DENVER (KDVR) — Folsom Field has been known as the home of the University of Colorado Buffaloes for over a century, but the crowd's roars aren't always for a touchdown or an arguable call — the stadium has a rich history of hosting iconic rock stars and musicians, and a bright future of concerts lies ahead.

Ryan Gottlieb, chief revenue officer for the athletics department at CU, told FOX31 in an interview that Folsom Field is leaning into its legacy as one of the best live music venues in Colorado.

The popular jam band Phish will take over Folsom Field for three nights of music July 3-5. The band frequently plays in Colorado, tallying over 100 shows in the state since 1988, but this will be their first time playing at Folsom Field, a shift from their longtime Labor Day run at Dicks Sporting Goods Park.

Folsom Field can hold 50,000 people, nearly double the 27,000 that Dicks Sporting Goods Park can hold for concerts, showing an increasing demand for live music.

The Phish concerts offer a glimpse into the future of live music in Boulder. Tickets are still available as of Wednesday, but may sell out fast.

Folsom Field may soon host more concerts

The three nights of Phish already make for more concerts than Folsom Field held last year.

Gottlieb said that the stadium typically hosts two or three concerts each year, with two in 2024 and three in 2023. For 2025, that number goes up to four with three nights of Phish and another show with popular electronic music producer, John Summit, headlining.

"We don't do a ton, but when we do them, we do it big and we throw a great party," Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb said they are hoping to continue with the trend of hosting more concerts. He said they are already in multiple conversations and have a strong outlook for 2026.

"For the foreseeable future, we anticipate a lot of concert activity at Folsom, and it's going to be some of the biggest names and coolest acts you can imagine," Gottlieb told FOX31.

History of live music at Folsom Field

Folsom Field started hosting concerts in the late 60s and continued to do so through the 90's, featuring notable performances from The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band and more.

Gottlieb said there were about 15 years in the early 2000s when there were no shows at the stadium, but in recent years, the stadium has hosted concerts for big names like Dead and Company, Tyler Childers and ODESZA.

Will Folsom Field host events for Sundance?

While exact plans are not set, Gottlieb said the university plans to participate in Sundance in some form.

"We do anticipate participating in the Sundance Film Festival. We think that we're going to host a lot of private parties in our premium spaces in the stadium. And the university has been very involved in planning and preparation," Gottlieb said.

Aside from concerts, Folsom Field also hosts commencement ceremonies and other miscellaneous events like the Bolder Boulder 10k.

"Our plans are to continue to grow our concert business and host and utilize this stadium that's directly behind me as often as we can, or as often as it makes sense," he said.

Events expected to impact jobs, local economy

The concerts at Folsom Field draw fans from all over the country, boosting exposure for the university and having a significant impact on the local economy. The owners of local businesses like hotels and restaurants have told Gottlieb that their favorite weekends of the year are the seven home football games and any with concerts at Folsom Field.

"We absolutely love hosting concerts at Folsom Field. It's really important to the university and the local economy and the community. Outside of hosting football games, there's nothing that brings more people to Boulder than these stadium concerts that we host," Gottlieb said.

It takes hundreds of staffers to make the events happen, and Gottlieb said each major stadium event directly impacts hundreds of jobs.

"The last economic impact report that we had put together was around our Dead and Company shows in 2023, and that was tens of millions of dollars in localized economic impact. The magnitude is substantial," he said.

The students at CU get to be involved in the musical history of Folsom Field, too. Some shows offer discounts for students, plus the university's student organization, Program Council, helps to organize live programming for events on campus. The partnership brings both an educational experience for students and a real business opportunity for the university.