News: Meese Plays at Red Rocks

The Fray and Meese Play Red Rocks Amphitheater

The Denver music scene hype surrounding local indie quintet, Meese, is legit and poised to explode on a national scale.

Led by 2005 Colorado Christian University (CCU) graduate Patrick Meese and brother Nathan Meese, the group played for a crowd of over 10,000 on September 30, 2006, as the show openers for The Fray at Red Rocks Amphitheater. The Meese brothers, CCU student David Vanderhamm, 2005 CCU graduate Ben Haley, and Denver native Mike Ayars were loudly applauded for the 40 minute set from their self-produced 2006 release Our Album Year -- a collection of keyboard and guitar-driven rock, inlaid with electronic tones and danceable beats, that ranges from mellow to hard hitting.

With striking melodies and unique instrumentation, Meese's appeal is spreading far and fast. Within one year, the band has already achieved air time on several of Colorado's most listened-to radio stations and received full-length features from numerous magazines and newspapers. Recent breakthrough band The Fray has teamed up with the five-some at world renowned venues including Red Rocks Amphitheater and the historic Paramount Theater. Album sales have soared beyond Meese's expectations, and the group is currently in discussion with several music industry labels about recording possibilities.

"Playing Red Rocks was an opportunity only God could have provided," said Meese drummer Ben Haley. Although not marketed as a Christian-genre band, most of the band members are Christians, and faith plays a big role in their music. "Our goal is to show others that music is a gift from God," Haley added. "Hopefully our music prompts people to notice something different about us."

"We all know what The Fray has done, and if Meese getting to play Red Rocks is any indication of what they are about to do, will have two big acts in the national music scene," noted Colorado Music Buzz Magazine, echoing the praise of its press contemporaries.