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Colorado's Comeback: Fans Return For Concerts At Red Rocks

DENVER (CBS4)- Concerts are back at Red Rocks after a long intermission. The iconic music venue opened Thursday for the first concert of the season. Denver-based band Lotus kicked off the season with a limited capacity show. It's the first of four shows for the band.

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In normal times, the capacity is 9,500 people. For now, capacity has been cut to 25%, but it's much better than last year, when Red Rocks hosted a handful of performances with only 175 fans in attendance in accordance with COVID regulations at the time.

Michele Gutierrez has seen headliner Lotus at least 3 times at Red Rocks.

"I'm extremely excited, I missed it a lot. The last time I was here was September 2019," Gutierrez said. I've lived in Colorado for 11 years and I've never missed a Red Rocks summer, so last year was hard. I'm glad to be back."

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For many fans Thursday, it was their first time seeing live music since the pandemic started. As outdoor restrictions continue to lift, Red Rocks says capacity limits will adjust accordingly over the season.

"We were afraid that we wouldn't be at any sort of capacity before September and now, here are in April, at about a third capacity, and so we hope that increases pretty quickly over just the next few weeks," said Brian Kitts, a Red Rocks spokesman.

Gutierrez says she already has tickets to her next Red Rocks concert.

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"I'm glad that we can have an outdoor safe space for everyone to enjoy music," she said.

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