Musicians Over Fifty Performed Some of the Best Concerts in 2024

As a mile-high stop perfectly poised to catch tour buses heading from any direction, Denver hosts a massive amount of concerts with world-renowned musicians each year. In 2024, we were lucky to see shows from current sensations such as Billie Eilish, Kacey Musgraves and Olivia Rodrigo, and even a surprise turn from Jack White at the Bluebird.

But after a year of countless concerts, it dawned on me that some of the best touring shows I got to witness this year starred musicians above the age of fifty — and some far older than that. The impact of these shows didn't stem from surprise at reading the artists' ages (more often you're surprised by youth, as in the case of the young yet incredibly prolific King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which dominated Red Rocks this summer). Rather, what really left an impression was witnessing such masters of their craft still casting their magic after decades of refining their music, hearing songs that influenced generations of listeners.

Time waits for no one — but as the following artists show, music can really make it stretch. At least that's the conclusion I've reached after watching Mick Jagger sprint around the stage at Empower Field this summer, just a month before he celebrated his 81st birthday.

Read more on him and other impressive torchbearers below:
Madonna
The Queen of Pop returned to Denver in March on her Celebration tour, a massive production that looked back on all of Madonna's essential hits since her reign began in the early ’80s. It's hard to find another pop singer with the longevity and impact of Madonna, who told her life story through a series of five thematic acts that included the New York City punk scene in the ’80s, Studio 54, reflections on the AIDS crisis, and reinventions of past tours, including 2004's Re-Invention World Tour. Decades of music have made Madonna's indelible influence on culture clear, with generations of fans dancing, crying and singing along while the 66-year-old pop sensation showed us that being an icon has absolutely nothing to do with age.
Sessanta: A Perfect Circle, Primus, Puscifer
It was the show of a lifetime. Maynard James Keenan, the frontman of Tool, brought his bands A Perfect Circle and Puscifer to join Les Claypool's Primus on the Sessanta tour, a celebration of Keenan's sixtieth birthday that included a two-night run at Red Rocks in April. It was the first time A Perfect Circle and Puscifer had played on the same bill since Keenan's fiftieth birthday, and their performances sandwiched those from Primus so that each band played several sets through the evening. While one band performed, the members of the others hung around the stage, lounging on couches, playing ping-pong or sitting in for certain songs. Here's hoping there's a seventieth-birthday tour, too.
Blondie
After Blondie brought its tour to Mission Ballroom in May, one thing was very clear: Everyone still wants to be Debbie Harry. At 78, the vocalist is as enigmatic and beautiful as when Blondie first got started on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the ’70s, becoming a pioneer in the emerging new-wave genre. And Blondie honored its punk CBGB roots at the Mission, performing "Will Anything Happen?" and "Nothing Is Real but the Girl." And, of course, there were the disco-infused hits from breakout album Parallel Lines before the band continued to show its varied influences through the decades, including hip-hop, with Harry rapping for "Rapture." Debbie Harry is more than just the main vocalist and lyricist of this incredibly influential and groundbreaking band — she's a piece of music history herself, one we're lucky to see continuing to create in the present.
Stevie Nicks
How could you not love Stevie Nicks? The preeminent singer-songwriter, who found fame in Fleetwood Mac and penned some of that band's best songs before kicking off her own successful solo career in 1981, came to Ball Arena at the beginning of June and was quick to tell the audience how much she loved Denver. "I've been here many times before, partly because I love to come and play here," she told the audience. "But the second reason is because I have a lot of family here: My great-great-grandmother came across in the last...big covered wagon across the Rocky Mountains. I am told she hid in the trunk." The 76-year-old shared many more stories between songs, somehow creating an illusion of intimacy in the massive Ball Arena. While her voice has somewhat dwindled, it still has the mystical qualities unique to Nicks, with lyrics that carried the audience through decades of music history.
Rolling Stones
You had to laugh when you entered Empower Field and saw that the Rolling Stones show in June was sponsored by AARP. It was tongue-in-cheek yet practical, considering the attendance was dominated by folks chatting about seeing the band fifty years prior. But the core members of the band — Jagger (81), Keith Richards (81) and Ronnie Wood (77) — are as timeless as their music, acting and appearing far more youthful than many people I know in their thirties. As one of our readers put it after the show: "I can't believe at eighty they can still rock like that."
Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic has played Red Rocks more times than any other band in the venue's history, and the Southern-rock jam band came back yet again for its annual three-night run there right after opening for the Rolling Stones at Empower Field, where Panic's following surprised Stones fans with a flood of water flung during "Chilly Water." Those who complained about Panic's passionate fans at that show wouldn't have known what to do with themselves at Red Rocks, where concert-goers traditionally tailgate throughout the day waiting for the gates to open before bursting the amphitheater to seal the best seats. The entirety of Red Rocks seems more energetic than ever when Panic is there, busting out searing jams and grooves that seem to level up each night. Panic was founded by vocalist John Bell and late lead guitarist Mikey Houser in the '80s, and while all of the members are now in their sixties (except 36-year-old Duane Trucks), this band has kept going — and we never want it to stop gracing the Rocks.
Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott's Out of This World Tour lived up to its name at Ball Arena in July. This was the 53-year-old Grammy winner's first headlining tour, and she had a star-studded lineup with Busta Rhymes, Ciara and Timbaland — all musicians she's extensively collaborated with since the ’90s. It was an evening of nostalgia and pure partying, as Ball Arena became a hip-hop club with an army of breakdancers on stage and sets upon sets of endless hits that showed that these hip-hop purveyors are as relevant as ever. The encore included everyone, with Misdemeanor performing "Up Jumps Da Boogie" with Timbaland, "Touch It" with Busta Rhymes and, of course, "Lose Control" with Ciara. Their enduring legacy was more apparent than ever, underscored by the sheer joy they shared on stage.

Find upcoming concerts in Denver on our concert calendar.