For 23 years, Denver’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom has served as one of Colorado’s most beloved hubs for improvisational, collaborative, and community-driven music. This January, the venue will mark its 23rd anniversary with a monthlong celebration featuring powerhouse performers, rising voices, and cross-scene collaborations that embody everything the space has nurtured for nearly a quarter century.
The anniversary programming kicks off on Friday and Saturday January 2nd and 3rd with Trouble No More, the youthful, high-energy homage to the Allman Brothers Band featuring Taz (guitar), Dylan Niederauer (bass), Roosevelt Collier (pedal steel), Lamar Williams Jr. (vocals), Jack Ryan (drums), and Peter Levin (keys). The dual-venue weekend run will also feature a curated mix of tributes to other beloved artists in the venue’s secondary room, the Other Side, including Easy Jim (Grateful Dead) and Drew Dvorchak on 1/2 and Proving Ground (Widespread Panic) and Universal Sound (Tyler Childers) on 1/3 [get tickets].
After going electronic for Shift ft. Blookah with Philia, Jawnsin, and Gibbs on the Other Side on Thursday, January 8th [get tickets], Cervantes’ will show off the stylistic breadth of its 23rd-anniversary programming on Friday and Saturday, January 9th and 10th, with a two-night Yonder Mountain String Band run featuring support from Kyle Tuttle Band in the main Ballroom [get tickets] running simultaneously to a pair of exciting shows on the Other Side: retooled New York jam upstarts Big Shrimp and Denver pro-jam outfit Mr. Specific will take the Other Side stage with support from Moonradish on Friday, January 9th [get tickets] and Lit Society ft. Isaac Sinclair Wayback, Dominic Lalli (Big Gigantic), Lyle Divinsky, Borahm Lee (Pretty Lights), Caton Sollenberger (The Jauntee), and more on Saturday, January 10th [get tickets].
The middle of the month is similarly stacked with highlights. On January 16th and 17th, veteran jamtronica group Lotus will hit Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom as part of its Rise of the Anglerfish tour [get tickets] while Chick Magnet, Nostaljazz, Slippery When Wet man the Other Side stage on 1/16 [get tickets] and Zach Nugent’s Dead Set with Lucas Parker Band & The Buzz take the second stage on 1/17 [get tickets], underscoring Colorado’s deep-rooted fascination with Dead-inspired reinterpretation.
The following week, on Thursday and Friday, January 22nd and 23rd, “galaxy grass” group Kitchen Dwellers will headline an eclectic bill at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom featuring support from jam-band Jimmy Buffett tribute Jammy Buffet on 1/22 [get tickets] and Silas Herman & The Tone Unit on 1/23 [get tickets]. Those same nights will feature largely contrasting programming on the Other Side, including Jimkata w/ Barbara on 1/22 [get tickets] and Ozztin w/ Yojas, Inari, Split, and Velcroshirt on 1/23 [get tickets].
Dance music will once again take the Cervantes’ floor on Saturday, January 24th with Tripp St. featuring rSun, Rendr, Vyahara, and Dizzy! in the Ballroom [get tickets] and PMA (featuring Clay Parnell, Steve Molitz, and former Disco Biscuits drummer Allen Aucoin) and Ben Silver on the Other Side [get tickets]. From there, veteran jamtronica explorers STS9 will round out the weekend on Sunday, January 25th with an underplay as part of their Colorado Takeover.
A Thursday, January 29th Shift session on the Other Side ft. Midicinal with CatParty, Phlo, and Philia [get tickets], Cervantes’ will host a quintessential Denver-scene crossover on Friday, January 30th featuring Kyle Hollingsworth Band with Jerry Garcia Band tribute Breadbox in the Ballroom and Dave Watts & Friends with Hot Like Mars on the Other Side. Attendees will be free to move back and forth between the two venues throughout the night [get tickets].
The January schedule at Cervantes’ will close with Saturday, January 31st dance parties by Flamingosis featuring Blockhead, Pure Colors, and Little Mac in the Ballroom and Milk featuring Buzz Junior and SweetBoi on the Other Side [get tickets], but the venue won’t wait to get a start on February: On Sunday, February 1st, Cervantes’ will host Great Blue featuring Goose’s Peter Anspach alongside support from Jewel House and a DJ set by Ruthie Bandit [get tickets].
Even with their anniversary month behind them, Cervantes’ will ride that momentum into February wtih performances by ProbCause (2/6), Big Richard and Della Mae (2/7), Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ghostface Killah (2/12), and Dumpstaphunk with Joey Porter Trio (2/14).
View a list of upcoming 23rd-anniversary shows at Denver, CO’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom. Find a full calendar of events, ticketing details, and more information here.
