Bennito L. Kelty
Audio By Carbonatix
With just three weeks to go before the high holiday arrives, organizers of Denver’s Mile High 420 Festival have announced headliners and performers.
The annual gathering at Civic Center Park on April 20 has been one of the biggest 4/20 celebrations in the world for around two decades. Clouds of weed smoke rise above the park grounds — located right in between the State Capitol and Denver City and County Building — for one of the funnier photos each April, and police generally leave park-goers alone despite public pot use remaining illegal in Colorado.
Although the event has changed hands and rules over the years, the concert and cannabis-friendly environment have stood the test of time so far. Construction at Civic Center put the future of the 420 fest into question, but the Denver Post reported it would return earlier this month.
The festival is slated for Monday, April 20, from 2 to 9 p.m. Tickets have been on sale shortly for weeks, but the music lineup remained a mystery — until now.
According to an announcement from the Mile High 420 Festival’s Instagram account, this year’s show will be headlined by Juicy J, with additional performances from Paul Wall, Mike Jones, That Mexican OT and Trap Dickey.
General admission tickets are $25, and VIP options — which include expedited entry, a goodie bag, a celebrity meet-and-greet and exclusive bar, lounge and front-of-stage access — are $185.
420 fest performers are often rappers or cultural figures, although electronic and reggae performers are sometimes included, too. Last year’s festival was headlined by Cordae, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Conway the Machine, with other recent iterations featuring Afroman, Big Boi, Lil Jon, Montel Williams, Rick Ross, Tommy Chong and Waka Flack Fame, among others.
Changes Over the Years
The 4/20 event at Civic Center started over thirty years ago as a gathering of cannabis activists, who would light up in rebellion of prohibition. The founder of the original rally, Ken Gorman, was murdered in 2007; the case remains unsolved.
As the medical marijuana landscape grew in the late 2000s, organizers of the event, known as the Denver 420 Rally at the time, added a free concert and vendor space. A dispensary chain took over rights to hold the event in 2018, and the 4/20 fest has grown up slightly over the years.
In 2023, a 21-and-up age requirement and ID checks were added, and priced entry was added in 2025. You’ll now see beer gardens and food vendors placed throughout the grounds, too.
Cannabis Consumption Policy
The 4/20 fest no longer has advocacy elements and officially tells attendees to follow the state’s laws inside and outside of park grounds, but cannabis consumption has always remained part of the event. Since 2022, after a two-year pandemic hiatus, there have been zero citations for public cannabis use at the 4/20 fest, according to the Denver Police Department. Despite some light finger-wagging from police and city officials before the festival starts, there’s no indication that policy will change this year.
