AJR @ Red Rocks
AJR x Arden Jones x Avery Cochrane
06.29.26
Avery Cochrane
First thing I have to say is WHAT AN OUTFIT. I was so obsessed from the moment she came out onto that stage. I did not know Avery Cochrane before attending this show, but she absolutely killed it. It was such a beautiful summer day; the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and she, even as a solo artist, took up so much space with her energy on the stage that it felt just as captivating as watching a full band. I loved her ending song, “Shapeshifting on a Saturday Night,” so much that I immediately added it to one of my playlists between sets.
Arden Jones
Another new-to-me artist was Arden Jones, whose energy helped carry the night. From the moment he stepped on stage, he was running from one side to the other, jumping up and down, and constantly engaging with the crowd. Despite all that movement, he somehow managed to deliver absolutely flawless vocals from start to finish, which made his performance even more impressive. While my favorite of the set was his song “deadlove”, I was honestly kind of grooving in the photo pit and then up the rocks for his entire set.
AJR
You know how in life you can sometimes get blindsided by just how amazing it is? Seeing AJR live at Red Rocks, getting to photograph the show, this was one of those moments where I really got hit with a “wow”. I first saw AJR back in 2015 in a tiny bar venue with a capacity of about 200, and they were the opening act. I had no idea who they were, but even though for their set, they had folks still trickling in, they played with the energy of a sold-out arena show. From that moment, I knew these three brothers were really something special.
Emotions aside, they know how to put on one hell of a show. I always love their theatrics, really making their shows a fully interactive and unique experience. It feels like more than just a concert, and even with some 9k people there, it really felt intimate, and the sense of community was amazing. There were folks all dressed up, there were teenagers that kept coming up to me and handing me tiny trinkets and kind compliments, just the overall energy was amazing and so warming.
I gotta say though, when they played “The Good Part” (which came out in a year I was REALLY struggling and going through a lot of difficult transformative changes in my life), I was fully bawling my eyes out. Now in 2026, nearly 10 years after that song came out (deep exhale at THAT), in an arena full of genuine and kind people, it really felt like we were in the good part.
A show with guest appearances from the Blue Man Group, an entire marching band, moments where AJR climbed into the audience on the steps and then bolted back to the stage mid-song, fake-out stage light drops, and an amazingly interactive screen behind them, I can guarantee you that this will be a show I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.
