Levity Erupts at Red Rocks: A Volcanic Night of Bass, Lasers, and Beautiful Chaos
October 7, 2026Photos: Gerardo Federico
There are concerts, there are parties, and then there are those gloriously excessive, wonderfully ridiculous spectacles that make you wonder whether the musicians have somehow convinced the laws of physics to take the night off. Levity’s triumphant return to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Friday, October 2, was decidedly the latter—a volcanic eruption of bass, lasers, pyrotechnics, and enough infectious energy to power a small city. Or possibly launch one into orbit.
Before heading into the show, I decided to look up the actual definition of the word levity. According to the dictionary, it means “humor, light-heartedness, or a lack of seriousness.”
Well, that pretty much hits the nail squarely on the head.
But after witnessing what John Hauldren, PJ Carberry, and Josh Tarum unleashed upon the unsuspecting geological formations of Morrison, Colorado, I’d suggest adding a few more words to that definition: fun, explosive, energetic, gloriously unpredictable, and three guys who absolutely refuse to take themselves too seriously.
And thank goodness for that.
In an electronic music universe where some performers seem determined to cultivate the mystique of brooding extraterrestrial overlords, Levity approaches the whole business with the enthusiasm of three college buddies who somehow got their hands on the world’s most expensive stereo system and decided to throw a party.
A really, really big party.
From College Friends to Bass-Music Royalty
My introduction to Levity came a couple of years ago when I caught them opening for Subtronics. At the time, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but their particular brand of dubstep, electronic bass, and playful musical experimentation immediately caught my ear.
There was something refreshingly different about these guys.
Sure, the bass hit like a runaway freight train, and the drops could probably rearrange the fillings in your teeth, but beneath all that sonic mayhem was a sense of humor and genuine joy that made their music irresistible.
They weren’t just performing electronic dance music. They were having an absolute blast doing it, and that enthusiasm spilled directly into the audience.
The trio’s story has the kind of improbable beginnings that make the music business such a fascinating circus. Starting out together during their college years, Levity eventually caught a major break through a last-minute performance opportunity at Electric Forest, the legendary Michigan electronic music festival.
What might have been just another festival appearance became an important turning point, helping propel the group toward a rapidly expanding audience.
Fast-forward to 2026, and those same three guys were no longer simply warming up somebody else’s crowd. They were headlining their own massive Red Rocks production, appropriately titled “Levi-Rocks: The Volcano.”
And believe me, they weren’t kidding about the volcano.
The Calm Before the Eruption
One of the evening’s most interesting surprises happened before the main show even got underway.
Rather than simply hiding backstage until their headlining performance, Levity decided to give their most dedicated fans something special: an intimate, 360-degree opening set beginning around 5 p.m.
The trio positioned themselves just a couple of rows above the soundboard, creating an unusual performance space where the audience could surround them rather than stare up at a distant stage.
I was fortunate enough to enter the venue before the main rush of concertgoers, and what happened next was something to behold.
As the gates opened, excited fans came pouring into the amphitheatre like molten lava rushing down the side of an erupting volcano.
And yes, considering the evening’s theme, the comparison couldn’t have been more appropriate.
They streamed down the famous Red Rocks steps, eager to get as close as possible to their favorite electronic troublemakers.
Within moments, the makeshift performance area became a swirling sea of smiling faces, raised arms, and people who looked as though they’d just discovered that Christmas had arrived three months early.
And there were Levity, practically face-to-face with their followers, hammering out familiar favorites while the crowd responded with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for championship victories and free beer.
It was a brilliant idea.
Instead of maintaining the traditional separation between artist and audience, the trio temporarily erased it. No towering stage, no distant silhouettes, no elaborate theatrical barriers. Just three musicians, their equipment, and a few hundred—or perhaps a few thousand—very happy people sharing the same musical moment.
For a group whose entire identity revolves around accessibility, humor, and connection, it was the perfect way to begin the evening.
And we hadn’t even gotten to the volcano yet.
Warming Up the Magma
Following Levity’s early appearance, the evening continued with performances from Moody Good, Machaki, Green Matter, and Claybrook.
Each contributed to the steadily building atmosphere as the amphitheatre filled and anticipation intensified.
Red Rocks has always possessed an almost supernatural ability to transform an ordinary concert into something extraordinary. The massive sandstone monoliths, the sweeping views, and the sensation of being surrounded by thousands of fellow music lovers create an environment unlike anywhere else on Earth.
But electronic bass music brings an entirely different dimension to the experience.
There’s something deliciously absurd about watching a crowd dance beneath ancient rock formations while futuristic electronic frequencies thunder through the Colorado night.
Geology meets technology.
Mother Nature meets the subwoofer.
And somewhere in the middle, thousands of people collectively lose their minds.
With perfect weather overhead and the audience thoroughly warmed up, the stage was set for Levity’s main event.
Or perhaps I should say the volcano was ready to blow.
Mount Bassuvius Erupts
When the main performance arrived, it became immediately apparent that Levity hadn’t come to Red Rocks merely to play a few songs and call it a night.
They had come to create an event.
Dominating the stage was an enormous volcanic structure appropriately christened “Bassuvius,” a towering, menacing centerpiece designed to look as though it had been plucked directly from the fiery bowels of the Earth.
Streams of simulated lava flowed down its sides, transforming the stage into something resembling a heavy-metal album cover brought to life by a team of mad scientists with an unlimited production budget.
And that was just the beginning.
The trio pulled out virtually every theatrical trick imaginable, including synchronized strobes, spectacular pyrotechnics, and multicolored bursts of flame unlike anything I can remember seeing at a concert.
I’ve witnessed plenty of impressive stage productions over the years, but the colored pyrotechnics were particularly striking.
Against the darkness of the surrounding mountains, the explosions of color gave the entire spectacle an almost otherworldly appearance.
And then there were the lasers.
Good Lord, the lasers.
Levity deployed an enormous laser production that transformed the night sky into a gigantic geometric playground of intersecting beams, shifting patterns, and dazzling visual effects.
I’ve seen laser shows before, but this was something else entirely.
There were lasers shooting through other lasers, lasers seemingly multiplying into still more lasers, and enough brilliant shafts of light slicing across the amphitheatre to make me wonder whether somebody had accidentally activated an interplanetary communications system.
If intelligent life exists somewhere beyond our solar system, I wouldn’t be surprised if it received a message from Morrison, Colorado, that evening.
And that message probably translated to something like:
“DROP THE BASS!”
Three Guys, One Giant Party
Of course, spectacular production means absolutely nothing if the performers can’t deliver the music to match.
Fortunately, Levity had no such problem.
What makes these guys so entertaining isn’t simply their ability to assemble massive electronic arrangements or unleash thunderous bass drops. It’s the fact that they genuinely appear to love every second of what they’re doing.
Throughout the performance, Hauldren, Carberry, and Tarum were bouncing, jumping, jamming, and generally carrying on like three kids who’d just been handed the keys to the world’s greatest amusement park.
Their excitement was contagious.
And unlike some electronic performances where the artists can appear almost incidental to the elaborate machinery surrounding them, Levity remained very much at the center of the action.
They weren’t standing around looking mysterious.
They were participating in the madness they’d created.
The approximately two-hour set featured crowd favorites including “Flip It,” “Pop Off” with GRiZ, “Postman,” and my personal favorite, “Ignition.”
Each track seemed to send another surge of energy through the audience, with the enormous sound system delivering bass frequencies that could practically be felt in your bloodstream.
“Ignition,” in particular, reminded me why these guys grabbed my attention in the first place.
Their music possesses a playful unpredictability that keeps listeners guessing, bouncing between infectious rhythms, explosive drops, and unexpected musical twists.
Just when you think you’ve figured out where a track is headed, Levity takes a sharp left turn and sends the whole thing careening into another dimension.
It’s electronic music with a mischievous grin.
And that’s a wonderful thing.
Escaping Reality, One Bass Drop at a Time
The evening also featured live vocalists, unreleased mixes, and a particularly exciting surprise for longtime fans: a preview of material from Escapism Volume 3.
That willingness to introduce new music during such a significant performance says something about the group’s confidence and creative momentum.
They weren’t content simply to recycle the familiar material that helped build their reputation.
They wanted to show the audience where they were headed next.
And judging by the atmosphere inside the amphitheatre, their fans were more than happy to come along for the ride.
There’s a reason the word escapism seems particularly appropriate for Levity’s musical universe.
For a couple of hours, the usual responsibilities, frustrations, and anxieties of everyday life simply evaporated beneath an avalanche of electronic rhythms and theatrical excess.
Nobody was thinking about deadlines, bills, politics, or tomorrow morning’s alarm clock.
They were thinking about the next drop.
The next explosion.
The next impossible burst of laser light.
And the wonderfully ridiculous possibility that a giant artificial volcano might somehow erupt even harder than it already had.
In a world that frequently seems determined to take itself far too seriously, there’s something almost therapeutic about that kind of collective release.
Sometimes the most profound thing music can accomplish is to remind us how much fun being alive can actually be.
A Dream Come True at Red Rocks
By the time the evening finally wound down, Levity had delivered far more than a conventional electronic dance concert.
They’d created a full-scale sensory experience, combining massive production, infectious music, audience interaction, and their own unmistakable personalities into one gloriously excessive celebration.
The perfect Colorado weather certainly didn’t hurt, either.
And while the volcanic stage, colored flames, and extraterrestrial laser extravaganza were undeniably impressive, what stayed with me most was the genuine happiness radiating from the three musicians responsible for it all.
Following the show, the trio expressed their gratitude online, describing the experience as “a dream come true.”
It’s easy to understand why.
Not so long ago, they were three friends developing their sound and finding their footing in the increasingly crowded electronic music scene.
Now they were standing before a packed Red Rocks Amphitheatre, commanding an enormous production built around a giant volcano while thousands of fans celebrated every beat.
That’s quite a journey.
And perhaps the most refreshing part is that they still seem to be having as much fun as they did when they started.
Which brings me back to that dictionary definition.
Levity: humor, light-heartedness, and a lack of seriousness.
Fair enough.
But after witnessing Levi-Rocks: The Volcano, I’d like to propose one additional definition:
Three guys, one mountain, a ridiculous number of lasers, and enough bass to make the Rocky Mountains consider moving a few inches west.
Another spectacular night at Red Rocks.
And another reminder that sometimes the best way to experience music is to stop taking everything so seriously, throw your hands in the air, and let the volcano erupt.
Rock on, Levity. Rock on.
