HUFR Fest Is the Celebration of Stoner Rock Denver’s Needed

Denver is all about DIY, especially in the local music scene. For proof, just take a look at artist-run venues such as Seventh Circle Music Collective or musician-founded festivals like the upcoming Blucifer’s First Rodeo.

And now another DIY festival is about to make its mark on Broadway: HUFR Fest is bringing seventeen top-tier bands to Bar 404 for three days of epic stoner rock this weekend. The festival will kick off on Friday, April 24, with Lost Relics, Sonolith, Lord Velvet, Violet Rising, Hibernaut and Vashon Seed; Saturday will see performances from Cobranoid, Blue Heron, Luna Sol, Godzillionaire, Momovudu and Psalm, and the lineup will wrap up on Sunday with Black Moon Cult, Shadow of Jupiter, Messiahvore, Black Sunrise and Nomestomper.

“There’s a lot of stoner-rock festivals around the country, but Denver has a really unique situation,” says Sean Brooks, who helped organize HUFR Fest. “All these bands from out of town saw this as a good opportunity to not only come to Denver and see some good Denver bands, but to show Denver what they have outside of our little city in the immediate region.”

The festival came together through the efforts of Brooks, Zeth Pedulla and Brooks’s wife, Andrea Thomas, as well as Bar 404 owners Kerry and Jeannie O’Brien. Pedulla, who performs in Denver bands Luna Sol and Skull, has been part of the music scene for about 35 years as a musician, production manager, and talent buyer. He became friends with Brooks through Brooks’s YouTube channel, “The Heavy Underground Farm Report,” for which the festival was named. “We had a conversation last year, and I said it’d be cool to put on a show,” Brooks says. “That just got the whole ball rolling. Zeth found a place, and I found bands; my main role is curation of the festival.”

Bar 404 is the perfect spot for the event — owners Jeannie and Kerry O’Brien have become major proponents of the music scene since opening their venue in 2021 in the former Rory’s Tavern (and the venerable Club 404 before that). “I played that venue a few times before, and I’m a pretty outgoing dude, so I got to know Kerry and Jeannie very well, and we immediately connected,” Pedulla says. “I’ve worked in so many venues, from the Fillmore all the way down to Bar Bar and everything in between, and they’re just two of the most absolute, just beautiful people, very easy to talk to. They’re excited about the scene; they love music; they’re not greedy — they just want to showcase what Denver has to offer locally and nationally. Their hearts are in the right place.”

After all, Bar 404 just won a Best of Denver award for Best Venue for Music, Community and Food. “Kerry and I, we both pinch ourselves,” says Jeannie. “We love music so much. Music has always been a central focus of everything we do, so to take a bar and build a venue — it kind of exceeds our dreams. We didn’t know when we built the stage if anyone would want to come…but we truly are like little kids, going to concerts every single day. We’re super excited about this festival.”

The couple met while working at British Airways, which also ultimately led to their involvement in concert production. “I just happened to get a call from the production manager of Warren Haynes to move cargo,” Kerry says. “He was doing a tour overseas, so they called me to see if I could help them out. And then I’m like, ‘Would you ever think about doing a destination concert?'” Kerry had just met some people who were putting together destination shows at beaches and cruises in the early 2000s, and he used his connections to bring acts like Bob Weir’s Ratdog and Little Feat into the fold.

“We got this idea, and so we started working on one in Punta Cana,” Jeannie says. “Kerry chose…the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Punta Cana, and we did Zac Brown and seven or eight other bands, and everyone had an amazing time.”

A few years later, Kerry and Jeannie opened Bar 404. The venue has become known for its commitment to the local scene through its consistent concert programming and fun ways to highlight performers, such as theme cocktails. For HUFR, there will be special menu items that Pedulla has been helping with, too, such as “Space-man Z’s Mac n Cheese,” as well as pizzas, drink specials and brunch items for Sunday, including a mimosa and bloody Mary bar.

But the biggest draw is the music, of course. Having a mix of local and regional acts expands the festival’s reach and allows bands to network with new scenes, Brooks explains. The lineup formed organically, thanks to the Denver scene’s cross-pollination and tight-knit nature. “We’re friends with the guys in Cobranoid,” Brooks says, “and then Lost Relics, as well. We wanted to have closers on Friday and Saturday night that were from Denver, because we know some of the bands aren’t as well-known outside of Denver, and so we want to keep the bands there so they can check out all these great bands. I called Blue Heron from Albuquerque, and they were immediately enthusiastic about it, and asked if they could bring on Violent Rising; the drummer drums for both bands. And then Zeth, from Luna Sol, is really good friends with a band from Kansas City called Godzillionaire; they’re just a genius band. And then it just kept steamrolling. … We’re selling a lot of tickets for Saturday; I think that Godzillionaire, Luna Sol combination is really powerful.”

Similar to when you go to a theatrical production, HUFR Fest will have a program for guests, designed by Andrea Thomas. “All the bands are going to have a bio, a picture and a QR code link to their stuff,” Pedulla says.

Most of the bands know each other already, and if the musicians haven’t met yet, they’re about to experience just what this scene is about. “A lot of these people that are playing at this festival are seasoned musicians who have been playing in Denver for a long time,” Pedulla adds. “The scene is pretty intertwined, and the people who have done shows over the years, we’re all just really good friends. It’s not even a genre thing; it’s just a people thing. I mean, the camaraderie with everybody and welcoming, for fans and musicians alike, is second to none.”

Jeannie agrees. “I see it constantly, because I usually am the person working the door, and I just watch all the bands coming in to support each other,” she says. “I’ve lived in L.A. and New York, and there’s nothing like it. Denver’s just amazing.”

HUFR Festival, Bar 404, 404 Broadway, Friday, April 24, through Sunday, April 26. Tickets are available at hufrfest.com.