The live, intimate performances at Ebbets Field, Denver’s premier concert venue of the Seventies, would be a footnote in rock history were it not for the hundreds of shows professionally recorded by the staff of ListenUp.
Leading various iterations of the Samples since 1987, Sean has navigated a colorful road through the music industry.
George Kealiher, Jr.’s relationship with management allowed him—and his camera—backstage when national acts were booked at the newly constructed Denver Coliseum, which started operation in 1952.
On September 3, 1972, the Grateful Dead performed before approximately 32,000 fans at the University of Colorado’s Folsom Field in Boulder. The band’s first stadium show in Colorado was marked by torrential rains, rare performances (“Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu”)—and, at one point, hundreds of lids of pot were tossed into the air from the crowd and from the stage.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, top recording stars famously holed up at “destination studios” outside of the usual Los Angeles or New York circles in order to find greater inspiration and fewer distractions. Many of the biggest names headed for Caribou Ranch, the legendary recording complex near the Boulder County foothills hamlet of Nederland, Colorado.
1996: Backbeats
Colorado’s music scene thrived in 1996. Here’s a look back at some of the most beloved acts.
On Record book series
Each volume of the award-winning On Record series gathers over 200 limited and extraordinary images and 100 interview-based profiles spotlighting an array of musical artists.
merchandise
Explore the Colorado Music Experience’s store, stocked with stylish products and gifts for music fans.
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A non-profit organization established to preserve the legacies of Colorado music, CoME serves as a repository for informational and archival resources.