Towns and cities from Colorado Springs to Trinidad via Pueblo and Alamosa offer a multitude of musical experiences at recently opened venues including Brues – housed in a former police station and jail on Pueblo’s Riverwalk – to a park in Alamosa, where bands rock out on Sunday summer evenings, and the new powerhouse of live music, Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs.
For Coloradans and out-of-state visitors looking for new ways and places to enjoy music, here are some musical options worth listening to.
COLORADO SPRINGS
Ford Amphitheater
The 8,000-capacity open-air Ford Amphitheater offers top musical acts, splendid mountain views and, for those who want it, fine cuisine during shows. In its second season, the amphitheater will host California band CAKE – sometimes described as Hank Williams, Sr. meets Sly Stone (July); iconic rock ‘n’ roll band, Chicago (August); and Train, the band behind “Hey Soul Sister” (September). Ticket prices vary depending on the experience. You can choose to bring your own blanket and sit on the grass, or relax in a luxury mountain-view seating area. There’s also a fire pit and a private dance area, as well as a suite that allows music-lovers to dine in style. In its inaugural season, the amphitheater drew noise complaints from nearby residents, but its parent company, VENU, has worked to resolve and reduce the noise that wafts into neighborhoods during shows. The 2025 season kicks off on April 30th and is set to run through Oct. 31st.
95 Spectrum Loop, Colorado Springs
FordAmphitheater.live
Hillside Gardens
Hillside Gardens offers views of Pikes Peak, four acres of sumptuous grounds and, from May until early October, its concert series, Wednesday Nights in the Garden, features three local bands. Wine, beer, cocktails, coffee and espresso drinks are available during the concerts, and local vendors are on hand to provide light bites or full meals. Siblings Donovan and Ashlee Kennedy acquired Hillside in 2021 and have been working since then to create unique culinary, oenological, topiaria (a fancy word for gardening) and musical experiences for visitors. Tickets for the Wednesday concerts are $18, and the weekly calendar of events is listed on their website.
1006 S. Institute St., Colorado Springs
HillsideColorado.com
Icons Bar
Icons isn’t so much new as it is reborn. Also known as “that gay bar with the singing bartenders,” it’s in a different location after a 2023 fire gutted its former home. All of the staff are trained vocalists and may burst into song at any moment throughout the evening. Icons hosts concerts on Wednesday, with a house band that plays on Friday evening, plus a DJ on Saturday. Shows typically cost less than $20 per person. They also serve great drinks with a happy hour from 4 – 7 p.m. daily. The bar is owned by 20-year Broadway veterans Josh Franklin and John Wolfe, who appeared in shows on the Great White Way including Jersey Boys and Grease.
16 E. Kiowa St., Colorado Springs
Icons-co.com
Lulu’s Downtown
Formerly based in Manitou Springs, Lulu’s moved to Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs in 2024 and fittingly changed its name from Lulu’s Downstairs to Lulu’s Downtown. Owner Marc Benning told the Gazette that the new location put the venue “around people and energy.” Lulu’s is open on show nights only and offers a full bar but no food. Gigs booked this year include EXTC (Sept. 24), fronted by the former drummer of the British band XTC.
A full list of musical guests is available at lulusmusic.co/shows.
32 S Tejon St., Colorado Springs
LulusMusic.co
Phil Long Music Hall at Bourbon Brothers
The Phil Long Music Hall at Bourbon Brothers has been serving up great entertainment alongside classic American cuisine since it opened in 2019. Unlike its sister venue, the Ford Amphitheater, the experience here is far more intimate. The Music Hall has hosted everything from fashion shows to performances by Randy Travis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey and Kansas. A number of upcoming tribute acts include a celebration of Carole King and James Taylor (June 4), John Denver the following day, and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmy Buffett a week later. Country music will also enliven nights where meals, cocktails and other bevvies can be purchased during shows and at a small discount during the pre-performance happy hour from 5-6 p.m.
Concert tickets must be purchased online at phillongmusichall.com.
13071 Bass Pro Drive, Colorado Springs
phillongmusichall.com
Vultures
Vultures opened in November 2021 in the building that formerly housed the Angry Pirate dive bar. Just like the Angry Pirate, Vultures is a dive bar, too, but with live music and very un-dive-bar’ish food–think charcuterie platter. Co-owned by the proprietor of the nearby popular Black Sheep concert venue, Vultures hosts mainly punk and indie bands, and seeks to showcase up-and-coming local performers. General Manager Zane McLean told Colorado Fun, “We’re kind of a stepping stone to the Black Sheep,” he said. “A lot of the time, a band will play here first and then, when they come back through town, they’ll play the Black Sheep.” Among the gigs signed up this year are a tattoo-themed art show—including three live bands—(June 6) and Atlanta’s Michael Cera Palin (June 22). Tickets can be purchased online or at the venue before the show.
2100 E. Platte Ave, Colorado Springs
VulturesRocks.com
La Burla Bee
Colorado Springs’ only cabaret-themed bar and restaurant is not to be missed. Owned by former award-winning burlesque performer, Bunny Bee, this downtown cocktail lounge brings in-house entertainment to new heights with karaoke, open mic nights and a full-scale cabaret variety show on the weekends. Nosh on homemade Italian fare and sample their craft signature cocktails while enjoying the show. Always a fan favorite, La Burla Bee was voted “Best Overall Bar in Colorado Springs” in 2024.
110 N Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs
LaBurlaBee.com
PUEBLO
Brues Alehouse
International, national and local artists are on the calendar again this year at Brues Alehouse in Pueblo. Among them, Australian/Jamaican band Nattali Rize, Nashville-based Sam Lewis who is set to play alongside Pueblo musician Mike Clark (so, Lewis and Clark…) in June. The alehouse’s brewing philosophy is also globally inspired by Germany’s obsession with utilizing pure ingredients in every beer. Set on Pueblo’s Riverwalk in a former police station, Brues offers outdoor seating, right smack-dab on the Arkansas River.
120 Riverwalk Pl., Pueblo
BruesAlehouse.com
Analogue by Solar Roast Coffee
What started in 2012 as the world’s first solar-powered coffee roaster and cafe has expanded beyond its original mission to include the Analog Books and Record Store and the Analogue Bar. The combination may seem a bit quirky, but it works. Both book and music lovers can simultaneously rejoice and welcome live jazz performances, Thursday night’s rock ‘n’ roll trivia quiz, and Alt-night– an evening of punk rock, new wave and indie records, supplied by guests and spun by a DJ. The Analogue is always on the lookout for bands with “small sets” to perform there.
222 N. Main St., Pueblo
AnaloguePueblo.com
FURTHER AFIELD
Alamosa holds a series of free, outdoor concerts in Cole Park from June to the end of August. This year’s Sundays at Six concert series offers music-lovers blues, bluegrass, reggae,or mariachi, indigenous punk-folk, and big band jazz. On June 7, five groups will musically duke it out in the Battle of the Bands, with the winner receiving a $1,000 contract to play on Sundays at Six. Organized by the Alamosa Live Music Association, details of the free Sunday concert series and the Battle of the Bands are available at ALMAOnline.org.
In Trinidad, the recently renovated and reopened (in 2022) Well Hotel has live music in its Tap Room – where customers are allowed to pour their beverage of choice–whether it be beer, wine, cocktails, sake, coffee, kombucha, or soda. The Well holds open mic Mondays, karaoke Wednesdays and live music “of every flavor” on weekends. Set in the heart of Trinidad, the Well also offers summer outdoor concerts on its patio, weather permitting. A list of events at the Well is available at WellHotelTrinidad.com/events.
155 E. Main St., Trinidad
WellHotelTrinidad.com
