Connect with us

Denver, CO

6 music questions for Denver: What’s the fate of ticket bots, festivals and Red Rocks’ calendar? We have answers.

Published

on

6 music questions for Denver: What’s the fate of ticket bots, festivals and Red Rocks’ calendar? We have answers.


We already know that 2025 will be a huge concert year.

While acts like Coldplay, Chris Stapleton, Post Malone, Metallica and The Lumineers will headline the major arenas and amphitheaters around Denver, smaller venues along the Front Range and in the high country are growing their nationally headlining roster at an astonishing rate — even if they will never match the calendar at Red Rocks Amphitheatre (more on that below).

But there are also plenty of questions for music fans about the future. Here are 6 of those questions, along with some answers, for the 2025 concert season, which is just around the corner as shows start at Red Rocks on March 8 with Winter on the Rocks, featuring Gramatik.

Fans have their tickets scanned before the Primus concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on May 16, 2017, in Morrison. (Seth McConnell, The Denver Post)

1. Will promoters get bots under control?

Probably not. Malicious bots that snatch up large numbers of tickets the moment they go on sale — then drive up prices for the re-sale market — are like weeds, with new ones sprouting up the moment another disappears. Industry professionals are skeptical they can tame them, though they’re trying, said AEG Presents Rocky Mountains president Don Strasburg.

Advertisement

Ticket seller AXS — a spin-off of AEG that was also founded by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz — says it fights bots with its virtual waiting room, “where fans can join before an event goes on sale, allowing the platform to filter out automated bots and randomly select users to access tickets …” It’s a fairness issue, said the company, which sells most of the concert tickets at Red Rocks and all the tickets at city-owned venues.

The Federal Trade Commission and state lawmakers continue to investigate bots and re-sellers as well, leading to progress such as Colorado’s transparency-in-pricing bill, which as of August allows buyers to see fees before they click “purchase.”

Post Malone performs onstage during the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 21, 2018 in Indio, California. (Frazer Harrison, Getty Images for Coachella)
Country-crossover artist Post Malone performs during the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 21, 2018, in Indio, Calif. (Frazer Harrison, Getty Images for Coachella)

2. Has country overtaken jam bands as Colorado’s hottest music?

Yes. With the proviso that country has always been more mainstream than jam bands in terms of ticket sales, radio play, industry profile, and booking. They may not always dominate Red Rocks’ calendar, for example, but the number and size of country concerts in metro Denver is growing, with major shows from Morgan Wade (Feb. 23 at Mission Ballroom), Post Malone and Jelly Roll (June 15 at Empower Field), Keith Urban (July 17 at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre), and Chris Stapleton (Aug. 22 at Ball Arena) and dozens more this year.

Grand Junction’s Country Jam also returns June 26-28 with Luke Bryan, Bailey Zimmerman, Cody Johnson, Tracy Lawrence and more. That’s not even mentioning the artists in the sweet spot of the country-jam-band crossover, from Americana and bluegrass to the twangy singer-songwriters populating theaters and clubs. We’re also likely getting a new country bar in LoDo, as plans have been filed for a mechanical bull in the space recently vacated by The Sports Column. And the TouchTunes digital jukebox company reports that many of the most popular songs played in Colorado are by artists like Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan and Toby Kieth.

Nathaniel Riley performs with his band during the Outside Festival at Civic Center Park in Denver on June 2, 2024.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Nathaniel Riley performs with his band during the Outside Festival at Civic Center Park in Denver on June 2, 2024.

3. Have we reached full festival fatigue?

Yes. Promoters and artists have said there’s little room for new, multi-day events in the metro area, given that Colorado mountain towns are already bursting with them (see blues, folk and jazz fests through the summer in Telluride, Snowmass, Lyons, Vail, etc.).

Denver’s Underground Music Showcase, which returns July 26-28 along South Broadway, already features more than 100 local and national acts, while local mini-fests (see the excellent Ghost Canyon Fest) and packed bills have filled the demand for multi-performer events. That includes Civic Center’s returning Outside Festival (May 31-June 1), with Lord Huron, Khruangbin, Sylvan Esso, Trampled by Turtles and more.

Advertisement

On top of that, long-running fests that went on hiatus haven’t returned, such as the Westword Music Showcase, Arise Music Festival and Meow Wolf’s Vertex — not to mention the canceled Grandoozy, SnowBall, Velorama, and Mile High Music Festival of years past. The demand just isn’t there anymore.

“Festival fatigue is real,” said AEG’s Strasburg. “And one thing that’s been said before, but it’s true, is that Colorado already hosts the greatest festival in the world each year with its season of Red Rocks shows.”

Phish performs at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on September 5, 2015. (Michael McGrath, The Know)
Phish performs at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on Sept. 5, 2015. (Michael McGrath, The Know)

4. Will Phish ever play Dick’s Sporting Goods Park again?

Maybe. The band this week confirmed a trio of dates at Folsom Field, July 3-5, marking its debut at the Boulder venue that typically hosts University of Colorado football games. Strasburg told The Denver Post that AEG Presents, which is handling the shows, works on a year-by-year basis and wouldn’t commit to a 2026 return.

So, it’s possible. But if the Folsom shows go well — and there’s every reason to believe they will, given Phish’s slick operations, constant sell-outs and fan loyalty — it would make sense for them to play a Colorado venue with fewer shows and more tickets than their annual Labor Day run at Dick’s in Commerce City, which has been going since 2011 (minus the 2020 off-year).

Phish is also well positioned to take over the regular Dead & Co. runs at Folsom, which ended in 2023, and make their multi-night stand a new summer tradition.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre's musical artifacts include this acoustic guitar given by musician James Taylor, pictured on Feb. 6, 2024, in Morrison. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
Red Rocks Amphitheatre’s musical artifacts include this acoustic guitar given by musician James Taylor, pictured on Feb. 6, 2024, in Morrison. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

5. Has Red Rocks hit full calendar capacity?

Yes. For the first time, promoter AEG Presents, which books most Red Rocks shows, said the venue cannot fit any more events, minus the occasional rescheduled show or yet-to-be-announced booking. That bucks years of growth at the venue, which now hosts about 150 concerts each year through October and early November.

That’s a good thing for music fans seeing their favorite artist at arguably the world’s best venue. The revenue it generates for the city of Denver, which owns the historic amphitheater, ensures its upkeep and improvements, according to Denver Arts & Venues. But even as its calendar has expanded to winter months in recent years, there’s still a hard, seasonal wall that prevents most shows from reaching into December or February, promoters said.

Advertisement

There’s warm-weather room to grow at other amphitheaters, however, with bookings increasing in stature and number at Dillon Amphitheater, Buena Vista’s Meadow Creek, Ford Amphitheater, Levitt Pavilion Denver, and various high-country outdoor stages.

The Polaris Junction Apartment Homes are across the street from the new Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sept. 19, 2024. Concert goers listen to special guest Girl Tones play before the headlining band Cage the Elephant took the stage at the Ford Amphitheater during their final stop on their Neon Pill tour for Cage the Elephant. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
The Polaris Junction Apartment Homes are across the street from the new Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sept. 19, 2024. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

6. Will Ford Amphitheater and its neighbors ever come to terms?

Likely, but there’s no guarantee. Disagreements over noise levels at the luxury outdoor venue in Colorado Springs have pitted some neighbors against Venu, which owns the amphitheater that debuted in a big way just last year. But despite contentious city council meetings, constant emails from the Ford Hurts Families group, and public appeals, its owner, as well as promoter AEG Presents, are optimistic about putting a lid on it with new sound retention walls, tunnels, neighborhood noise-sensors, and other negotiated efforts.

“We recognized that we needed to bring this to a conclusion, and we have worked diligently with the city and residence of Colorado Springs to come to a resolution,” Venu owner JW Roth said via email this week. “We are jazzed about the upcoming season, and we feel great about the resolution that we accomplished!”

“We hope to see Venu make good on their promises …” critics wrote in the latest Ford Hurts Families newsletter, while noting that their current agreement could allow mitigations promised for 2025 not to be built until after the coming season, and attendant disruption, as they put it, has already occurred.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, In The Know, to get entertainment news sent straight to your inbox.

Advertisement



Source link

Denver, CO

Suspects sought in Denver shooting that killed teen, wounded 3 others

Published

on

Suspects sought in Denver shooting that killed teen, wounded 3 others


Denver police are searching for suspects in a Saturday night parking lot shooting that killed a 16-year-old and wounded three men, at least one of whom is not expected to survive, according to the agency.

Officers responded to the shooting in the 10100 block of East Hampden Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, near where East Hampden intersects South Galena Street, according to an alert from the Denver Police Department.

Police said a group of people had gathered in a parking lot on the edge of the city’s Kennedy neighborhood to celebrate the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro when the shooting happened.

Paramedics took one victim to a hospital, and two others were taken to the hospital in private vehicles, police said. A fourth victim, identified by police as 16-year-old William Rodriguez Salas, was dropped off near Iliff Avenue and South Havana Street, where he died from his wounds.

Advertisement

At least one of the three victims taken to hospitals — a 26-year-old man, a 29-year-old man and a 33-year-old man — is not expected to survive, police said Tuesday. One man was in critical condition Sunday night, one was in serious condition and one was treated for a graze wound and released.



Source link

Continue Reading

Denver, CO

Denver’s flavored vape ban sends customers across city lines

Published

on

Denver’s flavored vape ban sends customers across city lines


The new year in Colorado brought new restrictions for people who vape in Denver. As of January 1, a voter-approved ban on flavored nicotine products is now in effect in Denver, prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products within city limits.

Just outside the Denver border, vape shops say they’re already feeling the ripple effects.

Advertisement

CBS


At Tokerz Head Shop in Aurora, located about a block and a half from the Denver city line, owner Gordon McMillon says customers are beginning to trickle in from Denver.

“I was in shock it passed, to be honest,” McMillon said. “Just because of how many people vape in Denver. But we’re hoping to take care of everybody that doesn’t get their needs met over there anymore.”

One of those customers is Justin Morrison, who lives in the Denver area and vapes daily. He stopped by the Aurora shop a day after the ban went into place.

Morrison says the ban won’t stop him from vaping. It will just change where he buys his products.

Advertisement

“I’m going to have to come all the way to Aurora to get them,” he said. “It’s pretty inconvenient. I smoke flavored vapes every day.”

The goal of the ban, according to public health advocates, is to reduce youth vaping.

Morrison said flavored vapes helped him quit smoking cigarettes, an argument frequently raised by adult users and vape retailers who oppose flavor bans.

“It helped tremendously,” he said. “I stopped liking the flavor of cigarettes. The taste was nasty, the smell was nasty. I switched all the way over to vapes, and it helped me stop smoking cigarettes completely.”

McMillon worries bans like Denver’s could push some former smokers back to cigarettes.

Advertisement

“If they can’t get their vapes, some will go back to cigarettes, for sure,” he said. “I’ve asked people myself, and it’s about 50-50.”

While McMillon acknowledges it will bring more business to shops outside Denver, he says the ban wasn’t something he wanted.

“Even if it helps me over here in Aurora, I’m against it,” he said. “I feel like adults should have the rights if they want to vape or not.”

More than 500 retailers in Denver removed their flavored products. For many, they accounted for the majority of their sales. Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment says it will begin issuing fines and suspensions to retailers found selling flavored tobacco products.

Both McMillan and Morrison say they’re concerned the ban could spread to other cities. For now, Aurora vape shops remain legal alternatives for Denver customers.

Advertisement

Despite the added drive, Morrison says quitting isn’t on the table.

“It’s an addiction. You’re going to find a way to get it. That’s why I don’t see the point of banning it here,” Morrison said.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Denver, CO

Planning to begin in Denver for American Indian Cultural Embassy

Published

on

Planning to begin in Denver for American Indian Cultural Embassy


Denver will be the site of the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy.

Funding for the project was approved by Denver voters in the Vibrant Denver Bond measure.

The vision is for the embassy to welcome Native people back home to Colorado.

On the snowy day of CBS News Colorado’s visit, Rick Williams observed the buffalo herd at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Advertisement

“These animals are sacred to us,” said Williams, who is Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne. “This was our economy. They provided everything we needed to live a wonderful lifestyle.”

Rick Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy, looks at buffalo at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

CBS


Williams is president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy.

Advertisement

“‘Homeland’ is a special term for everybody, right?” Williams asked. “But for people who were alienated, for American Indians who were alienated from Colorado, they don’t have a home, they don’t have a home community that you can go to, this is it. And I think that’s sad.”

The First Creek Open Space — near 56th and Peña, near the southeast corner of the Arsenal — is owned by the City and County of Denver and is being considered for development of the embassy.

“To have a space that’s an embassy that would be government-to-government relations on neutral space,” said Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, who represents northeast Denver District 11. “But then also supporting the community’s economic development and their cultural preservation.”

stacie-gilmore-first-creek-open-space.png

Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore speaks from the First Creek Open Space in northeast Denver about the possibility of building the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy at the site.

CBS

Advertisement


Gilmore said $20 million from the Vibrant Denver Bond will support the design and construction of the center to support Indigenous trade, arts, and education.

“That sense of connection and that sense of place and having a site is so important if you’re going to welcome people back home,” added Gilmore.

“What a great treasure for people in Colorado,” Williams said as he read the interpretive sign at the wildlife refuge.

rick-at-interpretive-sign-arsenal.png

Rick Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy, reads a sign at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

CBS

Advertisement


He said the proposed location makes perfect sense: “Near the metropolitan area, but not necessarily in the metropolitan area, we would love to be near buffalo. We would love to be in an area where there’s opportunities for access to the airport.”

The Denver March Powwow could one day be held at the embassy.

Williams dreams of expanding the buffalo herd nearby and having the embassy teach future generations Indigenous skills and culture.

The concept for the embassy is one of the recommendations emerging from the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission, a group of American Indian leaders in Colorado who began to organize four years ago to study the history of Native Americans in our state.

And the work is just beginning.

Advertisement

“We have to think about, ‘how do we maintain sustainability and perpetuity of a facility like this?’” Williams said. “So there’s lots of issues that are going to be worked on over the next year or so.”

Williams added, “One day our dreams are going to come true, and those tribes are going to come, and we’re going to have a big celebration out here. We’re going to have a drum, and we’re going to sing honor songs, and we’re going to have just the best time ever welcoming these people back to their homeland.”

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s staff sent the following statement:

“We are excited about the passing of the Vibrant Denver Bond and the opportunity it creates to invest in our city’s first American Indian Cultural Embassy. We are committed to working hand-in-hand with the Indigenous community to plan and develop the future embassy, and city staff have already been invited to listen and engage with some of our local American Indian groups, like the People of the Sacred Land. We are not yet at the stage of formal plans, but we are excited to see the momentum of this project continue.”

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending