Colorado music festivals cover the spectrum in 2013.They range from the traditional () to the neighborhoody (); from the national touring kind () to the mountain rave-y kind (); from the down-home country kind (Greeley Stampede) to the hoity industry kind (FMQB Triple A Conference).
With that kind of diversity, itap hardly hyperbole to say there’s something for everyone.
Here are 25 Colorado Music festivals we’re looking forward to:
May 24-26:MeadowGrass Music Festival with Blitzen Trapper, Dawes, Todd Snider with Great American Taxi at La Foret, Black Forest
May 25: Denver Day of Rock with Vintage Trouble, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, Fishbone at various venues along downtown’s 16th Street Mall
May 25: MusicFest with the Head and the Heart, Mayer Hawthorne, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down at Magness Arena
June 7: KS-107.5 SummerJam at Fiddler’s Green, Greenwood Village
June 13-16: Sonic Bloom Festival with Opiuo, VibeSquaD, Random Rab at Shadows Ranch, Georgetown
June 14-16: Palisade Bluegrass & Roots Festival with Justin Townes Earle, the Devil Makes Three, Pokey LaFarge at Riverbend Park, Palisade
June 20-23: Telluride Bluegrass Festival with Mumford & Sons, Jackson Browne, Feist at Telluride Town Park, Telluride
June 20-23: Country Jam with Rascal Flatts, Kid Rock, Montgomery Gentry at a site 22 miles west of Grand Junction
June 21-July 6: Jazz Aspen Snowmass’ June Festival with Jackson Browne, Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite at the Benedict Music Tent, Aspen
June 22: Westword Music Showcase with Dada Life, Trampled by Turtles, Nick Waterhouse at various venues in Broadway’s Golden Triangle neighborhood
June 27-July 7: Greeley Stampede with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Los Lobos, Trace Adkins in the Stampede Arena, Greeley
June 30: Vans Warped Tour with 3OH!3, Hawthorne Heights, Forever the Sickest Kids in the parking lot of Sports Authority Field at Mile High
July 13-14: Ride Festival with David Byrne & St. Vincent, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Rodrigo y Gabriela at Telluride Town Park, Telluride
July 19-21: Global Dance Festival with Beats Antique, Savoy, Mimosa at Red Rocks
July 19-28: Cheyenne Frontier Days with Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Journey at Frontier Park, Cheyenne
July 26-28: RockyGrass with the Del McCoury Band, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Keller Williams at the Planet Bluegrass Ranch, Lyons
Aug. 2-4: Crestone Music Festival with Tab Benoit, the Haunted Windchimes, Vieux Farka Toure on multiple stages in Crestone
Aug. 7-10: FMQB Triple A Conference with Neko Case, Phoenix, the Airborne Toxic Event at various venues in Boulder
Aug 16-18: Bohemian Nights at New West Fest with Air Dubai, the Haunted Windchimes, Dan Treanor’s Afrosippi Band featuring Eric Brown at various venues in Fort Collins
Aug. 16-18: Rocky Mountain Folks Festival with John Butler Trio, Patty Griffin, Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists) at the Planet Bluegrass Ranch, Lyons
Aug. 17: Chipotle Cultivate Festival with Cold War Kids, Good Old War at Denver’s City Park
Aug. 23-Sept. 2: Colorado State Fair with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Big Town, the Oak Ridge Boys at the fairgrounds, Pueblo
Aug. 30-Sept. 1: Jazz Aspen Snowmass’ Labor Day Festival with Jason Mraz, Keith Urban, Journey at Snowmass Town Park, Snowmass
Sept. 13-15: Telluride Blues & Brews with the Black Crowes, Melissa Etheridge, Jim James at Telluride Town Park, Telluride
TOP PICK
July 18-21: The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase with Cults, Mudhoney, Bleached at various venues in South Broadway’s Baker neighborhood.
Of course we think you should come to the UMS, but not only because we created the indie music festival 12 years ago. The UMS is unlike any other festival in this group because itap the closest Denver gets to that special, SXSW-styled aesthetic that thrives over four days in 25-plus venues with 300 bands. See for yourself:
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Ricardo Baca is the founder and executive editor of, the co-founder ofand an award-winning critic and editor atThe Denver Post.
