New Music Venue Aims to Create Entertainment Bridge Between LoDo and RiNo

"Denver is known as the bass capital of the world," says Alex Whittier. "We should really lean into that."

Whittier is a rave-scene veteran who's booked such acts as Octo Octa, Volvox and Mike Servito through his production company, Nocturnal. He's now bringing that keen ear for EDM to his new role as talent buyer and creative director for Stay Tuned, a music venue in the Ballpark neighborhood that will launch on Saturday, December 9, with an opening party featuring iconic New York City underground DJ Lauren Flax, as well as openers Auralogic and Nico Tobón.

Sam Maher, who owns the vegan restaurant Somebody People with his wife, Tricia, opened Everyday Pizza in 2022 in a building they rented at 2161 Larimer Street. The business was tough, and they were already contemplating opening an EDM club in its stead, a place where those who love house and techno music could both lounge and dance the night away, when they caught up with Whittier. He was based a few blocks away, at 1962 Market Street; in February, he co-founded the nonprofit ONE Denver (formerly the 87 Foundation) with Stephen Brackett, a Flobots co-founder who recently served as Colorado's music ambassador.

"When we closed the pizza concept, Alex had been working just down the road and was coming in...and then as that relationship blossomed, we just decided to open up more of a bar/entertainment venue, and Stay Tuned was born," Maher explains.

"It was a pretty easy switch, because we love music and we love disco and house, and we love the community," he continues. "And we've got a really strong DJ community in Denver. They really support each other, and they love the music."

Maher grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and remembers raving in fields for days on end. Whittier shares that love for EDM and was eager to jump into the new project. "Alex is a super kind heart and very caring person who wants to do what's right for the community, whether it be through his nonprofit [or] just within the DJ community," Maher says. "There's always a connection there to try and do more and really celebrate the fact that Denver has this rich, creative culture within."

ONE Denver's goal has been to pioneer new policies to help nightlife and the creative economy thrive through an Office of Nighttime Economy, which would push such concepts as later hours for venues. "What we're focused on is bolstering and creating some equity around the nighttime economy," Whittier says. "I think if we expanded hours...then we could start to see bars stay open later, restaurants can stay open later, retail can stay open later. It affects literally everybody, and we're trying to say that all ships will rise together."

And Stay Tuned could help push those ideas forward, he says. While the venue will be open just Fridays and Saturdays in December, Whittier and Maher hope to expand on that. They also hope that having a house and techno club in the Ballpark neighborhood will provide a much-needed nightlife bridge between LoDo and RiNo. And with additional foot traffic, they believe the neighborhood could become not just more entertaining, but safer.

"The more venues that stay open here and the more educated operators that are around...if there are more people around the streets, the streets would be safer, in a sense," Maher says. "It's a shame that this historic street in Denver has the rap that it's got...but it's also got some exciting venues.

"This corner at 22nd and Larimer should be one of the busiest corners in Denver," he continues, "and hopefully the bridge to RiNo will be breached, and it will feel safe to walk back and forth. That's kind of what this stretch needs. ... There are enough people with some great businesses, and it's going to take the collective norm of everyone to try and lift it up."
Whittier and Maher are focusing on safety both inside and outside the venue. As rave veterans, they don't shy away from the fact that the EDM scene has historically been known for recreational drug use. At Stay Tuned, they just want to be sure people are safe. "If somebody takes a spill on the dance floor or something, I'm more keen to give him a sandwich than I am to push him out on the street," Whittier says. "It's scary that that's kind of the habits that Denver has adopted."

That's also why Stay Tuned will have a menu — something you wouldn't find at most clubs, where more often than not, audience members' jaws are grinding without chewing on anything.

"It's making sure that people aren't just getting plugged with alcohol and pushed out on the street. It's like, 'Hey, we have other opportunities for you to get some sustenance,'" Whittier explains.

"We are trying to give party-goers a little bit more than vodka sodas and a simple bar program," Maher notes. "We are working closely with our head chef at Somebody People to create some kind of dance-floor flavors that people can have that might be either refreshing or a couple of little bites, even a soup concept. Stuff for if you need your electrolytes, or if you just need a little bit of a bite to eat before the mood and the music ramp up."

As the club finds its footing, the two also hope to extend its hours to earlier in the day in order to expand the musical program with more listening room-style experiences, which would focus on jazz or ambient music but still align with the overall EDM ethos. "We're hoping to populate an early happy hour from five to six, and then six to nine being more of that listening focus, and nine on being more of a club," Whittier explains.

Whittier is currently booking resident DJs, and says that the promotion of Denver talent along with the listening-room concept will fill a "gap" in the current EDM scene. Stay Tuned will be "giving people a chance to cut their teeth," he says. "Something that Stephen [Brackett] has cited pretty regularly is that Denver has lost that investment. The Night Sweats, the Flobots, the Lumineers — they all had places" where they got their start. And while rock bands still have some of those same stepping-stone venues, such as the hi-dive and HQ, Whittier says such spots are lacking for DJs.

With its current setup, Stay Tuned could be a promising launch pad for burgeoning producers to play alongside more established ones, such as opening-night headliner Flax. The space has incredible acoustics, with an audio system all from Void, the only legitimate competitor to the famed Funktion One setup. Maher and Whittier have homed in on acoustics from the beginning, and their focus has paid off: When Whittier plugs a song into the speakers, you become immersed in the sound. It's loud and vibrating, but somehow, you can still have a conversation without shouting.

"We're really punching at that high-fidelity nightclub — which, talk about a gap, that is a gap here in Denver," Whittier says, and laughs. "There are nightclubs that have half-a-million-dollar sound systems, probably, but there's nobody manning the tuning, and then there's a table that's rattling on the floor. And so I have my big ladder, and if there are any places that rattle, I'm trying to find it and put a little padding on it. So there's a high focus on sound."

The vibes are high, too, with a bright-green painted floor, a mural covering the back wall (created for Everyday Pizza) and a long orange bar with black-and-white backsplash tiling. They plan to put in tables and seating that can give way to the dance floor on busier nights but still reflect the loungey feel they're going for.

As Stay Tuned solidifies its presence and audience, Maher and Whittier hope to amplify the brand and its community with neighborhood activations such as block parties.

"We will branch out," Whittier concludes. "We definitely have some lofty goals down the road."

Stay Tuned opens at 2161 Larimer Street on Saturday, December 9, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $15-$20.