Denver, CO
Jordi Fernandez returns to Denver as first-time NBA head coach: “Every year that I was here helped prepare me”
Jordi Fernandez wasn’t in Denver for the coronation, but he helped steer the Nuggets toward the throne.
During his six years on Michael Malone’s staff, en route to his own head coaching job in Brooklyn, he left an indelible imprint on players.
“No good memories,” Michael Porter Jr. said, straight-faced. “Not a single one.”
Kidding.
“He was here when I first got here. He was a defensive coach at the time. He really paid attention to me and kind of saw my potential,” Porter told The Denver Post. “Even when I was coming in with an injury, he believed in me, and I was one of his guys that he wanted to really help. … He was intentional about developing the relationship with players.”
Fernandez returned to Colorado as a head coach for the first time on Friday night, leading an injury-depleted Nets squad firmly in rebuild mode. His former players and colleagues caught up with him before and after the game in the hallways underneath Ball Arena, a series of reunions that included one with Nikola Jokic, who beamed when bringing up Fernandez’s family.
“His daughter turned 7 I think today,” Jokic said after the Nuggets’ 124-105 win.
“I think he’s doing a good job. I think guys are listening. Guys are playing hard for him. I think that’s really important for a coach. … They are trying to do the right thing. They are trying to do what he is probably telling them. So they have some kind of system, and it’s really cool to see. They’re in the beginning of the process, of course. Hopefully, they can grow.”
Fernandez, 42, first got to know Malone in 2009 when he joined the Cavaliers as a player development coach on Mike Brown’s staff. Malone was an assistant coach in Cleveland at the time, and he was struck by Fernandez’s “enthusiasm for the game; his passion for the game.” Fernandez went on to coach the G League’s Canton Charge; Malone had a cup of coffee as Sacramento’s head coach before ending up in Denver. He hired Fernandez in 2016, one season into his Nuggets tenure.
“Every year that I was here helped prepare me for this job,” Fernandez said Friday. “Michael Malone, the organization, the coaching staff, ownership, front office. Every experience here. It was one of the reasons I’m in the position that I’m in right now. I was able to experience a young team that the majority of the guys were drafted, that we built into a playoff team, made it to the conference finals and then won a championship. So the process really helped me to understand how things work. It’s never going to be the same (in every situation), and it’s never going to be perfect. But going through it here and being part of it I think was a great experience for me as a coach.”
His 2022 departure for Sacramento to become Brown’s associate head coach turned out to be unlucky timing. The Nuggets won their first NBA title the following season, with longtime Fernandez pupils such as Jokic, Porter and Jamal Murray making up the championship core.
That meant the pinnacle of Fernandez’s time in Denver occurred, well, away from Denver. The Nuggets took their first major step by reaching the Western Conference Finals in the COVID-19 bubble. “There’s the ups and downs with wins and losses and frustrations and happiness,” he said.
But his most cherished memories are not solely professional. Denver remains a sentimental former home for a coach who has represented as wide an array of places as anyone in the sport. Fernandez is from Spain. He used to be an assistant coach for Spain’s national team, and for Nigeria’s. Most recently, he took over as Canada’s head coach for the 2023 FIBA World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics. Colorado still stands out because “six years of my life with my family were here,” he said. “My kids were born here.”
Fernandez spent two seasons with the Kings before taking the top job in Brooklyn, where he has navigated constant roster instability in his debut season. The Nets traded veteran guard Dennis Schroder to Golden State in mid-December. Two weeks later, they traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Lakers, taking back D’Angelo Russell (and stockpiling draft picks). Their injury report on Friday was eight names long.
A pursuit of a coveted top-three pick seems to be in Brooklyn’s near future, despite an impressive start to the season that earned Fernandez recognition. He’s faced with the precarious balance between developing winning habits in his players while his team likely loses a lot of games.
“(He has) just a hunger and an appetite for learning and growing, and his ability to just relate and get along with the players,” Malone said. “You could tell it was just a matter of time when he was given that opportunity. … Been a tough year for them, but I think when you look at everything they’ve gone through this year — the trades, the players and all that — the most important thing for Jordi and any young coach is to establish a culture. And then as you add pieces to that culture, then the wins will come.”
As warmly received as Fernandez was by old friends at Ball Arena, Malone’s competitiveness has rubbed off on him. The 42-year-old sounded a lot like his former boss before the game on Friday when asked about all the catching up he would be doing throughout the night, all the congratulatory handshakes he would be receiving.
“Once you do your job, there’s no friends,” Fernandez said. “And the same way I want to beat them, they’re going to want to beat me. I know for sure that Michael Malone feels the same way.”
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“Higher Power” is coming to a higher altitude.
On Tuesday, June 10, Coldplay will headline at Denver, CO’s Empower Field at Mile High as part of their ongoing ‘Music of the Spheres World Tour.’
Willow and Elyanna will serve as the opening acts at the one-off concert.
This gig at the Broncos’ stadium comes after a pair of huge shows at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Based on our findings at Set List FM, the stadium rockers delivered 20+ songs over four acts both nights.
And, yes, iconic tunes like “The Scientist,” “Viva La Vida,” “Higher Power,” “Clocks,” “Fix You” all worked their way into the show.
“Musically, Coldplay is at the core a groovy little band tightened over a nearly 30-year career,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote about the first of two shows. “This quartet knows how to play big. ‘Higher Power’ opened the show in full overdrive. Pyro powered ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’ and ‘Paradise.’ The crowd bounced through ‘God Put a Smile Upon Your Face’ and ‘Yellow.’”
Want to witness this ambitious live show — that’s amazingly powered by renewable energy sources — IRL at Mile High?
As of now, last-minute tickets are available.
At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find to get in the door was $165 including fees on Vivid Seats.
While that sounds expensive, keep in mind that seats started at $222 including fees, when we last reported on Coldplay ticket prices on May 21.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about Coldplay’s concert in Denver below.
All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.
Coldplay Denver tickets
The band’s Empower Field at Mile High show date, start time and links to what tickets cost now versus what they were going for on May 21 can be found here:
| Coldplay Denver concert dates | Ticket prices start at |
Ticket prices started at on 05/21 |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, June 10 6 p.m. |
$165 (fees included) |
$222 (fees included) |
(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and, if it isn’t noted, will include additional fees at checkout.)
Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.
They offer a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and your tickets will be delivered prior to the event.
Still curious about Vivid Seats? You can find an article from their team about why the company is legit here.
Coldplay tour schedule 2025-26
A complete calendar including all North American tour dates, venues, and links to the cheapest tickets available can be found here:
| Coldplay 2025 tour dates |
|---|
| June 13 at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, TX |
| June 14 at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, TX |
| July 7 at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, ON, CA |
| July 8 at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, ON, CA |
| July 11 at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, ON, CA |
| July 12 at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, ON, CA |
| July 15 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA |
| July 16 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA |
| July 19 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI |
| July 22 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN |
| July 26 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL |
| July 27 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL |
| Aug. 18 at Craven Park in Hull, GB |
| Aug. 19 at Craven Park in Hull, GB |
| Aug. 22 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Aug. 23 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Aug. 26 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Aug. 27 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Aug. 30 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Aug. 31 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Sept. 3 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Sept. 4 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Sept. 7 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| Sept. 8 at Wembley Stadium in London, GB |
| July 19, 2026 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ |
Coldplay set list
Coldplay kicked off the North American leg of their yearslong tour at Stanford Stadium. According to Set List FM, here’s what they took to the stage at that June 1 gig:
Act I: Planets
01.) “Higher Power”
02.) “Adventure of a Lifetime”
03.) “Paradise”
04.) “The Scientist”
Act II: Moons
05.) “Viva la Vida”
06.) “Hymn for the Weekend”
07.) “In My Place”
08.) “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face”
09.) “Yellow”
10.) “All My Love”
Act III: Stars
11.) “People of the Pride”
12.) “Clocks”
13.) “WE PRAY”
14.) “Infinity Sign”
15.) “Something Just Like This” (The Chainsmokers cover)
16.) “My Universe”
17.) “A Sky Full of Stars”
Act IV: Home
18.) “Sparks”
19.) “The Jumbotron Song”
20.) “Fix You”
21.) “GOOD FEELiNGS”
22.) “feelslikeimfallinginlove”
Coldplay new music
On Oct. 4, 2024, Coldplay dropped their tenth studio album, “Moon Music.”
The New York Post’s music critic Chuck Arnold reviewed the record. For a closer look at what he had to say, you can find his analysis of their soulful new offering here.
Coldplay special guests
The group will be joined by a pair of opening acts at their Denver show. In order to make sure you’re familiar with their work, here’s each artist’s most-streamed song on Spotify.
Willow: “Wait a Minute!”
Elyanna: “Callin’ U (Tamally Maak)”
Huge stars on tour in 2025
If Coldplay isn’t coming to a venue near you, don’t worry. You’ve got options this year
Here are five huge artists that may be headed to your neck of the woods these next few months.
• Oasis
• Yusuf/Cat Stevens
• Paul Simon
• Benson Boone
• Mumford and Sons
Who else is on the road? Take a look at our list of all the biggest artists on tour in 2025 to find the show for you.
A Denver hairstylist who disappeared after leaving her University Hills apartment on April 15 has been found dead, her mother announced Saturday.
“There are no words strong enough for the grief we are feeling,” Jax Gratton’s mother, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, wrote in a Facebook group dedicated to finding her daughter. “The light she carried, the love she gave so freely and the joy she brought into our lives have been taken from this world far too soon.”
In the nearly two months that Gratton was missing, more than 5,100 people joined the group to share information and try to find the missing 34-year-old hairstylist.
Gratton was last seen at about 10 p.m. April 15 in the 4200 block of East Iliff Avenue, according to the Denver Police Department.
Her body was found a week short of two months later, Gratton-Camis said.
Gratton-Camis started worrying when her daughter didn’t call on Easter, and the hairstylist’s friends realized something was wrong when she missed multiple appointments with her clients. Gratton rented a studio at the Solera Salon Suites’ North Broadway location.
Gratton’s body was found in a Lakewood alley in the 9600 block of West Colfax Avenue at about 5 p.m. Friday, Gratton-Camis told Denver7 on Saturday.
She said a Lakewood detective visually identified the hairstylist by her tattoos and that her daughter was found wearing the same clothes she left in.
“The body was in advanced stages of decomposition and could not be positively identified,” Lakewood Police Department spokesperson John Romero said in an email to The Denver Post. He said a suspicious death investigation was ongoing.
Jefferson County coroner officials said Sunday afternoon that no forensic identification had been made and the cause of death was “pending until further notice.”
No updates in the Lakewood investigation were available Sunday, Romero said.
“This has opened my eyes in ways I can’t ignore. It’s not just about Jax — it’s about all of you in the LGBTQIA+ community who face the world every day with courage, just wanting to live, love and exist safely and equally,” Gratton-Camis wrote on Facebook. “That should never be a fight. And yet it is.”
Gratton’s friends and family plan to gather in front of Denver’s City and County Building at 1437 Bannock St. at 11 a.m. Monday to talk about her death and remember her with the community.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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Originally Published:
The family of a Denver hairstylist missing since April said that her body has been found.
Jax Gratton was last seen leaving her University Hills apartment on April 15. She rented a suite at Solera Salon Suites in Denver, but because each stylist works for themselves, it took days for anyone to realize she was missing. Family and friends canvassed social media and put up flyers around the city, hoping to find her.
On Saturday, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis confirmed with CBS Colorado that her daughter, Jax, was found deceased. A friend and coworker said Jax’s body was found outside in Lakewood.
Brandy Carey, the salon manager and a friend of Gratton’s, said that they plan to hold a vigil for her, but for now, they’re taking time off to process what’s happened.
Gratton’s mother posted a tribute to her daughter on Facebook, stating, “Jax Gratton was a light — I know that. She lit up so many lives just by being herself. Unapologetically. Fiercely. Fully. I see her in every act of love and strength you’ve shown, and I wish peace, love, and protection for all of you.”
She thanked those who tried to help find her daughter and said Jax’s death made her more aware of the dangers those in the LGBTQIA+ community face.
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