Saturday. Winter Park Resort’s sassy side, the Mary Jane base area, is marking its 50th anniversary this season with a celebration on Saturday, Jan. 10. It includes a kickoff party with celebratory first laps, a ski-down parade and a birthday toast with cake at The Jane’s base area. Festivities in town will include fireworks and a free concert by Big Gigantic, an EDM duo from Boulder.

The concert takes place at the outdoor Rendezvous Event Center, 78821 US Highway 40, in Winter Park. Visit for resort lift tickets and more information. — John Meyer

Josiah Hesse’s “On Fire”

Tuesday. Denver journalist and author Josiah Hesse, who’s written about topics ranging from cannabis in exercise to conservative politics, has a new book called “On Fire for God” that traces his personal history with evangelical Christianity while growing up in Mason City, Iowa. “One part ‘Educated,’ one part rebuttal to ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ ‘On Fire for God’ explores the ways evangelical Christianity has preyed upon its followers while galvanizing them into the political force known today as the Christian right,” according to a statement.

Hesse will celebrate the incendiary tome’s Denver release with an all-ages event at the Tattered Cover Colfax from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 2526 E. Colfax Ave. in Denver. A $7.25 ticket is required and includes a signed hardcover copy of the book, or a $5 Tattered Cover gift certificate (in addition to event admission). Visit for tickets or for more details. — John Wenzel

A legend in the making

Friday-Saturday. Texas native Charley Crockett is a modern-day troubadour cut from the same cloth as Outlaw Country greats but also the poignant folk-rock of Bob Dylan and the raw Americana of Lucinda Williams. The tireless touring artist and songwriter finds his true calling on stage, typically performing more than 20 songs from his dozen-plus albums over the past decade, including “One Trick Pony” and “Alamosa.”

Crockett will headline RiNo’s Mission Ballroom on Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10. Tickets for the 16-and-up shows at 4242 Wynkoop St. in Denver are $78.84-$182.07 via . — John Wenzel

International Sportsmen’s Expo

Through Sunday. The massive International Sportsmen’s Expo returns to the Colorado Convention Center this weekend for all things hunting, fishing and traversing the land. New this year for the trade show: pontoon boats and an expanded RV section, along with the usual seminars and workshops features, a kid-friendly catch-and-release trout pond, live birds from the Raptor Education Foundation, and Stay the Trail’s RC off-road test track.

Tickets are $18 for ages 16 and up. Active military with ID and those 15 and under can get in for free. Noon-7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. The event takes place at 700 14th St. in downtown Denver. Visit for tickets and more information. — John Wenzel

The pro wrestling promotion announced Monday it is coming to Mission Ballroom on Feb. 25 to broadcast “AEW Dynamite” live and tape an episode of “AEW Collision.”

This is the seventh time AEW has held its shows in Colorado and just the second time in Denver; it was also at the Mission Ballroom for its Fyter Fest special last June.

The company previously had performances in Colorado Springs, Loveland and Broomfield — including the��final event at the 1stBank Center��before it was demolished.

Tickets for the show will go .

The approval, which came in a block vote, marks the first time the city has created an entertainment district to allow a common consumption area. The state first allowed the open drinking areas — which allow bar patrons more flexibility to wander with their drinks — back in 2011.

Denver paved the way for the districts in 2019. But despite plenty of early interest, this was the first successful application.

Westfield Co. manages that 14-acre property at 4180 N. Wynkoop St., including the music venue, the Chubby Unicorn Cantina and Left Hand Brewing. It applied for the license in August. The Peach Crease Club, a cocktail bar, opened next to those businesses in the fall. Until now, their customers have been able to drink outside only within the confines of their patios.

“This program really is about the flexibility and opportunity to have the choice, it����ap not so much about the alcohol itself,” said Ally Fredeen, the special project manager for Westfield, in December.

Mission Ballroom won’t be included in the program, so concertgoers won’t be able to go in and out of the venue with drinks.

But Fredeen said Monday that the company plans to collaborate with the neighboring businesses and organize more ways to activate the plaza to draw in people, potentially through things like yard games and art events. Once the new license is finalized by the city, potentially within days, the consumption area will go into effect, she said.

“We’re excited for additional programming and activation and the community building that naturally happens” when something like this exists, she said.

Several Colorado cities already have common consumption areas, including at The Exchange in downtown Fort Collins and Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, which Westfield operates. Others are in place in Telluride, Black Hawk, Salida and Edgewater.

“We are ecstatic to demonstrate this opportunity to support our small restaurants so they can continue to stay in the communities they want to stay in,” said Denver Councilman Darrell Watson, whose district includes Mission Ballroom. He sponsored the legislation.

No other property or business owners in the city have applied to form an entertainment district, which is part of obtaining a common consumption license. A district must meet several requirements, including being an area smaller than 100 acres and having at least 20,000 square feet of liquor-licensed premises. At least two liquor-licensed businesses must form a promotional association to apply for the license. They also must show evidence of the surrounding community’s support for the common consumption license.

“We haven’t seen high interest in this — it’s very difficult to get,” said Erica Rogers, the policy director for .

Eric Escudero, the licensing spokesman, said approval of the first entertainment district could lead to more applications.

“We want to see this new license type give businesses the opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial spirit and freedom to come up with creative ideas,” he said. “We think some of the most innovative bar and restaurant owners in America operate in Denver, and once they see how this license type can help their business succeed, we may see a lot more applicants.”

Separate from the common consumption license, city officials earlier this year established a consumption area around Glenarm Place and 16th Street as part of efforts to revitalize the recently renovated pedestrian mall. Customers can take drinks they buy at nearby businesses into the barricaded zone, which is closed to traffic.

Several outside groups have shown interest in forming common consumption districts in the past, Escudero said. Early on, people associated with the Dairy Block downtown, which includes the Milk Market food hall, expressed interest publicly.

On Monday, the council also repealed a that would have ended the city’s pilot program for the entertainment districts later this year.

,�� 4180 Wynkoop St., Suite 130, is the brainchild of cocktail power couple Stuart Jensen and Alex Jump, who have been shaking up the bar scene for more than a decade. Though they have owned and worked at some of the city’s notable watering holes, The Peach Crease Club is their first venture together, and their taste is reflected in every aspect, from the libations and food options to the aesthetic and audio system.

That����ap especially fitting when you consider that the concept was, in part, inspired by the couple’s backyard bar where they welcomed friends during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jump and Jensen have since moved – and thus disassembled their home bar – but the goal for their new spot remains the same.

“We want to have a nice, comforting, approachable space, great drinks, great music, and great food. I don’t think we want any one of those things to take the spotlight over the others,” said Jensen, also co-owner of local establishments and .

Jump and Jensen spent more than a year transforming the 1,700-square-foot space into the midcentury modern refuge of their dreams. One wall houses a chic wooden bar that stretches to the ceiling. Another features a row of booths that can fit “six businessmen, eight close friends or 10 bachelorettes,” by Jump’s calculations.

The forest green palette and dark wood accents make the space feel cozy, as do the sound-dampening panels designed to blend in with the vibe. Music will be one of the hallmarks of The Peach Crease Club, evident by the DJ booth built to spin vinyl records and the vintage speakers located throughout the venue. Proximity across a plaza from Mission Ballroom was also part of the location’s appeal, Jump and Jensen said.

Now about the drinks: While guests will always find some classic cocktails, The Peach Crease Club’s menu reads more like it����ap a chef-driven affair. Take, for example, the Waldorf made with apple brandy, celery, fortified wine, pecan, verjus and blue cheese. Or the Borscht, a mix of vodka, beets, yogurt, dill, lemon and horseradish cream.

Other offerings go by the names Fennel (fennel, citrus, vanilla, and strawberry rosé vinegar), Papaya Salad (Mekhong liquor, sake, mango, green papaya, chili, lime and fish sauce) and Banana Bread (malted rye, single malt whisky, miso and banana.)

Jump, who previously served as the bar manager at Death & Co., has been a leader in the no- and low-ABV cocktail movement sweeping the country, so there are also a fair amount of those on the menu, too — crafted with the same “attention and care” as any other item, she said. Some beverages, such as the mezcal and pumpkin drink Calabaza en Tacha, can even have a non-alcoholic spirit substituted in the recipe.

While the menu is expected to rotate seasonally, Jump said there will always be a peach libation. For now, it����ap the Peaches and Cream made with peach brandy, bourbon, rum, vanilla, and snickerdoodle cookie cream. Fun fact: The peach brandy, , was distilled on the same day Jump and Jensen got engaged in 2023.

Originally, the couple did not plan to serve food at The Peach Crease Club, but they decided to add a menu of elevated bar bites to accentuate the unique cocktails. That includes four varieties of Smørrebrød, a traditional Danish open-faced sandwich, plus charcuterie and caviar. Additionally, the bar will serve espresso drinks, beer and wine.

“We’re looking for a slightly nicer experience, maybe not your everyday bar,” Jump said. “We want to be a place where you celebrate special moments, or you’re celebrating yourself or your partner or your family.”

As if that weren’t enough, the plaza between the bar and Mission Ballroom is poised to become Denver’s first licensed entertainment district and outdoor common consumption area. To meet the needs of thirsty pedestrians, The Peach Crease Club has a to-go window it is calling The Peach Pit, which will serve cocktails on tap

“It����ap meant to be more like a dive bar with a lower price point,” Jump said, with “high-brow/low-brow” offerings like a Dirty Shirley, a classic Shirley Temple spiked with vodka.

After more than a year of construction, Jump and Jensen expressed excitement about seeing their vision coming to life, even if the process hasn’t always been peachy. Tariffs have gravely impacted their budget – Jensen said he recently had to write a tariffs check for $90 so that a delivery company would hand over their glassware – as have the increased cost of building materials.

Still, they’re now looking forward to getting people in the door, putting drinks in glasses and dropping the needle on a record – “seeing all those things together into one perfect harmony,” Jump said.

The Peach Crease Club is located at 4180 Wynkoop St., Suite 130 in Denver. It is open from 4 p.m. to midnight on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. A paid parking lot ($5) is located near the intersection of Brighton Boulevard and 41st Street. Even when there’s a concert at Mission Ballroom, The Peach Crease Club guests can tell the attendants to avoid paying concert parking prices, Jump and Jensen said. For more information, visit .

“It is pretty inconvenient,” Ferguson, 22, said on a recent rainy evening, waiting for a nearly empty train that was eight minutes late.

He’s not complaining, however, because his relatively low income and Medicaid status qualify him for a discounted RTD monthly pass. That lets him save money for a car or an electric bicycle, he said, either of them offering a faster commute.

Then he would no longer have to ride RTD.

His plight reflects a core problem of��lagging ridership that RTD directors increasingly run up against as they try to position the transit agency as the smartest way to navigate Denver. Most other U.S. public transit agencies, too, are grappling with a version of this problem.

In Colorado, state-government-driven efforts to concentrate the growing population in high-density, transit-oriented development around bus and train stations — a priority for legislators and Gov. Jared Polis — hinge on having a swift public system that residents ride.

But transit ridership has failed to rebound a year after RTD’s havoc in 2024, when agency managers disrupted service downtown for a $152 million rail reconstruction followed by a systemwide emergency maintenance blitz to smooth deteriorating tracks that led to trains crawling through 10-mph “slow zones.”

The latest show an overall decline this year, by at least 3.9%, with 40 million fewer riders per year compared with six years ago. And RTD executives’ newly proposed, for 2026 doesn’t include funds for boosting bus and train frequency to win back riders.

Frustrations intensified last week.

“What is the point of transit-oriented development if it is just development?” said state Rep. Meg Froelich, a Democrat representing Englewood who chairs the . “We need reliable transit to have transit-oriented development. We have cities that have invested significant resources into their transit-oriented communities. RTD is not holding up its end of the bargain.”

At a retreat this past summer, a majority of the RTD’s 15 elected board members agreed that boosting ridership is their top priority. Some who reviewed last week questioned the lack of spending on service improvements for riders.

“We’re not moving the needle. Ridership is not going up. It should be going up,” director Karen Benker said in an interview.

“Over the past few years, there’s been a tremendous amount of population growth. There are so many apartment complexes, so much new housing put up all over,” Benker said. “Transit has to be relied on. You just cannot keep building more roads. We’re going to have to find ways to get people to ride public transit.”

Commuting trends blamed

RTD Chief Executive and General Manager Debra Johnson, in emailed responses to questions from The Denver Post, emphasized that “RTD is not unique” among U.S. transit agencies struggling to regain ridership lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson blamed societal shifts.

“Commuting trends have significantly changed over the last five years,” she said. “Return-to-work numbers in the Denver metro area, which accounted for a significant percentage of RTD’s ridership prior to March 2020, remain low as companies and businesses continue to provide flexible in-office schedules for their employees.”

In the future, RTD will be “changing its focus from primarily providing commuter services,” she said, toward “enhancing its bus and services and connections to high-volume events, activity centers, concerts and festivals.”

A recent found exceptional customer satisfaction.

But agency directors are looking for a more aggressive approach to reversing the decline in ridership. And some are mulling a radical restructuring of routes.

Funded mostly by taxpayers across a 2,345 square-mile area spanning eight counties and 40 municipalities — one of the biggest in the nation — RTD operates 10 rail lines covering 114 miles with 84 stations and 102 bus routes with 9,720 stops.

“We should start from scratch,” said RTD director Chris Nicholson, advocating an overhaul of the “geometry” of all bus routes to align transit better with metro Denver residents’ current mobility patterns.

The key will be increasing frequency.

“We should design the routes how we think would best serve people today, and then we could take that and modify it where absolutely necessary to avoid disruptive differences with our current route map,” he said.

Then, in 2030, directors should appeal to voters for increased funding to improve service — funds that would be substantially controlled by municipalties “to pick where they want the service to go,” he said.

Reversing the RTD ridership decline may take a couple of years, Nicholson said, comparing the decreases this year to customers shunning a restaurant. “If you’re a restaurant and you poison some guests accidentally, you’re gonna lose customers even after you fix the problem.”

The RTD ridership show an overall public transit ridership decrease by 5% when measured over the 12-month period from August 2024 through July 2025, the last month for which staffers have made numbers available, compared with the same period a year ago.

Bus ridership decreased by 2% and light rail by 18% over that period. In a typical month, RTD officials record around 5 million boardings — around 247,000 on weekdays.

The emergency maintenance blitz began in June 2024 when RTD officials revealed that inspectors had found widespread “rail burn” deterioration of tracks, compelling thousands of riders to seek other transportation.

The precautionary rail “slow zones” persisted for months as contractors worked on tracks, delaying and diverting trains, leaving transit-dependent workers in a lurch. RTD driver workforce shortages limited deployment of emergency bus shuttles.

This year, RTD ridership systemwide decreased by 3.9% when measured from January through July, compared with that period in 2024. The bus ridership this year has decreased by 2.4%.

On rail lines, the ridership on the relatively popular A Line that runs from downtown to was down by 9.7%. The E Line light rail that runs from downtown to the southeastern edge of metro Denver was down by 24%. Rail ridership on the W Line decreased by 18% and on R Line by 15%, show.

The annual RTD ridership has decreased by 38% since 2019, from 105.8 million to 65.2 million in 2024.

Light rail ‘sickness’ spreading

“The sickness on RTD light rail is spreading to other parts of the RTD system,” said James Flattum, a co-founder of the grassroots rider advocacy group, who also serves on the state’s . “We’re seeing permanent demand destruction as a consequence of having an unreliable system. This comes from a loss of trust in RTD to get you where you need to go.”

RTD officials have countered critics by pointing out that the light rail’s on-time performance recovered this year to 91% or better. Bus on-time performance still lagged at 83% in July, agency records show.

The officials also pointed to decreased security reports made using an RTD after deploying more police officers on buses and trains. The number of reported assaults has decreased — to four in September, compared with 16 in September 2024, records show.

Greater Denver Transit members acknowledged that safety has improved, but question the agency’s assertions based on app usage. “It may be true that the number of security calls went down,” Flattum said, “but maybe the people who otherwise would have made more safety calls are no longer riding RTD.”

RTD staffers developing the 2026 budget have focused on managing debt and maintaining operations spending at current levels. They’ve received forecasts that revenues from taxpayers will increase slightly. It’s unclear whether state and federal funds will be available.

Looking ahead, they’re also planning to take on $539 million of debt over the next five years to buy new diesel buses, instead of shifting to electric hybrid buses as planned for the future.

RTD directors and leaders of the , an environmental group, are opposing the rollback of RTD’s planned shift to the cleaner, quieter electric hybrid buses and taking on new debt for that purpose.

Colorado lawmakers will “push on a bunch of different fronts” to prioritize better service to boost ridership, Froelich said.

The legislature in recent years directed funds to help RTD provide free transit for riders under age 20. Buses and trains running at least every 15 minutes would improve both ridership and safety, she said, because more riders would discourage bad behavior and riders wouldn’t have to wait alone at night on often-empty platforms for up to an hour.

“We’re trying to do what we can to get people back onto the transit system,” Froelich said. “They do it in other places, and people here do ride the Bustang (intercity bus system). RTD just seems to lack the nimbleness required to meet the moment.”

Riders switch modes

Meanwhile, riders continue to abandon public transit when it doesn’t meet their needs.

For theater technician Chris Grossman, 35, ditching RTD led to a better quality of life. He had to move from the Virginia Village neighborhood he loved.

Back in 2016, Grossman sold his ailing blue 2003 VW Golf when he moved there in the belief that “RTD light rail was more or less reliable.” He rode nearly every day between the Colorado Station and downtown.

But trains became erratic as maintenance of walls along tracks caused delays. “It just got so bad. I was burning so much money on rideshares that I probably could have bought a car.” Shortly before RTD announced the “slow zones” last summer, he moved to an apartment closer to downtown on Capitol Hill.

He walks or rides scooters to work, faster than taking the bus, he said.

Similarly, Honor Morgan, 25, who came to Denver from the rural Midwest, “grateful for any public transit,” said she had to move from her place east of downtown to be closer to her workplace due to RTD transit trouble.

Buses were late, and one blew by her as she waited. She had to adjust her attire when riding her Colfax Avenue route to Union Station to manage harassment. She faced regular dramas of riders with substance-use problems erupting.

Morgan moved to an apartment near Union Station in March, allowing her to walk to work.

She still hoped to rely on RTD for concerts and nightlife, and to reach DIA for work-related flights at least once a month. But RTD social media posts have alerted her to enough delays on the A Line that she no longer trusts it, she said. To reduce her “anxiety” and minimize the risk of missing her flights, she shells out for rides — even though these often get stuck in traffic.

She and her boyfriend recently tried RTD again, riding a train to the 38th and Blake Station near the . They attended “an amazing concert” there, she said, and felt happy as they walked to the station to catch the train home.

A man on the platform collapsed backward, hitting his head. He was bleeding. She called 911. Her boyfriend and other riders gathered. She ran across the street to an apartment building and grabbed paper towels. RTD isn’t really to blame, but “I just wish they had a station platform attendant, or someone. I do not know head-injury first aid,” Morgan said.

The train they’d been waiting for came and went. An ambulance arrived. They got home late, the evening ruined, she said.

“His��head cracked open. He had skin flaps hanging off his head. This was stuck in my head, at least for the rest of the night.”

It could be Indie 102.3 (102.3 FM) recording a ferocious performance by a British rock band at their studios in Centennial. Or KGNU (88.5 FM), where a guitarist might be softly strumming next to the on-air host at the Boulder studio. Or maybe it’s an evening concert by the East High School jazz band taking place at the KUVO (89.3 FM) studios in downtown Denver.

Radio has served as a medium for live music since its inception. In Colorado, radio stations have featured bands big and small over the decades, through in-studio performances and regular sponsored shows at local venues.

“It’s just part of the fabric of what you do,” said Indra Raj, the music director at KGNU, an NPR-affiliated community radio station.

But live music on the radio is at risk of disappearing following President Donald Trump’s executive order in May to withdraw federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR, PBS and other public radio stations. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced in August it would shut down after losing federal funding.

With public radio stuck in political limbo, Colorado Public Radio, the owner of Indie 102.3, has paused studio sessions in Centennial indefinitely, said Indie host and local music director Alisha Sweeney.

“It’s a big production, and with public radio right now, we just don’t have the capacity to do it, even though we would love to and bands would love to,” Sweeney said.

Indie’s archival catalog of studio recordings is available online and stretches back to 2011; it includes remote performances streamed on Zoom and YouTube following the pandemic. The most recent live session on its channel is from April 2024.

Sweeney, who started DJing 25 years ago at the University of Colorado in Boulder, has favorite live moments. Shakey Graves recorded an early version of “Dearly Departed” at the Indie studios in 2014 that left people in awe, she said. Denver troubadour Nathaniel Rateliff once came in with nothing but an acoustic guitar and his boisterous voice. And she’s seen singer-songwriter Father John Misty perform three times for the station. (The first was recorded in her co-worker’s tiny apartment.)

And then there was the British rock group Idles, which arrived in Centennial in 2022 between dates at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California and the Mission Ballroom in Denver. “They blew the roof off our studio,” Sweeney said.

At the end of every month, Sweeney puts on the Local 303 meetup, a free concert by at least one Colorado band or artist. The shows are a way for local artists to come together and for Indie listeners to familiarize themselves with Denver venues, she said. The most recent meetup was at Skylark Lounge in Denver.

“I feel very lucky to be an ambassador of Colorado music and to have worked my career into this role to represent Colorado artists on the radio,” she said.

As a community radio station, KGNU has 150 DJs volunteering their time at its Denver and Boulder studios. While mainly known for its bluegrass contingent, bands of all genres visit the studio regularly to record and play on air, Raj said.

The station regularly sponsors shows across the Front Range and broadcasts live from the Louisville Street Faire and the RockyGrass Festival in Lyons in late July. The latter draws in livestream listeners from around the world, Raj said.

Kabaret, a weekly KGNU show Tuesdays at 7 p.m. that has aired for more than 20 years, has brought in local bands to play one hour live on air, Raj said.

“We have a smaller share of the market as a community radio station, so we rely on local artists as much as they rely on us to get the word out,” Raj said.

At the end of this year or early the next, KGNU will relocate its Boulder studios to a larger, more prominent space with its own black-box theater downtown, Raj said.

It’s not the only radio station making moves. Indie will leave its longtime studios in Centennial and join its parent nonprofit, Colorado Public Radio, at its planned Denver headquarters as early as next year, Sweeney said. (Editor’s note: Miguel Otarola is a former employee of Colorado Public Radio.)

Early design concepts included a stage where bands could play live over the airwaves and in front of an audience. By then, Sweeney hopes Indie’s shows will be rolling again.

Commercial radio stations owned by iHeartMedia in Denver, such as KBCO (97.3 FM) and Channel 93.3 (93.3 FM), also stream live performances occasionally.

KUVO, a public radio station owned by Rocky Mountain PBS, has hosted bands in its studios for decades, according to station spokesperson Ayana Contreras. Its archive of performances dates back to 2018, she said.

Its stage at the Buell Public Media Center was graced in recent months by modern jazz luminaries The Bad Plus and Daniel Villarreal. The station also invites local high-school jazz bands to its studios.

Jazz, a genre that thrives on spontaneity and improvisation, is the lifeblood of the station, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. As long as the station remains on the airwaves, live music will continue to be a part of it.

The biggest venues — those with a capacity of 2,000 or more — were constantly booked during the summer and early-fall concert seasons, with homegrown artists such as Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and The Lumineers joining touring biggies like Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Keith Urban, and Metallica.

While metro area stadiums and arenas aren’t purpose-built for music, they host enough concerts (and music fans) to justify inclusion here; anyone who’s seen Denver-based electronic headliner Illenium, The Rolling Stones or Taylor Swift, for example, can recall the giddy throngs at Empower Field at Mile High.

Here are Colorado’s 20 biggest live music venues, in order of size.

Empower Field at Mile High

Capacity: 76,125
Opened in 2001, the home of the Denver Broncos is also is also the largest concert venue in Colorado. The Eagles played the first concert there, but Mile High has gone on to host dozens more. This year, it has already welcomed Post Malone, Coldplay, the Weeknd and two nights of Metallica. As with most sports venues, concert capacity can rise or fall with field seating, or the closure of certain sections to maximize audience views. If you’re U2, you can even play in-the-round (as they did in 2011).

Coors Field

Capacity: 50,398
While concerts at the Colorado Rockies’ 30-year-old baseball stadium are rarer than at Empower Field, the capacity at Coors Field ensures big names and turnout — see recent shows from Billy Joel, Green Day, Kane Brown and Def Leppard. Booking has been relatively light so far this season.
Still to come: Chris Brown (Sept. 24), Paul McCartney (Oct. 11)

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

Capacity: 27,000
As Commerce City’s largest venue, the home of the Colorado Rapids also hosted the annual Phish run on Labor Day weekend for many years (this year it’s at Folsom Field in Boulder) and the gigantic Mile High Music Fest (with Tool, Tom Petty, Dave Matthews Band and others). Opened in 2007, its concerts these days are fewer, but the airy layout of the 18,000-seat stadium lends itself to party-heavy events and dancing, with recent performers such as Imagine Dragons, Weezer and Bassnectar. Field seating adds a whopping 9,000 capacity — or just under the entire capacity of Red Rocks.

Ball Arena

Capacity: 21,000
The home of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Mammoth since 1999, Ball Arena, is a year-round concert venue that hosts the biggest names in touring. Floor seats and section closures put concert capacity around 20,000 or below, but in-the-round shows can make it feel less cavernous; see past visits from Metallica, or Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre

Capacity: 17,000
The state’s largest-capacity amphitheater tends to book artists who are too big for a single night at Red Rocks, but who might also fit comfortably in Ball Arena, depending on the time of year. In 2025, that has included Earth, Wind & Fire, Keith Urban, Wu-Tang Clan, and AJR. Having opened in 1988, the Greenwood Village venue also specializes in presenting live orchestral movie scores, package tours and themed throwback nights.
Still to come: Haim (Oct. 3)

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Capacity: 9,525
Arguably the most famous amphitheater in the world — and, since the pandemic, inarguably the best-attended and most lucrative one — Red Rocks is a unique historical wonder in the Morrison foothills that’s a must-visit for music fans. have graced its outdoor stage, which peers up at a wide bowl between the towering formations of Ship Rock and Creation Rock, offering ideal natural acoustics and stunning vistas. Since it officially opened in 1941, notables have included The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, U2, Fleetwood Mac, Widespread Panic, Radiohead, Daft Punk and Blues Traveler’s legendary Fourth of July run. This year, there are shows through October, and then some.
Still to come: Lorde (Oct. 15)

Ford Amphitheater

Capacity: 8,000
Not to be confused with Vail’s more modest Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater (a.k.a. The Amp, which opened in 1987), this luxury-minded Colorado Springs newcomer has since 2024 soaked up performers looking to turn their Denver or high-country visit into a lucrative Front Range run. Colorado pop-rock juggernauts OneRepublic opened the venue last summer, and it’s since hosted a crowd-pleasing mix of country, hard rock, hip-hop, pop and other acts.

Broadmoor World Arena

Capacity: About 8,000
The multi-purpose event center opened its doors in 1998 and has hosted classical music, bull riding, circuses, the Harlem Globetrotters, religious gatherings and, of course, tunes from acts such as Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson, and Elton John.
Still to come: Alice Cooper and Judas Priest (Oct. 10), and A Day to Remember and Yellowcard (Oct. 28)

Blue FCU Arena

Capacity: 7,200
Northern Colorado residents are well served by this venue, which opened in 2003 as the Budweiser Events Center, and which is part of Loveland’s growing Ranch Events Complex, thanks to investments from Larimer County and others. It’s taken on more stature since FirstBank Center closed in Broomfield in 2023, having already hosted entertainers like Nate Bargatze, Weezer, Salt-N-Pepa, and even David Bowie.
Still to come: Cole Swindell (Oct. 2), and Brantley Gilbert (Oct. 12)

Levitt Pavilion

Capacity: 7,000
Situated in the otherwise quiet Ruby Hill Park, Levitt is a nonprofit outdoor venue that hosts more than 50 free, high-quality concerts each year for all ages. Its bookings since 2017 have developed into an even mix of rock, pop, hip-hop, metal, soul, R&B, country, folk and impressively diverse acts from outside the U.S., with an emphasis on supporting local and up-and-coming artists.

Bellco Theatre

Capacity: 5,000
This perky venue inside the Colorado Convention Center arrived in 2005 as part of a larger renovation, but it stands alone with its booking, which has included one of the city’s most winning mix of musicians, big-name comedians, lecturers, and hybrid movie screenings.
Still to come: David Byrne (Nov. 6-7)

Mission Ballroom

Capacity: 2,200-3,950
The flexible stage at this high-tech, artist-favorite venue allows owner AEG Presents Rocky Mountains to customize the space to different acts’ audience draw, whether that’s Jack White, Olivia Rodrigo or Devo. The layout for in-venue bars, bathrooms, and accessible seating is state-of-the-art and a welcome change from most crowded theaters with mediocre sight lines to the stage.

Dillon Amphitheater

Capacity: 3,656
This high-country amphitheater with gorgeous views first opened in 1993, with a major renovation in 2018, and has, since the pandemic, been supercharged with acts that would normally just play Red Rocks. That includes Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss, String Cheese Incident, Modest Mouse, Pretty Lights and Cypress Hill. Some shows are even free.

Fillmore Auditorium

Capacity: 3,600
Longtime Denverites will recall the long, curved-roof building at East Colfax Avenue and Clarkson Street as the Mammoth Events Center. Owned by promoter Live Nation, it has for most of the time since its 1999 rebranding been the Mile High City’s premier mid-size venue hosting rock, hip-hop, metal, electronic music and drag shows (at least until rival promoter AEG Presents, owned by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz, built Mission Ballroom to compete against it.) A note for music historians: it was redesigned in the style of promoter Bill Graham’s seminal Fillmore venue in San Francisco.

Buell Theatre

Capacity: 2,839
While the 34-year-old Buell — full name Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre, after the prolific and influential Colorado architect — mostly welcomes touring Broadway productions for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the city-owned theater also books musical artists.
Still to come: Morrissey (Oct. 2)

Boettcher Concert Hall

Capacity: 2,679
Music lovers continue to debate the acoustics at the Colorado Symphony’s home in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, but the mainstream profile of acts there has helped diversify the symphony’s audiences in recent years. That includes collaborations in-the-round with Denver’s Nathaniel Rateliff and DeVotchKa, as well as indie firebrands The Flaming Lips, in addition to standard orchestral fare and familiar classical-crossover acts such as Andrea Bocelli and Lindsey Stirling. Did we mention live movie scores from “Jurassic Park,” “Star Wars,” “Home Alone 2” and others?
Still to come: Latin Beats: Sonidos de las Américas (Sept. 25)

Ellie Caulkins Opera House

Capacity: 2,200
One of Colorado’s oldest venues is also its most majestic, hosting thousands of dancers, touring comedians, musicians, theater productions, and celebrity speakers since opening in 1908. Along with the Buell (next door), it’s the biggest venue in the bustling Denver Performing Arts Complex and a beacon of classic Denver style.

Grizzly Rose

Capacity: About 2,000
Since 1989, the Rose has been one of metro Denver’s only dedicated country music venues with a rich history of launching huge performers (see Taylor Swift’s first-ever Denver concert) and bagging acts that would normally play larger venues. Rough-hewn wood, line dancing, cold bottles of beer, barbecue and mechanical bulls bolster the estimable list of country, hard rock, roots and crossover acts that regularly play on Friday nights.

Macky Auditorium

Capacity: 2,036
The University of Colorado’s handsomely renovated Macky Auditorium, which held its first concert in 1923, hosts music festivals, ballet, circus performers, musical theater, symphonic tributes and more — and has been floated as a primary screening venue for the Sundance Film Festival when it moves to Boulder in 2027.
Still to come: Ballet Hispanico (Oct. 9), and Cirque Kalabante (Oct. Nov. 7)

Pikes Peak Center

Capacity: 2,000
Comics such as Jerry Seinfeld and Marlon Wayans, and musical acts including Dream Theater, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lyle Lovett and Hauser, find a cozy reception in this stately venue in downtown Colorado Springs, which opened in 1982, and which can feel much bigger depending on who’s on stage.

There’s the mounting anticipation of seeing a favorite act, the time spent in front of the mirror inspecting outfits, the dreaded waiting in line to get into the venue, and the minutes standing between openers that seem to never end. And that’s all before��the headliner takes the stage.

As such, food shouldn’t go by the wayside, whether that’s before, during or after a show. These restaurants and dives, located in live music and entertainment across the Front Range, were recommended by friends and readers of The Denver Post, as well as avid concertgoers.

Bluebird Theater/Lost Lake Lounge

Both of these venues are on East Colfax Avenue, which is undergoing a three-year construction project, and restaurants in the area say they are struggling now more than ever. Atomic Cowboy (3237 E. Colfax Ave.) is the choice for many standing outside the Bluebird Theatre — and who would turn down a stand-up slice of pizza? In between that venue and Lost Lake Lounge is Tommy’s Thai (3410 E. Colfax Ave.), an airy family restaurant on the strip since 1988; Q House (3421 E. Colfax Ave.), an upscale Chinese restaurant; and Machete Tequila + Tacos (3570 E. Colfax Ave.), a Mexican restaurant dishing out more than a dozen types of tacos made with corn tortillas. Goosetown Tavern & Restaurant (3242 E. Colfax Ave.) is a cozy bar and grill as well as a music venue across the street from the Bluebird.

Boulder Theater/The Fox Theatre

Both The Fox Theatre and Boulder Theater are surrounded by places to get food. A popular and convenient option is Avanti Food & Beverage, a food hall currently home to an Italian deli, Mediterranean restaurant, pizza spot, ramen bar and more. Both venues are graced by having dumplings nearby: Zoe Ma Ma (919 Pearl St.) by the Boulder Theater and Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings (1125 13th St.) by the Fox. If you’re lucky, maybe you can grab a table at Pasta Jay’s (1001 Pearl St.) and order a pizza from the Pearl Street staple.

Fillmore Auditorium/The Ogden Theatre

Further west on East Colfax — but still in the path of the East Colfax BRT project — are two other stages drawing major talent to Denver. It’s not uncommon to see a line of teens and young adults before a show at either venue. Dependable handheld bites are across the street at Gyroz (880 E. Colfax Ave.), Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard (808 E. Colfax Ave.), Cheba Hut “Toasted” Subs (638 E. Colfax Ave.) and SliceWorks (700 E. Colfax Ave.). New to the neighborhood are Uptown Banh Mi & Pho (1201 E. Colfax Ave.) and Champagne Tiger (601 E. Colfax Ave.), which is keeping alive the former home of Tom’s Starlight.

Don’t want to cross Colfax? You’ll find vegan hotspot Watercourse Foods (837 E. 17th Ave.) a few blocks away, as well as bar and grill Park & Co (439 E. 17th Ave.), and Revival Denver Public House (630 E. 17th Ave.), a swanky restaurant serving rich comfort food like buffalo gumbo and shrimp and grits.

Gothic Theatre/Swallow Hill Music

Several restaurants along South Broadway approach the Gothic Theatre and Swallow Hill Music. Swallow Hill senior manager Barry Osborne recommends Mexican food restaurant El Tejado (2651 S. Broadway, Denver), Colore Italian Restaurant (2700 S. Broadway, Englewood), and brewery and pizzeria Brewability (3445 S. Broadway, Englewood).

If you crave some post-show breakfast food while your eardrums readjust, Denny’s (275 W. Hampden Ave., Englewood) is open 24 hours. Lastly, Moe’s Original BBQ (3295 S. Broadway, Englewood) is a familiar barbecue restaurant that also happens to be a venue and bowling alley.

Larimer Lounge/The Mission Ballroom

In the wide swath of former warehouses known as the River North Art District, there are more (and better) places to eat than what first meets the eye. Left Hand Brewing Co. (4180 Wynkoop St.) is next to the Mission Ballroom, as is a new Mexican food restaurant, Chubby Unicorn Cantina (4180 Wynkoop St.). Closer to Larimer Lounge are Redeemer Pizza (2705 Larimer St.) and Dio Mio (3264 Larimer St.), both from the Mamas & Papas Hospitality Group. If a food court is more your style, vendors at Denver Central Market (2669 Larimer St.) and Zeppelin Station (3501 Wazee St.) are open until at least 9 p.m.

Other Colorado venues

Venues tucked into the mountains, such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison and Mishawaka Amphitheatre in Bellvue, are near restaurants that have themselves become destinations, such as The Mishawaka (13714 Poudre Canyon Road, Bellvue) and The Fort (19192 CO-8, Morrison).

Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre is another large outdoor venue away from the city center, though still with restaurants like I.C. Brewhouse (6460 S. Syracuse Way, Centennial) and Carrera’s Tacos (7939 E. Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village) nearby to fuel up before a show.

And in a burgeoning sector of Colorado Springs, three music venues exist within a mile of each other: The Black Sheep, Vultures and the stage at What’s Left Records. Grab a po’ boy at Po’ Brothers (2101 E. Platte Ave., Colorado Springs), a Cuban tamal at Arelita Authentic Cuban Food (2306 E. Platte Ave., Colorado Springs) or traditional German food at Uwe’s German Restaurant (31 Iowa Ave., Colorado Springs).

Westfield Co., which manages a 14-acre property that includes Mission Ballroom, the Chubby Unicorn Cantina and Left Hand Brewing’s taproom, has applied to establish a “common consumption” area with Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses, representatives for the city and the real-estate developer confirmed Wednesday.

The application was received last week and is pending approval by the licensing department and Denver City Council, department spokesperson Eric Escudero said.

Common consumption areas were established by the state in 2011 and are already found in several cities, such as The Exchange in downtown Fort Collins and Stanley Marketplace in Aurora. Others exist in Telluride, Black Hawk, Salida and Edgewater.

Denver signed off on the concept six years ago and launched an official application in 2021, but this is the first one that has been accepted by the city, Escudero said. (Others have applied without completed applications, he added.)

“Denver is kind of late to the party,” Escudero said. “This is Denver catching up.”

Westfield hoped to have a common-consumption area when it opened the plaza in 2019, said special projects manager Ally Fredeen. Stanley Marketplace, which the company also manages, has one so customers could “sip and shop” in the enclosed space.

After Chubby Unicorn Cantina opened earlier this year, joining Left Hand Brewing inside the retail building at 4180 N. Wynkoop St., the developer had the two businesses it needed to allow it to file for a common-consumption license, Fredeen said.

Chubby Unicorn and Left Hand didn’t respond to requests for comment.

For now, Westfield intends to confine the common consumption area to the cement square between the restaurants and Mission Ballroom, Fredeen said. But people attending concerts won’t be allowed to bring their drinks outside, she said, as the venue is not included in the application.

The developer’s proposal would clear the square by 1 a.m., Fredeen said. Building and venue security personnel would help enforce drinking rules, including by removing unruly imbibers from the area, according to a Westfield logistics report.

If its application is approved, Westfield would return to the city council with a plan to create a larger entertainment district encompassing the consumption area, a move that would allow future tenants to participate in the agreement.

A cocktail bar, Peach Crease Club, is expected to join Chubby Unicorn and Left Hand in their building and allow customers to mix in the plaza when it opens in October, Fredeen said. The building has thousands of square feet available for retailers that could also allow outside beverages.

Common consumption areas, as permitted by the state, are similar to the new City-Established Consumption Areas that Denver created rules for in May. The primary difference is that the businesses must apply for the former, while the city designates the boundaries of the latter — the goal being to “create a more vibrant Denver,” .

The first of these City-Established Consumption Areas took effect in May around Glenarm Place and 16th Street as part of the effort to bolster activity around the newly renovated pedestrian mall. In these zones, customers can bring drinks purchased at surrounding businesses out onto barricaded sections of the street dotted with tables, chairs and wooden benches.

The businesses currently allowed to sell drinks to go include Que Rico Mexican Restaurant, Maggiano’s Little Italy, the Paramount Theatre, 5280 Burger Bar and Henry’s Tavern.

But bigger isn’t always better. Some of the state’s best, most beloved stages only play to a few hundred people, which is just the way some music fans like it. Here are six of our favorites, of any size, in the Denver metro area.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre

If you and 9,525 of your closest friends have ever seen a show at Red Rocks, you know why it’s so special: mind-blowing rock formations that create unique natural acoustics; staggering views of Denver and the plains; a true sense of place and history; and a legendary, always-growing list of artists who have truly earned their way to the stage. If you can catch your breath from climbing the stairs at the Morrison venue, the feeling of unity during singalongs and dancing is unparalleled, too.

Gothic Theatre

A historic hall with great sight lines and booking, the Gothic has endured ownership and programming changes since it opened as a movie house in the 1920s to become one of Colorado’s best-sounding, best-looking and most charming music stages. With a capacity of 1,100, the art deco gem in Englewood is a reliable place to catch touring hopefuls on their way up, as well as locals and mid-level acts with solid fan bases.

Paramount Theatre

Denver has no shortage of historic theaters — see the Ogden, Bluebird, Gothic, Ellie, etc. — but none are as elaborate as the Paramount. Its vertical neon sign has beckoned artists and fans since the 1930s, with multiple renovations preserving its balance of Art Deco and classic movie-house touches. That includes “fanciful and ornamental architectural” touches from the Jazz Age (just try to stop looking at the ceiling), according to its website. It’s also a favorite spot for touring comics such as Amy Schumer and Nikki Glaser as well as folks wanting to record albums.

Hi-Dive

Since 2003, when Denver’s music scene was making moves into the modern era, the Hi-Dive has anchored South Broadway and the Baker neighborhood with a constantly churning, live-wire lineup of indie rock, folk, punk, metal and country, plus festival shows during the Underground Music Showcase and High Plains Comedy Festival. Its credibility and cool would be nothing, of course, without a great staff, cold beers, and a subversive sense of humor and style that sets it apart from more corporate-minded clubs.

Levitt Pavilion Denver

An incredible resource for the city, Levitt Pavilion Denver offers more than 50 free shows per year with diverse global artists from its location at Ruby Hill Park. That means everything from Indigenous metal to African pop, but also Elvis Costello, STS9, Larkin Poe, Lyrics Born, and Jimmy Eat World (a few of them paid, which supports the free programming). The wide lawn, kid-friendly vibe and accessible seating and food/drink options make it easy to get into and out of, and an ideal, last-minute summer activity.

Mission Ballroom

Artists and fans have given this AEG Presents venue in the River North Art District nothing but stellar reviews since it opened in 2019, and they’re roundly justified. In addition to nabbing many of the best, large-ish and mid-sized touring acts along the Front Range, its GA-seating bowl allows for great sight lines from anywhere in the venue, plus an adjustable capacity space (i.e., a stage that moves forward and backward) that allows promoters to cater to an artist’s specific draw. Bars, bathrooms and entry/exit layouts are also some of the best in Colorado.