Denver – The Dave Matthews Band, Mayor John Hickenlooper and promoter Chuck Morris are aiming to raise $1 million for Hurricane Katrina victims with a benefit show at Red Rocks Amphitheater.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the communities that have been affected by Katrina,” Dave Matthews Band members said in a statement. “The devastation and human loss is heartbreaking.”
The platinum-selling jam-pop band already had plans for to play three sold-out shows at the famed mountain venue Sept. 9-11. A band representative called Morris on Tuesday night with the idea of a fourth show on Sept. 12, with all of proceeds donated to select charities. The city will donate commissions on sales of food, beverages, merchandise and parking, and waive seat taxes and the rental fee for Red Rocks, which the mayor said will add up to about $300,000. Morris and his team at his Clear Channel Entertainment-affiliated company Chuck Morris Presents put the show together.
“This is a generous community, a community that loves music,” Hickenlooper said at a press conference inside the Fillmore Auditorium. “Dave Matthews Band is one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands in America. … They’re are not only just incredible musicians, they’re incredible human beings.”
Most tickets will cost $58.50 – the same price for the band’s other shows – while a few sections of V.I.P. seating will go for $500 and $1,000 per seat. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster outlets, at ticketmaster.com and by calling 303-830-8497. The group sold out the first three nights – more than 28,000 tickets – in about 10 minutes earlier this summer.
“We literally got a call from Dave Matthews Band 36 hours ago,” said Morris, who was backstage at Red Rocks for Tom Petty’s performance when he got the call, “and they were saying, ‘Can you put together a fourth show? We want to donate everything.”‘
Matthews, who also lent support to tsunami relief efforts and post-9/11 fundraising, said his entire crew is also donating their efforts.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
