Banding Together: A Concert For The Colorado Music Relief Fund hosted its virtual benefit concert on Saturday night, which saw The String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews, Nathaniel Rateliff, and many more perform to raise money for the state’s music industry professionals.
Presented by Breckenridge Brewery, Banding Together wasted no time highlighting the sobering reality of live music across the country. A drone camera flew down an empty Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO as Rateliff sent his thoughts to behind-the-scenes music industry workers before launching into “Time Stands”, off his newly-released album, And It’s Still Alright. He stood alone on the stage strumming his acoustic guitar while his vocals reverberated off the venue’s rock walls.
After an introduction from the concert’s hosts, Matthews paid tribute to John Denver with a cover of “Take Me To Tomorrow”, the title track from his 1970 album. The recording from his home studio led directly to a clip from Brandi Carlile playing her original, “Looking Out”. Michael Franti and Jack Johnson sat in the fourth and fifth slots before The Avett Brothers performed “I And Love And You”. An emotional performance by Denver’s Todd Mohr saw him surrounded by healthcare workers on a helipad at Denver Health before another Colorado native, Isaac Slade, covered The Fray‘s “How To Save A Life”.
Midway through the show, The String Cheese Incident treated viewers to their original “Good Times Around The Bend”, which each member recorded from a separate location. After performances from Marcus Mumford, The Lumineers, Nick and Helen Foster, and Rodrigo y Gabriela, Greensky Bluegrass‘ Paul Hoffman embarked on a three-song mini-set from Caribou Ranch. Hoffman started with “In Control” before moving to “Courage For The Road” and “Past My Prime”. Rounding out the nearly-four-hour benefit concert was another video from Mohr and performances by Sam Bush, Grace Potter, Austin Young, follow-ups from Mumford, Rateliff, and more.
Watch Banding Together: A Concert For The Colorado Music Relief Fund below and head to the organization’s website for donation information.
Banding Together: A Concert For The Colorado Music Relief Fund
[Video: Nathaniel Rateliff]