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Under a Blood Red Sky, Reverb Nation playlist

Steamboat Springs — There are certain stages of history that let Billy “Bono” Bunting act like an arrogant rock star.

When he starts singing hits from the years when seminal Irish alternative rock band U2 started to get enormous, Bunting — the frontman for U2 tribute band Under a Blood Red Sky — puts on a swaggering suit and adapts his stage routine to match.

“I put on that suit, and it gives me liberty to act like that a little bit, whereas when he was doing the ‘Joshua Tree’ stuff he was a little more subdued, a little more mysterious,” Bunting said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Each of U2’s many phases will be on display in Under a Blood Red Sky’s concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Steamboat Grand. Tickets are $15 at the door and are available starting at 7 p.m.

Bunting grew up doing musical theater productions. So when he started working on a U2 tribute after years of pursuing his own music, Bunting leaned on his stage experience to nail down each one of Bono’s character traits, mannerisms and wardrobe decisions.

The resulting production — which also includes video clips from U2 concerts and music videos and a full light display — makes a connection with audiences, Bunting said.

“I think what it does is make them feel like we’re giving it authenticity and that we care about it enough to want to do that, (more) than someone who’s going up and just singing their songs,” he said.

Under a Blood Red Sky is based in Denver and has played Red Rocks Amphitheatre in addition to a couple of shows at Ghost Ranch Saloon. The band has enjoyed its smaller local shows but is looking forward to the Grand’s larger stage and its ability to show the “spectrum of what we do,” Bunting said.

“We’re a concert band. That’s what we do. And I think with the bigger production, it’s more of an event than a gig,” Bunting said. “Gigs and club shows are great, and we do those, as well, but we like the bigger event-style production. It’s a more dynamic show to watch, and I think it’s more entertaining for the audience.”

Bunting and his supporting cast appear at The Steamboat Grand as part of a Steamboat Springs skiing package from Ski Organizers, a Denver-based division of Travel Organizers American Express.

Ski Organizers President Craig Cook said the U2 tribute band is a change of pace from the contemporary jazz music offered by Front Range group Dotsero in years past as part of a ski package including a concert, lift tickets and lodging.

“This year, we decided we would go for change, and we had surveyed our clients, and this was one of the ones that had come up,” Cook said about the choice of Under a Blood Red Sky. “After listening to them and doing some research, they sounded great, and we went ahead and signed them up.”

Originally a private concert at Bear River Bar & Grill for clients from the Front Range, the show Saturday is the first that will be open to the public. The show moved to The Steamboat Grand at the request of Cook’s presenting partners at Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. and local lodging properties, he said.