Five 4/20 Concerts in Denver to Toke Up to

It's that time of the year where seemingly everyone is a pothead. That's right, we're talking about 4/20. And in Denver, that means the annual Mile High 4/20 Festival (which is no longer free) and 4/20 on the Rocks smoke out with Wiz Khalifa (see our pics from last year's chilly event to prep).

But if you don't like to be around big crowds when altered, we have five more local shows you can check out:

Dead Pioneers with Cheap Perfume, SPELLS, I Am the Owl
Bluebird Theater, 3317 East Colfax
Sunday, April 20, 7 p.m.
Tickets are $32
Dead Pioneers is having a hell of a month. The Colorado Indigenous punk group of vocalist Gregg Deal, drummer Shane Zweygardt, bassist Lee Tesche, and guitarists Josh Rivera and Abe Brennan just released its sophomore album, Po$t-American, via Hassle Records on April 11 and is getting ready to head out with Pearl Jam for a massive East Coast tour (Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament personally tapped Dead Pioneers for an opening slot).

But before the fiery five-piece leaves Colorado, there’s a hometown release show on 4/20 at Bluebird Theater.

The new album mixes Deal’s experience as an Indigenous American with current boiling-pot politics. The result is rage, particularly on the songs “Working Class Warfare” and “My Spirit Animal Are Your Spirit Animal.” It’s music for the more cerebral cannabis enthusiast.

At this show, you'll also see Colorado Springs punk band Cheap Perfume, which plays similar anarchic anthems — most notably the 2017 rager “It’s Okay (To Punch Nazis)” (especially now, we might add).  Meanwhile, SPELLS calls its music “vacation rock" — the longtime Denver party rockers try to gig in tropical locales as much as possible, but have a good time wherever they’re at. And Fort Collins four-piece I Am The Owl is sure to bring the metal with a spastic mash-up of punk and post-hardcore, complete with two vocalists.

It’s certainly fixing to be a good pre-tour send-off and record celebration for Dead Pioneers.

Hashtronaut with Abrams and Worry
Hi-dive, 7 South Broadway
Sunday, April 20, 4 p.m.
Tickets are $15
The 4/20 hi-dive show is one for the leaf-loving metalheads who prefer to munch on some heavy riffage while baked.

Denver quartet Hashtronaut is high on the toked-out tomes of Sleep, Bongzilla and Weedeater in grinding out a sludgy strain of stoner-doom. Its debut album, No Return, which released via New Mexico independent label Blues Funeral Recordings last March, leans into the pot and space themes that have become synonymous with the resin-covered subgenre, as such songs as “Rip Wizard,” “Cough It Up” and “Carcinogen” are sure to blast listeners into a hazy orbit.

Native post-metal quintet Abrams — which includes guitarist and vocalist Zach Amster, drummer Ryan DeWitt, bassist Taylor Iversen and guitarist Graham Zander (also of local weedian doom crew Green Druid) — hits more like sativa. Side effects include punchy psych and desert rock. Latest record, Blue City, another Blues Funeral Recordings release from May 2024, is straight gas, particularly tracks “Fire Waltz” and “Lungfish.”

Then there’s Worry, the Colorado Springs noise-doom trio led by guitarist-vocalist Daniel Harvey. It's definitely going to harsh any mellow you might fall into, so maybe don’t smoke a full joint before the set.

Either way, there’s a good reason why this show is being billed as "weed, amps, riffs and weed."
Liquid Stranger
Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St.
Friday, April 18; Saturday, April 19; and Sunday, April 20, 7 p.m.
Tickets are $51-$64
For some people, 4/20 is every day, a lifestyle of morning wake-and-bake and evening bong rips. The holiday is just more reason to celebrate, and what better way to do so than stretching it out over a three-day weekend?

That’s exactly what Swedish EDM purveyor Liquid Stranger is doing with his upcoming marathon run at Mission, featuring a different set and lineup each show. The opening night includes Chmura, Rohaan, Yoko, Crawdad Sniper and Low Tyde, while Schlump, Stellar, Capochino, Canvas and BuckTen are set for night two. Then, on 4/20, it’s Jantsen, Sully, Hostage Situation, Blurrd VZN and Chozen.

It's a lot of heavy bass and EDM music to consume in a short amount of time. Just remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint — indulge responsibly.

Paleface Swiss with Stick To Your Guns and Nasty
Summit, 1902 Blake St.
Sunday, April 20, 6 p.m.
Tickets are $51
This is by far the heaviest gig happening this 4/20, so if you’re easily overstimulated and prone to fits of hysteria after smoking, you might want to sit this one at Summit out. But on the flipside, maybe you’re one of those psychos (this writer included) who enjoys blasting abrasive deathcore while high.

Lucky for you, Paleface Swiss is in town for a headline stop on its current run promoting its new album, CURSED. The uninitiated should prepare for a brutal display of public aggression including, but not limited to, mosh pits, stagediving and other random acts of violence (within the context of a metal show, of course). Actually, it might be better to watch all of this from the sideline after getting a little buzzed.

Opener Stick To Your Guns falls into the straight-edge hardcore subculture, but that doesn’t mean the Orange County crew won’t get you ripped — it just prefers to do so with riffs instead of spliffs. Meanwhile, Belgium beatdown band and Paleface Swiss collaborators Nasty makes “fucked up music for a fucked up world.” That’s a matter of perspective, but if you’re fucked up, then it makes even more sense.

We suggest you leave the indica at home for a bill this savage.

Wife Swap with Public Picasso, Saint Somebody and Maddy Marsan
Lost Lake, 3602 East Colfax
Sunday, April 20, 4 p.m.
Tickets are $19-$24
Okay, let’s end it with a mellower one — a show at Lost Lake that would be best enjoyed on an easy-going indica.

Wife Swap, aka the Denver duo of Danielle Faller and Becky Wandel, likes to share a soothing type of acoustic folk music. It’s very chill, like whenever someone picks up a guitar and starts to strum after everyone’s had a turn to take a hit. It’s unpretentious and comforting, both of which are appealing to casual consumers.

The whole lineup is of the same variety. Newcomers Public Picasso relies more on ambiance than amplification, which allows the Front Range indie-rock outfit to serenade you into bobbing your head.

Saint Somebody is rooted in classic rock, but flourishes by mixing in many other flavors, including Latin, reggae, Americana, Southern rock and New Orleans-inspired second-line rhythms. The result is calming ballads, complete with soul-stirring lyricism.

Longmont multi-instrumentalist Maddy Marsan impresses with her expertise on the oboe, but is equally proficient on guitar and piano. Sometimes it’s nice to just hear cool sounds when coming down, which Marsan and her oboe provide.

See, we told you it would be nice.

Find more concerts on our concert calendar.