Many outside of Colorado might think the gloriously beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheatre was built in the 1980s and made famous by U2 when they shot their iconic "Sunday Bloody Sunday" video there in 1983 during their War tour.

In truth, the breathtaking setting was once home of dinosaurs and then eons later the Native American tribes of the Ute, Cheyenne and Arapahoe Peoples.

On the Fourth of July, 1870, Judge Martin Van Buren Luther christened the slanted monoliths at Mt. Morrison, Colorado, near Denver, as The Garden of the Angels.

He also put a curse on anyone who changed the name, but anyone who saw the unique ruddy formation told their friends about the beauty of Red Rocks.

The first person to try to make the park a music venue was John Brisben Walker who laid down the stage that would one day see the likes of Daft Punk, Radiohead, Jimi Hendrix and most of your favorites.

But in 1906, it would first support Pietro Satriano and his 25-piece brass band in what Walker called The Garden of the Titans. Sorry, judge.

The first known setlist in our database is two songs delivered by Mary Garden in 1911. Since she belted out "Ava Maria" among the giant stones, close to 6,000 sets have been played in the spectacular nature nook known for its visually stunning vistas and acoustics made by Mother Nature.

After a while Walker sold the land to the city of Denver who over time bought more and more of the park to preserve it and improve the one-of-a-kind natural entertainment gem.

Like many milestones in rock history, little mattered until The Beatles arrived. Which they did in Colorado in 1964. Unfortunately an anonymous self-proclaimed Beatles-hater mailed a creepy threat demanding the show be canceled or he would show up with a grenade.

In their cadre of files that were released in 1997, the FBI investigated The Fab Four for years and claimed to have tried to find the person behind the threatening letter, but were never successful.

Management for the band asked for a sum 7x what other performers had asked. Tickets were $6.60, double what the kids paid for other acts.

When the Mop Tops were presented with playing at Red Rocks or a football stadium twice the capacity, manager Brian Epstein chose the 9,300 seat natural beauty because he feared that despite their popularity, Denver was too small to amass enough fans to come to their first real US tour.

He wasn't wrong. The show was not a sellout, something fans quickly learned, and rushed to Red Rocks without tickets and bum rushed the ushers who stepped aside and let them come close to filling the joint.

The band played for 35 minutes and never returned to the Mile High City.

Rumors that the Brits asked for oxygen tanks to help them breathe at the high altitude were proved false, but Paul McCartney did admit it was tough to sing at that elevation.

There was no such drama in July, 1978, when the Grateful Dead played the first of their 20 shows they'd perform through their Jerry-led era.

The natural setting, mystical vibes, and canopy of stars created a type of atmosphere that not only meshed well with the Deadheads but the band seemed to be inspired also.

The live recordings of those summer of '78 shows at Red Rocks are some of the favorites of the fans. Those tapes helped usher in the jam band phenomena that lives on today, but more specifically that lives on at Red Rocks.

Of the top 10 bands that have played the most at the space, all are from the groovy genre.

The #3 band on that list, Blues Traveler, have made it an annual rite to perform among the rocks each July 4th.

Since 1994 they've only missed two Independence Day shows. Once in 1999 when frontman John Popper was ill and fans thought he might be dunzo since they had to cancel that show. The other was in 2020 as the COVID lockdowns were at full strength.

Speaking of strength, some visitors - of which half are from out of state who travel to the venue to see their favorite bands - simply use the arena to work out in.

"This song is not a rebel song, this song is 'Sunday Bloody Sunday," Bono proclaimed in 1983 during their tour to support their second album War.

The sleeveless singer with the mullet holding the white flag was nothing MTV viewers ever saw before.

And where the hell were they playing? That craggy amphitheater with fire glowing above it may have been around forever but unless a Gen X kid had seen a John Denver concert film from the '70s, it was brand new to them.

"No more, no more, no more," the Irish band sang about the two Bloody Sundays in Northern Ireland. But it could also be said about the lack of worldwide fame of the incredible venue.

"Hey this is Red Rocks!" Bono sang in "Gloria" before introducing the band.

Get your tickets on the Red Rocks website.

And, heads up, no whole fruits... apparently they can be hollowed out and used, according to the local news.

Other Venue Spotlights: The Apollo Theater, Aragon Ballroom, First Avenue, The Fillmore, The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood Palladium, KIA Forum, Madison Square Garden, Massey Hall, The Metro, Nippon Budokan, O2 Arena, O2 Academy Brixton, Pappy & Harriet's Palace Red Rocks, Royal Albert Hall, The Ryman Auditorium, The Sphere, Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, The Whisky, 9:30 Club