American Authors, Fireworks Bring E-Days to a Close

Ending an event-filled E-Days celebration, the Saturday night concert was a great show. The event included American Authors, Cover Drive, and a fantastic display of pyrotechnics.

The concert opened with Cover Drive—a distinctively reggae-hip hop fusion band that has performed with Rihanna and other major label artists as well as reaching commercial success in the UK. Cover Drive entertained its less than sober audience with several well-known reggae hits like “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley and “Hey Ya” by Outkast which set the crowd wild.

They ended with a few of their top singles including “Twilight” and “Explode”. Their fun style jammed well with the atmosphere and set the night going on a high note.

American Authors took up the mantle after a seriously long break to set up the stage. Though they had a rough start—calling the crowd Red Rocks as soon as they took the stage—once they began to play, the crowd fell into the rhythm of American Authors’ pop indie rock sound. It had been the fear of some beforehand that with only one album out, the band might not have enough to play through an entire hour and a half set.

The group pleasantly surprised many by rolling out several new songs off their upcoming album, What We Live For. Despite all the shameless plugs, American Authors sounded just as great live as they do on their studio mastered album and got called back onstage for an encore.

After American Author’s final song, there was a mad rush to the IM field. People ran in order to get the best spots, which some felt were closest to the ignition site and others felt were closer to the gates. Either way, the firework show did not disappoint.

The fireworks painted the clear night sky in sparkling blues and reds, twinkling into embers and fading into smoke clouds. The different pyrotechnics ranged from loud and smoky to quiet and shimmery, falling back to the ground like star dust. Especially exciting were the green and purple fire balls that sprang up out of nowhere and made sunspots on the backs of people eyes.

Photo by Keenan Barker