The Grizzly Rose and the National Western Stock Show go together like Brooks & Dunn
The Grizzly Rose and the National Western Stock Show go together like Brooks & Dunn. But you might not know that by the 1,500 or so who packed into Denver’s most iconic honkytonk last Thursday night.
“That’s because we get 1,500 people here pretty much every Thursday night, all year round,” said Lindy Arnold, who has been general manager of what she calls “40,000 square feet of fun” at 54th and Lincoln Street for the past 16 years.
Arnold attributes the venue’s enduring popularity to its welcoming environment, its six nights a week of live music, and its special events including ticketed concerts, dance lessons, ladies’ nights and family nights. Throw in pool tables, arcade games, food service, a merchandise store, a bar in every corner, and those two dastardly “widowmaker” mechanical bulls everyone wants to ride, and the Grizzly Rose, which has stood the test of changing times since 1989, feels a lot like a Casa Bonita for the Country Western set.
If you’re coming to town, you don’t want to miss it.
Cash Forster of Denver takes on the mechanical bull at the iconic Grizzly Rose on Jan. 16, 2024, as the National Western Stock Show continues nearby.
“I will tell you, this place will be at maximum capacity every single night throughout the Stock Show – and especially on (ticketed) concert nights,” said Caine Hager, a pro rodeo clown and webcaster who has been coming to the Grizzly Rose since he was 14 years old. “So I pretty much grew up here,” he said. Hager is such a fixture, in fact, an entire wall display is dedicated to his contributions to professional rodeo.
“I feel like a lot of local people are coming here during the Stock Show because this is the place to be,” he said. “But they’re not all from out of town. I feel like a lot of people from Denver make it a point to come here during the Stock Show – because it’s absolutely awesome.”
Line dancers flocked to the 2,500 square-foot dance floor as Nathan Dean and the Damn Band played at the iconic Grizzly Rose on Jan. 16, 2024.
To Arnold, busy is busy, and it’s almost always busy at the Grizzly Rose, which in 2023 was nominated by the Academy of Country Music Awards as its “club of the year” for the 16th time.
“But there is much more of a tourist aspect during the Stock Show,” Arnold said. “We do see more out-of-towners, and even people from out of the country. We also do more (ticketed) concerts at this time of year to accommodate everybody. So instead of just one show a week, it’s two or three.” (Coming up before the Stock Show ends Jan. 26: Zach Top (Jan. 23-24) and Corey Kent (Jan. 25).
Esteban Missura of Denver takes on the mechanical bull at the iconic Grizzly Rose on Jan. 16, 2024.
Among the locals who were making a point to check out the Griz during the Stock Show last Thursday were Esteban Missura, John Bell and a dude in a black cowboy hat who looked straight out of Hollywood casting, and with a name to match: Cash Forster. They all work together at a Denver financial services firm and were having a night out. They all took a turn on the mechanical bulls and did quite well for themselves – though inevitably, everyone ends up tossed into the inflatable padding like it’s a children’s bounce house. Which is part of the fun.
“I came here for the first time last year and I really liked it – and now I’m here for the first time during the Stock Show,” said Missura, who moved to Denver from Ecuador. But none of the three (cow) boys did quite as well as Megan Clark, who fully tamed the bull as her friends cheered her on. They came for ladies night, she said, and they were having a blast.
“The vibe and the energy are really great,” Clark said. “I even took a line-dancing class to prepare for this.” And while she and her friends did not plan their visit to coincide with the Stock Show, “it is very good timing,” she said with a laugh.
On this night, friendliness abounds, starting with a dozen or so patrons patiently waiting in the frosty weather to get inside. There, an amiable greeter is checking both IDs and every pair of boots that passes. Why the boots?
“Oh, you’d be surprised what people try will to hide down there,” he says with a coy laugh – and no further elaboration.
Caine Hager, a pro rodeo clown and host of “The Arena Round Up Webcast Show,” says thousands of tourists and Denverites alike come out to the iconic Grizzly Rose honkytonk during the National Western Stock Show, continuing through Jan. 26.
Hager says the Stock Show lives up to its billing each year as “The Best 16 Days in January.” He likens it to the buildup to a Super Bowl for the host football city.
“Everybody who’s here from out of town will come to the Grizzly Rose at some point,” Hager said. I asked him to elaborate a bit on his rodeo performance.
“I’m an entertainer and barrel man,” he said. “When the bull riders would fall off, I’d jump in front of the bull and protect the bulls, or protect the cowboys from the bulls, and make sure the rider got to safety. And now I have become the barrel man, which is the entertainer. My job is to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats and entertained by telling jokes, getting them laughing and making sure they feel like a part of the rodeo. That’s a huge part of the rodeo experience.”
Nathan Dean and the Damn Band played for about 1,500 at the iconic Grizzly Rose on Jan. 16, 2024, as the National Western Stock Show continues nearby.
Meanwhile, the deliciously named Nathan Dean and the Damn Band takes to the mainstage for the second of a five-night set that runs through Sunday (Jan. 19). Their music swells the line-dancing population, giving the dance floor the appearance of the world’s largest flash mob.
Pro rodeo clown Caine Hager has a wall display honoring his accomplishments at the Grizzly Rose honkytonk. Pictured Jan. 16. 2025.
The crowd is clearly having a ball, which is why Arnold started coming here in the first place with her parents when she was a 15-year-old from Evergreen.
In its 35 years, the Grizzly Rose has outlasted most every Denver dance bar, and there are many reasons for that, Arnold said, including designated family Sunday nights.
“I think it is pretty amazing, especially after COVID, for a place of this size to have survived,” she said. “That says a lot about what we offer. This is a very welcoming place. It’s a very safe place. And it’s a very inclusive place – so everybody comes. That’s why we have 1,500 people on a Thursday night. And you don’t even have to like country music. It’s just a fun environment.”
John Moore is The Denver Gazette’s senior arts journalist. Email him at john.moore@gazette.com