NEEDTOBREATHE Finds Freedom in Surrender
NEEDTOBREATHE • Drew & Ellie Holcomb • Red Rocks Amphitheatre • September 14, 2026
The September 14th Red Rocks show opened with the album’s title track which graced the stone stage with gospel-like warmth. It immediately established a reflective tone for the evening. The Long Surrender feels like an invitation to surrender to the moment. To surrender to the things we cannot change and make room for the things still ahead. Life is a complicated blend of the joy and pain, beginnings and endings, and the people we hold onto and the people we have had to let go.
Sometimes, all it takes is a song to remind us that we lived it.
That we loved.
That we laughed.
That we were here.
Bear Rinehart is the emotional center of NEEDTOBREATHE. His voice can move from a weathered whisper to a full roar without losing the sincerity beneath the sound. It seems he brings conviction to everything he does from performing to sharing his heart for a cause: For Others. He invited the Red Rocks crowd to explore the unique work of the organization. Their mission is to raise awareness and empower best-in-class organizations to end the child welfare crisis in America. I used the QR code on the screen to get involved during the last NEEDTOBREATHE concert at Red Rocks in 2024. Since then, I became passionate about their incredible work as they are truly moving the needle and I continue to donate annually.
Music has a healing power that few things in life can replicate. It meets us exactly where we are, often finding us in moments when we don’t even realize how essential it is for our mental health. A song can sit beside us in our joy, carry us through our pain and sorrow and somehow wrap meaning around the moments that shape who we are.
NEEDTOBREATHE gives us permission to stand in the middle space of our lives – all the beautiful parts, the broken parts and everything in between to allow their lyrics and melodies to carry us through whatever hand we are dealt. That is part of the power of NEEDTOBREATHE’s music catalog and may just be their intention in for sharing The Long Surrender with the world.
There are songs that take me to age seventeen and my first real heartbreak. And there are songs that bring back the devastating moment I learned that my 35-year-old sister-in-law had died which is when I found NEEDTOBREATHE. Their music helped me through a period of emotional anguish. The song, “More Time” from their album The Heat carried me through some very dark days.
The set list for this Red Rocks performance included many songs that have become bookmarks in my life: “Multiplied” and “West Texas Wind” and “Say it Now” are at the top of the list.
The band has now released 10 albums and have been nominated for Grammy and Billboard Awards. NEEDTOBREATHE have earned five number 1 albums and surpassed 3 billion career streams while amassing a devoted and extremely loyal fan base. In addition, they have won GMA Dove Awards for individual songs and albums.
The band members include Bear Rinehart (vocals and guitar), Josh Lovelace (keyboards and harmonica), Tyler Burkum (guitar) and Randall Harris (drums). Bre Kennedy and Jess Nolan were touring backup vocals on this tour but had a solo moment singing John Denver’s beloved song “Rocky Mountain High” which received an enthusiastic fan reaction from the Red Rocks crowd.
The Long Surrender was released March 27, 2026 and was produced by nine-time GRAMMY winner, Dave Cobb. The album represents a more vulnerable and instinctive chapter for the band.
Since the Red Rocks performance the band has not slowed down. On September 28th they announced a new deluxe edition release: The Long Surrender and The Fellow Passengers of Pain will release on November 19, 2026. This will be a special collaborate effort folding in artists whose careers the band has influenced including: Jonah Kagen, Evan Honer, Ann Wilson, Conner Smith, Bre Kennedy and The Jack Wharff Band. The new deluxe collection expands on the personal themes of surrender, transformation and renewal and will include six new songs.
“Can’t Apologize” with the talented @jonahkagen is out now.
The Long Surrender and the Fellow Passengers of Pain Track List:
1. “The Long Surrender”
2. “Say It Now”
3. “Highlands”
4. “Sing To Me Savannah”
5. “Where You Call Home”
6. “Strangeness Of It All”
7. “Take Me Dancing”
8. “The Door”
9. “Growing Slow”
10. “Momma Loves Me”
11. “Take The Blame”
12. “Spread The Ashes”
13. “Last Drink (feat. The Jack Wharff Band)”
14. “Can’t Apologize (featuring Jonah Kagen)”
15. “Past The Gates (featuring Anne Wilson)”
16. “Never Gonna Deserve Ya (featuring Evan Honer)”
17. “Free Fall (featuring Conner Smith)”
18. “Sparrow (featuring Bre Kennedy)”
Drew and Ellie Holcomb opened the evening. The night carried an unmistakable sense of community start to finish.
Drew and Ellie Holcomb joined NEEDTOBREATHE for “Spread the Ashes.” The collaboration continued with Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors‘ “Promised Land,” before NEEDTOBREATHE closed the night with “The Outsiders / It’s the End of the World as We Know It.”
Story and all photos by Deb Schaefer during the September 14, 2026 performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheater
