Music & Venues

They may be no-frills, but the bathrooms at Ball Arena are clean and, most important, abundant. With a capacity of 20,000, it’s essential that the venue — which brings in national touring acts such as Billie Eilish and John Mayer and hosts basketball and hockey games and monster truck rallies — have enough bathrooms, because there’s nothing worse than waiting in line for 45 minutes and missing your favorite song. Fortunately, Ball Arena has plenty of them — and they’re conveniently located next to other services such as food and drink stations.

For eight years, TheUnderground has filled Milk Bar every Thursday night, bringing in quality local DJs and various touring acts that focus on forward-thinking dance music and keep fans expecting the unexpected. TheUnderground saw some changes during the pandemic, recently moving into the Red Room that connects Milk Bar to Bar Standard — but the move has only upped the ante, as dancers now include the migrating crowds that come down from Bar Standard’s main room, as well as revelers that bubble up from the caverns of Milk Bar below.

The Black Box boasts a well-curated mix of popular and underground talent, fed through one of the best sound systems in the city. Bass music might be its bread and butter, but that doesn’t mean this club sleeps on other genres. Within the venue’s walls, music seekers can hear styles ranging from main-stage EDM to a more refined palate of house, leftfield and drum-and-bass. While its mutant Basscouch Sound system is often touted as one of the best in the state, the Black Box’s wooden floors are the real game-changer, allowing for a luxurious dance experience that doesn’t wear on you physically, like concrete does.

Michael Trundle has been running the DJ dance party Lipgloss for over twenty years. Like any good host, he knows that it takes at least two things to make a party: people and good music. Trundle just moved the party to 60 South Broadway (now home to HQ), the same address where it began in 2001. With DJ sets that focus primarily on indie and new-wave music, it’s the perfect place to meet others with the same taste — and hear songs that you never thought you would hear played in a club. While Lipgloss relies on its spontaneity, you can always expect to meet good people on the floor.

lipglossdenver.com

Who doesn’t love disco? Okay, maybe the rockers who protested it back when it first hit clubs decades ago. But as COVID cases started dropping, people were ready to get out and dance like never before, and Josh Schmitz decided that there weren’t enough places to go in Denver for dancing. That’s when his company, the Handsome Boys, decided to tap into the market with its latest venture, Disco Pig. DJs are now spinning at the Larimer Square spot every night, delivering disco with a little house music mixed in. Predicts Schmitz: “For people who just want to dance, I think you’re going to find yourself at Disco Pig.”

When 3 Kings Tavern announced that it was closing, an owner of the Oriental Theater jumped at the opportunity to create HQ at its South Broadway location. While the club faced the challenges of opening during a worldwide pandemic, HQ has thrived, bringing in both local and touring bands and DJs. But it also hosts karaoke nights, dance parties, drag shows and more; every Friday, it’s now home to indie dance party Lipgloss, which is back at the address where it started more than twenty years ago.

The Marijuana Mansion hosted its first-ever drag show, Chronic High on Heels, in January, a mix of burlesque, comedy and drag. The event was hosted by Samora Kash, who’d done a photo shoot at the venue and decided it was the perfect spot for a drag show. Performers Coco Bardot, Jessica L’Whor, Lulu Alnight and Lala filled the night with outstanding performances and some cannabis-themed numbers, as well as a funny history of the mansion’s haunted past. The show was such a hit that Kash turned it into a monthly fixture at the mansion. Let’s hear it for the girls!

mjmansion.com

X Bar consistently beats out its competitors by offering a wide variety of entertainment options along with a welcoming, inclusive environment and a low cover fee — even when national performers headline. The huge patio is a perfect place to grab happy hour drinks, and since happy hour goes from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, there’s really no excuse to miss it. When the sun goes down, X Bar becomes a neon-lit party, and there’s usually a drag show, theme night or other event to spice things up. The bar is managed by a leading drag queen in the community, Kelela C, so the drag here is not just an afterthought, but a key part of the business. Don’t worry, though: The shows always include plenty of dance breaks.

When you want some shisha, you really want two things: a variety of flavors and a clean, comfortable environment in which to enjoy them. You’re covered on both counts at Aria, which specializes in hookah and only hookah. The laid-back surroundings are definitely welcoming — you can bring in food if you like, and there are a number of non-alcoholic drinks available — but the big draw is the shisha, with plenty of blends to keep people coming back. Hands down, Aria smokes the competition.

Sugarkube is a private, members-only arts collective that stays open European late. It also boasts the only Funktion-One Vero VX system in the United States. Funktion-One is commonly used as a marketing term to get people to come out to shows, despite the system often being a mutant combination of other sound systems. But this is the real deal, engineered by one of the only teams in the world licensed to use the rare piece of technology.

While the name of this venue may leave newcomers to the city confused (“You’re going where?”), it has, without a doubt, the best dance floor in any Denver venue. The space is illuminated with cubes of LED lights that bounce from color to color with the music, so you can dance to the beat with the light on your feet. That design makes Your Mom’s House a popular spot for flow artists such as hula-hoopers and poi spinners, prop dancers who can match the LEDs of their flow toys with the lights on the ground. A night here is almost always a colorful dance party lush with self-expression.

Mr. Frick exploded out of the pandemic. Using the shutdown downtime to ramp up his original productions, he premiered two EPs of house- and techno-influenced booty breaks. Since then, he’s played regular gigs across the city, with shows at Meow Wolf, Club Vinyl and, most recently, a headlining slot at Bar Standard during its STEAM event, which normally highlights international touring headliners. Frick’s sound is uncompromising, especially for a city that has a strict love affair with bass music and tech-house.

soundcloud.com/mrfrick

The Mile High Spirits Tasting Room boasts a wide array of acts and fun activities week in and week out; it’s also a pretty good place to get drunk (there’s even an event here called Blackout Brunch). But you’ll definitely want to pay attention to the drinks menu, because while almost all of the cocktails here are $10 a pop, they’re all double pours. If you want to listen to music while on a budget, MHS is the move. Just be sure to keep Uber on speed dial.

When we stumble out of a show at the Marquis Theater, sweaty, ears still ringing from the music and (probably) a little buzzed, there’s only one thing we want: a hot slice. Fortunately, you don’t have to look far. The literal hole in the wall that is the Marquis Pizza window is a beacon in the night, calling to all who crave a late-night fix of thin-crust, New York-style pizza. Slices are cheap, tasty and ready fast, and that’s exactly what a post- (or even mid-) show bite should be.

When the Mission Ballroom opened in 2019, everyone was impressed with the incredible acoustics, the incredible murals and the incredible disco ball…that failed to spin on opening night. Since then, though, we’ve been able to see the shimmering orb in all its glory. Emblazoned with a flower-of-life pattern, the colossal disco ball turns as LED lights illuminate it to the beat of the music. It’s the cherry on top of an already sweet venue, and the Mission just wouldn’t be the same without it.

Cervantes’ really provides the best of both worlds with its art-splashed outdoor patio and two indoor spaces, the Masterpiece Ballroom and the more intimate Other Side. Bringing in funky acts both local and national, it’s a cool place to see a wide variety of bands, especially jam, bluegrass, funk and DJ acts like GRiZ or CloZee. Cervantes’ has held its own as an independent venue in Denver for nearly twenty years, and it’s become an essential part of the city in that time.

Yes, Red Rocks is a repeat winner, but come on! This venue is on the performance bucket list of almost any band you can think of, for many reasons. Its acoustics and its history are both legendary, and it’s got natural beauty to spare. On a clear night, you can see the lights of Denver in the distance from your seat on the steps as you marvel at Ship Rock and Creation Rock to either side of you and get that feeling of being part of something larger than yourself. A Red Rocks show is one of the quintessential moments in the Colorado experience, and this venue deserves every award that could be heaped upon it — including, perhaps, Most Expensive Lemonade Outside a Ballpark.

The Mission is essentially an indoor version of Red Rocks, with its wide, step-like seating and phenomenal acoustics. It checks off on everything an indoor venue should have: multiple bars with quick bartenders and a good selection of booze; plentiful bathrooms resulting in fewer lines; a top-notch lighting setup that can suit any band’s needs; and a stunner disco ball. Outside, murals abound, showcasing the venue’s taste in local art. The Mission has become a Denver staple in the three short years since it opened, with people coming from all over the country to see the national acts that swing through.

Founded by five ex-DIME (Detroit Institute of Music Education) students, Coastless Creatives had a rough start, launching its collective just as the pandemic hit. But these DIY creatives powered through and held their first events last year, including an interactive, immersive arts and music event called Organic Dystopia that included six local musical acts, visual-art displays, creators selling their wares, tarot card readings and nail painting, all in a forest-like setting inspired by Meow Wolf. The collective’s goal is to advocate for musicians by creating concerts that save them time and money so they can focus on making music. The Coastless crew curates and promotes each show, and also records video of each act’s set for free. Keep an eye out for more Coastless Creatives productions this year.

instagram.com/coastlesscreatives

The Salt Lick Denver dates to the summer of 2020, when Andrea Hoang, Jason Edelstein and a group of their friends started filming band performances in the soggy basement of a house they were renting. The series of shows, aptly called Songs From the Pond, still broadcasts online and is produced totally in-house. From that start, the group launched a record label, and its five-artist roster — Bear and the Beasts, John Baldwin, mlady, Silver Screen Fantasy and Sponsored Content — often help with and appear in the collective’s well-produced music videos, even venturing out into a burn scar for a good visual narrative. This year, the Salt Lick also opened a cozy, affordable recording studio to further nurture Denver’s music scene.

720-443-2533
thesaltlickdenver.com

Robert Champion and Mario Nocifera wanted to create a Tulum/Burning Man-inspired immersive venue — and wow, did they succeed. They hired a core crew of twelve local artists to design immersive hubs throughout the venue, including a beehive-themed geodesic dome called “Enter the Hive Mind,” by Aleesha Anderson. Even the bar is a work of art: Jon Medina’s “The Willow Weave Bar” is enveloped in vines and forestry. The venue doesn’t announce its DJs, in the hopes that people will come to experience the art and high-quality performances rather than solely to see a star. Meow Wolf is great, but this place purrs.

It sometimes seems like the people working at this vinyl listening bar were hired solely for their taste in music — though their serving skills aren’t bad, either. Owners Mitchell Foster and Will Minter took inspiration from Japanese jazz kissas (a jazz tea of sorts; the two went on a ten-day trip to Tokyo to soak up the aesthetic) as well as other listening bars to create a unique spot in the heart of the Art District on Santa Fe. As Denver’s first kissa-style record bar, ESP HiFi plays a variety of genres, from ambient and jazz to funk and soul, all through high-class Garrard 401 turntables, Line Magnetic 518ia tube amps, and Klipsch Cornwall and Klipschorn speakers. You’ll be shazamming the whole time.

Even though Twilight came out nearly fifteen years ago, vampires are still all the rage. If you want to find one in Denver, Milk Bar is the place to go. Inside the cavern-like club, it’s easy to trade your sense of direction for a sense of the supernatural. Goth Wednesdays and Techno Thursdays are free, while Fridays and Saturdays see a rotation of musical styles and performers for a $5 cover before 11 p.m. Neither milk nor garlic are on the menu, but costumes, dancing and fantasy can be found in abundance.

Margot Chobanian, who goes by her first name on the air, is the program director of the Colorado Sound, and hosts the five-hour weekday block from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. But in addition to serving as a first-rate host of regular programming, she delivers a feature called “Music 101” that’s pure bliss for anyone who likes to find common ground between widely varied artists and songs. She loves to highlight tracks from an assortment of genres — cover versions of the same composition by seemingly dissimilar performers, cuts linked by shared personnel and so on — in ways that demonstrate the connectedness of all musical things. Her explanations balance nerdy ephemera with pure love.

coloradosound.org

Allison Lorenzen’s Tender paints an intimate portrait of learning to heal after heartache and turning those lessons into triumph. Trained as a dancer, Lorenzen brings dynamic movement to her compositions that create lush, imagery-filled sonic landscapes. The journey throughout the record — Lorenzen’s first full-length, first solo and first self-recorded album — contrasts light and dark sentiments that parallel the highs and lows of her personal and creative process. Her songs juxtapose dissonance against radiating vocals, fuzzy guitar and synth with light touches of piano. Though “tender” has many meanings and layers of sentiment, Lorenzen weaves them together seamlessly into a dense meandering of images that invites listeners to create their own connections.

allisonlorenzen.bandcamp.com/album/tender

Most musicians used their quarantine downtime to create new material; in the past year, we’ve heard dozens of albums inspired by the plight of the pandemic. One of these was the plucky, upbeat and incredibly fun Leftovers, released by local act Bolonium. After one of the member’s cars burst into flames, taking all of the act’s new material with it, Bolonium’s members decided to resurrect the work with a little help from their friends. As a result, the eleven bouncy songs on the full-length album include collaborations with more than twenty other musical acts, including twelve from Denver.

bolonium.bandcamp.com/album/leftovers

While Denver rapper A Meazy had a very successful year in 2018, which included a sold-out show at the Bluebird, he soon found himself in an artistic funk that he worked his way through with Protect Your Energy. The full-length album was a project two years in the making, with a narrative arc that follows the path to self-discovery through his measured flow of contemplative lyrics. From the dreamy “Ziplock Bag” to the upbeat “Zodiac,” with Rachel Bailey and Sydnie Battie, A Meazy has crafted an album that balances compelling stories while keeping you grooving to high-quality beats.

facebook.com/ameazy

The Velveteers are coming out of an incredible year. Currently on the North American leg of Greta van Fleet’s Dreams in Gold tour, the unique rock band produced its latest album with Grammy Award-winning Dan Auerbach of Black Keys fame. From “Dark Horse,” a rock ballad laced with chugging, rhythmic power chords, to “What a Smile Can Hide,” a synth-heavy lyrical thunderstorm of angst, the music on this album marks a return to the greatest ages of rock and roll, with a modern twist.

thevelveteers.com

On Gateway, FOANS fans experience a fourteen-track, genre-less electronic music album that runs the gamut of timbres, textures and frequencies. It’s a contemplative, delicate opus of electronic music that grabs influence from lo-fi, ambient, house, techno, IDM and glitch, all held together by a signature veneer that gives congruity to the LP. Its sparse integration of organic instruments like harps, violins and guitar gives it a feel that is inexplicably human. Released on the enigmatic Los Angeles label 100% Silk, Gateway speaks to the ambiverted nature of thoughtful electronic music, where it can be experienced both on the dance floor and at home.

foans.bandcamp.com/album/gateway-2

Khemmis is Denver’s best purveyor of modern-day doom metal. Period. While doom is what Khemmis does best, though, there are some death-metal nuggets sprinkled throughout its latest full-length, Deceiver. After parting with bassist Daniel Beiers in 2020, drummer Zach Coleman and guitarist-vocalist duo Phil Pendergast and Ben Hutcherson show that less can be more on the new album.

khemmis.bandcamp.com/album/deceiver”>khemmis.bandcamp.com/album/deceiver

Denver’s Stormkeep initially formed in 2017 and includes members from other well-known local acts, mainly Wayfarer and Blood Incantation, that have grown in popularity recently. But Stormkeep’s 2021 full-length debut, Tales of Othertime, vaulted the five-member symphonic black-metal outfit onto the scene with a 43-minute-plus album filled with wandering wizards and cavalries of dragons. Stormkeep creates a refreshing mix of epic music that showcases familiar components, but there’s still a thread of originality that keeps it sounding fresh.

stormkeep.bandcamp.com/album/tales-of-othertime

Yonder Mountain String Band, Colorado’s favorite bluegrass band, started 2022 with a bang, releasing a long-anticipated album and celebrating it with a sold-out concert at Meow Wolf. Even though the Nederland-based act had to work on Get Yourself Outside during the height of the pandemic, guitarist Adam Aijala says the musicians had never been more prepared in the band’s twenty-year-long career. They took a completely new approach and pre-produced the album, knowing where every solo and arrangement would go before hitting the studio. And the practice paid off.

yondermountain.com

You’ve probably seen these up-and-comers playing at venues such as Cervantes’ and breweries in and around Denver as Deer Creek Sharpshooters grow their way into the city’s bluegrass scene. With Luke Hinder on mandolin, Harrison Gaeng on banjo, Zach Hudson on fiddle, Fritz Boniface on Dobro, Daniel Putrino on bass and Josh Bergmann on guitar, this bluegrass group is now in the midst of mastering its debut album.

facebook.com/deercreeksharpshooters

He’s best known as the banjo player for bluegrass band Leftover Salmon, a 2021 Colorado Music Hall of Fame inductee. But Andy Thorn has recently gone viral as a solo act, after YouTube videos of him playing tunes for a friendly fox he named Foxy in his Boulder back yard were shared millions of times. One video, which shows Foxy calmly perched on a rock while being serenaded, has now been played almost 4 million times. Thorn even made an album, Fox Songs and Other Tales During the Pandemic, that was inspired by their encounters.

andythornmusic.com

Denver has a blossoming scene of Latin roots music, with bands that add their own twists to the traditional sounds. And one of the most innovative champions of the genre is Los Mocochetes, a Chicanx six-piece act that layers traditional Mexican sounds with funk, always guaranteeing a high-energy, unforgettable show. The bandmates honor and share their pride in their culture’s music while also using it to express and educate about issues that affect Latinx people. Don’t miss out on this group.

losmocochetes.wixsite.com

If you love Stevie Wonder as much as the rest of the world, you’ll be absolutely enamored with this funky duo, which released its eponymous EP in December 2021. Patchydensefog comprises Julius “Bad JuJu” Henderson and Dan “Stanky” Swain, and — as if you couldn’t tell by their nicknames — they are full-on funk and soul. After listening to just one song, you’ll know why Bad Juju and Stanky cite the likes of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and James Brown as influences.

patchydensefog.bandcamp.com

A student-centric signal affiliated with the University of Colorado Boulder, Radio 1190 is among the oddest spots on the dial — and that’s a good thing. Rather than programming the same tunes heard on commercial outlets, the independent, nonprofit station, located at 1190 AM, offers up a wide range of specialty shows, including Hypnotic Turtle Radio, which describes itself as a “mind-meld of the beautiful and the bizarre,” and Local Shakedown, which gives artists from these parts a platform to reach ears across the greater metro area. Predictable, it’s not.

radio1190.net

The Comedy Works has kept Denver laughing through some very rough times, and there’s a bright schedule ahead: Brian Posehn, George Lopez, Craig Robinson, Jeff Ross, Jon Lovitz and some dude named Adam Cayton-Holland, who once wrote for this very publication, are all slated to perform there in the coming months. The downtown location continues to be one of the major arteries of the city’s blood flow, constricted somewhat by the pandemic these last couple of years but still feeding the city’s funny bone. Denver has already lost too many of its LoDo stalwarts; we’re grateful that the Comedy Works is still bringing the funny, night after night.

Although Sugarkube is secretive and doesn’t like press, this award is well deserved. Located in an industrial neighborhood, the warehouse venue holds Berlin-style DJ parties that can go until the break of dawn, supplemented by heavy bass from Funktion-One speakers. Live painters and flow artists abound, and it’s BYOB, so you don’t have to worry about crazy drink prices. But as the award states, it’s members-only…and they don’t let just anyone through those warehouse doors.

Although it’s gone through several names and even more locations since 1975, the Mercury Cafe remains a cultural hub — and the best all-ages venue in town. And we’re not just talking under-21 events, though the Mercury certainly hosts its share of those, along with family-friendly activities. But it also attracts aging hippies and even hipsters, thanks to some programming brought in by new owners Danny Newman, Christy Kruzick and Austin Gayer, while retaining the old spirit and plenty of the old traditions (swing dancing! student concerts! witches’ plays!). Founder Marilyn Megenity sold her place when the moon was right — and so far, the Merc remains a shining example of a gathering place with room for everyone.

If you want to live the life of the urban cowboy, John Travolta style, the Grizzly Rose is the place for you. You’ve passed it a million times on I-25, but you owe it to that boot-scootin’ baby inside you to check it out. It’s not just a country bar; it’s also a nightclub, a smokehouse, a dance hall and even a way of life, at least for regulars of the Rose. And let’s face it: You’ve always been curious about trying your luck on a mechanical bull. Mount up!

In Denver, a city with a serious heavy-metal reputation, there is one undisputed house of metal: the hi-dive. And while the club hosts plenty of other genres, just one look at the iconic venue should be enough to convince you that this is the place to make metal magic, as it’s essentially a modern-day CBGB. There’s no fancy signage or flashing neon lights, just a small marquee occasionally sporting lines like “Till death do us party.” And while metal bars might seem intimidating at first, you’ll soon realize that the style’s fans make up one big family — just like the hi-dive itself.

While Lincoln’s Roadhouse is known for its Cajun grub, you can also catch some of Denver’s best blues acts here on the weekends, including the likes of Johnny O and Michael Hornbuckle. On Fat Tuesday this year, Lincoln’s threw down with a lively blues show starring Tony Trahan and the BlueKrewe, and you can expect an equally spirited time any Friday or Saturday night, when music fills the south Denver spot and the kitchen stays open until 11 p.m. Since there’s no cover charge, remember to tip your bartender well.

If you doubt that the Larimer Lounge is a core part of Denver’s impressive musical history, just consider this vastly abbreviated list of bands that have played here over the years: DeVotchKa, Glass Animals, Young the Giant, Portugal. The Man, the Von Bondies, Saint Motel, Tift Merritt, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, the Felice Brothers, Esmé Patterson, Arcade Fire, and lots more. Looking to catch an act so you can brag to your friends that you saw them before they hit it big? The Larimer is the place you will have seen them. Or say you did, anyway.

When Scott and Nicole Mattson opened Nocturne in 2015, they wanted to create a space that made jazz more accessible while also offering a quality aesthetic experience and elevated dining options. With live music five nights a week, you can enjoy the best of local jazz talent (as well as nationally known musicians such as Jeff Hamilton) while sitting at the Art Deco-style bar or in the stage-side dining room. To further its hold on the jazz scene, Nocturne has started a record label called Nocturne Productions, and most recently produced the debut album of the David Bernot Quintet, Never Ending Cycle.

Let’s be clear: Denver is sorely lacking in bars and venues that are even hip-hop-friendly, let alone dedicated hip-hop clubs. The Venue hosts musical acts spanning many genres, but it takes the prize for welcoming local hip-hop stars and national acts alike. The northwest Denver spot, located in the corner of a strip mall, has brought underground favorites such as Westside Boogie, Kirko Bangz and Gangsta Boo (coming in July) to Denver’s long-ignored hip-hop fans. But we love the Venue for giving some of Colorado’s best rappers a stage to rock, including DNA Picasso, Forty $even and Rev. da IV. Keep an eye out for open mics and other talent showcases, where you just might find your new favorite MC.