Kool & The Gang perform at Kool 105's annual Koncert in Denver.

Kool Koncert 2016: Huey Lewis, The Fixx, Go-Go’s, Kool and The Gang

Posted on September 16, 2016
by Aimee

Every year, Denver radio station KOOL 105 puts on a music festival called the “Kool Koncert” which brings together some of the best acts from our past into one concert. This year featured The Fixx, Kool & The Gang, The Go-Gos’s, plus Huey Lewis & The News. So, yeah, another stellar year for nostalgia and fun down at Fiddler’s Green.

DJ’s from KOOL 105 welcome fans to the 2016 Kool Koncert

Kool Koncert 2016 Photos

As you can imagine, all the bands were great, but I preferred some over the others. There wasn’t a bad performance in the bunch, but I would say one stole the show. So I am going to place my photos in order of my preference, and you can see at the end who blew me away.

Huey Lewis & The News

I caught Huey walking around before the show a few times, interacting with fans – which was so nice of him. And he was just as happy to be up on stage performing their litany of hits.

The Fixx

This is a band that both my husband (who had been a hard rocker in his early years) and I have always loved. So, we have seen them several times together and they still sound amazing. Sure, it took a few songs for Cy Curnin’s voice to warm up, but after that, he was the same guy we’ve always known.

The Go-Go’s

Sadly I was unable to photograph The Go-Go’s – which is especially sad since this is their farewell tour. It felt like we were watching an early version of the band though – with lots of throwbacks to their early period of more punk rock pop. Belinda Carlisle’s voice was perhaps weak, but singing live was never her strong suit. I’ll admit, when they brought fans up on stage to dance “Cool Jerk” with them, I got tears in my eyes. A great, fun, raucous set from a groundbreaking band.

Kool & The Gang

Yup. These boys killed it that night. It feels weird to say “boys” when most of them are old enough to be my dad… but the energy on stage was definitely youthful. Lead singer J.T. Taylor ran up and down the stage with “the gang” rearranging themselves to come forward for their own featured songs. We knew every one, for sure, but they were still making them sound like they could be hits today – and having a blast doing it. I walked out of the pit after photographing with a huge smile on my face and kept dancing for the rest of their songs. Thanks, guys!