Red Rocks Amphitheatre will reopen in April

Red Rocks Amphitheatre will reopen in April with 2,500-person capacity thanks to a variance that allows it operate outside of the state’s COVID-19 rules, venue officials announced Tuesday.

No date was given on the park’s social media posts, but the world-famous amphitheater — which is owned and operated by the city agency Denver Arts & Venues — has been closed to large-scale events for most of the past year. In 2020, the venue was only able to host 175-person concerts from classical ensembles (Colorado Symphony) and local acts (including Nathaniel Rateliff) due to the restrictions.

The outdoor venue’s capacity is typically about 9,500, so opening with less than half may be a tough sell to many touring artists, who must recoup their travel and production expenses with each new show. However, it may make sense for mid-tier touring and local acts to rent out the venue, leading to a somewhat-familiar shade of the pre-pandemic summer concert season — when the Morrison venue annually broke records for the number of new concerts.

The reopening also heralds upgrades at the venue, including a new, state-of-the-art roof. Formerly the domain of brave riggers and lighting techs, the mechanized roof will no longer require death-defying climbing feats to prep for each show, Arts & Venues officials have said. This year marks Red Rocks’ 80th anniversary as a public performing arts venue.

Upcoming concerts at the venue include two nights of Lotus (April 23-24; on sale at 10 a.m. April 2) and Hippie Sabotage (May 6). See more at redrocksonline.com.