With Umphrey’s McGee’s annual return to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on the horizon, with the group hosting their first-ever three-night run at the iconic Colorado venue across June 30th to July 2nd, the Indiana-born jam band is sure to be pulling out all the stops. While musically, there is sure to be a number of surprises, especially when considering that the run is supported by Stick Figure, Snarky Puppy, Bokante, and Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, the band has some extra-special mementos for fans that they can take home with them.
Watch Umphrey’s McGee Tear Through “2×2” During The First Night Of Their Milwaukee Run [Pro-Shot]
In anticipation of this monumental occasion, Umphrey’s McGee has previewed a new poster that will be released for their Red Rocks run. As a standalone, the poster, printed by Kyle Baker’s Baker Prints, is already a gorgeous piece of art. However, yesterday, Umphrey’s announced that they’re releasing something special to take the artwork to the next level, and it’s certainly something else. It also will be compatible with something the band calls “Augmelted Reality,” which utilizes virtual reality and augmented reality technology to make the artwork digitally come to life. Co-produced with Flight School, which is an award-winning multi-media studio, the poster can be viewed through an app dubbed the “Umphrey’s AR App,” which goes live on June 29th. When looking at the poster with the Umphrey’s AR app, the artwork comes alive, “conjuring up effects previously only achieved by consuming psychedelics,” as described by the band in a recent statement.
So how does it work? The Augmelted Reality software has cataloged hundreds of tracking marks that it recognizes on the artwork of the poster itself, making for a dazzling visual experience that users can interact with on their phone. While the band has been more or less hush-hush on the actual experience of the poster itself, in their statement they teased that “the intricately illustrated Colorado spirit animals [on the poster] come out of the woods and need to hold on tight.” You can check out a brief video of the app in action below, as well as the artwork for Umphrey’s Red Rocks upcoming run below.
