Dozens of Colorado-based musicians and national touring acts contributed performances to the “Marshall Fire Benefit Concert,” a pre-recorded livestream special that premiered via Veeps on Monday. Trey Anastasio, Brittany Howard, Dave Matthews, The Lumineers and Nathaniel Rateliff were just a few of those featured in the fundraiser for victims of the devastating Marshall Fire that tore through Colorado on December 30, 2021.
The “Marshall Fire Benefit Concert,” which is still available to view on-demand with tickets on sale at Veeps for $10 through 9 p.m. ET, was organized by AEG Presents in partnership with Rateliff, the Community Foundation of Boulder and Colorado Governor Jared Polis. “We have about 25 artists that have recorded online, by tape at their house or rehearsal, and a recording that never came out, they each have one song,” AEG Presents Chairman Emeritus Chuck Morris told CBS 4 Denver. “We’ve already raised $500,000 and sold over 6,000 tickets,” added Morris. “I’ve been doing this for 48 years, I’ve never had an online-only show. They tell me most of the tickets are sold.”
Nick Forster of eTown hosted the “Marshall Fire Benefit Concert” from which all proceeds, including service fees, are going towards Community Foundation Boulder County’s Wildfire Fund to benefit those most impacted by the wildfires. Last night’s special began with a vignette documenting the most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. Forster then explained how the virtual concert came together before The Motet drummer Dave Watts detailed his personal experience losing his home, possessions and pets. The Motet went on to play a new song entitled “All Day.”
Musical acts recorded their performances in a wide variety of settings and delivered a mix of covers and originals. Amos Lee went solo acoustic for “Worry No More,” while Lake Street Dive played “Hypotheticals” in a studio. Other highlights from the first hour included Sam Bush leading a stellar “Circles Around Me,” Anastasio sharing footage of “Sample In A Jar” and “Ghost” from a solo acoustic concert and a stirring unplugged “Be The Best At Loving You” by Michael Franti.
Trey’s songs were followed by Rateliff performing the gorgeous title track from his 2020 solo album, And It’s Still Alright. Next came Montana-based jamgrass act Kitchen Dwellers with “Their Names Are The Trees” and a spot-on cover of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” from Wynonna and Cactus Moser.
Longtime Colorado resident John Denver was honored with performances of his “Take Me To Tomorrow” by Dave Matthews and “Rocky Mountain High” by Old Crow Medicine Show. Additional standout moments included The String Cheese Incident‘s “‘Round The Wheel” filmed during their destination event in Jamaica earlier this year, Howard’s stellar “Stay High” performance and Yonder Mountain String Band covering the Grateful Dead classic “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo.” The Lumineers closed out the special with “Where We Are” from their recently released Brightside LP.
Follow this link to donate directly to Community Foundation Boulder County’s Wildfire Fund.
Setlist
All Day (The Motet), Worry No More (Amos Lee), Hypotheticals (Lake Street Dive), Brand New (Ben Rector), Blue Heron (Sarah Jarosz), Simple Song (Lyle Lovett), Circles Around Me (Sam Bush), Be The Best At Loving You (Michael Franti), Amsterdam (Gregory Alan Isakov), Keep On Trying (The California Honeydrops), It’s A Beautiful Day (Rob Drabkin), Sample In A Jar (Trey Anastasio), Ghost (Trey Anastasio), And It’s Still Alright (Nathaniel Rateliff), Their Names Are The Trees (Kitchen Dwellers), Angel From Montgomery (Wynonna Judd & Cactus Moser), Take Me To Tomorrow (Dave Matthews), Stay High (Brittany Howard), Broken Hearted Savior (Todd Park Mohr), Better Days (Ryan Tedder), ‘Round The Wheel (The String Cheese Incident), La Unica (Raquel Garcia), Rocky Mountain High (Old Crow Medicine Show), Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (Yonder Mountain String Band), Wild Mountain Honey (Steve Miller Band), River’s Risin’ (Leftover Salmon), Rocky Mountain Way (Vinyl Kings), Ballad Of The Broken (Mihali), Where We Are (The Lumineers)
