Denver Comes Alive will return to the Mile High City for a two-day music marathon at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom and Cervantes’ Other Side on Friday, January 17th and Saturday, January 18th. Presented by Live For Live Music, the 2025 edition of the event will feature two stages for the first time, with fans invited to move between the venue’s two rooms at will throughout the weekend to witness performances featuring more than 30 well-known musicians including members of The Meters, The String Cheese Incident, Dumpstaphunk, Soulive, Wilco, Lettuce, Galactic, The New Mastersounds, Circles Around The Sun, Big Gigantic, The Motet, and many more [ticketing info].
Both Denver Comes Alive and its East Coast predecessor, Brooklyn Comes Alive, were initially inspired by the fleeting magic of New Orleans Jazz Fest by dark, when the main festival Fair Grounds go dark but music fills venues big and small, allowing revelers to drift between world-class performances and witness unique and memorable live music moments. The 2025 Denver Comes Alive lineup leans into that initial inspiration with several all-star projects previously featured as part of Live For Live Music’s Fest by Nite series in New Orleans during Jazz Fest.
On Friday, January 17th, Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper will headline the night with a “to heroes, by heroes” homage to a pair of late New Orleans legends lost in 2019: The Meters’ Art Neville (also known as “Poppa Funk”) and Dr. John (who performed under the moniker “Dr. John The Night Tripper”). The dual tribute debuted at the inaugural Denver Comes Alive in 2020 and later made its way home to New Orleans during Jazz Fest 2023 for a session at the Civic Theatre.
The Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper lineup at Denver Comes Alive 2025 will feature bassist/vocalist George Porter Jr. (The Meters), guitarist/vocalist Eric Krasno (Soulive), lauded NOLA piano man Jon Cleary, Crescent City soul singer Erica Falls, trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), and saxophonist Nate Miller alongside five members of torch-bearing modern NOLA funk powerhouse Dumpstaphunk including keyboardist/vocalist Ivan Neville, bassist/vocalist Tony Hall, guitarist Ian Neville, drummer Deven Trusclair, and trombonist Alex Wasily. Read a full recap of the Jazz Fest 2023 edition of Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper here.
The opening night of Denver Comes Alive 2025 will also feature the rare combination of enigmatic saxophonist Skerik (Les Claypool), veteran drummer Stanton Moore (Galactic), lauded organist Wil Blades, and extraterrestrial guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco), who first played as a unit in New Orleans during Jazz Fest 2024. While that initial show was billed as a special edition of Live For Live Music’s long-running Denver funk series, The Funk Sessions, their debut performance liberally pushed the boundaries of the funk genre, creating a thrilling, improvised sound truly difficult to classify in standard “genre” terms. At Denver Comes Alive, they’ll drop the Funk Sessions pretense and venture further into the unknown with an exploratory performance Colorado won’t want to miss.
In addition, the Friday, January 17th Denver Comes Alive lineup features WRD, the occasional trio project featuring organist Robert Walter (Roger Waters, Mike Gordon, The Greyboy Allstars), guitarist Eddie Roberts (The New Mastersounds), and drummer Adam Deitch (Lettuce, Break Science); Ross James & Goo Bros, the “gooey” jam side project led by the frequent Phil Lesh sideman alongside guitarist and vocalist Bill Nershi (The String Cheese Incident), drummer Jeremy Salken (Big Gigantic), keyboard wizard Adam MacDougall (Circles Around The Sun), and bassist Garrett Sayers (The Motet); and Jimkata, the stalwart electro-rock outfit out of Ithaca, NY. View the full Friday, January 17th, 2025 Denver Comes Alive lineup below.
The party will continue on Saturday, January 18th with a headlining performance by another Jazz Fest special, Crescent City Classics. While Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper fetes two of New Orleans’ most outwardly recognizable acts, Crescent City Classics delves into the deep cuts, alternate styles, and cultural flourishes that round out the city’s vibrant musical lineage.
The Denver Comes Alive 2025 Crescent City Classics lineup is set to include George Porter Jr. (The Meters), Eric Krasno (Soulive), Jon Cleary, Erica Falls (Galactic), trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), and saxophonist Drew Sayers (The Motet) alongside Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville (keys, vocals), Tony Hall (bass, vocals), Ian Neville (guitar), Deven Trusclair (drums), and Alex Wasily (trombone). Read a recap of the inaugural edition of Crescent City Classics at New Orleans’ The Joy Theater during Jazz Fest 2024 here.
Related: Tracing The Genetic Code Of New Orleans Funk Music
Yet another storied Jazz Fest-by-night staple, Worship My Organ, will also make its way to Denver Comes Alive on January 18th for a dual-B3 showdown featuring Wil Blades (organ), Robert Walter (organ), Skerik (saxophone), and Adam Deitch (drums). Other acts on the Saturday schedule include Eric Krasno and Stanton Moore’s acclaimed organ trio, Krasno/Moore Project; The Motet keyboardist Joey Porter‘s funk quartet, Vital Organ, which features bassist Garrett Sayers (The Motet), guitarist Matt Jalbert (TAUK), and drummer Jeff Franca (Thievery Corporation); and a nostalgic set led by soul singer Isaac Sinclair—otherwise known as TAUK drummer Isaac Teel—billed as Isaac Sinclair Presents: Wayback.
Denver Comes Alive 2025 marks the fourth edition of the mix-and-match live music event well-known for bringing unique band lineups, rare collaborations, and specially curated concept sets to Denver’s Mission Ballroom in 2023, 2021, and 2020. With its shift to a two-stage, two-day format at Cervantes’, festival organizers aim to recapture some of the intimate exchange of creativity that initially inspired the Comes Alive concept.
As Denver Comes Alive and Live For Live Music founder Kunj Shah explained of the event’s revamped 2025 format, “Denver Comes Alive is returning to its roots, drawing inspiration from the rich musical heritage of New Orleans and the legendary Jazz Fest late-night scene. This year, we’re bringing together an unforgettable lineup of supergroups and unique collaborations, all fueled by the spirit of artistic synergy and creativity that defines those iconic late-night jams.”
Pre-sale tickets to Denver Comes Alive 2025 at Denver, CO’s Cervantes’ on Friday, January 17th and Saturday, January 18th go on sale Thursday, October 24th at 10:00 MT exclusively to Live For Live Music email list subscribers. Sign up for the mailing list here to receive your pre-sale code. Remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, October 25th at 10:00 a.m. ET here. To give back to the community, $1 from every ticket sold to Denver Comes Alive 2025 will benefit nonprofits Conscious Alliance and Education Through Music.
View a full list of participating Denver Comes Alive 2025 artists and bands below. Scroll down for complete show details.
***SHOW DETAILS***
Show: Denver Comes Alive 2025
Presented by: Live For Live Music, Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom
Bands: More than 30 well-known musicians split into 10 unique band lineups (see detailed list below).
Date: Friday, January 17th and Saturday, January 18th, 2025
Time: Doors: 6:30 p.m. / Shows: 7:30 p.m. (both nights)
Venue: Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom and Other Side – 2637 Welton St, Denver, CO 80205
Pre-Sale: Thursday, October 24 at 10:00 a.m. MT [Exclusive to L4LM mailing list subscribers. Subscribe here to receive access code.]
General On-Sale: Friday, October 25th at 10:00 a.m. MT
Ticket Tiers: GA Advance Two-Day: $80 / GA Advance Single Day: $45 / GA Day of Show Single Day: $50
Charity: $1 from every ticket sold will benefit nonprofits Conscious Alliance and Education Through Music.
***BAND LINEUPS***
Friday, January 17th, 2025
- Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper: A Celebration of The Meters & Dr. John
- George Porter Jr. (bass, vocals; The Meters), Eric Krasno (guitar; Soulive), Ivan Neville (keys, vocals; Dumpstaphunk), Jon Cleary (keys; The Absolute Monster Gentlemen), Tony Hall (bass, vocals; Dumpstaphunk), Ian Neville (guitar; Dumpstaphunk), Deven Trusclair (drums; Dumpstaphunk), Erica Falls (vocals), Alex Wasily (trombone; Dumpstaphunk), Eric Benny Bloom (trumpet; Lettuce), Nate Miller (saxophone).
- Skerik, Stanton Moore, Wil Blades, Nels Cline
- Skerik (saxophone; Les Claypool), Stanton Moore (drums; Galactic), Wil Blades (organ), Nels Cline (guitar; Wilco).
- WRD
- Robert Walter (organ; Roger Waters, Mike Gordon, The Greyboy Allstars), Eddie Roberts (guitar; The New Mastersounds), Adam Deitch (drums; Lettuce, Break Science).
- Ross James & Goo Bros
- Ross James (guitar, vocals; Phil Lesh), Bill Nershi (guitar, vocals; The String Cheese Incident), Jeremy Salken (drums; Big Gigantic), Adam MacDougall (keys; Circles Around The Sun), Garrett Sayers (bass; The Motet).
- Jimkata
Saturday, January 18th, 2025
- Crescent City Classics
- George Porter Jr. (bass, vocals; The Meters), Eric Krasno (guitar; Soulive), Ivan Neville (keys, vocals; Dumpstaphunk), Jon Cleary (keys; The Absolute Monster Gentlemen), Tony Hall (bass, vocals; Dumpstaphunk), Ian Neville (guitar; Dumpstaphunk), Deven Trusclair (drums; Dumpstaphunk), Erica Falls (vocals), Alex Wasily (trombone; Dumpstaphunk), Eric Benny Bloom (trumpet; Lettuce), Drew Sayers (saxophone; The Motet).
- Krasno/Moore Project
- Eric Krasno (guitar; Soulive), Stanton Moore (drums; Galactic), and more.
- Worship My Organ
- Skerik (saxophone; Les Claypool), Wil Blades (organ), Robert Walter (organ; Roger Waters, Mike Gordon, The Greyboy Allstars), Adam Deitch (drums; Lettuce, Break Science).
- Joey Porter’s Vital Organ
- Joey Porter (keys; The Motet), Garrett Sayers (keys; The Motet), Matt Jalbert (guitar; TAUK), Jeff Franca (drums; Thievery Corporation).
- Isaac Sinclair Presents: Wayback
