At Grandoozy, Food and Booze Will Be Nearly as Big as Music

The summer music festival season is long this year, thanks to Grandoozy, which will rock Overland Park with more than forty bands from September 14 to 16. With headliners Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine and Stevie Wonder, and live music from 1:30 to 10 p.m. each of the three days, there will be little time to think of anything but seeing your favorite bands.

But this is Colorado, where food and booze are as much a part of the festival experience as music. And so Superfly, the organizer behind Grandoozy, has planned a weekend packed with top food, beer and cocktails from some of Denver's biggest names.

"We want people to feel like kids in a candy store, where they can find mind-blowing options from all facets of the festival," says Kerry Black, co-founder of Superfly. "We want to create an amazing place for them to gather with their friends and make new ones as they explore the festival offerings."

If you're expecting the standard hot dogs, popcorn and watery beer found at most events, you're in for a surprise. Superfly has teamed up with a number of chefs, beer experts and mixologists — all Denver folks — to make Grandoozy as much of a Colorado food festival as it is a music celebration. "We are trying to build a festival that showcases all of the amazing things that Colorado has to offer, an event that locals can be proud of and call their own," Black adds. "To that end, we've spent tons of time getting to know the people in the area, and we’re trying to load up some of the best culinary offerings the state has to offer."

On the food side, there's Devour Denver, a gathering of thirty restaurants and food trucks chosen by a panel that includes Snooze co-founder Adam Schlegel, Biju Thomas of Biju's Little Curry Shop, Dana Falk Query of the Big Red F restaurant group (most notable for the Post Chicken & Beer and Jax Fish House), Justin Cucci (founder of Linger and Root Down, among others), Carrie Baird (executive chef of Bar Dough and recent Top Chef contestant), James Beard award winner Jennifer Jasinski, and Tommy Lee, owner of Uncle and Hop Alley.

Expect food from some of this group's restaurants, plus Sweet Cow Ice Cream, doughnuts from Habit Doughnut Dispensary, burritos from Illegal Pete's, tacos from Comal and a range of pizza, burgers, noodles, barbecue and other festival-friendly fare.

For beverages, Chad Michael George, an award-winning bartender and co-owner of the Way Back and American Grind, is overseeing Flight School, a tour of whiskey, rum, tequila, mezcal and amaro that will include Colorado's own Leopold Bros., Peach Street Distillers and Woody Creek, along with many international producers. Festival-goers will be able to partake in five separate flights and sip four cocktails designed just for Grandoozy.

And of course, craft breweries will be represented — by eighteen breweries, several of which are independent Colorado companies, including 4 Noses, Denver Beer Co., Left Hand, Lone Tree, Odell, Oskar Blues, Platt Park, Ratio, Ska and Telluride.

Single day, multi-day and VIP tickets are still available for Grandoozy, starting at $99 for a one-day pass.