Photo via @redrocksco on IG

Continuing a tradition that dates back to 1993, Blues Traveler celebrated the Fourth of July at Red Rocks this year, performing a 15-song set to kick off their summer tour.

The band opened with their Suzie Cracks the Whip cut “Things Are Looking Up” – no doubt a reference to the world’s increasingly optimistic view of the pandemic – and later further satisfied fans with the hit “Run Around.”

The evening’s lone guest was blues artist/support act Robert Finley on the standard “Ball & Chain” – the cover gave fans a taste of Blues Traveler’s forthcoming blues covers LP Traveler’s Blues.

To celebrate the holiday, a mid-set “Star Spangled Banner” was a rousing choice, and the applause continued through Four favorite “The Mountains Win Again” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”

Naturally, the band closed the set with “Hook,” but the real surprise came with yet another Traveler’s Blues snippet.

Blues Traveler encored their Red Rocks show with “Funky Bitch,” a tune that dates back to the late-’70s Son Seal version. However, Popper has a more personal history with the tune, first performing it with Phish on Dec. 15, 1989 at the Ukrainian National Home in New York City.

Through the 90s, Popper joined up with Phish to play the tune a few more times, namely on 3/3/90, 12/28/90, and 11/15/96.

Traveler’s Blues will be released on July 30.

Check out Blues Traveler’s full Red Rocks setlist via setlist.fm below:

Blues Traveler
July 4, 2021
Red Rocks

Things Are Looking Up, Save His Soul, Run Around, Ball & Chain^, Mulling It Over, But Anyway, The Star-Spangled Banner, The Mountains Win Again, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Conquer Me, Reach Me, Ode From the Aspect, Breakfast, Hook

Enc: Funky Bitch

Notes:
^with Robert Finley