Colorado Springs Is About to Be Hit With a Tornado of Bands

Planning a music festival with more than 100 bands is a Herculean undertaking. But doing so while also running a brick-and-mortar record shop, an independent label, booking over a dozen shows a month locally, and playing in three very active bands sounds more Sisyphean. Or, to put it in modern English, insane.

But that’s exactly what Bryan Ostrow is doing with the inaugural What’s Left Fest in Colorado Springs this month.

“You know, I’m feeling good,” he says while criss-crossing around Denver, putting up fliers.

The energetic co-owner of What’s Left Records is hitting all his favorite spots, from Wax Trax to Twist & Shout, spreading the word about the gargantuan multi-genre bill one leaflet at a time. Of course, he’s doing some crate-digging, too, so it’s not all work, work, work. But pulling off such a spectacle is nearly all-consuming, he admits.

“I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed and wondering why the fuck I’m doing this, but in a couple of weeks when I see people smiling, having a good time, jumping off of stages, I’m going to be like, ‘Oh, this is why I’m doing it,'” says Ostrow, ever the optimist.

Luckily, he has some help, particularly from his younger brother and longtime partner in crime, Sean. The two started what would eventually become What’s Left Records fifteen years ago as a small Springs zine, before hosting local showcases, including 71Grind for four years. That led to them booking more bands, releasing music and opening a DIY space, Flux Capacitator, which ultimately was shut down by the fire department for zoning code violations in 2016. So the Ostrows opened a small vinyl outlet in a Springs storage space, all while regularly working in the service industry.

But in 2020, when both were stuck at home without much to do during the pandemic, they decided to go bigger and found the current What’s Left location on East Platte Avenue. “We were out of a job, so we just invested our money, unemployment and stimulus, in giving ourselves a job and giving the community music while you couldn’t go to shows,” says the elder Ostrow. “We were like, let’s try it, with the goal in mind that we could eventually move into a bigger space and book shows, too.”

Situated across the street from alternative havens Vultures and the Black Sheep, What’s Left currently hosts anywhere from ten to fifteen all-ages gigs a month.

“When we went into it, we were like, ‘We’re going to do between five and ten, we’re not going to go too crazy.’ Well, we’re doing a lot of shows, ranging from smaller local shows to touring acts,” Ostrow says with a laugh, acknowledging his penchant for almost always going grander than initial plans. “But it’s really good to have a place where kids can come and do shows and play, and have a place to go that’s not a bar.”

That sentiment is further underscored by What’s Left Fest, which takes place Saturday, September 13, and Sunday, September 14, across the store, Vultures and the Black Sheep. With more than fifty bands a day, the lineup includes national acts – Weekend Nachos, Infest, Castle Rat, Necrot, among others – and a laundry list of Front Range groups, including Bryan and Sean’s bands Upon a Fields Whisper, 908, Night of the Living Shred and Seance.

“Yeah, I’m playing in three bands,” Ostrow acknowledges (as if he didn’t have enough going on already!). “Sorry, I’m going to do it. Like, what am I doing? My wife’s looking at me like I’m insane.”

Night of the Living Shred will be the Sunday closer, a fitting finish to the weekend. “We just throw pizza at people and say, ‘All right!’ It’s a silly way to end the whole hectic weekend,” Ostrow adds. “Like, we’re done, let’s party, let’s have some fun, let’s not take ourselves too seriously, let’s have a good time.”

He admits he was surprised by the amount of bands that signed on to play the now-supersized event. “We were ready to do it, so we just hit up our friends and bands that we like and know,” Ostrow says. “We were expecting some nos, but people were all pretty stoked, and we got a whole lot more yeses than we expected. So here we are: a 100-band festival, but we’re going to make it work.”

The little-engine-that-could confidence is comforting and exhilarating, but that’s just what the brothers have always done – figured it out.

“It’s so funny. Me and my brother are so ADHD and sporadic and shit,” he says. “The way we plan these things, we’re just like, ‘All right, we want these bands, we love these bands, let’s make it happen.’ We ask them, they say yes, so we’re like, ‘We got to get this much, let’s work on it.’

“It’s not a traditional business style, and probably in a bad way, but we make it work. It’s going to be really cool,” Ostrow continues, laughing. “Though we are a business, people may think we’re rich or something, but we’re absolutely not. We are so broke, but we just really love doing this.”

Through sponsorships and other alternative endeavors, including a recent flash fundraiser courtesy of Lucky Devil Tattoo, What’s Left is connecting and building the Springs alternative scene. Ostrow remembers when it wasn’t always like that.

“There’s been some really rough years for music. Us getting started, we’d have to play at dive bars that would make you pay to play, it just wasn’t a very good atmosphere and scene to grow into,” he says, adding that a lot of his friends from back then ended up moving to areas with an already-established underground movement.

“But we liked it out here, we liked the people who were around, so instead of moving to a place where there was something, why not create something here and try to elevate a scene here in a place that’s known for evangelical Christian military stuff,” Ostrow continues. “Let’s provide the counterculture. Let’s make this a place where you don’t have to be like that or, for people who don’t have that mindset, like us, have a place to go and do things.”

Inquiring minds (aka this writer) are wondering if What’s Left Fest is going to be an annual bastion for that. But Ostrow is quick to note they need to make it through this year first. “I feel like it definitely has the ability to be a thing, but I’ll be totally honest: The place I’m in in my life and what we’re doing, it’s so much. It’s like a year of constant planning and stress,” he says. “We’re going to defeat it, we’re going to do awesome, we’re going to make a really cool time, but make it a special thing right now. I can’t imagine doing this every year.”

But of course, that can change. After all, not too long ago, he couldn’t imagine even thinking about bringing all these artists to the Springs. “It’s a lot. I want to keep it special and not redundant,” Ostrow says. “I feel like we’re in a time politically and socially that I think we really need togetherness and to be with each other and have a good time and remember that things can be good. I think it’s really the perfect time do it.”

At this point, a banner event isn’t necessarily needed, either, since it’s always a good time to check out a show or stop into the shop on East Platte. “We’ve been working really hard at it for the past twenty years, and I feel like it’s really coming into fruition, and it’s really cool to see,” Ostrow says. “It’s a cool sense of community that we have down there on that street.”

He can’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing. “Otherwise, I’d just be reckless,” Ostrow concludes, now en route to Twist & Shout. “It’s fun. I’m excited to have people from all over check out some cool, new music. It’s going to be awesome.”


What’s Left Fest, noon Saturday, September 13, through Sunday, September 14, 2100-2200 block of East Platte Avenue, Colorado Springs. Tickets are $72-$113.