Yes co-founder and original lead vocalist Jon Anderson has found renewal and continued purpose with his backing band, the Band Geeks, as they bring both new music and classic Yes songs to audiences nationwide. The band performed an outstanding show at the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Denver on July 8, 2026.

For the better part of 35 years, Anderson was the voice and one of the primary songwriters of the classic progressive rock quintet, which he founded with the late bassist Chris Squire in 1968. As was common in the late ’60s and early ’70s, rock bands released a lot of material in a short span of time. Hence, in a little over five years’ time from the release of their self-titled debut in mid-1969 to the album Relayer in late 1974, Yes released an astounding seven albums, one of which was even a live, triple LP. From that point on, Yes began changing their lineup and their music for the times, often breaking up and restarting a short time later.

Watch Jon Anderson & the Band Geeks perform “I’ve Seen All Good People” earlier in the tour

Yes experienced their biggest commercial success in 1983 with the release of 90125, which yielded the huge hit single, “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” Anderson came and went from Yes multiple times starting in 1980, but continued to work with Squire and company until 2004, after the final reunion of the classic early ’70s lineup. For the next 15 or so years, Anderson released solo albums and toured solo and with ex-Yes bandmates Rick Wakeman and Trevor Rabin. Since 2023, Anderson has been very ably backed up by the Band Geeks, an American progressive rock band clearly influenced by the originators of the genre. Anderson and the Band Geeks released the album True in 2024, a well-rounded collection of modern prog-rock that often echoes the sound of classic Yes, with Anderson writing nearly the whole album with various members of the band.

The 81-year-old Anderson remains youthful, clearly enjoys performing and his singing voice is remarkably intact. Anderson still has most of the range of his signature and sweet-toned vocals; his singing is perhaps not quite as strong as in his younger days, but very few octogenarians sound the way they did in their 20s. He refrained from some of the highest notes in concert, although he did climb up the scale at times, and overall his voice very much sounds like a man decades younger.

Having toured annually for several years, the Band Geeks, led by bassist Richie Castellano, are very adept at the complex time signatures and chord changes featured in many Yes songs. Epic Yes pieces that clock in at 10 or more minutes and are structured like symphonic compositions, require musicians of a certain high caliber, and the Band Geeks fit well with Anderson. Opening with the Yes masterpiece “Close to the Edge,” the 18-minute title track from their 1972 album, the band immediately dove headfirst into the classical-style pieces that epitomize the best of progressive-rock. Anderson and company immediately had the loyal audience in its grasp. The resplendent century-old Paramount Theater in Denver has good acoustics and the sound engineers did a great job dialing in the sound. Anderson’s high tenor voice soared above the many complicated song structures and the band truly replicated that tight yet expansive sound the classic Yes quintet was known for. They followed up the nearly 20-minute opening number with “Perpetual Change,” a great piece from The Yes Album (1971).

The album Close to the Edge is one of the leading examples of a genre so easily susceptible to excess. That is simply not the case with this album, where every second of music serves the song and mood with timeless melodies, thought-provoking lyics and majestic chord changes. Like the best prog albums (King Crimson’s debut, Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, among others), Close to the Edge set the stage for brilliance in that category. Another selection from the album, “And You and I,” is an epic love ballad, and it shined massively this night at the hands of Anderson and his mates. Following the new song “Giving Is Living,” a solid number from the True album, Anderson closed set one with another of his greatest compositions, “Soon,” an excerpt from another opus, the proggy-named “The Gates of Delirium.” Being the final segment of that piece, “Soon” has a timeless and heart-rendering chorus that cannot be topped. It is rather magnificent when performed live.

Related: Our 2019 interview with Jon Anderson

After the hourlong set, the musicians took a short break and returned for a slightly longer second set, opening with two Yes chestnuts, “Awaken” and “I’ve Seen All Good People,” which naturally received a massive response from the crowd. “Awaken” is another ethereal yet transfixing piece from their excellent 1977 effort, Going for the One, and “I’ve Seen All Good People” is one of the highlights of their third album, a concert staple that was their first song to receive significant radio airplay. A definite crowd favorite and singalong, the band incorporated the chorus from John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” into the coda on the original studio version and it’s been played that way ever since. The crowd’s singing was so loud, it briefly became a bit difficult to hear the band.

Watch them perform “Awaken” at the Denver concert

The pensive and lengthy “Once Upon a Dream,” from True, fit smoothly into the rest of the repertoire, as it echoed the multi-part compositions befitting the classics. “Leaves of Green” followed, an excerpt from the 1973 Yes double album, Tales from Topographic Oceans, an album that has one 20-minute song per side of vinyl. “Leaves of Green” is not as well-known, but typically earthy and replete with Anderson’s wondrous lyrics and atmospheric music. The song showcases how dense the singer’s overall catalog really is. The band then finished off the night in standard Yes fashion with two of its biggest fan favorites—“Starship Trooper” and “Roundabout,” one of their best-known songs.

Watch them perform “Roundabout” on July 15

Watching the quintet that is the Band Geeks back up and support Jon Anderson so faithfully and expertly was certainly a thrill for the capacity crowd, which regaled in loud applause after every song. Anderson seemed quite content with his current musical outfit and mentioned that he is continuing to write and record a lot of new music, and though he may be rather up there in age, the classic rock singer still has a voice that enthralls crowds around the world.

Watch “Starship Trooper,” also on July 15

Anderson and the Band Geeks will return with a fall 2026 leg of their tour. Tickets are available here. Their recordings are available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here. Expanded editions of classic Yes albums are available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and the U.K. here.