Here are the ten biggest Denver music stories of 2024:
Aliens at Red Rocks
This was one of the more bizarre stories of the year — and one that made national headlines: a possible UFO sighting at Red Rocks. According to the account of a venue employee submitted to the National UFO Reporting Center, a dozen workers were cleaning up after the June 5 All Time Low concert when they spotted an unusual aircraft hovering above the Hogback Ridge north of Red Rocks.
The "dark, metallic" vehicle was "several hundred yards long" with "three rows of windows and lights," the employee reported. "As we all started noticing it and stopped what we were doing to pay attention to it, the craft tipped at an angle and slowly started moving belly-first to the east. Then it started fading away until it was invisible. It didn't shoot off into the distance. It simply dissolved into the ether. We all watched it vanish."
Readers wondered why no pictures were taken. Red Rocks employee Michael Lehmann, one of the witnesses, told Westword that he and his teammates didn't think of grabbing their phones because they were in the midst of "loading a semi; it's dangerous. Our hands are full, and it happened so quickly. ... It was maybe thirty, forty seconds."
Anyone who's been to Red Rocks knows its magic. Maybe the aliens were trying to catch a glimpse of it, too.
Yes, that's an apartment building near the new Ford Ampitheater.
Emily Ferguson
After years of construction and planning, Ford Amphitheater debuted in Colorado Springs this August. Originally named the Sunset Amphitheater before a car dealership bought its naming rights, the 8,000-capacity venue with mountain views and fire pits was created by Venu, an entertainment company opening similar spots in Oklahoma and Texas. Before its opening, Venu CEO and chairman JW Roth confidently said, "There's never been a music venue of this magnitude, or this quality, on Earth." But Ford's neighbors in the Polaris Pointe community disagree.
Noise complaints piled up after the amphitheater opened with a three-night run with One Republic (whose frontman is the son of Venu's senior vice president of business development), and continued throughout its first season. A community association called Ford Hurts Families formed, creating a petition calling for lower stage volumes, earlier concerts and an end to post-show fireworks. Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade seems to be listening, but the residents are still sounding off.
Herman's Hideaway Becomes Coco Bongo's
On July 1, longtime independent music venue Herman's Hideaway became Coco Bongo's, a Latin dance club that signed a three- to five-year lease at 1578 South Broadway. The venue was founded as a "shot-and-beer joint" by Herman Roth in 1962, who handed it off to his son, Allan, twenty years later; that's when the music booking began. Herman's became a Denver institution, booking such acts as Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews, Blues Traveler and Phish. When Allan passed away in 2019, his son Mike took over; he made the deal with the new operators.
Coco Bongo's is booked by Manny Fleming; the venue has hosted Latin bands, DJs, LGBTQ+ nights, salsa and bachata nights and more since opening in August.
The Five Points Jazz Festival started in 2003.
Kenneth Hamblin III
If you didn't make it to the Five Points Jazz Fest this year, you're probably kicking yourself. And we don't blame you: In November, Denver Arts & Venues, which runs the free, annual affair, announced that the festival would be replaced by a year-round grants program.
While we're still mourning the loss of this yearly tradition, which got started in 2003 to honor the neighborhood's jazz roots, there's a small silver lining. A week before the city's announcement, a former organizer revealed that he and a partner will launch the Denver Jazz Fest in 2025. However, while the Five Points Jazz Festival focused on booking local musicians to perform along historic Welton Street, the Denver Jazz Fest will bring in nationally prominent acts to perform at venues in both Denver and Boulder. The inaugural fest is set for April 3 to 6.
So Many Roads Finally Closed
Venue closures are usually sad news, but most were relieved to see So Many Roads close after former owner Jay Bianchi was put behind bars in April. While Bianchi technically no longer owned the infamous Deadhead bar — he'd stepped down in 2020 while facing sexual-assault allegations — he still was omnipresent at So Many Roads, and announced the club's shows and closures via Facebook. The venue had been forced to close in October 2022 and October 2023; at that time, Bianchi wrote that So Many Roads would "not be back for long."
He was right. After a run of 4/20 shows, So Many Roads began selling its Grateful Dead-related memorabilia and decor on Facebook Marketplace. While many posted fond memories of the venue, others wondered how Bianchi got away with his crimes for so long. It was a long, strange trip that finally hit the end of the road.
A Ballpark Bust
While RiNo is bustling, Stay Tuned struggled to survive just blocks away in the Ballpark neighborhood. The venue opened at 2162 Larimer Street last December with the goal of making an "entertainment bridge" between LoDo, Ballpark and RiNo. But within ten months, the bridge had crumbled.
More New Venues Open! While RiNo is bustling, Stay Tuned struggled to survive just blocks away in the Ballpark neighborhood. The venue opened at 2162 Larimer Street last December with the goal of making an "entertainment bridge" between LoDo, Ballpark and RiNo. But within ten months, the bridge had crumbled.
Denver welcomed several independent venues this year with delightfully different flavors. There's Velvet Banjo, which opened at 741 East Colfax (the former location of Sancho's Broken Arrow) in October. Originally dubbed Yonder Bar, Velvet Banjo boasts a casual and warm atmosphere with a concentration on cheap beer, pool and bluegrass bands.
Over in RiNo, Two Moons Music Hall made its debut at 2944 Larimer Street in April and has been a success ever since, hosting different genres every evening, with most weekday shows free. A couple of blocks away, at 2737 Larimer Street, Mockingbird opened in August; a new venture from the owners of nearby Beacon, Mockingbird similarly catches the eye with its numerous immersive-art installations.
Ophelia's Revamped
When news broke that Ophelia's Electric Soapbox had been sold, fans braced themselves for the worst. But the new owner, Eric Pirritt of ENDIT Presents, promised he wouldn't do "anything close to an overhaul," adding that he "loved the club since day one," and "when this opportunity came up, I couldn't say no." Randall Frazier, who had designed the sound system for Ophelia's when it opened in 2015, was brought on board for booking and to retool the sound, which he told us "didn't really get taken care of" after he left the venue during COVID.
After closing for September and most of October, Ophelia's reopened on October 25 with a show from legendary Denver group Flobots, followed by two nights of the Polish Ambassador. You can still catch Lipgloss, the city's longest-running indie dance party, at the venue every month, and the vibes are just as high — with an even better sound system.
A Big Break
Indigenous activist, acclaimed visual artist and spoken-word performer Gregg Deal is always coming up with new ideas, but he formed the band Dead Pioneers "on accident," he told us, after working with guitarist Josh Rivera and drummer Shane Zweygardt to add punk flavor to a spoken-word piece. Partnering with the Music District in Fort Collins and adding guitarist Abe Brennan, Dead Pioneers recorded its self-titled debut album at the Blasting Room. After the music video for the song "Bad Indian" was recognized with a Best of Denver award and was voted one of NPR's best videos from an unsigned band, Dead Pioneers was signed to the U.K.'s Hassle Records.
But the band's big year got even better when Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament asked Dead Pioneers to play at his music festival in Montana. Then Pearl Jam invited Dead Pioneers on its 2025 tour for four dates in April and May. After that, Dead Pioneers will take off for Europe for a six-show headlining tour.
And Another Big Break
It's an exciting year for Abe Brennan, a longtime Denver musician who has performed in local punk bands including Wretch Like Me, Joy Subtraction and now Dead Pioneers. He received a once-in-a-lifetime offer to front the legendary California punk band Rich Kids on LSD; Brennan has been a fan of the band since his youth. RKL had gone quiet after the death of its frontman, Jason Sears, in 2006, so this is a major moment for Brennan and the punk world. Remarkably, Brennan will maintain his spot in his current Denver bands, too.
