The city of Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre reopens this week in Morrison with a communal howl on Wednesday and a concert by Lotus the next day to a maximum attendance of 2,500. Levitt will be allowed to accommodate 3,800 not because its capacity is larger, but because its square footage is much greater. Levitt covers about 220,000 square feet compared to Red Rocks’ 81,000.

“We’re excited to be opening the doors to Levitt Pavilion for the first time since October of 2019,” Zacher said. This past year has been challenging for the music industry and for many in our community.”

Most every independent music venue in the country has been shuttered since the beginning of the pandemic, with 90% at risk of closing permanently, according to the National Independent Venue Association. On April 6, Levitt hosted U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and a group of Colorado musicians, promoters and venue managers to announce the launch of the $16 billion Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program (also known as “Save Our Stages”), which eventually will reimburse independent venues with up to 45% of their pre-pandemic revenue through the Small Business Administration. But the April 8 rollout stalled when the SBA’s website immediately crashed.

The site is now expected to be operational sometime this week, Zacher said, “But with every week this program is not operational, these venues are one week closer to shutting their doors permanently.”

And that, he said, will make hearing the first chords waft across Ruby Hill Park since Three Dog Night played with Firefall on Oct. 8, 2019, that much more sweet – and restorative.

“I thought I would never again experience the feeling I got that day we first opened back on July 17, 2017, with Slim Cessna’s Auto Club,” Zacher said. “But I think I’m going to get that feeling again on May 14. That’s when I’ll know we’re on the downhill side of the rollercoaster.

“We understand the healing power of music, especially when it’s combined with community-building. We are looking forward to having everyone back on our lawn singing and dancing together this summer.”

This article and headline have been updated to correct that not all concerts are free. In addition, former Beach Boys founder Mike Love will not be performing.