As we celebrate the announcement of the 2025 New Orleans Jazz Fest lineup and look forward to the Jazz Fest-inspired 2025 edition of Denver Comes Alive at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom on Friday, January 17th and Saturday, January 18th, we’re excited to put a spotlight on one of the most exciting Big Easy-based projects on the DCA bill: Crescent City Classics [get tickets].
Both Denver Comes Alive and its East Coast predecessor, Brooklyn Comes Alive, were inspired by the fleeting magic of New Orleans Jazz Fest by dark, when the main festival Fair Grounds go dark but music fills rooms around the city, allowing revelers and musicians alike to drift between venues to take part in unusual and memorable live moments. As such, the Denver Comes Alive lineup is not your average list of bands: While the individual artist names on the bill may be familiar to many fans, the mix-and-match bands with which they’re due to perform are predominantly rare and uncommon.
Related: Denver Comes Alive 2025 Band Spotlight: Ross James & Goo Bros [Interview]
Both nights of Denver Comes Alive will culminate in all-star, New Orleans-focused tribute sets plucked straight from Live For Live Music‘s Fest by Nite roster: Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper (Friday, 1/17) and Crescent City Classics (Saturday, 1/18). 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 serve as the foundation of the city’s vibrant musical lineage.
The Denver Comes Alive 2025 Crescent City Classics lineup is set to include iconic funk bassist George Porter Jr. (The Meters), decorated guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive), beloved NOLA piano man Jon Cleary, Big Easy soul singer Erica Falls (Galactic), trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), and saxophonist Drew Sayers (The Motet) alongside five members of torch-bearing New Orleans funk outfit Dumpstaphunk: Ivan Neville (keys, vocals), Tony Hall (bass, vocals), Ian Neville (guitar), Deven Trusclair (drums), and Alex Wasily (trombone).
Related: Worship My Organ To Bring A Jazz Fest Tradition To Denver Comes Alive 2025 [Videos]
Read a recap of the sold-out inaugural edition of Crescent City Classics at New Orleans’ The Joy Theater during Jazz Fest 2024 here. Watch clips from the show below.
Presented by Live For Live Music, the 2025 edition of Denver Comes Alive 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, Dumpstaphunk, The String Cheese Incident, Soulive, Lettuce, Galactic, The New Mastersounds, Circles Around The Sun, Big Gigantic, The Motet, and many more. Pick up tickets to Denver Comes Alive here. Find details on each of the bands on the bill here. Scroll down to view full artist lineup for Denver Comes Alive 2025.
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Denver Comes Alive 2025 Artists
George Porter Jr.
Eric Krasno
Ivan Neville
Jon Cleary
Tony Hall
Ian Neville
Deven Trusclair
Erica Falls
Alex Wasily
Nate Miller
Eric Benny Bloom
Skerik
Stanton Moore
Wil Blades
Robert Walter
Eddie Roberts
Adam Deitch
Bill Nershi
Ross James
Jeremy Salken
Adam MacDougall
Garrett Sayers
Drew Sayers
Matt Jalbert
Jeff Franca
Joey Porter
Isaac Sinclair
Jimkata