Colorado University Athletics
Dead & Company To Mark Return For Concerts At Folsom Field
February 08, 2016 | General
BOULDER – AEG Live announced this summer's tour schedule for the Dead & Company this morning, and for the first time since 2001, the University of Colorado's Folsom Field will play host to a stadium concert.
The Dead & Company include three of the surviving members of the original and legendary Grateful Dead band, and will be touring with John Mayer and others. They will play two shows at Folsom Field, on Saturday, July 2 and Sunday, July 3, both with 6:30 p.m. start times.
The Grateful Dead, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees in 1994, played a three-day series at Folsom in the summer of 1980 and were one of the first to hold a stadium show when they visited Boulder in 1972. The last show at Folsom was in 2001 when the Dave Matthews Band made its second appearance in the stadium before a crowd of 40,000-plus. That year, the band recorded their extremely popular live album, Live at Folsom Field, Boulder Colorado.
Folsom Field was one of the most popular stadium venues in the 1970s and 1980s, hosting many high profile concerts. In fact, the two largest crowds in Folsom history were for concerts. On May 1, 1977 in an event dubbed the “Folsom Music Festival,” Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Boulder's own Firefall and John Sebastian drew 61,500 through Folsom's gates, and on October 17, 1982, The Who, Jethro Tull and John Cougar packed in just under 60,000.
The stadium's capacity is currently 50,183, after reaching a maximum of 53,750 in the middle of last decade. Folsom's natural grass field will be covered to provide additional seating in front of the stage, which will be located on the north end of the field.
Tickets are priced between $39.50-$119.50, plus fees, and will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. this Friday (February 12), with various presale opportunities on Tuesday (also at 10 a.m.). Please visit www.cubuffs.com/DeadAndCompany for more details.
Other high-profile bands to play stadium shows at Folsom included Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, the Beach Boys, Journey, the Doobie Brothers, Boston and Van Halen. Many appeared with other musicians in Feyline's “Sun Day” series, when three or four acts would headline throughout the same day.
What made Folsom and the University of Colorado the "go-to" venue for promoters was CU's Program Council and its dedication to excellence. The student-run organization was even recognized by Billboard Magazine for its talent-buying history. Program Council plays a great (and unique) role, where-by students program for students and are educated at the same time about the industry. With the return of concerts to the stadium, CUPC and Athletics will again work hand-in-hand, once again making Folsom Field an attractive stop on the stadium concert circuit.
“Now that we are nearing completion on our Athletic Complex Expansion, these two July concerts are part of a strategic effort to increase event programming and revenue by using the stadium for more than just football games,” said CU Athletic Director Rick George. “In addition to six annual home games in the fall and the spring football game, Folsom also annually hosts May commencement, the BolderBOULDER and Ralphie's Independence Day Blast. Our goal is to host additional events during the summer (after the BolderBOULDER on Memorial Day and prior to the first home football game in early September) so as to not impact peak times of the academic year.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to use the recently renovated stadium seating and the new parking garage to accommodate events beyond just football games,” George added. “Those include weddings, business conferences, Chamber events and other large functions that previously sought venues outside the city of Boulder. It is our sincere hope and plan that though community collaboration and careful event planning, the Dead & Company concerts will be good for the university and the city, enjoyable for attendees and minimally disruptive to our neighbors.”
The university pledged to work with neighbors in adjacent neighborhoods and partner with city officials to keep them informed. Some of the efforts will include: notifying the community well in advance of events; encouraging concertgoers to use alternative transportation; planning traffic flow and parking with the city of Boulder and the Boulder Police Department; and hiring extra security to help reduce the impact on surrounding neighborhoods.
