Rolling Stone - USA (2020-02)

60 ` Rolling Stone ` February 2020

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TELLURIDE, COLORADO

I

N TELLURIDE, THE AIR IS CRISP, the views are as mind-altering as the nearly 9,000-foot altitude, and

you’re far removed from everywhere. (Denver, for example, is six hours away.) And that’s the point. The

San Juan Mountain town (population 2,400) has become an unlikely music-festival destination, with

huge events all summer that include June’s Telluride Bluegrass Festival (Kacey Musgraves and Janelle

Monáe recently headlined) and August’s Telluride Blues & Brews Festival (Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, and

Sharon Jones have played in the sweeping alpine setting). If you don’t want to camp, try for one of the 26

rooms at the historic New Sheridan Hotel. Twist & Shout’s Paul Epstein has an idea why Telluride has taken

off: “You’re in this pristine box canyon, and it’s just the most amazing place to see music.” J.W.

The formerly sleepy ski town has become the surprise music-festival

capital of the U.S. with bluegrass, jazz, and classic-rock blowouts

The Mile High City has exploded in the past decade, thanks to jam-band fanatics,

a wild shape-shifting venue, and decriminalized magic mushrooms

DENVER, COLORADO

P

ERHAPS NO PERFORMER has embodied

Denver’s past decade more than native

Nathaniel Rateliff; at its start, he was

playing in a basement bar to 25 people; by its

end, he had sold out multi-night stints at Red

Rocks. “The music community here is always

supportive as artists grow and change,” says

Rateliff. “They’re here to listen.”

Denver is in the midst of a huge live- music

boom. By some counts, it now has more

venues than Austin; one recent study found

residents bought more secondary-market

tickets than anywhere else. The city’s growing

reputation as the “Amsterdam of the West”

adds to the festive vibe; recre ational cannabis

has been legal since 2014, while psilocybin

mushrooms were decriminalized last year.

“A lot has changed Denver,” says record-store

owner Paul Epstein. “The music scene is just

a microcosm of the growth and change here.”

MUSIC’S NATURAL WONDER

Red Rocks is not only Colorado’s greatest

venue, it’s one of the best in the world. Twin

300-foot sandstone monoliths (once part

of the ocean’s floor) create an unparalleled

natural amphitheater 15 miles from the city.

The Beatles famously played to a not-sold-

out-crowd in 1964; Jimi Hendrix and the Dead

followed. Red Rocks wasn’t widely known until

1983, when Bono and U2 leveraged fog and

rain for the live, high-drama Under a Blood

Red Sky LP. “That put Red Rocks on the map

— and U2 on the map, too,” says promoter

Don Strasburg. The city-owned, open-air

venue is experiencing a boom in demand: In

2010, there were 73 concerts on the books;

in 2019, there were more than 170.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

The Mission Ballroom, which opened last year,

is full of innovations. With a seating plan in-

spired by Red Rocks, it has a stage that moves

on tracks and it’s able to change its floor size

depending on how big a show is. Jeff Tweedy

recently praised the Mission: “Red Rocks is

pretty and everything, but... we played in a

snowstorm there one time. Fuck that shit!”

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

The Kind Love dispensary is open late, seven

days a week. It’s known for its friendly “bud-

tenders” and an extensive menu of

edibles. Try a pre-rolled Alien Rock

Candy joint ($10), an indica strain

with a THC level around 30 per-

cent. One puff might be enough.

A DIVE FOR DEADHEADS

Sancho’s Broken Arrow is a Steal

Your Face-bedecked saloon. Bring

your best John Mayer-vs.-Jerry

Garcia take and debate it with sim-

ilarly lost minds over local brews.

LABOR DAY WITH TREY

Every year since 2011, Phish have

closed out the summer with a

multi-night run far from home,

at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. “Denver has

become such a hub to see human creativity in

action,” says bassist Mike Gordon. JESSE WILL

RED ROCKERS

Clockwise from

left: Rateliff

at the Mission

Ballroom; the

Grateful Dead-

themed Sancho’s

Broken Arrow;

Joe Russo’s

Almost Dead fans

at Red Rocks

The Blues

& Brews

Festival

TWIST & SHOUT

This throwback vinyl spot is full of rarities

like the Beatles “Butcher” LP, old-school

listening stations, and short-notice

performances from big names like Elvis

Costello and local heroes the Lumineers.

Best Record Store