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The Beach Boys Gave a Lukewarm Tribute to Brian Wilson at Red Rocks: Photos

The moment seemed like a speed bump in the set, which was backed by the Colorado Symphony.
Image: the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
Fans break out the beach balls as a tribute to the sand and surf music brought on by The Beach Boys at Red Rocks. EVAN SEMON

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band the Beach Boys teamed up with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, August 3, to bring "surf rock" to a land-locked state.

Colorado Symphony resident conductor Christopher Dragon kicked off the show at Red Rocks, leading the orchestra with an overture of Beach Boys music to a video reel. As the overture concluded, the current lineup of the Beach Boys walked on stage and were welcomed by the cheering crowd.

Touring acts who team up with the Colorado Symphony can use the opportunity to perhaps play songs that they might not otherwise play on the rest of their tour dates. The Beach Boys, however, seemed to miss this opportunity.
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
It was a blue bird day with clear skies at Red Rocks for a Sunday evening show.
EVAN SEMON
The group did utilize the symphony to back its most famous songs, "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't it be Nice?," off its most famous and industry-changing album, Pet Sounds. Besides that highlight, the setlist didn't differ much from its show at Levitt Pavilion last summer.

There were high hopes the band would deliver something different for a Red Rocks show this summer. Even the only original member of the current lineup, Mike Love, 83, acknowledged the privilege to play the famed venue, calling it "the greatest 'rock'  in rock-and-roll!"
click to enlarge Mike Love at Red Rocks
Mike Love, 84, a founding member of the Beach Boys, leads the band at Red Rocks.
EVAN SEMON
So you would figure there would be more passion; the band's beloved co-founder Brian Wilson passed away in June. After the group returned from a twenty-minute intermission for the second set, it did played a short video to remember Wilson. But this tribute seemed more like a speed bump to get back to Love's songs about cars, sunshine and of course "vacation spots" with the 1988 number-one hit "Kokomo," for which fans sang along.

However, the rock gods know the Beach Boys can do better. Hopefully the band can return to Red Rocks next summer with the CSO and perform Pet Sounds, which will be then celebrating its sixtieth anniversary, in its entirety.

See more photos from the show below:
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
The Colorado symphony tunes up and waits for the Beach Boys to take the stage
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge bearded man smiling in a captain hat
Beach Boys fan Taylor Dodson excited to see the band take the stage.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge Mike Love and Jacqueline Piesen
Beach Boy front man Mike Love and his fifth spouse, Jacqueline Piesen, left, just before Love took the sage at Red Rocks on Sunday.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge person wearing a t-shirt that reads help me rhonda
The band played "Help Me Rhonda" in the final moments of its second set.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge symphony conductor
Colorado Symphony Resident Conductor, Christopher Dragon.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge Randy Leago at Red Rocks
Randy Leago, Beach Boy member since 2016, is wowed by the size of the Red Rocks crowd.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge Bruce Johnston at Red Rocks
Bruce Johnston takes the stage at Red Rocks Sunday night. Johnston has been a member of The Beach Boys since 1965.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge crowd at Red Rocks
Fans raise to their feet to dance to opening songs "Surfin Safari" and "Surfin' U.S.A."
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
Current drummer for the Beach Boys, Michael D'Amico, entertained the crowd with is unorthodox style of drumming.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
Conductor for your Colorado Symphony, Christopher Dragon, looks for cues from the Beach Boys as the CSO added a rich backdrop to songs like, "God Only Knows," and, "Wouldn't It Be Nice."
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
The Beach Boys and the CSO. A perfect marriage of music.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
The Colorado Symphony under the direction of The Beach Boys and conductor Chris Dragon.
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
Current drummer for the Beach Boys, John Bolton, thanks the crowd after he sang lead on a cover of "California Dreaming."
EVAN SEMON
click to enlarge the Beach Boys performing at Red Rocks in 2025
A small video tribute to legendary member of The Beach Boys Brian Wilson who passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 83.
EVAN SEMON
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