As the summer made its last attempts to heat us up, we ventured out to another breathtaking Red Rocks edition of The Tallest Man on Earth and The Head and the Heart. The walk up the South ramp with two Colorado novices from Texas rejuvenated the familiar jaunt. They stopped to take snap shots of the skyline. They stopped to comment on the different colors in the rocks. At that point all we could do was join in. Red Rock's beauty was not lost on me that night. After ending up in an entire section of tourists and newly transplanted hike-loving, beer-drinking, Chaco-wearing Coloradans, you can't help but take a moment to feel grateful for something that feels so normal. Other states have festivals; we have Red Rocks. Coming from someone whose first concert was The Fray at Red Rocks (let's not talk about it), I grasped a new appreciation for those who traveled 900 miles to see a band that they could have seen the next state over a month before. It is not stated enough how lucky we are to spend all summer at such a great venue. End fan-girl rant.
You know the kind- they went on a 14er earlier that morning and brought their dogs to tailgate. As any seasoned concert goer, you must know how to read a band's fans. How close are you going to get despite your late arrival? Are your neighbors going to cheers your beer or stomp on your toes? But as we watched Sweden born indie songwriter, Kristian Matsson, lead his fellow tall men, a very obvious theme appeared- an ocean of pairs, hugging and singing to each other like it was Valentine's Day. These upbeat, live bands brought lovers together. As the Tallest Man on Earth, standing at a full 5' 7" (don't quote us on that), led us through his soothing yet playful tunes, the crowd danced hand in hand. We graciously sucked in every moment of his performance as he is headed straight back to Europe until The Head and the Heart kicks off their Signs of Light tour beginning in October. Although Kristian is a solo act who writes his own songs, he was accompanied with a beautiful band hailing from Wisconsin. Something about that brought the tourists flocking. We sat next to a couple from Wisconsin and saw about three people on Facebook with a Wisconsin shout out.
The Head and the Heart came out to a threatening, yet quiet, storm cloud evening with all their might. A roar of applause erupted simultaneously as their first notes to "All We Ever Knew" began. The contagious vibrations of their guitars wrapped around the sold out crowd like a hug leaving no frown in the house to be seen. They lead us through the years of their love ballads and life sagas, mixing in old favorites like "Lost in My Mind" to new bangers that everyone already knows and loves like "Rhythm & Blues". This band knows how to speak to the essence of humanity and we cannot wait to hear what they have to say on September 9th when their third album Signs of Light releases.
-Theresa Dixon