Is Denver Seeing a Music Renaissance? These Musicians Think So

Morgan Elizabeth, the lead singer of pop-punk act Gunpoint Alibi, thinks that Denver's music scene is undergoing a renaissance similar to Seattle's famous grunge movement in the '80s and '90s. She attributes it to the tight-knit community that local bands have formed here. Although she's played in many cities, Elizabeth says that she hasn't seen anything like it recently. And she isn't the only one who has taken notice.

“From the late '80s into the late '90s, for that solid decade, grunge was one of the biggest genres that was taking over. In Seattle, up until the big bands exploded, it was very small. It's the same kind of feel in Denver. Every show that we go to, people are constantly supporting each other, and that’s kind of how it started in Seattle back in the day," Elizabeth explains. “Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were great friends; so were the Melvins and Nirvana. So when their success happened, it kind of happened mutually. I feel so strongly that this is what’s happening in Denver."

Gunpoint Alibi formed right before the pandemic in Flagstaff; its original members were Elizabeth and guitarist Julian Argabrite, who had been in a band with Elizabeth's brother. “We met and became friends and started making music together," Argabrite recalls. "Fast-forward a few years: We decided to move to Arizona, and we had a desire to start a pop-punk project." But as time went by, Argabrite and Elizabeth felt like they were starting to outgrow Arizona and were ready for something and somewhere new.

“We had a couple of different cities that we thought about relocating to," Elizabeth recalls. "Denver was just one of the cities on the list, and it ended up being the winner."

The Mile High City has exceeded their expectations. Elizabeth, who grew up in Orlando, later lived in Columbus, Ohio, and became acquainted with the Los Angeles music scene when she briefly worked in that city as a fashion photographer.

“All those cities were amazing, and I met amazing people, but a lot of it was very competitive," she remembers. "People [in Denver] are insanely kind and helpful. In the other cities, it was more of ‘If you figure out how to do something, keep it to yourself. Don’t share it with others.’ I feel like Denver has been the complete opposite. Every single band that we’ve played with or happened to meet in rehearsal spaces has been so super kind."
The community support she found here for a new band entering the market is unmatched, Elizabeth adds. Gunpoint Alibi networked easily with other bands as its lineup grew, adding a new guitarist, Craig Pappas, bassist Brandon Lee and drummer Jason Kaplan. And the band quickly found a niche in the local scene when it booked its first Denver gig at Lost Lake last June.

“I just reached out to every venue I could think of," Elizabeth says. "I found other bands in the area and saw where they were playing, and just went down like a wormhole of Instagram stalking.”


At Gunpoint Alibi's first show, members from pop-punk act the Losers Club and alt-indie rock group Dayshaper made the newcomers feel welcome. Gunpoint Alibi has since collaborated with local musicians from all genres for its upcoming album, which includes a song that features Years Down, Suitable Miss, Capture This and rapper Jamison.

Dayshaper also got its start in Denver right before the pandemic. The band's vocalist and guitarist, Taylor Anastasio, says the act's seamless entrance into the pop-punk scene amplified its quick success — even though its members didn't know anyone in the local scene..

"You get this picture in your head that it'll be hard to get to know people and network and build bridges, but you quickly start running into the same people," he says. "It happened so quickly, you just get integrated so fast." The city's punk roots keep the music scene humble, he adds, describing a place where musicians build each other up and don't make music feel like a competition.

Through the summer and fall of 2021, Gunpoint Alibi performed up to three shows a week. But then came winter, along with a spike of Omicron cases, forcing the band to slow down, especially after all of its members got sick. The downtime gave them time to finish their full-length album, deathwish. “We’re planning on releasing that soon," Elizabeth says. "We kind of just took the time to step away from playing shows to focus on our health and writing new music, and also to give other people a chance.”
People like the members of alternative rock group Suitable Miss. Sarah Perez and her cousin, Kelsey Gant, grew up in the scene, admiring bands and building connections before forming their own band in 2019. "Playing in other cities, everybody is usually welcoming," Perez says. "But I think there's just something about mutual friendships and knowing each other in Denver. Everybody is just really passionate about the music, and everything else just falls in line after that."

Suitable Miss, now comprised of Perez on vocals, Gant on bass, Andrew Elofson and Noah Sauls on guitar and Tom Hanson on the drums, is prepping for an East Coast tour in the spring and a festival in Texas next summer.  "Everybody gave us a chance and offered us to do shows when we were just starting out. Now we're going on tours and have a bunch of stuff this summer," says Perez. "The Denver people always show up."

“That’s what they do; they go to other bands’ shows just to support them. That’s what's so cool about it," Elizabeth concludes. "We all just kind of show up. Even when they didn’t know us at all, they were just there, because that’s the kind of people they are.”

The XO, with Gunpoint Alibi and more, 7 p.m. Thursday, February 17, Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer Street, $12-$15, larimerlounge.com.