Contact CU Independent News Staff Writer Noelle Coultrip at Noelle.Coultrip@colorado.edu
Dead & Company reclaim Folsom Field’s concert venue status, playing the first show there in 15 years.
University of Colorado students and sports fans associate Folsom Field with the intense, edge-of-the-seat football games that take place in the fall or the excited, hopeful energy during the freshmen commencement or graduation ceremonies. This July, Folsom Field is taking on a new form of entertainment: face-rocking live music.
Dead & Company, a band made up of former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, (in addition to John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti) is set to perform at Folsom Field on July 2 and 3, taking Folsom Field back to its days of playing host to sold-out concerts.
In the ’70s and ’80s, Folsom Field welcomed quite a few live music performances, from The Rolling Stones to The Who and Fleetwood Mac. Despite Folsom Field’s live music events producing the largest crowds in the field’s history, the Dave Matthews Band’s performance in 2001 marks the last time a concert was held on Folsom Field.
CU’s expansion of Folsom Field events will reignite the field’s musical history, exposing a whole new type of crowd. With Folsom Field’s athletic facilities expansion nearing completion, CU aims to stimulate event programming and increase revenue, reintroducing the field to events other than sports.
In addition to concerts, Folsom Field plans to host weddings, business conferences, Chamber events, and other events that require a large venue.
Along with the economic benefits, opening up Folsom Field to a wider array of events will have an impact on Boulder and surrounding areas. CU anticipates Folsom Field concerts to effect the community, and plans to minimize complications by alerting the community of upcoming events, encouraging alternative transportation, working with the Boulder Police Department to maintain traffic flow, and putting an extra emphasis on security for the nights of the events.
Folsom Field’s future could possibly include regaining its title of one of the most popular stadium venues in the country, a title the field proudly boasted in previous decades. Taking advantage of Folsom Field’s potential as more than just a sports arena gives Boulder a chance to be the home of a large concert venue, not solely relying on concert venues in Denver to play the bigger shows.
Dead & Company perform at Folsom Field on July 2 and 3 at 6:30 pm. Tickets cost between $39.50 and $119.50, plus fees, and can be found here.
