There's no finer place to see a concert than Red Rocks (above), nestled in the red limestone foothills of the Rocky Mountains, overlooking the lights of Denver,and, on special nights, the rising of the full moon over Denver. Musicians love to play here. This year we attended 3 events at Red Rocks, an eclectic selection - Neil Young, Idina Menzel, & Garrison Keillor.
After seeing our nephew, Mark, sing in the Neustrelitz, Germany production of La Traviata this spring, we saw The Twelve at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in April, and A Man of No Importance at the Arvada Center in May. Then we saw Neil Young, Idina Menzel, & Garrison Keillor, all at Red Rocks. And Rhiannon with the Carolina Chocolate Drops at Chautaqua. Add to that the Met production of Aida at our local theater in July, and another Met Opera in January, and it has been a great year for music..This next Sunday we wrap up a summer of music with the annual Farm Concert in Berthod, an annual favorite.
Click on any pic to see the larger, full-res version.
And turn your speakers on for the videos.
Red Rocks Amphitheater - Morrison, Colorado
Neil Young's Rebel Content Tour
Wherein Monsanto is taken to task!
Red Rocks seats about 7,000. The seats are bench seating, but generous, and you can take a stadium seat for more comfort. Back in the day, people would come at noon for a night concert, and party all day in this gorgeous setting.
Garrison Keillor
Neustreulitz, Germany - La Traviata, with our nephew, Mark, performing.
Mark and Jan and Mark's girlfriend, Sibele, after the performance.
Rhiannon Giddens, known as the lead singer, violinist, banjo player, and a founding member of the Grammy-winning country, blues and old time music band, Carolina Chocolate Drops.
And Rhiannon recently, late 2017, received a Genius Grant from the MacArthur Foundation
We saw these folks at Chautaqua and loved them.
Aida - We really enjoy the Met Operas streamed to theaters. World class opera in your local theater, for a song, and you can eat popcorn! Quietly.
The Twelve
A Man of No Importance
Arvada Center
The annual Farm Concert in Berthoud has been the perfect cap to our summers for the last 12 years. You take lawn chairs, and a cooler with food and drink if you want, or you can buy a barbecue meal there. The stage is against the side of a huge barn... looking much like any rural farmhouse's front porch where folks gather on a summer evening and make music.
Butch runs a recording studio and knows just about everybody in the business of making music. The farm is Sarah's, who told us this year how the farm concert came to be. She had grown up in Kentucky and missed the music scene she had grown up with, so she started the annual farm concerts. She and Butch got married after the concert ten years ago... so every year we all celebrate their anniversary with them listening to music under the stars. Always a great party!
This is recorded music playing while waiting for the concert to start. The Streets of Bakersfield has special meaning to me, as I did indeed walk the streets of Bakersfield when hitchhiking back to Colorado from California. I was destitute, but found my fortune when I ran across an old friend not long after I got back. Her name is Jan... and the rest, as they say, is history...
We always met several other couples there and brought food and refreshments to share.
A good shit-kickin' time!
Ashleah went with us a couple of times. And studied between sets!
When she could have been making chili.
John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was the headliner this year. He regaled us with stories and jokes, and of course demonstrated on several instruments his string wizardry. Nice, but we found it impossible to keep our feet still. YeeHaw!
Take a little time for music...
In the movie, Iceman, the scientists are unable to communicate with a prehistoric man they had unfrozen (I know!). One of the scientists and the 'Iceman' were sitting there and the scientist started idly tapping out with his stick, and humming, Neil Young's 'Heart of Gold.' Well, the Iceman thought singing and making music was good sport and they started interacting... with music as the common and universal language. Herewith...
Twas ever thus!
Without music, life would be a mistake.
Friedrich Nietzsche
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