Prime Time and Place to See a Show Before the Noise Police Take Charge
Trevor Phipps
While it may not be as exciting as places like Las Vegas or Nashville, the Southern Colorado region is slowly getting its name on the map as a hub for live music shows, especially during the summer and fall season.
In fact, many bands play out in the sunshine almost every day of the week at some venue within the Pikes Peak region, and even infiltrating into the Ute Pass and Woodland Park.
Bands of all levels of popularity and fame can be found all over from big venues like the Pikes Peak Center and World Arena in Colorado Springs to small bar patios in Guffey. Up until recently, most music lovers were forced to battle heavy traffic and make the dreaded trip to the Denver metro area to see a big name band or solo artist.
But thankfully for those of us who live a little further from the big city in the high mountains, there is now an option for big name concerts here in Southern Colorado. After the Ford Amphitheatre (initially coined “Sunset Amphitheatre” before selling their name), officially opened up earlier this month, some popular bands are hitting the stage with Pikes Peak and gorgeous sunsets in their backdrop.
The venue opened up with the popular pop music band One Republic whose lead singer has roots in Colorado Springs. Then, I was fortunate enough to attend the venue’s second show when the Beach Boys made their way into town.
The doors opened at 6:30 p.m. and the show started at 7:30 p.m., which provided the perfect scenery of the sun dropping behind the mountains as everyone was making their way into the venue. The travel to the venue from the high country wasn’t that awful even during rush hour on a Friday as the venue is located right off I-25.
The parking was a little confusing and difficult. But this issue has been brought up before the venue was built. Walking to the seats was a little atrocious as well because the entrance is on top, and visitors must walk down stairs or ramps to the seating area.
But once entering, the venue gives a brand-new feel with bright green grass and eye-pleasing landscaping. For being a rather large amphitheater that can seat around 8,000, even the grass seats at the very top didn’t seem way too far away from the stage, keeping the concert feeling intimate.
During the Beach Boys concert, the crowd ranged in size from children to people in their 80s and 90s. The band seemed like they played a good variety of music that welcomed the whole family and got everyone groovin’
The Beach Boys rocked the stage and played pretty much every song they are known for. It felt like during every tune they performed, the entire crowd knew the music and were able to sing and dance along.
From Surfer Girl to Good Vibrations, the band whose members are in their 80s put on quite a show. They may not have been bouncing around the stage like Mick Jagger, but it was safe to say that the Beach Boys “still got it.”
And after looking at the new venue’s lineup, it appears as if they purposefully designed the concert schedule to have something for everyone this year from August to mid-October. In fact, many of the shows are such huge names that tickets for the shows sold out right when they were available.
Beach Boys and One Republic may not be worth the drive for everyone, but I guarantee there will be a show that just about everyone will want to see. The venue seems to have fulfilled its goal of bringing names to the southern part of the state that most couldn’t enjoy unless they wanted to take the trek north to the metro.
And the shows are happening multiple times a week from now until October including three shows just this week alone. Last week, John Fogerty playing Creedence Clearwater Revival songs hit the stage with George Thorogood and the Destroyers and Hearty Har. Names like Dierks Bentley, Chase Rice and Zach Top, and Robert Plant have all rocked the stage in the venue’s first month.
For comedy lovers, Jim Gaffigan performs on Sept. 13. Cage the Elephant plays Sept. 19 and Barenaked Ladies performs Sept. 21 for the alternative rock lovers. Those who like classic rock will enjoy The Steve Miller Band on Sept. 27, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd on Sept. 28 and Foreigner on Oct. 2.
The 2024 concert lineup at Ford Amphitheatre ends before the weather gets too cold with a heavy metal show. On Oct. 17 Godsmack with Nothing More and Flat Black Ft. Jason Hook formerly of Five Finger Death Punch will make the crowd head bang for the venue’s last show of the year.
Therefore, Teller residents no longer have a good excuse to stay home instead of shaking their booty to some favorite tunes. Besides, it might be a good idea to catch a show before the amphitheater’s neighboring noise police force changes to the venue’s operations. At the time of this writing, a meeting on this issue was scheduled with the Colorado Springs City Council to deal with complaints from a group of nay-sayers.
And for those who enjoy outdoor shows locally, there are still a few options left in Green Mountain Falls, via the Monday Music Series. Recently, the “gypsy jazz” duet, Roma Ransom, put on quite an impressive show in the Farm Stand. In addition, outdoor shows still thrive at the Ute Pass Cultural Center outdoor pavilion. Tava Blue took the town by storm in one of their most recent performances.
