High In The Rockies: AEG’s Scott Campbell Crafts His Own World

Upon first glance, Denver being one of dance music’s best-selling markets might come as a surprise. The genre is often associated with its roots in Chicago and Detroit, later expanding into markets like Miami, New York City, Ibiza and Berlin. However, Denver remains a mecca for many dance music fans. The city is affordable for younger millennials and elder Gen-Zs, who are primarily purchasing tickets for the genre. And Scott Campbell, talent buyer at AEG Presents who works with venues including Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Mission Ballroom, has played a heavy hand in the genre’s domination up in the Rocky Mountains.

“Denver has a unique set of circumstances that has benefited the music community,” Campbell tells Pollstar. “It’s a beautiful place to live – the mountains are beautiful, there’s hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding. Red Rocks has a long culture in Denver, it’s been doing concerts for over 100 years. It’s an incredible place to see shows. I think when you mix all those things together, it becomes this magical place that helps grow and support music.”

Campbell has supported many of electronic music’s biggest artists from the earliest days of their career. He brought
Zeds Dead to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the first time in 2014 (as a co-headline with Dada Life), and this year the duo celebrated two nights at the venue for its 10th anniversary and played Denver’s Civic Center for a Fourth of July Jamboree. The duo was one of Campbell’s first big breakthroughs in the city and Zeds Dead continues to take over the entire Denver metropolitan area every year over the Fourth of July weekend. Campbell also played a major part in pushing forward fellow Denver local Illenium.

“We started at the Bluebird Theater, then went to the Ogden, then 1stBank Center, then one Red Rocks up to three Red Rocks,” Campbell says. “Then we went to Empower Field, which is where the Denver Broncos play, and we sold 47,000 tickets. It was the biggest show by a headlining electronic producer in American history. That was really cool to be a part of. He’s such a great guy and a brilliant producer.”

Campbell’s built up a decent road map for artists to succeed in the scene, their tickets doing well in Denver and eventually expanding to other markets. Many artists have moved to the city in droves to get their foot in the door.

Blanke, Heyz and INZO are among those who relocated to the city for an affordable place to live while kick-starting their career in music – and with Denver being centrally located in the country, it becomes even more appealing for traveling musicians. Campbell’s hand in the area allows them to build their relationships, artists often able to open bigger shows he promotes at Red Rocks Amphitheater while also having the opportunity to play headline shows of their own in the town.

Campbell works with 10 venues through- out the Denver area, including Red Rocks, Mission, Ogden Theater, Gothic, Bluebird, Larimer Lounge, the Lost Lake and Globe Hall. He often does one-offs at Dylan Amphitheater, the Gerald Ford Amphitheater and Echo Mountain, keeping busy. He has rooms of every size, allowing him to stick by artists each and every step of the way. Ogden Theater holds a capacity of 1,600, and Gothic Theater a capacity of 1,100. Mission Ballroom holds up to 3,950 fans, while Red Rocks Amphitheater is host to 9,545.

Campbell will promote an average of five shows per week across all his venues, leaving the city satiated in their hunger for dance music. He has a system for artists to build: if they sell out Ogden Theater, they can play Mission Ballroom. If they sell out Mission Ballroom, that means a headline at Red Rocks Amphitheater is next. For bigger artists, they’ll often play at both Red Rocks Amphitheater and host an afterparty at Mission Ballroom, which can run shows later into the night.

He believes the young audience of the genre (and Denver’s surplus of younger people) creates the perfect atmosphere for the genre to thrive. DJ Diesel, Shaquille O’Neal’s bass music alter ego, sold out Mission Ballroom on Jan. 5, grossing $163,661, according to reports submitted to Pollstar’s Boxoffice. RL Grime sold out the venue last year on Halloween, grossing $221,634, and Zeds Dead performed two sets in the room on July 4, 2023, grossing $210,255.

“I have a theory about the perfect storm that is Denver, where you have the vibrant outdoor lifestyle,” Campbell says. “You have the history of and culture of Red Rocks, you have so many clubs and so many people that are moving to the city because it’s such a great place to live. It’s just a combination of factors that has led to a culture and a community of people that go out a lot and they go to shows and support, that’s what they choose to do with their time. I think that’s really cool and helps build artists. That’s a rewarding part of my job, as I get to help them move up that ladder and play bigger shows and do new, interesting things.”