RiNo Live: A Fixer Upper With Some Promise | Review + Photos

For a festival that lacked any type of promotion (and official website), Friday night drew out surprisingly large crowds to the River North neighborhood. The festival goers ranged from Blue Moon beer enthusiasts, hipsters in no less than 3 inch brimmed hats and eager bros excited to explore a new area of Denver. The ticketing lines were minimal and the entry process was flawless… but that’s about the only fluidity the night saw. 

Packed like sardines. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Seeing as this was the first year for RiNo Live and a new location for a festival there were some unexpected obstacles that arose. Running Parallel to the Platt River, cushioned between the new Blue Moon Brewery, the festival was one long rectangle that bottlenecked at the stage. The layout made it difficult for people to spread out and caused a ton of congestion around the stage. In addition to the occluded stage front the beer lines made it nearly impossible to walk freely around in the event space. The beer tents were positioned directly across from each other  creating one large human zipper that ran directly through the center of the concert. Resulting in one big Trumpian wall of impatient humans and a ton of frustrated bystanders trying to navigate the festival space. 

Jean-Philip Grobler of St. Lucia (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Patricia Beranek of St. Lucia (Robert Castro)

Aside from a few mistakes that one could expect to see from a freshman festival, RiNo Live got a bunch of things right. The lineup was diverse and unexpected, bridging generational gaps and appealing to a wide array of people. St. Lucia brought a ton of energy and had everyone wishing that Jean-Phillip Grobler was their aerobics instructor. In between air kicks, fist bumps and laps around the stage Grobler would engage and entrance the audience with his energy and charisma. At one point he had all four thousand attendees jumping in house party fashion, chanting and singing along. Next on the bill were the Silversun Pickups, a blast from our angst filled teen years. Despite keeping a low profile for the past decade, they had a slew of die hard SSU followers. The timid duo blessed us with new and old songs in between quirky banter and coy smiles and were a perfect end to the evening. 

Silvers Pickups (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Nikki Monninger of Silvers Pickups (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

In addition to a unique lineup RiNo Live boasted a myriad of diverse vendors. From salt inspired jewelry to an interactive painting booth that allowed for you contribute to the art as a collective, the vendor scene was both intriguing and thoughtful. It seemed as through each vendor was meticulously chosen and each reflected the creative nature of Denver’s hippest art district. 

Although RiNo Live had its fair share of setbacks they were able to draw four thousand people to their gate all in the name of art and music. We look forward to seeing the festival grow in the coming years. Maybe next year they’ll have a website and hashtag to go along with it… but until then we’re happy to say that we attended the first ever RiNo Live Festival (as we’re sure there will be plenty more to follow). 

The Best Images Of The Westword Music Showcase 2016

This year's Westword Music Showcase brought out the big guns to headline their main stages. Not only were the two main stages packed all day with amazing bands, but the other venues in The Golden Triangle played hosts to some of Denver's best acts. Despite a mid-day power outage (rumors from thunder to Donald Trump setting it off) were rampant, not to fear as the bands took it to the streets and many improvised with acoustic sets. With record breaking attendance and music to satisfy every genre the Golden Triangle epicenter was bustling with music lovers. A sectioned off VIP area played refuge from the mild heat and brief showers. Headliners such as Black Pistol Fire, Cold War Kids and Dillon Francis gave the audience mesmerizing sets while locals such as 888, Brent Cowles, Eldren, One Flew West and more played to their own audiences at the various indoor venues spread out across Broadway. Luckily we had a slew of Ultra5280 shutterbugs covering ground to take these amazing photos. (Photo Credits: Robert Castro, Matt Smith, Andrew Rios and Amber Kaye)

Westword Music Showcase Photo Slideshow.