11 Red Rocks shows to mark on your calendar

It’s no secret we love live music here on the Front Range — you might even say we’re a bit obsessed. That’s partly because we have one of the great concert wonders of the world right here in our backyard. Some of our more cynical neighbors may claim to be “over it,” but real heads know there’s nothing like rolling up with your squad for a picture-perfect spring or summer evening at Red Rocks. 

With its singular marriage of scenery and sound design, what’s not to love? Whether you’re looking to rekindle your spark or make your first pilgrimage to our very own live music mecca, here are the upcoming shows you absolutely do not want to miss. 

Wiz Khalifa: 420 Eve on the Rocks 
w/ 2 Chainz, Berner, The Underachievers, etc.
4 p.m. doors | Sunday, April 19

Is it a bit on the nose? Sure. But if you’re in the market for an iconic Red Rocks experience, look no further than Wiz Khalifa’s annual 4/20 blowout. This year, the time-tested Pittsburgh emcee behind weed rap bangers like “Black and Yellow” and “Roll Up” is joined by 2 Chainz, Berner, The Underachievers, Chevy Woods, and DJ Bonics. Grab your best buds, and your best bud, for a ridiculous night of heady fun on the rocks. 

Ethel Cain
w/ 9Million
6 p.m. doors | Tuesday, April 21

Since bursting onto the scene with her breakout debut Preacher’s Daughter in 2021, genre-scrambling folk artist Ethel Cain has spent her brief but brilliant career in a state of reinvention. The 27-year-old Florida native takes the Red Rocks stage in support of last year’s Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You, her latest blend of southern gothic storytelling, slowcore rhythms and heartrending melodies guaranteed to turn you inside out. As the first trans artist to crack the Billboard Top 10, Cain will be partnering with the Ally Coalition so $1 from every ticket sold will support organizations that serve the trans community. 

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
w/ Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
6 p.m. | Saturday, May 2 

On the heels of last year’s critically lauded Foxes in the Snow, roots-rock darling Jason Isbell returns to the Red Rocks stage for a one-night engagement with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. After making his big screen debut in Martin Scorsese’s prairie crime epic Killers of the Flower Moon, the Alabama singer-songwriter continues to build his reputation as one of the most celebrated artists in the wide world of Americana. Whether it’s your first time or your 40th seeing this beloved singer-songwriter, you won’t want to miss it.

Bright Eyes 
w/ Ben Kweller 
5:30 p.m. doors | Wednesday, May 6

When celebrated singer-songwriter Conor Oberst dropped his 2005 album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, it caused a sea change in the world of folk-inflected indie rock. That wasn’t the only ruckus the young songwriter would cause that year. On the same day, he also released Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, a collection of similarly confessional songs whose acoustic guitars and mandolins were replaced with drum machines and synthesizers. Two decades later, Oberst returns to Red Rocks to perform the yin and yang of these two landmark albums in their entirety. 

Alabama Shakes 
w/ JJ Grey & Mofro
6 p.m. doors | Sunday, May 24 + Monday, May 25

It was major news last year when the southern trio known as Alabama Shakes announced they would be embarking on their first tour in nearly a decade. After crashing onto the airwaves with their 2012 debut Boys & Girls, the lauded roots-rock band spent the ensuing years racking up Grammys, touring the world and growing a devoted legion of fans with their ballistic 2015 follow-up, Sound & Color. The outfit went on hiatus in 2018, giving singer-songwriter Brittany Howard the space to drop her two critically acclaimed solo albums Jaime and What Now, leaving many listeners to wonder if the full band would ever take the stage together again. We now have an answer, and when Alabama Shakes take the stage at Red Rocks for a two-night run in late May, it will ring out loud and clear.    

Kesha
w/ Chromeo, Sizzy Rocket
5:30 p.m. doors | Monday, June 1

Who you callin’ cheugy? If you can remember 9/11 and you still love to party, this night of millennial club bangers is for you. The queen of “indie sleaze” Kesha brings her international Freedom Tour to the Red Rocks stage with support from synth-pop peers Chromeo and Sizzy Rocket. The artist behind Billboard-topping hits like “Tik Tok” performs in support of her first independent album, Period, released last summer on her own label.

Jimmy Eat World  
w/ Sunny Day Real Estate, The Get Up Kids 
6 p.m. doors | Tuesday, June 9

In the ever-shifting arena of “emo,” few names ring out with quite the same resonance as Jimmy Eat World. The Arizona-born outfit had been a staple in the DIY scene for nearly a decade by the time their millennial sleeper hits “The Middle” and “Sweetness” thumped the band into the radio-rock stratosphere upon the release of their 2001 breakout album Bleed American. Now the band is celebrating 25 years of that seminal record with a tour that stops by Red Rocks on June 9 with fellow second-wave emo legends The Get Up Kids and Sunny Day Real Estate. Whether you’re looking for a good cry or a cathartic singalong, this is the place to be. 

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic
w/ Puddles Pity Party
6 p.m. doors | Tuesday, June 23

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then beloved musical funny man “Weird Al” Yankovic has made a career of adulation. With pitch-perfect song parodies like “Amish Paradise,” “White and Nerdy” and “Pretty Fly (For a Rabbi),” the accordion-wielding comedy songwriter has spent the last four decades since his self-titled debut turning top 40 send-ups into an artform. He has also enjoyed on-screen success with his ’80s cult-favorite film UHF and the more recent bonkers biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, starring Daniel Radcliffe. If you have a single fun bone in your body, this goofy night at Red Rocks is for you.     

The String Cheese Incident 
w/ Clay Street Unit 
5 p.m. + 5:30 p.m. doors | Friday, July 17 + Saturday, July 18

When it comes to Colorado music, you’d be hard pressed to name a more iconic band than The String Cheese Incident. Since forming in Crested Butte more than 30 years ago, this jamgrass institution has lit up the festival circuit with their progressive blend of bluegrass, jam stylings and psychedelic rock. Celebrate these homegrown heroes during a two-night run at Red Rocks beginning July 17 with Front Range locals Clay Street Unit, followed by a solo show the next evening featuring “three sets of Cheese.”

Gregory Alan Isakov with the Colorado Symphony 
6:30 p.m. doors | Sunday, Sept. 6 + Monday, Sept. 7 

Boulder’s own Gregory Alan Isakov remains one of the biggest draws in the world of contemporary roots music, and it’s not hard to see why. His hushed melodies, introspective lyrics and delicate guitarwork have been lighting up audiences around the world for more than two decades, most recently on his Billboard-charting 2023 album, Appaloosa Bones. When the local singer-songwriter returns to his second home of Red Rocks, he’ll be joined by the stirring sounds of the Colorado Symphony. One dollar per ticket will support Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs.

Big Thief 
6:30 p.m. doors | Tuesday, Oct. 6

On the heels of their latest full-length LP, Double Infinity, prolific folk rock breakouts Big Thief return to the Red Rocks stage for a night of tenderness and cosmic wonder. With more than a half-dozen critically acclaimed albums under their belt, the Brooklyn-born outfit have cemented themselves as one of the most important indie acts of the last 10 years. When the band steps under the bright lights of Colorado’s most iconic stage for what’s sure to be a blistering set of bangers, tearjerkers and guitar-forward freakouts, there will be little question as to why.