20 Tracks at Hughes Stadium

I know we’re all looking to the future of the Hughes Stadium site, but let’s take a listen to the past via a special YGR 20 Tracks featuring performances by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Rolling Stones, Chicago, and The Beach Boys at the Stadium in 1975 and 1976.

The Beach Boys and Chicago played on July 6, 1975, kicking things off with a massive crowd and a surprise sit-in from Elton John, who famously helicoptered into the show. While the Beach Boys enjoyed the spectacle and the collaboration, the vibe was a bit different when he pulled the same move for the Rolling Stones on July 20, 1975. That show drew roughly 40,000 people, backing up traffic on I-25 for miles, but Mick Jagger was reportedly super annoyed by Elton overstaying his welcome. Rufus & Chaka Khan, The Charlie Daniels Band, and The Meters opened for the Stones. That weekend also included the drowning of a U.S. Army soldier at Horsetooth near Dixon Canyon Dam.

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez took the stage on May 23, 1976, as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue. Cold rain turned into a full downpour, fans slid down the grassy berms, and the field was left wrecked. The performance was recorded and later released as the Hard Rain album and NBC special.

The Stones’ show was so rowdy, and the overall impact of these concerts so significant, that it effectively marked the end of large-scale live music at Hughes. Following complaints from nearby residents that the concerts were too loud, a judge granted an injunction on January 30, 1978, limiting concert noise to no more than 80 decibels at a nearby resident’s property line. Promoters said those levels were too low to support an open-air concert venue, and that was that.

Check out the 20 tracks below.

The Dylan and Baez songs were recorded live at Hughes. The songs from the Stones and Chicago are confirmed to have been on the setlists. The Beach Boys’ tracks were popular during the Beachago Tour and were likely played at Hughes.