The Ride Festival – July 14th & 15th – Telluride Town Park

While Telluride Bluegrass Festival is the granddaddy of music festivals in Telluride, The Ride Festival, now in its seventh year, has quickly become recognized for a diverse lineup and past heavy hitters such as Pearl Jam, Beck, and Widespread Panic. This year’s edition leaned a bit more on the jam band end of the spectrum, featuring headlining sets from The String Cheese Incident both nights of the festival.

Umphrey’s McGee – July 2nd – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Clouds and rain showers passed over Red Rocks Amphitheatre late Saturday afternoon, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the Umphrey’s McGee faithful who nearly filled The Rocks for the first night to a two night run. Between Jefferson Waful’s lights, Jake Cinninger’s guitar, Dweezil Zappa’s sit-in, and a fireworks display during setbreak from nearby Bandimere Speedway, Red Rocks was on fire for this one!

Faith No More – September 8th – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Faith No More drew the short straw with the post Labor Day holiday weekend hangover slot at Red Rocks last Tuesday. While Sol Invictus (released in May on Ipecac), the first studio album from Faith No More since 1997, certainly won’t be their most commercially successful album, it might just be their finest. This band has aged well. Hell, it feels like they never went away. Many of the songs on ‘Sol Invictus’ feel immediately at home with long time fans anxious to see how they translated to the live show.

Phish – September 5th – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

Dark clouds blew over the Denver metro late Saturday afternoon, whipping up dust and dropping a few stray sprinkles as fans rolled into the lot at Dick’s for Phish. The storm rolled northeast, clearing the way for a textbook perfect Colorado sunset for the thousands of fans enjoying the Saturday afternoon lot scene before night two of the band’s three night run. Sure, this wasn’t a show for the ages, or a year-end list topper we’ve come to expect at Dick’s, but it was a solid, enjoyable night of music.

My Morning Jacket – August 14th – Red Rocks

From the opening notes of “Wordless Chorus” to the closing feedback of “One Big Holiday,” My Morning Jacket dug deep into their vault on Friday night, touching on all seven of their studio releases. As always, the band was dressed to the nines, and Jim James, The Jacket’s charismatic front man, prowled the stage in a black and neon jacket, eyes concealed by oversized sunglasses. Gracefully tiptoeing the line between pure rock and roll and jamband, MMJ proved yet again why many call them the best live band in the business.

Primus – May 7th – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

The list of bands that can pull off a full length remake of the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory soundtrack is a short one. Very short. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Primus is the band that did it, releasing Primus & The Chocolate Factory with The Fungi Ensemble last October. Last Thursday night, in the pouring rain, they brought the whole thing to Red Rocks, performing the album in it’s entirety along with a full set of original Primus songs.