Chuck Morris, the longtime head of concert promoter Live Nation in Denver, got to put on a new hat this week – finally.
Morris, who left Live Nation last September, is now officially president and chief executive of AEG Live Rocky Mountain Region, the live-entertainment outfit owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.
“It’s a rebirth for me,” Morris, 62, said Thursday between meetings for the Democratic National Convention and AEG Live business. “I still feel like I can outwork people half my age, seriously.”
Morris recently settled a dispute over his noncompete clause with Live Nation, which allows him to take on the new role. But his longtime compatriots Don Strasburg and Brent Fedrizzi spent the past several months setting up the regional offices for AEG.
After nearly 40 years in the business, Morris remains one of the most important promoters in Denver’s concert history. He got his start by helping build now-defunct nightclub Tulagi in Boulder and hiring acts such as the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers and Bonnie Raitt in their early days. Later, he owned and managed Ebbets Field in downtown Denver, welcoming Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rich ard Pryor, James Taylor and others to town.
That led to a career with Barry Fey’s legendary promotions company, which brought Morris to the level that enabled him to eventually start Bill Graham Presents/Chuck Morris Presents in 1998. That company was bought by SFX, and later SFX was purchased by Clear Channel Entertainment, which then became Live Nation as part of a rebranding campaign.
Strasburg and Fedrizzi already have confirmed 31 shows at Red Rocks this season and taken over the booking and operations at the Bluebird and Ogden theaters. They also secured the first show at Commerce City’s new Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Kenny Ches ney on June 30.
The new job means Morris is now in the awkward position of battling Live Nation and its mighty Fillmore Auditorium, one of the most successful rooms of its size in the nation.
“It’s business as usual,” said Morris, who first suggested renovating the old Mammoth Gardens into the Fillmore. “It’s very competitive.”
That competition could spur the construction of another midsized music venue for Denver. AEG Live runs the Ogden and Bluebird theaters, but neither has the 3,000 to 5,000 seats that are the preferred size for acts ranging from Bob Dylan to Fall Out Boy to Luda cris.
Asked if he missed owning a venue, Morris said: “Yes – I miss the ownership in creating something, and sure, I’d love to do it again.”
So is he looking at property?
“I’m always looking,” he said. “I’ve been looking since I started Tulagi and started Ebbets Field and helped start the Rainbow (Music Hall) and started the Fillmore. … But if we decide as a company to do it, it’s gonna have to be an amazing place; it’s gonna have to knock your socks off. And it also has to make sense financially.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
