Denver-based folk/rock/soul outfit Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats returned to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre stage on Wednesday night with support from Delta Spirit for the band’s third and final sold-out night at the famed natural amphitheater.

While summertime Red Rocks shows have been a tradition for the band for years, this year’s Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats run held layers of added significance. Rateliff and company were one of just a handful of bands to actually perform for fans at Red Rocks last year. In September 2020, Rateliff performed a six-show run alongside a selection of his Night Sweats bandmates for 175 attendees per night at the 9,000-plus capacity venue for the first five concerts. For the final evening, they played to an empty venue.

That final, empty performance was captured for a live album, Red Rocks 2020. As Rateliff said of the unusual, pandemic-dictated run, “It was beautiful to be there, even if it was 175 people. But the night we recorded this record it was heartbreaking. It was a realization that our world had changed and maybe forever. Needless to say it was a hard night to make it through. But we did it and now we are bringing it to you.”

The 2021 Red Rocks shows brought a mix of cathartic relief and reminders that the pandemic remains a part of our uncertain future. While the venue welcomed a capacity crowd, it also required fans, venue staff, and artists to present proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test.

But Rateliff is a survivor, or so he claims on the lead single from his newly announced third Night Sweats LP, appropriately titled The Future. After performing the new song throughout the Red Rocks run, Rateliff graced fans with the Raging Bull-esque black-and-white music video for the track on Thursday morning—a reminder that while things might not look the same, the future remains bright, and we’re all survivors.

Below, you can check out the official music video for “Survivor” as well as a gallery of photos from the Wednesday Red Rocks performance courtesy of photographer Andrew Rios.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – “Survivor” (Official Video)

[Video: Nathaniel Rateliff]

For a full list of upcoming Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats tour dates, head here.

The Future arrives on streaming platforms on November 5th via Stax Records. Pre-order your copy here.