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Newman Center for the Performing Arts: Eclectic, Electric Entertainment
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Dixie’s Tupperware Party
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Paramount Theatre: Downtown Denver’s Performance Palace
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Bovine Metropolis Theater: Moooving You to Tears of Laughter
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Wild Ivories: Tickling the Keys and the Karaoke Crowd
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Beauty & Rock ‘n Roll at Red Rocks Amphitheatre
The Red Rocks Amphitheatre is not only a concert venue, its unique geological formations make it one of nature’s wonders where the seating is carved from Colorado's stunning red rocks. Catch up on the history of the red rocks at the visitor’s center and discover ancient dinosaur trails in the surrounding area. And of course, check the event listings at Red Rocks where bands like The Fray perform for thousands. This is a unique venue for concerts under the stars as well as breathtaking, natural views.
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Colorado Ballet: Still En Pointe After 50 Years
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010, Colorado Ballet is perhaps the biggest jewel in the crown of the Denver Performing Arts Complex (most performances are held at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House). Though classics like Romeo & Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, and of course The Nutcracker are its bread and butter, the company’s been known to bring wilder stuff to the stage as well—including hoots like Great Galloping Gottschalk and Buffalo Bill’s Saloon (complete with line dancing). It’s also known for its international makeup: the dancers hail from countries as far-flung as Japan, Russia, and Cuba—while the artistic director himself, Gil Boggs, has performed around the world in his stints working with every big name in ballet from Mark Morris to Merce Cunningham.
Insider’s Tip: Make a sumptuous night of it with dinner at Restaurant Kevin Taylor, just across the street, before the show.
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Giggles and Gasps at Buntport Theater Company
The locally acclaimed Buntport Theater Company will make you think again. This six-person troupe collaborates and hosts a variety of different projects, from original plays to monthly themed open mic nights—The Most Worthless Thing I Own, for instance—almost all of which are marked by the writer-director-actors’ characteristic brand of risky and borderline absurd wit (as the titles of recent productions Realism: The Mythical Brontosaurus and Kafka on Ice suggest). That’s not to say the Buntport Theater Company doesn't do serious, heart wrenching work; it's just that the company never forgets to have fun with the audience, including pint-sized playgoers (the seasonal family series tRUNks brings comic books to life).
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The Bluebird Theater’s Still Singing After All These Years
From the Fillmore Auditorium to the Ogden Theatre, East Colfax Avenue is bejeweled with historic concert venues. But the Bluebird Theater, at almost 100 years old, is the crown gem.
Like the infamous neighborhood itself, the location has had its ups and downs—including a run as a porn house—but since 1994 it’s been welcoming the nation’s coolest up-and-comers (and even some of its more beloved down-and-outers) from a wide range of musical genres. Neither the main floor nor the balcony has seating (though both have bars), so sport comfortable footwear—unless, of course, you’d rather put on your dancing shoes, a must on New Year’s Eve when the local legends of Slim Cessna’s Auto Club return to town.
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Vita: Eat. Drink. Listen.
An early bloom in the blossoming East Highlands, Vita has endured in the light of its special perks. Funky and arty with the works of local painters, it boasts one of the city’s few rooftop terraces, thronged on warm evenings with couples taking in a stellar view of downtown at sunset; inside, jazz combos keep the mood cool several nights a week.
Despite the Italian name, the menu skews contemporary American, with an emphasis on entree-worthy small plates like seven-hour pork braised with cherry peppers and a mini-osso buco over blue cheese polenta, many of which go for $5 or less during happy hour. Speaking of deals, bargain-bin buffs take note: the entire selection of wines by the bottle is offered at half-price on Tuesdays.
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Boots, Buckles, Booze at Grizzly Rose
thrives. Voted Country Club of America by the Country Music Association, Grizzly Rose is its headquarters.
The sprawling honkytonk has it all: a roster of concerts ranging from Grammy darlings like Taylor Swift to venerable old-timers like The Bellamy Brothers (along with the occasional ’80s hair band), a mechanical bull, cheap (and sometimes even free) beer, line dancing and two-stepping—as well as free weekly classes for the slickers.
On top of all of Grizzly's activities, there's some of the greatest people-watching in the city: nowhere else are you likely to find cowboys whooping it up with hipsters and confused but gung-ho tourists.
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Jazzed by Dazzle
The yin to El Chapultepec’s yang, Dazzle is Denver’s other most esteemed jazz venue—and every bit as amenity-oriented as The Pec is no-frills. While its nightly lineup of both local and national talent—swing, bebop, fusion, et cetera—has won it numerous awards from both local and national media (including Downbeat), the club also gets its audience into the act via fascinating interactive programs like First Monday Art Talks and Jeff Jenkins’ Piano Conversations.
Moreover, it’s made fans, even among non-enthusiasts, with its freewheeling happy hour and the Friday Lunch Club—both featuring live music and a $5 menu—as well as the famed Sunday Urban Brunch, a sprawling all-you-can-eat affair complete with a bottomless bloody mary and mimosa bar.
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Rock-and-Rolling with the Punches: Denver Roller Derby
For a 21st-century cosmopolis, Denver still hasn’t lost its rough-and-tumble Wild West edge. Case in point: the super-popularity of roller derby. The city supports not one, but two leagues, the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls and the Denver Roller Dolls—sponsored by none other than good old PBR.
Whether taking place at the Fillmore Auditorium or the new 1STBANK Center, bouts between teams with names like the Dooms Daisies and the Green Barrettes can get deliciously fierce—and the surprisingly mixed crowd, from hipsters to families, loves it, cheering on the likes of Aphromighty and Fonda Payne. But the fun doesn’t stop or even start at the rink: take the RMRG’s Party Bus, and you’ll be whisked to the match, piled with free beer, and returned to the afterparty at the Skylark Lounge.
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More than Hoops and Hockey Pucks at the Pepsi Center
Nuggets and the Avalanche, the 5-story, 20,000-seat Pepsi Center is no mere sports venue. Located at the edge of downtown, the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention also hosts concerts (think Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga), ice shows, and family fare galore (the Harlem Globetrotters regularly perform here). What’s more, amenities abound—from a full-service restaurant, the Blue Sky Grill, and a merchandise outlet to private event suites and even a state-of-the-art business center and meeting space. If it weren’t for the thunderous crowds cheering on Carmelo Anthony and Chris “Birdman” Anthony, you could practically mistake the place for a grand hotel.
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A Slice of the Lush Life at El Chapultepec
The smoke that hung thickly for decades has cleared, but that’s about the only difference between the El Chapultepec of yesteryear and the Pec, as it’s affectionately known, of today.
Tiny, dark, and frankly pretty dumpy, this legendary club at the edge of downtown nonetheless shines white-hot with live jazz and blues nightly, just as it has since the 1930s.
Along the way, everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Stan Getz to the Marsalis brothers has played the Pec—but musical magic seems to happen no matter who’s onstage. And the fact that there’s no cover—just a one-drink minimum—only sweetens the good vibe.
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The Lowdown On The Hi-Dive
venues in a town that knows indie music.
Small and dingy, it nonethless draws the idiosyncratic likes of string maestro Anni Rossi; Dengue Fever, influenced above all by old Cambodian pop and surf rock; and neo-psychedelic groovers Starlight Mints.
And when you get your fill of tunes, you can load up in turn on suds and grub like the famous sweet potato fries at Sputnik, the hi-dive’s adjacent sibling.