers, because Ford’s opening gives bands another place to play when they can’t play Denver.
“In some cases, the Denver market kind of suffers because there is not even an off-season at Red Rocks anymore,” said local music authority G. Brown, director of the Colorado Music Experience and author of an 11-book (and growing) encyclopedia called the On-Record book series . “There's just not enough dates to go around.”
Concertgoers game for all of it
The Denver Gazette asked Denver concertgoers how willing they will be to jump in their cars and drive 50-plus miles to see a favorite band, whether that band is also playing in Denver or not. As you might imagine, some fans are going to blissfully accept the opportunity to see a favorite band on back-to-back nights, 50 miles apart. But for bands they are less emotionally attached to, it’s anyone’s guess.
“I’d only go to Colorado Springs if it was the only option to see a band I love,” said Nancy Whittemore. Lori Golightly said the distance alone is a non-starter, while Roberto Raymond said it's a no-brainer. “I'll drive an hour to a cool venue for sure,” he said.
For Adam Lundeen, the venue matters. “It depends on the band and where they might also playing in Denver,” he said. “If it’s Ball Arena vs. an outdoor amphitheater with a mountain view? I'm for sure making that road trip south.”
For others, it will come down to the intangibles. Rick Thompson said it depends on the parking situation. Kerry Merrell is willing to go south, but she offers up what sounds like a capital idea to make it easier for everyone:
“It would be nice for some kind of dedicated bus that would go from Denver straight to this venue for those who either don't want to or can’t drive to get there,” she said.
Rock on.
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