Suraya Mohamed | August 29, 2025 Occasional sun flares showcase the beauty of Colorado near the main entrance of the Aspen Ideas Festival campus. Our crew decided to shoot here despite the nearby traffic and bustle of activity; the gorgeous view far outweighed the risk of noise.
The All-American Rejects lead singer Tyson Ritter took off his shoes and made himself comfortable in the grass as our crew worked to level the incline of the hill with a carpet-covered plywood board. At the start of the show, the band members walked up the dusty Meadows Trail, but had to pause for a moment to catch their breath. Ritter joked to the audience, “Can we all just take a breath together? We need some oxygen.”
Close to 8,000 feet, many of us struggled with the high altitude. But once the musicians collected themselves and started to sing, their delivery was strong. And even though this set includes most of the band’s greatest hits from the early aughts, it’s energetic, fresh and fun.
SET LIST “Dirty Little Secret” “There’s a Place” “Gives You Hell” “Move Along”
MUSICIANS Tyson Ritter: vocals, ukelele Nick Wheeler: guitar, background vocals Mike Kennerty: bass, background vocals Chris Gaylor: drums, background vocals
PRODUCTION TEAM Director: Mito Habe-Evans Editor: Nickolai Hammar Videographers: Mito Habe-Evans, Nickolai Hammar, Ryan Lohr, Will Sardinsky Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault Color Correction: Joshua Bryant Post-Production Coordinator: Tsering Bista Senior Producer, Aspen Institute: Ava Hartmann Program Associate, Aspen Institute: Jacqueline Olivas-Sison Festival Director: Graham Veysey Supervising Editor: Becky Lettenberger Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
SPECIAL THANKS Ben James Jaidyn Hurst Sylvie Labalme Samuel Lasater Matt Windholz Keith Jenkins
