The highlight of the 2025 Boulder Film Festival was the presentation of the 2025 Entertainer of the Year Award to Jane Lynch at the Boulder Theater. Lynch offered an hour-long career retrospective covering her work on “Glee,” “Best in Show” and her recent Emmy-nominated turn as Sazz Pataki on Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” opposite Steve Martin.

The conversation, moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg, will be streamed as a podcast, though it hasn’t surfaced just yet.

Meanwhile, the winning films have been announced, including “The Color Book.” And that’s a sweep for David Fortune’s gorgeous black-and-white film about a Black father with a young son who has Down syndrome (played by Jeremiah Daniels of Aurora). The duo are trying to get to their very first baseball game, but things don’t go as planned.

“The Color Book” blew audiences away at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the American Independent Award at the Denver Film Festival in November. Judges said the film features out-of-this-world performances and a narrative that is beautifully crafted and full of heart.

Denver Film Artistic Director Matt Campbell sees hundreds of films every year. “This is one of the few that got the emotions swelling in the old chest,” he said.

Also a huge audience favorite: “Come See Me in the Good Light,” recently featured in these pages, won both Best Documentary and the People’s Choice Award just one month after taking the Sundance Film Festival’s Favorite Award. The astonishing doc focuses on Colorado State Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson’s journey since getting an incurable cancer diagnosis.

Other winners included:

• Impact Award: “A Man with Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole,” directed by Dori Berinstein

• Best Performance: Naomi Watts in “The Friend”

• Best Music Film: ”Devo,” directed by Chris Smith

• Best Sports Film: “Moses – 13 Steps,” directed by Michael Wech

• The Jonny Copp Adventure Film Award: “Champions of the Golden Valley,” directed by Ben Sturgilewski

Complete list of winners at biff1.com.

Should be a Gass

Famed Denver architect Alan Golin Gass, who was profiled here in 2024 when his home at 602 S. Harrison Lane was designated a historic landmark, will be the subject of a full lecture series presented by the Denver Architecture Foundation.

The inaugural Alan Golin Gass Annual Lecture will take place on April 23 and feature Ron Radziner, whose first real job as an architect came while working for Glass as a student at CU Denver in the summer of 1984. Radziner now leads Marmol Radziner, an award-winning architectural firm in L.A.

“I was dumbfounded,” Gass said after learning of this honor six decades in the making. “I don’t consider myself that spectacular of an architect, but I guess other people do.”

Apparently so.

Gass, who turns 94 in May, is a fourth-generation Denverite who graduated from East High School in 1949. He attended Harvard, where he studied chemistry but switched to architecture after two encounters with Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus School. Tickets at denverarchitecture.org.

Hometown honors for Rateliff

Hometown music hero Nathaniel Rateliff will be all over town over these next few months despite already having launched his first full headlining arena tour (which is presently in Ontario and comes to Mile High Stadium on Aug. 2).

On April 11-12, Rateliff headlines “Denver EATSS 2025,” a two-night celebration of Native culture with the Colorado Symphony that will support the American Indian College Fund.

For Rateliff, music and impact go hand in hand, from his work with the College Fund to past hurricane relief efforts.

The evening(s) start with dinner featuring acclaimed Native chefs including Denver’s own Andrea Murdoch. The concert will feature new orchestrations of Rateliff’s most beloved songs reimagined through the lush lens of a full symphony orchestra.

It all goes down in the Studio Loft at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Tickets $89-$339 at coloradosymphony.org.

Then, on May 3, Rateliff will be honored with the 2025 Randy Weeks Arts Leadership Award at the Denver School of the Arts Brilliance Gala. The evening, presented by the DSA Friends Foundation, will showcase performances by DSA students at 6:30 p.m. in the Leprino Family Atrium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Tickets are $150 but capacity is just 250 at interland3.donorperfect.net.

‘Mercury Sunset’ party

With the Mercury Cafe ending operations on March 31, a farewell party called “Mercury Sunset” is being planned for March 27 to celebrate the past 50 years. It’ll be an open-mic night in the upstairs ballroom “for people who want to play one last time or never got a chance to play at all.” Early sign-up for a max of two songs or eight minutes is already underway at mercurycafe.com. Doors at 7. Hosted by Phil Tran and Alex Rizk.

“Rest assured, the new owners are lovely people who said they will be absorbing all previously (booked) events, concerts and weddings,” said Rizk.

Concert news

Two big names coming to the Paramount Theatre: Macy Gray on July 22 and John Legend (or, as I call him, Jesus Christ, Superstar) on Nov. 19. Legend is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his “Get Lifted” debut album. Both on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at livenation.com …

Jorge Medina and Josi Cuén, two of Mexico’s most popular recording artists, are bringing their wildly popular combined “Juntos” tour to the United States, including a stop July 13 at Ball Arena (with 40 onstage musicians). This tour has sold out 45 sold-out concerts in 38 cities so far. Also on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at livenation.com …

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band are coming to Colorado for three dates: July 11 at the Belly Up in Aspen; July 12 at the fancy Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek; and

July 13 at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. Tickets for all are on sale now at lylelovett.com/tour …

311 will appear Aug. 19 at the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs. … Keb’ Mo’ and Shawn Colvin on Aug. 30 at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs. Both on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at axs.com … RuPaul’s Drag Race’s “Werq the World” tour, including finalists from Season 17, comes to Mission Ballroom on Sept. 29. Tickets on sale now at axs.com …

Now, I generally use this space each week to cover bands it’s a reasonable assumption most of you have heard of, but today I just felt the urge to pass along that the Decibel Metal & Beer Festival with Acid Bath and Blood Incantation is coming to the Fillmore Auditorium on Dec. 5-6. Tickets on sale 10 a.m. Friday at livenation.com. Just because.

Hot mountain theater tickets

Head for the hills!

Theatre SilCo sold every available seat for its current stage production of the comedy “The Book Club Play,” so it has added a final week of performances. It now runs through March 30 in Silverthorne. Tickets at thesilco.org …

Likewise, the Breckenridge Backstage Theater has extended what I have long-called the most uplifting play of this young century, “Every Brilliant Thing,” a unique and universal story that can be played by any actor of any gender or age. In this case, that actor is Huy Nguyen. You should know that it’s about a person trying to make sense out of suicide. Do not let that deter you. Let that draw you. I’d see anyone do it anywhere. Never gets old. Now playing through April 5. Tickets at backstagetheatre.org.

Briefly …

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance has set next January 16-18 as the dates celebrating the first public look at its greatly expanding campus …

The Colorado Symphony is coming to McGregor Square on July 30 for a performance featuring the best of Mozart under the stars. The program includes his Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter,” “Divertimento in D Major” and excerpts from “The Marriage of Figaro.” Tickets ($49.50; $22 for kids at 303-623-7876 orcoloradosymphony.org.