While there's no shortage of live music in Colorado any time of year, summer festivals hit all the right notes. From city-based outdoor concert series such as City Park Jazz or festivals like Underground Music Showcase, to multi-genre camping jamborees in the Rockies, varieties of sounds abound.
Whether you're at a fest in the city or the mountains, remember to bring extra baby wipes, test your party favors, avoid the wook flu and leave no trace.
While the Westword Music Showcase is taking the year off, here are six more of the best music festivals in the state this summer, organized chronologically:
Beanstalk Music Festival
August 10-12
Rancho del Rio, 4199 Trough Road, Bond
Tickets start at $80
Founded by Colorado jam band Magic Beans eleven years ago, the Beanstalk Music Festival has more than just music. Since it's nestled alongside the Colorado River in the Vail Valley, you can go rafting, bike along a wide selection of trails, or hike and then soak in hot springs. But music is still the primary draw, with Magic Beans playing each night. This year's lineup also includes heavy-duty prog-rock jams from Lespecial, roots rock from the Runaway Grooms, a bluegrass party from Pickin' on the Dead and so much more. This fest is the one for both music and recreation lovers.
Ghost Canyon Fest
August 11-13
Skylark Lounge, 140 South Broadway; hi-dive, 7 South Broadway; Mutiny Information Cafe, 2 South Broadway
Weekend passes are $50
You won't want to miss all three nights of this DIY, nonprofit festival's debut. Ghost Canyon Fest will showcase the best doom, experimental, post-punk, noise and rock acts (both local and national) with concerts at the Skylark on Friday, August 11, and the hi-dive and Mutiny on Saturday and Sunday. So far, the festival's lineup includes Rick Maguire from PILE, local noise act Many Blessings, Big Brave, Pleasure Venom, Magma Dream World and many more.
Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
August 11-13
Planet Bluegrass Ranch, 500 West Main Street, Lyons
Three-day tickets start at $195
Jackson Browne once said of RMFF: "This is what I had in mind when I was about fifteen or sixteen and I thought it would be really great to travel around and play festivals. This was the festival I was thinking of." For years, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival has welcomed an array of musicians to play for fans at the Planet Bluegrass Ranch; this year includes sets from The Tallest Man on Earth, Katie Pruitt, Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band, Charley Crockett, Tank and the Bangas and many more. There will also be a songwriter showcase at the festival, which calls itself a "Summit on the Song."
Vortex
August 25-27
The JunkYard, 2323 West Mulberry Place
Three-day passes are $229.30
After Meow Wolf brought Convergence Station to Denver in September 2021, the immersive collective decided to also move its music festival here from New Mexico. Vortex had its first run in Denver last summer at new venue the JunkYard to much success, and this year it's just getting better, with a diverse lineup of incredible artists. Remi Wolf will headline the first night, which will also see sets from Claude Vonstroke, Dennis Ferrer and more, while Denver's own GRiZ — the DJ who played the Avalanche's Stanley Cup Tivoli watch party and won a 2023 Best of Denver for Best DJ — will headline August 26 and 27. Those days will also include sets from Armani White, Blond:ish, the Funk Hunters and more.
Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience
September 1-3
Snowmass Town Park, 2835 Brush Creek Road, Snowmass
Limited Friday and Saturday tickets ($199) are still available
Tickets to this Labor Day weekend festival are selling fast, and it takes just one look at the lineup to understand why. With the Foo Fighters, the Lumineers, Billy Idol, Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne, Grace Potter, James Bay and Jade Jackson on the stages, it'll be a weekend to remember. Founded in 1991, Jazz Aspen is a nonprofit that aims "to present and preserve jazz and related forms of music through world-class events, performances, and education programs," according to its website. The concerts happen outdoors at Snowmass Town Park, surrounded by views of the Elk Mountain Range, and bring in about 10,000 live-music lovers per year.
Caveman Music Festival
September 1-3
Monument Lake Resort, 4789 CO-12, Weston
Tickets start at $99.99
This festival could be the perfect way to send off your summer, with outdoor rec options ranging from fishing to hiking and kayaking on the grounds, all while you listen to live music from twenty bands and musicians. With two stages and a capacity of 5,000, Caveman offers a more intimate experience than some of this summer's big festivals, but the lineup is still impressive. It includes indie-rock band Dawes, Southern soul-rock group JJ Grey & Mofro, country band Shane Smith & the Saints, country singer-songwriter Brent Cobb and more.