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Here comes Thundercat: Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird headline Outside Festival

Who knew this inaugural summit for the outdoor industry would be so much fun for music and film enthusiasts?

When the inaugural Outside Festival 2024 was announced, cultural enthusiasts might not have paid much attention to what essentially amounts to a massive business summit promoting the outdoor industry at Denver Civic Center Park.

But music and film lovers, take note: This weekend is for you, too.

Saturday’s mainstage music headliner is the Grammy-winning Thundercat. Sunday’s top billing is Andrew Bird and Fleet Foxes, a combo that could easily sell out Red Rocks on their own.

Thundercat is a jazz-rooted vocalist who has released four albums since first coming to prominence as a member of the punk metal band Suicidal Tendencies. The two-time Grammy Award winner most recently won Best Progressive R&B Album for “It Is What It Is” in 2020.

Andrew Bird will play Sunday at the inaugural Outside Festival in Civic Center Park. (Photo by Alec Basse)
Andrew Bird will play Sunday at the inaugural Outside Festival in Civic Center Park. (Photo by Alec Basse)

Andrew Bird is a powerful singer, virtuoso violinist and darned fine whistler whose range spans from jazz to swing to folk to roots to pop.

And, ah … Fleet Foxes. One apt critic described these six sultry Seattle darlings as a honey-sweet harmonizing ensemble that gives your senses a full-body massage. Part country, part folk, part rock and all aural goodness.

Borrowing from my own Spotify playlist of starred songs, here are three mighty fine introductions to all three acts:

• Fleet Foxes: “White Winter Hymnal

• Andrew Bird: “Fake Palindromes

• Thundercat: “Them Changes

Thundercat will play Saturday at the inaugural Outside Festival in Civic Center Park. (So Mitsuya)
Thundercat will play Saturday at the inaugural Outside Festival in Civic Center Park. (So Mitsuya)

Saturday’s lineup:    

• 1 p.m.: DJ Rich Cacao

• 3:45 p.m.: Los Mocochetes

• 5:05 p.m.: Say She She

• 6:45 p.m.: Lettuce

• 8:30 p.m.: Thundercat

Sunday’s lineup:

• 1 p.m.: DJ Quiet Light

• 2:25 p.m.: Selasee and the Fafa Family

• 3:55 p.m.: Nathaniel Riley

• 5:05 p.m.: The Heavy Heavy

• 6:45 p.m.: Andrew Bird

• 8:30 p.m.: Fleet Foxes

Separately, there will be a full weekend program dedicated to film enthusiasts in the Denver Art Museum. Most of the program will consist of outdoor-themed (naturally) short films running from 1:15-5:15 p.m. so you can bop in and bop out to catch all of the other stuff going on. But a few full-length offerings are on the docket, including:

• 5:35 p.m. Saturday: “Wade in the Water,” with director David Mesfin. It’s a documentary ​​that reclaims the 1,000-year-old tradition of Black surfing.

• 5:40 p.m. Sunday: “Ashima,” with director Kenji Tsukamoto. It’s about Ashima Shiraishi, one of the world’s youngest elite rock climbers.

That “other stuff” includes yoga, an “incredible dog challenge,” a climbing competition, a cold plunge, and panels featuring three-time Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White and record-breaking swimmer Diana Nyad.

Get all the times and details at festival.outsideonline.com

Seattle's revered Fleet Foxes will play Sunday at the inaugural Outside Festival in Civic Center Park. (Courtesy Outside Arts)
Seattle’s revered Fleet Foxes will play Sunday at the inaugural Outside Festival in Civic Center Park. (Courtesy Outside Arts)
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