Denver music fans will have no shortage of live music options this weekend as two festivals featuring hundreds of Colorado artists take over venues across the city.

Blucifer’s First Rodeo, a new four-day festival organized by local artists, will debut July 23-26 on South Broadway. Meanwhile, the long-running Underground Music Showcase will return July 24-26, launching a new chapter in the River North Art District after concerns last year about the festival’s future.

Together, the festivals will feature more than 400 Colorado performers across local venues.

Blucifer’s First Rodeo is billed as a grassroots, artist-run festival designed to introduce more people to Denver’s local music community. Organizers say the event will feature about 260 Colorado bands and performers across South Broadway venues and other spaces.

The festival was created and is being operated by volunteers who are musicians, photographers, poets and other artists.

“We’re all artists, bringing this festival to life as volunteers in between our day jobs, with 100% of all profits going to paying 260 artists from all over Colorado,” organizers told the Denver Gazette. 

Organizers expect attendance of more than 3,000 people with bands including Cheap Perfume, Wheelchair Sports Camp, Colfax Speed Queen and Los Mocochetes.

Just one day after Blucifer’s First Rodeo begins, the Underground Music Showcase will open in its new home in RiNo.

Founded in 2001, UMS has grown into Denver’s longest-running independent music festival. Its future appeared uncertain in 2025 when organizers announced there was not enough funding to support the festival’s approximately $1.4 million budget.

Earlier this year, the RiNo Art District Business Improvement District acquired a 50% ownership stake in the festival and committed $250,000 in annual funding for at least the next three years. The investment helped secure the festival’s future while prompting its move from South Broadway to RiNo.

The 2026 festival will feature more than 160 local artists alongside national and regional acts including 54 Ultra, slenderbodies, Goldie Boutilier, Kaash Paige, Charlotte Sands, Twin Shadow and BAD NERVES.

Festival Director Keanan Stoner said the move to RiNo aligns with UMS’s longstanding emphasis on music discovery.

“UMS has always been about discovery,” Stoner said. “This partnership allows us to deepen that idea, helping people discover new music, new venues and new ways to experience Denver.”

Organizers expect more than 10,000 attendees per day. The festival will feature two outdoor stages along Larimer Street and performances at more than a dozen bars, breweries and independent venues throughout the district.