Singer/songwriter Amos Lee released his self-titled debut in 2004 and followed with critically acclaimed Supply and Demand (2006) and Last Days at the Lodge (2008). But it was with 2011's Mission Bell that debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and brought Amos to nationwide mainstream attention.

It is really incogitable, but a delight for me to follow the growth of these two credible musicians appropriately called Big Gigantic.  It seems like yesterday that I was eating at a restaurant in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia with Dominic Lalli, while he was in The Motet, and my good friend and their road manager at the time Ben Scrimalli.

After a long wait amidst the cancelled shows last summer and the departure of original bass player David “Murph” Murphy, STS9 came back to Red Rocks Amphitheater with retribution. For our patience and gratitude throughout the year, the band rewarded us with 7 hours, and 58 tracks of the most diverse music a fan could ask for. STS9 played 3 sets each night with a short set from the Lazy Americanz (presented by The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League) as they performed their legendary “in the round” set.

After I witness a transformative set of music, this is what inevitably occurs when the dust settles. After a band plays high energy, pedal-to-the-metal music for a cool 100-minutes, it’s difficult to ascertain which pieces stood out as the highlights among many other highlights – the crème de la crème. That’s why I try to balance dancing and having fun with taking notes in the middle of a song or right after it ends. It’s the only way I can filter the musical narrative and determine the truly supernal from the “merely” superb.

All brought a powerful message of love, togetherness, and caring for humanity and our planet: a concert that made your soul shine! The good vibrations were carried on the gorgeous Red Rocks sunset on a clear warm summer evening.

For the first time since they started headlining Red Rocks, Umphrey’s McGee achieved a sellout on Saturday night at the famed amphitheater. They proceeded to demonstrate over the course of two fiery sets exactly why it was such a hot ticket.

Last year during Widespread Panic’s annual June pilgrimage to Red Rocks, I bore witness to a natural phenomenon so sublime, it will be emblazoned in my memory until my dying breath. An awe-inspiring lightning shower accompanied nearly the entirety of Saturday’s second set.