Electronic dance music has become one of Colorado’s defining genres, and it’s only getting bigger
When Denver-based artist Illenium climbs on stage at Empower Field at Mile High on June 17, it will be not only the single biggest electronic-dance music concert in Colorado history, but one of the biggest-ever headlining events by a Colorado artist.
“The next largest venue on my (fall) tour is probably 25,000 capacity,” said Illenium, a.k.a. platinum-selling DJ, producer and songwriter Nick Miller. “Most of the venues are like 8,000 to 15,000, and I think in Chicago I’m playing a soccer stadium.”
The show tops a week that saw Colorado EDM artists GRiZ (based out of Denver) and Big Gigantic (Boulder) perform at June 15’s Denver Nuggets victory parade, adding a sheen of city approval for the roughly 1 million Denverites in attendance.
Despite, or in some cases because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have never been more options for Colorado EDM lovers and artists. The scene’s momentum builds on more than two decades of pioneering events, from early warehouse raves to the Triad Dragon’s annual Global Dance Festival, the Beatport label, unique clubs such as Beta (since closed) and The Church, and New Year’s Eve’s Decadence party.
With all eyes on Illenium, Denver has also completed its years-long transformation into not just “the Amsterdam of the West,” as many artists call it, but the global center of the bass-music subgenre. The movement has helped attract international talent to live, work and tour out of the Mile High City while giving EDM fans a consistent, world-class roster of concerts.
To be sure, Miller’s ascension is not typical. He began playing the 500-capacity Bluebird Theater in 2015, so selling more than 40,000 tickets for Empower Field, according to updated numbers from his publicist, is a staggering 8,000% gain since the days of headlining the modest theater on East Colfax Avenue.
Only Colorado acts such as The Lumineers, which headlined Coors Field last year, and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, which sold its out its Ball Arena and Red Rocks Amphitheatre shows, can come close to matching Miller’s draw. And yet his exponential growth is a reflection of Denver’s ascension to the same level as EDM heavies like Chicago (the home of house music), Detroit (techno) and Miami (bass).
“I don’t think a scene with less history or depth could produce the same result,” said Diego Felix, an EDM.com contributor and artist development coordinator for Fort Collins’ nonprofit Music District. “The Decadence-type stuff builds on long-running events like Skylab and House of Bass in Fort Collins and the increasing takeover of Red Rocks’ calendar by EDM artists.”
Genres, and artists, galore
Decadence, in particular, annually draws EDM titans such as Tiësto, Zeds Dead, and REZZ, but also Colorado-based acts GRiZ, CloZee, Said the Sky, Mersiv and Pretty Lights — all of them local Red Rocks headliners and world-touring names in their own right.
“I moved here in 2020 because this is the hub for my style of music,” said CloZee, a.k.a. French DJ and producer Chloé Herry, who will headline Colorado’s Sonic Bloom Festival on June 17. “I already had so many friends and my tour manager is here, and I knew artistically it would be the best choice for my (career).”
CloZee’s latest album, “Microworlds,” is slated for release on July 21, following her debut headlining concert at Red Rocks last year. As a 16-year-old growing up in a small French village, she watched YouTube videos of Red Rocks and made it one of her goals to play the venue.
“The demand for (EDM) shows here is huge, and it’s easier to connect with industry and other artists than it is in other cities,” said Herry, who runs the Odyzey Music label. She’s already slated to headline Mission Ballroom’s Dec. 30 and 31 New Year’s Eve concerts.
EDM artists come to Denver because there’s a clear path for growth, they say. Acts who start out playing small clubs such as the Larimer Lounge can develop quickly by proving their audience draw and work ethic to promoter AEG Live Rocky Mountains, the region’s dominant booker. They’ve helped make EDM — an imprecise term covering drum and bass, dubstep, house, techno, trance and other genres — a mainstream concern in the 21st century.
Evolution at every level
Back in 1999, a group of Denver DJs formed the groundbreaking Milehighhouse Productions to support the early days of electronica (as it was called), throwing parties and releasing nearly three dozen records while touring the world. Co-founder Tom Hoch Jr. also joined Denver’s upstart Beatport site and label — essentially iTunes for DJs — in the early 2000s to help build it into a global name.
“EDM used to be segmented to a limited number of nightclubs and events,” Hoch said, giving credit to Denver pioneers such as artist/producer Ha Hau, who founded the Global Dance Festival (returning for its 20th anniversary, July 21-22 at Empower Field). “But those walls have been completely torn down.”
Denver’s 6-year-old Temple Nightclub hosts diverse artists, including Machine Gun Kelly and Lil John, but has also made much of its name on EDM shows. San Francisco-based owner Paul Hemming expanded his brand to Denver after noticing the city’s live music calendar, which supports one the country’s busiest and best-attended scenes with as many (or more) venues per capita than Austin, Texas, according to Rolling Stone.
“During the pandemic San Francisco was hit hard and there was a mass exodus,” said Hemming, also a DJ and former record store owner. “But in the Denver market we saw growth, thanks in part to the vibrant music scene.”
Denver’s recreationally legal cannabis and decriminalized magic mushrooms add to a vibe of acceptance and exploration, artists have said, with fans equally dedicated to massive parties such as Civic Center park’s Zeds Dead & Friends Backyard Jamboree on July 4, as well as the growing demand for EDM at tiny clubs.
Rave-style warehouse parties, of course, never go out of style.
A worldwide niche, online and off
Denver’s NITE RINSE house-music collective, which holds “secret warehouse events” across the city and at the ReelWorks venue in the Ballpark District, is one of the winners of the post-pandemic rush back to live events. But even as most venues went dark in 2020, Denver’s nonprofit, membership-based Knew Conscious venue debuted the “Alive from Knew Conscious” series, which featured weekly live streams from Denver artists, including CloZee, SunSquabi and Eminence Ensemble.
It’s on ongoing safety net for both artists and fans, said founder Kurt Redeker.
“Beyond cultivating a community (outside of) Denver who can view shows from anywhere, this also safeguards the business during unprecedented events like a pandemic,” he said. “Anything (that would) impair live, in-person music performances again.”
The likeminded River Beats TV launched this month to stream EDM shows, building on the culture of Denver-based parent company River Beats Dance. The channel was conceived in 2020 and has hosted more than 400 hours of livestreams while raising $150,000 for independent venues. That includes Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, where River Beats in 2021 launched its SHIFT Thursdays series.
“People enjoy their live music like they enjoy their craft beer here,” said River Beats co-founder Ben Dillis, who on June 3 also inaugurated The Deep, a live EDM series at X Denver. “You can’t stick to just one genre, but you can provide enough variety to satisfy fans of (diverse sounds).”
Working in the digital realm allows Denver EDM artists to stay busy whether or not they’re active with shows, collaborations and tours, they said.
“I’m mainly a studio musician and songwriter, so I was able to record vocals from home and work with people online,” said Laura Brehm, whose songs have garnered more than one billion streams thanks to her alluring, melodic solo work and EDM collaborations. A Colorado native, she’s been recording and releasing music on the Front Range for nearly three decades. She’s quick to remember when Denver’s EDM scene was far more quiet.
“Denver’s become like a second Los Angeles now,” marveled Brehm, who in April released the single “Wonder” with London-based producer DJ Nikonn. “There are more artists here, more label offices here, and more PR than ever. It’s a place where people really want to live, and crowds always come out for the shows.”
Protecting the scene’s reputation
Scenesters have lately taken steps to ensure that Denver’s EDM rep remains progressive with sober series such as Secret Dance Addiction and the sober festival Sundown Colorado — both from producer-artists Amber and Mike Handby — as well as battling the sexism, drug overdoses and other issues that have given it a negative stigma in the past.
People using recreational drugs can increasingly test them for fentanyl at stations in and outside dance venues, according to education-based nonprofit DanceSafe. Clubs such as Cervantes have added snap-tops to drinks to prevent dosing, and cards placed in bathrooms can be handed silently hand to staff if a person is in any kind of trouble, thanks to guidance from the sexual assault-prevention nonprofit The Blue Bench.
“There’s a lot more intention to it,” said EDM.com writer Felix. “Bookers are making lineups that are more inclusive of diverse artists and spaces, especially coming out a pandemic that saw protests over George Floyd’s murder. People are more invested in feeling safe.”
EDM fans can only expect the scene to keep growing, even if artists and diehards have known that all along.
“There aren’t many markets where you can rise (artistically) like you can in Denver,” said Illenium’s Miller. “Red Rocks’ summer season feels like a 6-month long dance festival these days, and the positive vibes come out of support and tickets sales. If you’re an artist here, you can actually map out your growth. Where else can you do that?”
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