Denver will use $3 million of its contingency fund money to help pay out settlements this year under an ordinance the City Council approved Monday.

The council makes a similar transfer every year, but the amount varies depending on the settlements reached, said Laura Swartz, the spokesperson for the city’s finance department.

“It is difficult to budget for settlements in advance because the amounts and timing can be unpredictable based on each case’s own scheduling, negotiations and court decisions,” Swartz said.

Every year, the city sets aside $2 million for settlements in the budget. Officials request a transfer from the contingency fund for anything needed above that amount. The 2026 transfer brings the amount that will be used to pay out settlements this year to $5 million so far.

This year’s allotment will leave the city with $30.5 million remaining in its contingency fund. The contingency fund is separate in the annual budget from the city’s reserves, which officials have been working to replenish from a recent low point.

The city has been ordered to pay millions of dollars in settlements in recent years related to the Denver Police Department’s actions during the George Floyd protests.

Earlier this month, the council approved about $2.87 million in payments for 13 people who alleged that local police violated their constitutional rights during the 2020 protests.

In April, a federal appeals court ruled that the city must also pay $14 million to another group of protesters, upholding a jury verdict. The city hasn’t yet said how it will pay out that amount.

There’s a semi-controversy brewing in the underground about whether or not banana suits are appropriated concert attire. After the Baltimore hardcore band End It recently directed its audience to rip one such costume off of a fun-loving fan, the dividing lines have been defined — hardcore isn’t so fruit friendly, while metalcore openly encourages dressing however you want for the occasion.

Dance Gavin Dance guitarist-vocalist Andrew Wells confirmed the metalcore ethos, as the long-running band is used to seeing people in all types of garb, particularly bananas, whenever and wherever they play.

“There’s a ton of banana people in our audience,” he says, referencing the group’s recent Warped Tour DC stop that was especially yellow. “I was like, ‘Yo, banana people, you’re welcome here. You’re weird. You’re an outcast. You’re what society deems as weird because you want to dress up in a banana costume. That’s what rock is for.’

“Rock’s historically been since the dawn of time an oasis for the outcasts. You’re welcome here. Come fly your freak flag with us, and we’ll have a good time,” Wells continues. “Honestly, if I played a whole show and everyone was in a banana suit, I would be stoked. That would be sick.”

In reiterating the stance, he calls for everyone in Denver to show up in their banana best when Dance Gavin Dance takes the Fillmore on Monday, June 22. Horse the Band, Wolf & Bear and Novelists are also on the bill.

The metalcore machine — which also includes vocalist-guitarist Will Swan, drummer Matt Mingus and harsh vocalist Jon Mess — is riding high with a twofer of fresh material in 11^th studio album “Pantheon,” released in September, and last month’s “Tree City Sessions 3,” another collection of revamped takes on classics and deep cuts.

Wells, who’s been with the band in some capacity since 2015, saw the “Tree City” process as an opportunity to put his spin on some of the older tracks that vocalist Tilian Pearson first laid down, such as “Bloodsucker” from 2018.

“That was a suggestion from me. I wanted to polish up my higher register and showcase what I could do on the Tilian stuff,” he explains. “That was a song Martin [Bianchini, touring guitarist] and I had written on the ‘Artificial Selection’ album, so we were able to play and record the song that we wrote.”

Looking back also allowed Dance Gavin Dance to forge forward with “Pantheon,” a more reflective album than recent releases, Wells admits.

“It was an opportunity for us as a band to revisit the roots of the band, when the band was playing to 100-cap clubs and it was just this alternative style of music that was very unique and different. Some people hated it, some people loved it, but it was this authentically post-hardcore sound, that come from these roots,” he shares.  

“When we were revisiting these older songs and doing ‘Tree City’ and also writing ‘Pantheon,’ it was that full-circle moment of doing what we’re passionate about again, exploring new themes and musical territory and getting back to the roots, so to speak, especially as a collaboration,” Wells continues. “It was all of us in the same mindset together working towards the same goals.”

And in Year 21, the band is the “happiest and healthiest” it’s ever been, as he sees it.

“We’re a group of musicians who’s committed to making the best art that we possibly can,” Wells says. “There’s a perseverance to this band.”

But, he adds, they wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for the people in front of the stage, dressing up as bananas and whatever else.

“The external factor is our fans,” Wells concludes. “I think the fan’s abilities to rally and support the band and come out to shows can’t be overstated.”

Dance Gavin Dance, with Horse the Band, Wolf & Bear and Novelists, 5 p.m. Monday, June 22, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson St. Tickets are $60.

Audiences heading to Denver for the upcoming run of “Spamalot” will see plenty of glitz, glamour and even some costumes that have become fan favorites over the years.

Ahead of the musical’s visit to Denver from Aug. 11-23, CBS Colorado was given an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the production while it was playing at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

The tour took place backstage inside a costume gondola, where ensemble member Claire Kennard showcased some of the elaborate wardrobe pieces featured in the show.

One of the standout costumes is the production’s “Laker Girl” outfit, which Kennard said is packed with intricate details.

“This is our Laker Girl costume. As you can see, we have the nude mesh, so there’s a little bit of a nude illusion. There’s that fish net aspect in there, the ruffles to mimic the coral, the pearls. There’s just a lot of little details that our costume designer, Jen Caprio, thought very thoroughly about,” Kennard said.

Kennard also highlighted one of the ensemble’s showgirl costumes, noting that each performer wears a different color variation.

“So this is our showgirl costume. Each of the girls, there are four ensemble girls, we have different colors, and I am the teal. Which is my personal favorite color. We have tail feathers that are right over here, which are my second favorite part of this costume,” Kennard said.

The costumes are designed to help bring the musical’s over-the-top comedy and spectacle to life.

“(We have) lots of glitz and glamor, and we shine on stage,” Kennard said.

Fans of the musical may also recognize some familiar pieces when the production arrives in Denver. Several of the most popular costumes from the original touring production of “Spamalot” remain on the road and will be featured during the Denver stop.

The Tony Award-winning musical, based on the comedy of Monty Python, will be performed in Denver from Aug. 11 through Aug. 23. Tickets and more information are available on the DCPA website.

CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.