Free music: Five Points Jazz, Indigenous metal and more
Friday and Saturday. This weekend is a dream for lovers of local music — especially the free, high-quality kind. The 20th Five Points Jazz Festival, this year being produced by the city, features 40 bands playing free, family-friendly sets on 10 stages along Welton Street between 25th and 29th streets. Look for local food and drink, artisan vendors and more. Noon-8 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood (artsandvenuesdenver.com/events-programs/five-points-jazz-festival).
Billed as “Denver’s only youth music festival” (check: true), the 9th Youth on Record Block Party finds the kids-music nonprofit hosting diverse live performances 1-7 p.m. on Saturday, June 10. Food, vendors, free swag, kids activities and more are planned. Free at La Alma-Lincoln Park in Denver (youthonrecord.org).
Finally, the reliably excellent Levitt Pavilion has a pair of shows in the form of Friday, June 9’s Rez Metal showcase (fronted by Indigenous heavy metal acts) and Saturday, June 10’s Block Party from The Drop, 104.7 FM (R&B, hip hop). levittdenver.org
Denver Greek Festival’s cultural paradise
Friday-Sunday. This year’s Denver Greek Festival will be many things, but chief among them is a food paradise. The 56th event, which returned in 2022 after a 2-year hiatus, has Greek dancing and music, mouth-watering food (pastichio, spanakopita, souvlakia, oh my!), and the usual boutique shops and vendors.
The festival runs 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, June 9; 11-midnight Saturday, June 10; and 11 a.m.-7 p..m. Sunday, June 11, at Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 4610 E. Alameda Ave. in Denver. $5 general admission, $3 for seniors, and kids under 12 and under are free. thegreekfestival.com
Pride is in full swing with these events
Friday-Sunday. The massive Denver PrideFest is set for June 24 and 25, but since all of June is Pride Month, events are already popping off. This weekend includes the YouthSeen/Black Pride Gospel Drag Brunch from Black Pride Colorado. The uplifting event will have music, dancing, gospel hits and local drag luminaries, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at Reynard Social, 1616 Market St. in Denver. Reserve a spot for your $15-$75 (all your can drink!) ticket at resy.com/cities/den. 18-and-up.
A dozen breweries join forces on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at Call to Arms Brewing, 4526 Tennyson St., for Big Gay Beer Day. It’s “Denver’s most Trans-parent beer fest,” organizers said, since 100 percent of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the Transformative Freedom Fund. There will be tunes from DJ Jen and beers from Ratio Beerworks, Cannonball Creek Brewing, Lady Justice Brewing, Goldspot Brewing, Cohesion Brewing and many more.
Denver Beer Co’s Platte Street Pride Party returns 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, June 10, when the brewery closes down 17th Street. Drag queens — including “Rupaul’s Drag Race” veteran Mariah Paris Balenciaga — with some of the proceeds going to LGBTQ nonprofit One Colorado. Individual events are ticketed; see denverbeerco.com for more. Events at 1695 Platte St. in Denver.
Speaking of drag queens: Denver’s own “Drag Race” winner Yvie Oddly will guest with Denver Gay Men’s Chorus as part of their “Divas” show, Friday, June 9, and two shows on Saturday, June 10, at the King Center on the Auraria Campus. Expect renditions of music from Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, and Adele. Tickets: $30 via denverchoruses.org/dgmc.
