Colorado

Here’s what Colorado concert season holds for music fans in 2025

Published

1 year ago

January 2, 2025

Here’s what Colorado concert season holds for music fans in 2025

There’s plenty in store for the Front Range concert scene in 2025, from a jam-packed Red Rocks Amphitheatre calendar to higher ticket prices and massive tours at Colorado’s biggest venues.

Here’s a handy preview.

Higher ticket prices

The average ticket price is expected to rise again in 2025, with promoters blaming ballooning costs on unprecedented demand. In addition to inflation, digital scalpers are gumming up the works, prompting false sell-outs the minute many shows go on sale and sending some fans to the secondary market, where prices usually skyrocket. And if you’re able to snag them, solid seats at Ball Arena, Red Rocks or Dick’s Sporting Good Park will rarely dip below the $50 mark, with many tickets topping $100 (or much, much more).

In 2024, the average price of a ticket for one of the top 100 tours was $127.38, which was 9.4% higher than in 2019, and an all-time high, according to Pollstar. Even before the pandemic, prices were creeping skyward: Boulder Weekly reported that Red Rocks tickets jumped more than 60% between 2018 and 2024. Concerts look to increasingly become a luxury item for a society whose wealth gap is growing at an alarming rate.

President Joe Biden speaks in 2023 about efforts to eliminate hidden junk fees. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Tours and cost-reckoning

Canceled shows due to low ticket sales dotted 2024, with embarrassing about faces from The Black Keys, Jennifer Lopez and others angling for full-scale arena comebacks. This year looks to be more measured in its tour launching, with proven acts slotting comfortably into the biggest venues and mid-sized and smaller acts owning the city’s historic theaters and indie clubs.

On the bright side, Colorado consumers can now see the full list of taxes and other fees before buying their tickets, thanks to recent legislation. That helps in the decision-making process and offers more transparency on the true cost of your purchase.

Taylor Swift performs during night one of The Eras Tour in Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Friday, July 14, 2023. Thousands of fans crowded the stadium to enjoy the sold-out concert. (Photo by Grace Smith/The Denver Post)

Huge shows are not going anywhere

Taylor Swift dominated the national music sphere in 2024 with an “Eras” tour that sold out a pair of shows at Empower Field at Mile High. Slightly less top-of-mind but still huge acts Coldplay (June 10), Post Malone (June 15), and Metallica (June 27-29) are hitting Invesco Field in 2025. Coors Field is also likely to unveil more concerts on the level of 2024’s Billy Joel, Green Day, Kane Brown and Journey/Def Leppard shows.

At Ball Arena, which remains the metro area’s dominant arena, already-announced shows feature Rod Wave, Sebastian Maniscalco, Justin Timberlake and a multi-night run from Billy Strings — and that’s just in January. More notables include Tyler, the Creator (Feb. 11); Mary J. Blige (Feb. 25); Kylie Minogue (April 29), Andrea Bocelli (June 17); Linkin Park (Sept. 3), and comic Nate Bargatze (Sept. 12-13).

Matt Schulz preforms with a broken using a scooter as Cage the Elephant plays at Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sept. 19, 2024. It was the final stop on their Neon Pill tour for Cage the Elephant. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post) — Matt Schulz performs with a broken foot using a scooter as Cage the Elephant plays Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs on Sept. 19. 2024. It was the final stop on their Neon Pill tour. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Venues — and their neighbors

As Broomfield’s FirstBank Center has fallen to the wrecking ball, there are glimmers of new venues along the Front Range. What that means for fans is that certain shows may be much closer to home. Colorado Springs music lovers no longer need to drive to Denver to see some Red Rocks headliners thanks to the city’s new Ford Amphitheater. That controversial outdoor venue continues to rankle some neighbors over noise issues, which have prompted critics to take their case to local politicians and the news media. (Venu, the owner of the amphitheater, recently launched a defiant marketing campaign that dubbed itself “Fan Founded. Fan Owned,” and claimed that the AEG Presents-booked amphitheater was a disrupter in the industry.)

In Loveland, the home of Blue Arena, Larimer County in December finalized a 70-acre purchase on which the Ranch Events Complex plans to grow — including building yet another new venue. We’ll see what kind of capacity and booking it has when it’s finished (likely not this year, since it hasn’t even broken ground) but it promises even less of a reason for people who live in the head into metro Denver.

FILE - Sweat covers the face of Juan Carlos Biseno after dancing to music from his headphones as afternoon temperatures reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius), July 19, 2023, in Calexico, Calif. More Americans believe they've personally felt the impact of climate change because of recent extreme weather, including a summer that brought dangerous heat for much of the United States, according to new polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File) — Sweat covers the face of Juan Carlos Biseno after dancing to music from his headphones as afternoon temperatures reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius), July 19, 2023, in Calexico, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Whither the weather?

Extreme weather will continue to poke holes in the calendar, as it has over the last couple years due to wind, hail and other safety-prompting concerns. Certainly, unpredictable weather has long been a factor at Colorado’s hundreds of annual outdoor concerts, from early-season snow to summer hail and fall/winter ice. And yet, seemingly unprecedented events continue to occur, potentially giving pause to fans who were excited about open-air music. Meteorologists have said climate change in 2024 was largely to blame for the rising number of storms and long bouts of extreme heat.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre’s Louis Tomlinson concert in 2023 turned into a wailing mess as nearly 100 concertgoers were treated for bloody lacerations, broken bones and other injuries due to a solstice-coinciding hail storm (seven people required hospitalization). That year also saw tours in which heat, dust and wildfire smoke affected Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder’s voice in Paris; “Jason Aldean collapsed onstage from heat stroke during a performance in Hartford, Conn.; and Disturbed canceled a Phoenix gig because their equipment wouldn’t turn on in the 117-degree heat,” Billboard reported.

“Fans, meanwhile, have been forced to evacuate to tents, cars and bathrooms amidst storms, and risked overheating both at Ed Sheeran’s Pittsburgh show in July and Las Vegas concert in September,” according to the report. We also saw Burning Man take a major hit from extreme weather in August, from dust storms to mud, which has hurt ongoing ticket sales for the desert festival in Nevada.

In 2024, shows from Foo Fighters, Hozier, Pink, AJR and others were canceled internationally due to extreme weather, Rolling Stone reported, including a May 4 show from Hippo Campus at Red Rocks that was scuttled due to dangerous winds.

Colorado’s outdoor venues, from Red Rocks and Levitt Pavilion Denver to the 18,000-seat Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, are all vulnerable to extreme weather. At all of them, consider bringing seats or something sturdy to shelter under, in addition to the usual ponchos and cold-weather gear, and carefully watch weather reports on your phone.

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An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Published

9 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Edmonton Oilers (31-25-8) @ Colorado Avalanche (43-10-9)

8 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: TNT, truTV, HBO Max | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After back-to-back shootout victories, the Avalanche concludes its two-game homestand on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. This game is an Avalanche Cup Classic, presented by KeyBank, which will honor the 2022 Avs team that won the Stanley Cup and defeated the Oilers in the Western Conference Final. Tuesday’s game is the second of three regular-season meetings between the teams, as the Avalanche won 9-1 in Edmonton on November 8th, and they’ll play in Alberta on April 13th.

Sunday Success

The Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in a shootout on Sunday at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon and Nicolas Roy both scored for Colorado while Nazem Kadri posted an assist in his second Avs debut. In net for Colorado, Scott Wedgewood stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced. MacKinnon opened the scoring at 12:19 of the second period with his 43rd goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Kadri, who began the play with an interception below the offensive-zone goal line. Kirill Kaprizov tied the game for Minnesota with a power-play goal at 4:17 of the third period when his pass from the right circle deflected into the net. The Wild took a 2-1 lead at 7:01 of the third period when Nico Sturm scored a shorthanded breakaway. Colorado tied the game at 12:39 of the third period when Nicolas Roy scored his first goal as an Av and sixth of the season via a net-front deflection on Brett Kulak’s slap shot. In the shootout, Valeri Nichushkin scored for Colorado in the first round, Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota in the second round and MacKinnon tallied the winner in the fourth round.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (43) while ranking second in points (104) and third in assists (61).

All Hail Cale

Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is tied for second in points (66) while ranking fourth in goals (19) and assists (47).

Marty Party

Martin Necas is tied for seventh in the NHL in points (76).

Series History

In 135 regular-season games against the Oilers, the Avalanche has a record of 74-49-6-6. The teams have met three times in the playoffs, with the Avs winning the 1997 Western Conference Semifinals in five games and the 2022 Western Conference Final in four contests.

Sunday in Sin City

The Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday. In the second period, Trent Frederic opened the scoring for Edmonton at 3:21 before Vegas’ Noah Hanifin tied the game at 13:09. The Oilers took a 3-1 third-period lead after goals from Vasily Podkolzin at 2:34 and Leon Draisaitl at 11:53. Jack Eichel cut the Golden Knights’ deficit to one with a shorthanded goal at 16:43 of the third period. Edmonton took a 4-2 lead when Kasperi Kapanen scored an empty-net goal at 18:03 of the third period.

Producing Offense Against the Oilers

MacKinnon has posted 39 points (13g/26a) in 29 regular-season games against the Oilers, in addition to five points (3g/2a) in four playoff contests.

Makar has registered 13 points (5g/8a) in 13 regular-season contests against Edmonton, in addition to nine points (2g/7a) in four playoff games.

Kadri has recorded 25 points (12g/13a) in 30 regular-season games against the Oilers, in addition to four points (1g/3a) in three playoff contests.

Edmonton’s Elite

Connor McDavid leads the Oilers in points (108), goals (35) and assists (73).

Draisaitl is second on the Oilers in points (92), goals (34) and assists (58).

Evan Bouchard is third on the Oilers in points (73) and assists (55) while ranking fourth in goals (18).

A Numbers Game

34

The Avalanche are 34-0-0 when leading after the second period this season.

85

Colorado leads the NHL with 85 second-period goals this campaign.

.806

The Avalanche’s .806 points percentage at home this season is the best in the NHL.

Quote That Left a Mark

“Emotional seeing the support I get here. It’s absolutely incredible. It makes me want to play harder for these fans and this team.”

— Nazem Kadri on the support he received from Avalanche fans at Sunday’s game

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Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 17 thread: Kyle Freeland vs. Jedisxson Paez

Published

21 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado Rockies spring training game no. 17 thread: Kyle Freeland vs. Jedisxson Paez

In his first spring training action of 2026, Kyle Freeland faced the daunting task of pitching against Team USA in an exhibition game on March 4. He gave up a solo homer to Aaron Judge in a two-hit, one-strikeout performance in one inning.

Today, Freeland and the Rockies (8-6-1) will take part in his first Cactus League action against the White Sox (10-7) at Camelback Ranch. The Rockies are 5-2 on the road this spring vs. 3-5-1, including the showdown vs. Team USA, at Salt River Fields.

Today’s game represents a rematch of a Feb. 23 showdown where the Rockies beat the White Sox 5-4. Chicago will send Jedisxson Paez to the mound to start the game. The 22-year-old RHP will be making his third spring appearance. He’s posted a 23.14 ERA in 2 1/3 innings over two starts with six earned runs, six hits, including one homer, three strikeouts and one walk. Former Rockie Drew Romo will be starting at catcher for the White Sox.

On Sunday, four pitchers combined to throw five scoreless innings and Kyle Karros and Tyler Freeman each had two-hit performances in the Rockies 4-4 tie with Cleveland. Even though it’s only spring training, the Rockies offense has been much improved thus far. The Rockies rank among all Major League teams this Spring in: on-base percentage (.381, T-1st), home runs (23, T-4th), average (.287, 3rd), HBP (14, T-2nd), slugging (.492, 3rd), OPS (.871, 3rd), runs scored (98, 5th), RBI (91, 6th) and total bases (254, 6th).

Earlier on Monday, the Rockies released a new motto for the 2026 campaign: “New era. At altitude. We are here for the climb.”

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Outraged over incentives for data centers that are no good for Colorado (Letters)

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Outraged over incentives for data centers that are no good for Colorado (Letters)

Data centers: What good are they for Colorado?

Re: “Dueling policies for data centers,” March 1 news story

The Denver Post article about two competing bills in the legislature regarding new data centers in Colorado seems to start with the presumption that we want the data centers.

Why do we want them and who wants them? Is it the politicians wanting bragging rights about our state becoming another Silicon Valley? Perhaps they want more businesses so they can collect more taxes from the new residents. Alternatively, they just want more power in Washington by increasing our population. Has anyone stopped to ask why we want to attract more people to our state?

Colorado is in a fight with other Western states to obtain more water for our growing population. Our wildlife is being crowded out by the increased urbanization. The roads are so crowded that it is not uncommon to come to a complete stop on our interchanges during rush hour. We have a serious housing shortage. The air is being polluted by the increased number of cars. These are all the result of a growing population. Did anyone stop to ask why we want more people?

During my 53 years living in Colorado, I have never heard anyone (other than politicians) say, “We need more people.” On the contrary, the conversation is more often about how we are becoming overcrowded. I would like the politicians to explain why we need more businesses and more people in our state. It should not be a presumption that more is better! Are our elected representatives truly reflecting the wishes of their constituents?

Doug Hurst, Parker

Anger and disbelief were our reactions when we read about House Bill 1030, which is under consideration at the statehouse. This outrageous corporate welfare bill would provide some of the world’s wealthiest corporations with massive state tax reductions to build monstrous resource-thirsty data centers. Analysts projected a $92.5 million tax loss in just three years if a bunch of these data centers are built. Just one 160-megawatt facility would gobble up as much power as 176,000 homes once completed. Consider for comparison that the entire DIA airport uses around 45 megawatts of power!

As the state legislature grapples with bone-deep budget cuts, we cannot afford to exempt data centers from paying their own way nor allow their unregulated construction. Taxpayer-funded corporate handouts would entail massive hits to tax revenue that should be used for our schools, roads, infrastructure, and valid state needs. What essential services will potentially be cut or axed to cover the lost revenue to the state from this corporate giveaway?

These data centers also demand massive amounts of our water. A CoreSite data center in Denver alone will use approximately 805,000 gallons of water per day to air-condition its computers. That is the same as the average daily indoor water use of 16,100 Denver homes.

I pray our state legislature will condemn HB-1030 to the corporate welfare hell where it belongs in. Instead, they should support Senate Bill 102 that will hopefully properly regulate these tax-eating, water-wasting, and electricity-gobbling monstrosities.

Terry Talbot, Grand Junction

As a pediatrician, I’ve noticed one key issue missing from the data center debate: public health.

Data centers are extraordinarily energy- and water-intensive. Nationally, they already consume about 4% of U.S. electricity — a figure expected to more than double by 2030. Much of that power still comes from burning fossil fuels. Without strong safeguards, that growth means more air pollution. In my clinical practice, I see firsthand how health is shaped by the air we breathe. More pollution means more asthma attacks, heart disease, and premature deaths, especially in communities already burdened by poor air quality.

Water use is another concern. Large data centers can use enormous amounts of water for cooling. In a drought-prone state like Colorado, this raises serious questions about long-term drinking water reliability and heat resilience.

Energy affordability is also a health issue. When infrastructure is built to serve massive corporate users, costs can shift to households. I see the effects of energy insecurity in families forced to choose between cooling their homes, buying medication, or putting food on the table.

Colorado has an opportunity to get this right. Senate Bill 102 would establish guardrails to protect ratepayers, limit pollution, and ensure large electricity users pay their full infrastructure costs. Other states, including Michigan and Virginia, are reconsidering generous tax incentives after seeing how quickly public costs can outpace public benefit.

Colorado can welcome innovation without sacrificing clean air, clean water, affordable energy, and community health. Public health must be a priority, not an afterthought.

Clare Burchenal, Denver

As the story makes clear, data centers in our communities have real impacts on our health, our pocketbooks and our quality of life. I’m a mom of two small children who are counting on the adults in the room to make responsible decisions that impact their futures. It’s dizzying to see the pace of data centers sweeping the country and confusing as to why leaders are rushing to accommodate them without taking into consideration all of the impacts these massive industrial complexes have on communities.

It’s critical that data centers are powered by clean-burning renewable energy, not fossil fuels. We are in a no-snow winter in Colorado, and we have no safeguards in place against data center water use. Energy infrastructure should be paid for by the billion-dollar big tech companies that will profit from it, not by unfair rate increases for our families and small businesses.

There is a way to do this right. Senate Bill 102 has some important protections for our families and communities while still allowing for the responsible construction and operation of data centers built in appropriate places in our state. It is unacceptable that our leaders do nothing to protect us from big tech excesses. SB-102 will protect all Colorado kids – and their parents and communities. Join me in urging our legislators to pass this important bill.

Sara Kuntzler, Arvada

U.S. women’s hockey players above the game and politics

Re: “Trump tore athletes down on the world’s stage,” March 1 commentary

Dear Megan Schrader,

Thank you for your column on how the president disrespected the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team. Your excellent commentary hit and sent the puck into the back of the net, so to speak.

To take it a step further, I believe the women’s choice not to visit the White House was more than meets the eye. Ostensibly, they declined the invitation because of the timing, specifically the resumption of play in the professional women’s hockey league.

Yet, I would like to believe it was more an expression of contempt for the president and his policies.

The women were smarter and braver and truer to their values than were the men’s Olympic hockey team, who, with the same timing issues, chose to accept the invitation to the White House. That visit and the visit to the State of the Union Address only helped bolster the president’s optics. An exception was the Colorado Avalanche’s own Brock Nelson, who declined to accompany the men’s team because he valued his family time more than a public charade.

In sports — as in life — we need more people like the women hockey players who will elevate their values above the games and politics.

Bill Allegar, Denver

Backing up to park for safety?

Re: “Do you back into a parking spot or back out?” March 1 feature story

I read this with slight amusement. For someone who has traveled a bit, and especially in Asia (Japan in particular), backing into a parking space is a very common practice (not a new trend) and has been for decades. On my first trip to Japan, around 1992, I was told it was what most people did.

As for the company Imminent Threat Solutions recommending “tactical parking” because they should “prevail against all threats,” seems like marketing hype of the biggest kind, building fear into your daily life of running errands and going to work. Has there been bad behaviour, shootings, and whatnot in a parking lot? Sure, but let’s not build fear for something that happens rarely to the average individual.

Randy DeBoer, Denver

To add to the parking procedures article in Sunday’s paper, there is another option, one that I use and recommend; it’s the “drive-through” to an open space.

After having been hit and having a rental car damaged (a three-month hassle to resolve) by a driver who backed out of an opposite space without looking, I don’t drive into a parking space if I can help it. What I do instead is find an open space where I can drive in straight and continue to a back-to-back adjoining space where I can park and then drive ahead to depart. These parking spots are typically a longer walk to my destination, and I benefit from the additional steps.

G. E. Cole, Centennial

I enjoyed your article on discussing whether to back in or pull straight into parking spaces. Our oldest son is a backer-inner, and I am starting to be one too. What is missing from your analysis, though, is the grocery store, much less Costco or Home Depot. Almost nobody is a backer-inner in these places, since you’re typically loading stuff in your backseat, hatch, or pickup bed. I guess the backer-inners are just not going to be able to escape as quickly once they’ve picked up 50 pounds of dog food, 25 rolls of paper towels, or five sheets of 4′ x 8′ plywood. Hope they survive.

Tim Hickisch, Highlands Ranch

You can support immigrants and the law

Re: “Faith communities show support for immigrants,” Feb. 22 news story

Faith communities do show support for immigrants. I don’t agree with those who stand against the law and ICE. While we may support all people made in the image of God, we should not be for illegal immigrants. They have broken the law, and some are doing great harm while living here. Legal immigrants, please come. Illegal immigrants, please go home and come here legally.

Deanna R Walworth, Brighton

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