The announcement that the Underground Music Showcase will move from its longtime home on Broadway to the River North Arts District swept through Denver on Monday, drawing reactions from relief to eye-rolling and even allegations of betrayal.
The move marks a notable departure from the festival's origins on Broadway, the corridor that became known as the city’s independent music center. Instead, the festival will be held across several streets in RiNo, a district that has attempted to mesh corporate retail and food attractions with warehouse galleries and local art.
Meanwhile, some community leaders along Broadway are stunned by the news — to the point that Broadway’s newly formed general improvement district is beginning to plan a new music festival. Meanwhile, others in the independent music scene are cautiously optimistic about the festival’s future.
A move to RiNo was recommended by UMS founders.
UMS spent 25 years on Broadway, drawing hundreds of artists and thousands of fans to the corridor. Now, co-organizer Youth on Record is selling its 50 percent share to the RiNo Business Improvement District.
Ricardo Baca, who co-founded UMS but isn’t officially involved anymore, is optimistic about the move to RiNo. In fact, he proposed the idea years ago.
“I love South Broadway, and it remains one of my favorite neighborhoods in Colorado — but even back then it was clear that RiNo was fast growing into the neighborhood that would help usher in a new era of The UMS,” Baca wrote Denverite.” RiNo has more venues, more youthful energy, and more festival-friendly infrastructure, including a more walkable festival imprint that doesn't involve a busy street like Broadway.”
Baca is optimistic his legacy project will carry on for years in RiNo.
“I look forward to seeing the additional changes they make — because The UMS will still require other strategic shifts to guarantee it's around for another 25 years,” he wrote.
Co-founder John Moore was optimistic about the shift, as well.
“Without knowing any of the details, I will always say anything that allows our local musicians to be seen and celebrated, I celebrate as well,” he wrote. “I congratulate one and all who had a hand in continuing this great tradition.
Some artists and local music enthusiasts are nostalgic but optimistic.
Kalyn Heffernan of Wheelchair Sports Camp woke up to the news.
“I can’t imagine the UMS not on Broadway,” she wrote.
Hip-hop artist DNA Picasso was thrilled the festival would be saved.
“I think it’s awesome that a deal was able to be made and even more amazing that Youth on Record zoomed out from the situation and did what’s best for the sustainability of the festival,” he wrote. “This speaks to the legacy of Denver music and what it takes to make sure things last far beyond one company’s control of ownership.”
While Picasso was sad that South Broadway would miss out on hosting the event, he said the change is for the best.
Dana Meyers, the morning host for local music station Indie 102.3 said she’s excited to see how UMS will adapt to RiNo. Indie 102.3, like Denverite, is part of Colorado Public Radio.
“Just having a whole new neighborhood with whole new places will give this a whole new feel. It's a whole new festival all over again,” Meyers said.
Online reaction has been mixed. Some celebrated the festival’s revival, while others were unhappy about the move or said the festival needed to do more to promote underground local artists.
UMS’s former neighborhood is left reeling.
Reaction to the move is far less enthusiastic in Baker, the neighborhood where the music festival was born in 2001. Business owners said UMS brought traffic to the neighborhood and helped build up its reputation as a venue for independent music acts.
Scott Happel is an owner of HQ, the bar and music venue on South Broadway.
“I went to UMS first in 2010 and I've told people a million times over my time here that … weekend singlehandedly changed my mind about staying in Denver or leaving Denver,” Happel said. “I'd only been in Denver for about a year when I moved here with my partner at the time, we were only supposed to be here for three years.”
When the festival organizers said the festival would be ending “in its current form”, they weren’t sure what the future of UMS might be, saying it might never return as a music festival. They blamed rising costs and a changing concert festival landscape.
Last year, organizers said the festival cost about $2 million to put on, but only made about $1.5 million in return.
Still, Happel said he feels betrayed that UMS is already moving to another neighborhood less than a year after that announcement.
“I will tell you at its core what has (made) me annoyed today or angry perhaps, is being lied to over and over and over and over again by the people who own and operate UMS, being told we are not moving this to another part of the city,” he said.
Councilmember Flor Alvidrez, who represents Baker on Denver City Council, said she’s disappointed to see the festival leave the corridor. She, like others, pointed out that RiNo is home to far more corporate-owned businesses than Baker.
“This used to be a more community-based based underground type of music showcase and that has been watered down over the years, and I think the move to a gentrified area with Patagonia stores is the ultimate leaving behind of truly what it once was,” Alvidrez said.
Alvidrez said the festival’s organizers suggested that the festival could stay on Broadway if it got some financial help. They floated the option of an eventual Broadway General Improvement District funding the festival. But the GID was not officially formed until November, and Alvidrez said the neighborhood wasn’t given enough of a chance.
“It's actually still, at this moment, in creation,” she said of the BID. “We're just hiring the executive director now.”
A statement from the Broadway General Improvement District said it plans to launch its own music event that will stay in the neighborhood in perpetuity, but details are still being formed.
“We have a high concentration of independent music venues and non-corporate small businesses that make a great backdrop for young artists,” the statement said. “We are proud of the things that make us different from places like RiNo.”
Editor’s note: Indie 102.3 is a part of Colorado Public Radio, as is Denverite, and has previously sponsored the Underground Music Showcase. Ricardo Baca is co-founder of UMS and serves on CPR’s Board of Directors. Neither Baca nor any Indie employees had editorial influence on this story.
