Amid the signature rust-colored sandstone formations that make up Red Rocks Park is one of the most breathtaking live music event venues in the country: Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Each year, over 1.5 million people flock to its rugged landscape to enjoy concerts by some of the most celebrated artists in the world.
“Red Rocks is the ultimate Colorado experience. You get to listen to music in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies under a starry sky. I don't think it gets more natural or beautiful than that,” says Brian Kitts, chief marketing officer of Red Rocks.
There are also walking trails and incredible rock formations that entice visitors from all corners of the globe to come to Morrison, Colorado. When there’s not live music, the open-air amphitheater is host to yoga, fitness classes and film screenings.
“There's something really special about Red Rocks,” says Katie Zarachowicz, sustainability administrator for Denver Arts and Venues. “It's beautiful, you can see the whole front range and I think that's inspiring for people to take a moment and think about, one, how fortunate we are, but also, how do we preserve this for future generations?”
Part of that preservation mindset means taking all the potential environmental, social and economic impacts into account with everything they do.
“We are continually looking at environmentally friendly efforts that we can make,” said Tad Bowman, the venue director. “Many years ago, we were able to get a grant from the EPA to start a recycling program. So, we literally pick up all the trash by hand, and our staff that works overnight, they will sort all of those materials, so that we are diverting for recycling, composting and away from the landfill as much as we possibly can.”
On average, Red Rocks has a 50% waste diversion rate, which means about 50% of the materials generated from all events goes to recycling and compost instead of going to the landfill. They’ve also invested in heat pumps, energy-efficient appliances, LED lighting and EV chargers — all to do better for the venue and the environment.
Along the way, Xcel Energy has been proud to help bring one of the world’s most unique concert venues to life. Powering the stage requires a minimum of 3,000 kilowatt-hours a night.
“The bottom line is that absolutely none of this happens if you don't have Xcel Energy and power flowing into that venue, period,” said Kitts. “Literally, the show does not go on without it.”