Hot Off the Press: Summer Membership Campaign Underway

Think it's hot outside? You should have been at the Westword office on Friday, July 18, when we hosted a members-only concert with Dzirae Gold, the jazz singer who won a 2025 Best of Denver award for Best Debut Album. Her smoky vocals set the audience on fire.

This was just the latest in a series of shows designed to spotlight local musicians in an intimate setting so that Westword members can experience some of the best artists in town...and meet staffers in the process. The 2025 lineup kicked off with a performance from Blankslate in April, followed by DNA Picasso and Dominique Christina in May.

And in August, we have a special treat for members: We've partnered with one of Denver's best cultivations and hash operations to create a package of infused joints filled with Meraki flower and Mighty Melts bubble hash, and we'll launch this limited edition trio of tasty, terpy, solventless joints at a kickoff party August 7 at Tetra Lounge.

Yes, Westword has always done some of its best work on paper.

But over the last decade, the publishing world has changed drastically, with an industry-wide drop in advertising dropping the size of the weekly Westword. At the same time, our online product has become increasingly important...and increasingly robust. And like the print product, of course, it remains free: No paywalls here.

But even though you can read our stories online and in print for free, our journalism doesn't come cheap. That's why we started a membership program that encourages readers to contribute to supporting our newsroom. Over the past six years, those contributions have allowed us to offer paid internships to talented young journalists (our social media editor got her start here as an intern), add another staff writer to our team, expand our political coverage during last year's election, and do deeper dives into the hot-button issues of immigration and the environment.

As thanks for your support, we've added members-only activities that allow us to get closer to our readers, too.

When you support our community-rooted newsroom, you don't just snag invitations to special events. You support our ongoing commitment to producing independent local journalism that connects readers to the communities around them. That covers what's good about Denver...and uncovers what is definitely not.

Today we're launching our summer membership campaign, which runs through August 10. Our goal is to raise $17,000 to support our newsroom's expanded efforts...and also to connect with you in the process. Whether you make a contribution or not, we always want to hear what you have to say: We've got plenty of hot stories planned for the months ahead.

Learn more about our summer membership program.