Summer is winding down, which means, an onslaught of holiday concert announcements is headed our way. It wouldn’t be the holidays or even winter itself, without one of Denver’s most beloved concert traditions — Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats’ annual holiday shows. Now in its fifth iteration, this year’s festivities will go down on December 13 and 14 and Nathaniel Rateliff will take the party to the Mission Ballroom for the first time. Beyond the bands move to the new venue, Rateliff will be bringing along the legendary Mavis Staples to open the performances.
Rateliff has been extra busy as of late, snagging opening gigs with none other than The Rolling Stones and former governor John Hickenlooper’s now-defunct presidential campaign kick-off meanwhile also hitting festivals across the world and Red Rocks Amphitheatre for two nights later this week. Not to mention, these shows follow the five performances last year, including Governor Jared Polis’ inauguration all on the back of 2018’s Tearing at the Seams. This surge in Colorado performances could beg the question of how much is too much for the Denver favorites.
Apparently, the limit does not exist, as the Mission Ballroom performances will be more than double the capacity of the Ogden Theatre, where the band usually hold their performances. Nevertheless, the holiday run of shows are always a special time — a homecoming one could say for one of Denver’s most accomplished bands.