In Vail - with Sammy Virji, L’Impératrice, Jungle and more - Après at The Amp Celebrates the Intersection Between Ski Culture and Live Music
Evan Dale | April 14, 202
Jason Myers / Memorandum Media
There are few venues that in the winter months ask more of their patrons than the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado. There are therefore few, if any venues that end up feeling more familial, and few if any fanbases that get rewarded with more of an all-encompassing experience. Think of the community that sprouts from the stormiest shows at Red Rocks. Something in the intersectionality between the elements we embrace and the music we love draws us all together and expands the experience even further than we could have imagined. Something, too, in the juncture between the music we love and skiing, snowboarding, or turning in early for après-ski, is a seamless confluence. For the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater – better known as The Amp – along with Vail Resorts, the Town of Vail, and the Vail Valley Foundation – which organizes many of the concerts and live events that happen between Vail and Beaver Creek – those cross-cultural confluences and their organic intersection with nature make events like 2025’s Après at The Amp such unique and memorable experiences for anyone in attendance.
Nestled into a ring of tall aspens, spruces, and pines, carved out of the natural slope towards Gore Creek with breathtaking views of Golden Peak, The Amp was designed with so much landscaped and architectural intention that it’s hard not to appreciate it even when there’s incredibly well-curated line-ups of live music playing. In the same way that certain angles at Red Rocks naturally frame views of downtown Denver in the distance, The Amp’s lower roof design frames the summit of the ski slopes above center stage. Further back up the slope – grass underneath packed April snow – off the concrete stepping and out of the covered roof area, that same roof sits low enough to preserve those pristine views of one of this world’s most celebrated ski resorts.
But not all celebrated resorts are able to boast the kind of live music lineups that Vail marks onto the calendar from April through October. An element of that is certainly the infrastructure of The Amp itself – it’s not every ski town that has a 2,600 person capacity venue with world-class sound design within walking distance of the gondola, after all. But even more than that, it’s been the continued effort of the town, the resort, and the Vail Valley Foundation to – over the course of many years – tap into the music industry to expand its draw of artistry to a height unparalleled by any other ski resort in North America, and in fact more in line with large scale venues in major cities. Over the past calendar year, between the Gerald R. Ford Ampitheather and Ford Park, various organizations and events have have collectedly hosted Ziggy Marley, Lettuce, Dispatch, Xavier Rudd, Lotus, Portugal The Man, Slightly Stoopid, Amos Lee, Tiësto, John Summit, and many other artists.
For the town, venue, and organization’s third annual iteration of Après at The Amp – a three-day event spanning Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, local bars, restaurants, clubs, and even an on-mountain set – a jealousy inducing, festival-worthy line-up saw UK DJ’s Sammy Virji and Interplanetary Criminal, Parisian Nu-Disco group L’Impératrice, soft-indie artist Goth Babe, a DJ set from British Electronic band Jungle, and more grace a smattering of different backdrops, all in orbit of the intersectionality between The Amp, the town, and the mountain; between the music, the culture, and the outdoors.
Friday, April 4 was a bit of an elemental affair. A sunny morning on the slopes quickly descended into expected afternoon cloud cover and some sunsetting Spring snow. Plunging down the infamously steep Riva Run to cap off a Friday played hooky, a skier or rider wound their way towards the high-caliber BPM’s already pulsating from a DJ set at Avanti – a food hall and bar right at the base of Golden Peak – from après-ski specialist duo, Don Fuego. As their beats rang across the covered bridge and back, they led right into the first night’s festivities at The Amp. There, Amba set a head-bobbing tone to flow right into the meditative yet upbeat mellow of L’Impératrice. Their expectedly bouncy energy set the table perfectly for Jungle – who, like L’Impératrice, usually operate as a full band – delivered their own fast-paced, positivity-tinged DJ set, emulsifying their own auditory aesthetic into something with a little more house flavor. When it was time to head to the after-party at Chasing Rabbits – a local bar, restaurant, and club – heavier-hitting sets from Don Fuego and Laszewo pulled the crowd out of the cold and late into the night.
Saturday, April 5 brought with it a pristine bluebird day to ski off any exhaustion from the well-spent late night before. Plummeting down the front of Vail to close the second straight day of near-perfect late-season conditions, a skier or rider was again met with energizing beats, this time from Amba, and this time at the Express Lift Bar at the base of Gondola One. By the time everyone made their respective ways from après-ski and the hot tub back to Après at The Amp, Manchester-born DJ, Interplanetary Criminal was setting the tone for a bit of a heavier night, but not before Goth Babe – a more mellow indie band – provided some reprieve from the vivacious sets. It was another UK DJ – this one from London – that capped off the second night at The Amp. For nearly two hours, Sammy Virji threw down a spellbinding set that wove from lighter techno all the way into a heavy bass exclamation point, again sending the crowd off into the cold night with plenty of energy to keep them all warm. Another after-party at Chasing Rabbits saw Alana English and Omnom keep up the heavy streak.
Sunday, everyone thought, was meant to be more of a recuperative day on the slopes, marked by an on-mountain Bloody Mary at Two Elk Lodge and a whole lot of corduroy skiing. But when Après at The Amp surprised us all with a two-hour on-mountain DJ set split equally between Goth Babe and Interplanetary Criminal, it was just the kind of sendoff everyone didn’t know they needed until we were again arms raised in the sun and snow, immersed at the seamless intersections of great music, great skiing, and great company.
For one of the more experientially encapsulating weekends in music or on-mountain, don’t miss out on next year’s Après at The Amp. And for more from The Amp, the town of Vail, and the Vail Valley Foundation’s continued efforts to bring world-renowned performances to the most intimate outdoor venue with some of the best views on Earth, check out their schedule as we head into the warmer months.
