With Boulder County’s rich musical heritage and its important place in today’s national folk and jam-band scene, it’s only natural that a big-name fundraising concert has been planned to assist with the losses surrounding the Fourmile Canyon fire.
The Fourmile Canyon Revival Concert will likely be the biggest fire benefit to hit area stages this year. The Oct. 9 show features a legendary lineup that will include all four members of the jam band Phish playing with the String Cheese Incident, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Yonder Mountain String Band and others at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield. Phish is scheduled to headline three nights at the same venue on Oct. 10-12.
All the bands on the bill, save for Phish, have an intense connection to the Boulder area, and many of the groups still have members who call Boulder County home. Big Head Todd and the Monsters drummer Brian Nevin was evacuated from his home for a few days during the recent blaze, though he didn’t lose it.
“When they asked us to play, I didn’t even think about it,” said Todd Park Mohr, frontman for Big Head Todd and the Monsters. “With anything that involves the needs of a community, it’s nice to get asked to participate. I was encouraged by String Cheese and the Phish guys and the Left Hand String Band — everybody’s like-minded, and it seems like it’s going to be a big event. It should be a lot of fun and have some meaning to the community, as well.”
Tickets to the show, $60, will go on sale at at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Proceeds will benefit the Boulder Mountain Fire Relief Fund, which feeds money to fire departments and victims in need of “critical” financial support, according to KBCO.
“The idea was to do a smaller benefit, which was to be at the Boulder Theater,” said Don Strasburg, a talent buyer with promoter AEG Live, which helped organize the benefit. “But then the String Cheese guys and the Phish camp realized that the timing was in close proximity to the Phish shows at 1stBank Center. They thought, ‘We might have this miracle opportunity to put together all our friends and family to do it there.’ And we’re geared to go so we can really raise as much money as possible with little costs because they’re already there.”
Phish fans already are speculating if this will amount to a fourth Phish concert for the Denver area. The wording of the news has the band’s four members listed separately as special guests. Strasburg isn’t saying much on the topic, but the night will surely be heavy on collaborations.
“It’s going to be a great night of music,” Strasburg said, “and who knows what’s going to come about.”
Thanks, firefighters!
Grateful residents of Boulder County will show their appreciation for the hundreds of firefighters who fought the Fourmile Canyon blaze at the Fourmile Heroes Citizens Parade at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The parade runs a mile, starting at 16th and Pearl streets in Boulder.
