Maybe time to look at a Red Rocks residency.
Eric Church is heading back to the iconic concert venue in Morrison, Colorado, announcing earlier this week that he would be performing three shows at Red Rocks this summer on July 6-8.
Tickets went on sale this week, first to his Church Choir fan club on Wednesday while an allotment of tickets were held back to be offered up to the general public this morning.
But if you weren’t quick, you weren’t getting them.
I bought my tickets when they went on sale to the Church Choir on Wednesday, and there wasn’t an option to buy a single ticket for all three nights so each night had to be purchased individually. Well I was logged on right at 10 AM MT, and by the time I secured tickets for the first two nights the third night was already running low. And I checked again not long after, and sure enough the entire allotment of tickets for the fan club was gone before it was even time to clock out and put a drink in my hand.
Well the rest of the tickets opened up today for the general public to have a crack at them and…they were gone within minutes.
Pretty insane.
For reference, Red Rocks has a capacity of around 9,500, which means Church sold around 28,500 tickets in a matter of minutes, less than a week after announcing the shows. Just absolutely incredible. And to do it all just days after wrapping up his Free the Machine Tour, which took him across the country, just shows how passionate the Church Choir really is.
Of course everyone who bought tickets probably understands what a treat they’re in for: Church played Red Rocks for three nights last year and performed three unique shows that anyone who was there will tell you were among the best of his career. And this year, the shows take place just a week or so before the 20th anniversary of Church’s debut album, Sinners Like Me.
After those shows, Church’s team confirmed to Whiskey Riff that fans had traveled from all 50 states for the special performances, which included one show that featured strings, orchestra and choir, one with just the original Eric Church Band, and one that was fully acoustic – just Church and his guitar (and his powerhouse background vocalist Joanna Cotten).
Last year’s shows were my first time at Red Rocks, and I can see why it’s such a special venue: The scenery, the view, the sound…I would say they were once-in-a-lifetime shows, if I weren’t going back to do it all over again this year.
(I just hope it doesn’t rain like it did on the final night last year, when I was concerned that the Coast Guard was going to have to rescue us from 6,500 feet up in the Rocky Mountains).
It’s no doubt going to be a magical run of shows once again, and this year will feature special guests Corey Kent, 49 Winchester and The Creekers kicking things off.
I can’t wait to get back to Red Rocks, and at this point I’m down to make it a yearly tradition if Church is.
And judging by how fast tickets sold out, I have a feeling there are a lot of people who agree with me.
