Lotus Welcomes Casey Russell For Allman Brothers Cover At Red Rocks

Over the weekend, Lotus performed at Morrison, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, marking their return as headliner at the famed venue after a year off from that position. One highlight of the night was a sit-in from Casey Russell, the keyboardist of The Magic Beans, who offered his talents on a cover of The Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”

With their annual performance moved from its traditional placement in the early autumn to the start of the outdoor concert season, the group clearly delighted in the showing. Despite releasing their latest album Frames Per Second at the end of last year, songs off Lotus’ new LP were relative absent throughout the night, save performances of “MacGuffin,” “Aquamarine” and “December Sun.” Instead, after sets by the Beans, Jade Cicada and Ghostland Observatory, the jamtronica act tended to offer energizing fan-favorites from their early to middle catalog.

After starting off with “Middle Road” from 2013’s Build, the band fit Nomad favorite “Livingston Storm” into a synth-heavy take on “MacGuffin.” Laidback 2011 single “Destroyer” followed, offering a breather before the one-two hit of “Aquamarine” into a triumphant “Spiritualize.” A patient and spacious “December Sun” preceded Russell’s extended sit-in on “Elizabeth Reed,” which saw the keyboardist takeover for Luke Miller while the Miller brother picked up his guitar. With a jubilant guitar solo from Mike Rempel, the song eventually ended with a bright organ-inspired solo from Russell. To close out the show, Lotus performed a well-segued, propulsive combination of “Plant Your Root” and “Shimmer & Out,” followed by the frenetic final number, “Wax.”

You can watch Casey Russell’s sit-in with Lotus for “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” below, courtesy of Ali Jay Multimedia:

Setlist

Set: Middle Road, Livingston Storm > MacGuffin, Destroyer, Aquamarine > Spiritualize, December Sun, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (with Casey Russell of Magic Beans on organ), Plant Your Root > Shimmer and Out, Wax