As Colorado grows, so does it's entertainment. With a slew of festivals popping up on the schedule, another Colorado music festival is in the works come 2018.
The organizers of Outside Lands, Coachella, and Bonnaroo are joining forces with Denver officials and members of the community to bring a new and HUGE Colorado music festival in 2018.
If you’ve never heard of the music festival Outside Lands, the San Francisco-based festival combines music, food, wine, beer, and comedy. Check out last year’s recap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimjYr8Voss
*warning, explicit language at 2:00
Looks pretty fun, right? Well the exciting news is, AEG Live and big-time festival producer Superfly are in the works to bring a new music festival to Colorado in 2018. Outside Lands aims to be the model for the new fest.
According to AEG consultant Davis Erlich, there are a few locations in mind. Denver is the focus specifically. Overland Golf Course was mentioned, which is great news for us city-slickers who willingly travel to Winter Park or Telluride for our Colorado music festival fix. Organizers also have an undisclosed Colorado city in mind, so the whole thing is shrouded in a ton of mystery.
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Overland Golf Course[/caption]
Regardless of the hazy locational details, it’s pretty exciting that another large music festival is making it’s way to the Centennial State. Two new festivals, Vertex and Divide Music Festival graced Buena Vista and Winter Park (respectively) in the summer of 2016 and both had an amazing turn out. Unfortunately, Vertex was nixed for 2017 due to noise complaints of Buena Vista residents. But bringing another festival to the already greatly established music scene of Colorado only amplifies the influence our great state has nation-wide.
People from all over come to music festivals if the lineup is big enough. Just consider Coachella (which is also produced by the same people eyeing Colorado for this mystery festival) and the influence it has within pop culture. While I don’t necessarily agree with how the festival has turned into a glorified fashion show, you can’t deny the turn out.
As more large festivals come to Colorado, not only will residents and natives have a convenient weekend-long opportunity to see some of their favorite artists - businesses will boom considering all the new patrons they will see from those traveling to these festivals.
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As we said, San Francisco's Outside Lands will be the guide for this new Colorado music festival. The fest will combine music, food, culture, and even a nonprofit component to become a holistic community entertainment event.
According to Erlich, about 70,000 people come each day to Outside Lands, and this is the ultimate goal for this new Colorado music festival.
The City of Denver’s Office of Special Events, Denver Parks and Recreation are already getting the low-down from their counterparts in San Francisco to gauge the impact of the event on Overland Golf Course and the surrounding areas. While the “ultimate goal” is to bring a ton of people to the city, officials and organizers want to make sure that 1. The surrounding area doesn’t get destroyed and 2. None of the surrounding areas will be overly disturbed.
Erlich stated the festival is eager to work with the city officials and residents on issues that have plagued one-and-done Colorado music festivals of the past. The city of Denver and several neighborhood associations around the Overland Golf Course convened on Feb. 1 to discuss the festival and any concerns or questions the community may have.
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Organizers stressed at the meeting that if the community doesn’t want the festival at the golf course, they won't put it there. Erlich’s involvement in the community and interest in hearing their voices resonated with residents. The projected $1 million the city would bring in due to the festival was also a very convincing selling point.
There are a few concerns regarding the location being at the golf course. Issues ranging from golfers not being able to use the course for a few weeks, to the environmental impact the festival may have were all addressed. The location is still up in the air, but it’s undeniable the positive impacts a festival of this scale would have on the community as a whole.
What do you think about a festival of this size coming to Denver? Would you want to attend? Let us know!
