{"id":2796,"date":"2026-07-20T12:03:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2796"},"modified":"2026-07-20T12:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:03:43","slug":"two-major-music-fests-claimed-the-same-weekend-does-that-serve-denver-music-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2796","title":{"rendered":"Two major music fests claimed the same weekend. Does that serve Denver music fans?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A pair of major, local-music festivals are descending upon Denver the weekend of July 24-26, a mere four miles apart and each featuring hundreds of local bands.<\/p>\n

Read more 1 dead, 3 injured in two Denver double shootings<\/a><\/p>\n

But you can only go to one of them.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not just because music fans may only be able to afford one or the other. Rather, one is already sold out, and the other is counting on last-minute ticket sales to shore up its revenue. Each includes a dozen or so official venues, in a walkable neighborhood format, and are expecting thousands of attendees.<\/p>\n

But music fans would be forgiven for wondering why the festivals are taking place on the exact same weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cA year ago we thought The Underground Music Showcase was going away forever,\u201d said Mike Young, co-lead organizer of the new Blucifer\u2019s First Rodeo festival.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s talking about The UMS\u2019s formerly uncertain fate after its owners said they were pausing the festival, leading many to believe The UMS had shuttered permanently.\u00a0\u201cIt was a sad day, and it was disappointing,\u201d said Young. \u201cBut it\u2019s this summer music holiday people have gotten used to, and it\u2019s too important for the scene, so it felt like the decision of when to do it was out of our hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, the UMS, which\u00a0has run on South Broadway for the last 20 years, was revived and will take place this year in the River North Art District. Organizers expect about 10,000 people per day to crawl the district\u2019s venues, boutiques, craft breweries, and restaurants. And that\u2019s entirely to the benefit of music fans, said Kerry Madeksza, executive director of the RiNo Business Improvement District, which spent $250,000 to buy a 50% stake in The UMS.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have 60, 70 businesses asking to be a part of this and investing in it, and that\u2019s meaningful,\u201d she said. \u201cIt says a lot for how far this district has come.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Back on South Broadway, however, the upstart Blucifer\u2019s First Rodeo (which begins Thursday, July 23) has already sold out its full-fest and day passes \u2014 about 2,200 in individual tickets, and another 800 complementary passes for artists.<\/p>\n

The narrative that the two events are competing is false and unhelpful, organizers from both said, especially given the slight overlap of performers. With about 20 Denver acts playing both, thanks to the lack of contracts that guarantee exclusive performances (also known as radius clauses) and valuable, grassroots community programming at both, the weekend may be an unfortunate, zero-sum game for two otherwise worthy events, said UMS co-founder John Moore.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just inconsiderate to core local music fans who might naturally want to attend both,\u201d he said. \u201cBlucifer\u2019s really seems to be tapping into the spirit of the original UMS. But I do think strategically they\u2019re making a mistake. Why wouldn\u2019t you want everybody at your festival, and what\u2019s the point of sticking it to The UMS? Nothing good can come out of them happening at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is competition good?<\/h4>\n

Multi-stage music fests often produce feelings of FOMO (fear of missing out), as music fans rush from one stage to the next so as not to miss their favorite or want-to-see acts. But it\u2019s hard to fault a band for playing both events, since they need to get paid, and community-centric organizers and bookers are hoping the fests will be complementary.<\/p>\n

Read more Today in History: July 20, World War I draft lottery begins<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe UMS has been a part of my professional life for a decade. Let\u2019s see what this next iteration looks like,\u201d said Alicia \u201cBruce\u201d Trujillo, a talent buyer for The UMS for the last four years, in describing her thought process for returning to the rebooted event. \u201cI myself had reservations after seeing the Westword Music Showcase and others flicker out in (RiNo) because it\u2019s so sprawling, but I do think that the festival map will keep things tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trujillo programmed showcases and parties for both festivals, in fact, featuring women and queer artists. That includes UMS events and a Blucifer\u2019s kickoff promoted by her own Manos Sagrados nonprofit in Aurora. Having a hand in both supports her mission, which extends to an all-women UMS show that will feature the Girls Rock Denver and Book More Women nonprofits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like the (UMS) lineup for the Babes at Beacon (Saturday, July 25), which has a lot of different genres represented,\u201d she said. \u201cBoth organizations (Girls Rock Denver and Book More Women) emphasize that creation from women, femmes, trans and non-binary music isn\u2019t contained to one musical type, even if Girls Rock sprouted out of the Riot Grrrl movement, their Camp explores a lot of sounds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The UMS has gotten far more diverse over the years from its dude-rock-heavy lineups, but adding some sense of accountability in the booking process helps local music fests in general, said Heather Goodrich, Girls Rock Denver storytelling and engagement director.<\/p>\n

\u201cCombining at this event with Book More Women is a huge moment for us,\u201d Goodrich said. \u201cThat\u2019s because Girls Rock Denver\u2019s mission is to turn up the volume on confidence to empower girls and trans kids and gender expansive youth with the tools to make friends \u2014 and lots and lots of noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t always quantify the impact of being part of these events,\u201d added Book More Women founder Abbey Carbonneau. \u201cPartnering with Girls Rock Denver is important for us because we need these smaller festival spaces, and they\u2019ve been leading that work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uneasy bedfellows with the same mission<\/h4>\n

Blucifer\u2019s also has grassroots, nonprofit partners and a diverse lineup. But because it\u2019s artist- and volunteer-run, and not reliant on profit, attendees and musicians get to feel like they\u2019re part of a big, collective art project, said Gillian Pasley, co-lead organizer of Blucifer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m surprised by the bravery of hundreds of people being willing to step up and try something new,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Whatever the result, a post-mortem may discover that the best thing for both fests is to take place on separate weekends, provided they both survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is about music discovery and supporting local artists and exploring neighborhoods,\u201d UMS director Stoner said. \u201cAfter the dust settles, I\u2019d like to talk to the Blucifer\u2019s folks and see how we all did. It may be that we move weekends. But I can\u2019t deny that I wish it was on a different weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Immigrants in Aurora\u2019s ICE detention center not receiving original mail, facing long correspondence delays<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two major Denver music festivals will be held the weekend of July 24-26. Will that hurt attendance at The Underground Music Showcase and Blucifer’s First Rodeo?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo major music fests claimed the same weekend. 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