On a snowy, frigid Colorado weekend, Denver Comes Alive returned to the Mile High City to give local fans a two-day taste of the warm, vibrant New Orleans music world featuring members of The Meters, The String Cheese Incident, Dumpstaphunk, Soulive, Lettuce, Galactic, The New Mastersounds, Circles Around The Sun, Big Gigantic, The Motet, and many more at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom and Cervantes’ Other Side.
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. The 2025 edition of Denver Comes Alive—the first to feature two stages with simultaneous performances taking place throughout each night—leaned into that inspiration more than ever with a pair of all-star, NOLA-themed headlining sets, a number of rare projects typically reserved for late-nights sessions during Jazz Fest, and moments of spontaneous, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it collaboration around every corner.
Check out a set-by-set breakdown of the action at Denver Comes Alive 2025 below. Scroll down to view various photo galleries from the event.
Friday, 1/17 – Goo Bros
The festivities got started on Friday night with the most mysterious act on the Denver Comes Alive lineup, Goo Bros, led by veteran Phil Lesh sideman Ross James. As James explained to Live For Live Music before the show, the only prior Goo Bros performance—a Dead & Company late-night in Boulder, CO—was largely lost to the ether: “I went to repost a video after Boulder Theater and couldn’t find any,” he said. “Everyone was too spun-out after two days of Dead & Company to take videos at the late-night.” With a new lineup featuring James (guitar, vocals) alongside drummer Jeremy Salken (Big Gigantic), guitarist/vocalist Bill Nershi (The String Cheese Incident), bassist Garrett Sayers (The Motet), and keyboardist Adam MacDougall (Circles Around The Sun) booked for Denver Comes Alive, no one quite new what to expect as Goo Bros hit the Other Side stage.
What fans got was the best-case scenario for any supergroup: a surprisingly cohesive unit that echoed the specific skill sets of its component members while striving toward something else entirely. Nershi, who is seldom seen playing a solid-body guitar, ripped a Telecaster throughout the set. Sayers’ prodigious pocket powered the proceedings. Salken, whose rhythms drive EDM favorite Big Gigantic, settled into the group’s free-wheeling back-and-forth with purpose. MacDougall added well-placed synth flourishes and warbling textures, assuring that the sound stayed “gooey” even as the songs shifted styles.
Goo Bros seemed to wink at their status as “a complete unknown” late in the set with a Nershi-led cover of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” that served as one of the night’s biggest highlights. When surprise guest Lyle Divinsky took the stage to add lead vocals on a searing, set-closing medley of Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman” and The Temptations’ “Shakey Ground”, he seemed to echo the words on everyone’s mind: “This is a good-ass band. You guys really got something,” he said from the stage. “It’s good to be back in Denver.”
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Friday, 1/17 – Skerik, Stanton Moore, Wil Blades, Eric Krasno
Opening the Ballroom stage, sax demon Skerik (Les Claypool), organist Wil Blades, decorated NOLA drummer Stanton Moore (Galactic), and celebrated guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive) joined forces for a set that twisted and turned through funk, rock, jazz and more, often at break-neck speeds.
This particular quartet seemed to underscore the flow of creativity and community at the event’s core: The set was initially due to feature Nels Cline rather than Krasno, but the Wilco guitarist was forced to pull out after contracting COVID. The Skerik/Cline/Moore/Blades quartet was booked for Denver Comes Alive after its statement-making debut in New Orleans last Jazz Fest, but for that show, Cline had also been a last-minute replacement—for Eric Krasno. Whether Kraz is filling in for Nels or vice versa, we’re more sure than ever that you should never miss a chance to see these musicians perform live.
Friday, 1/17 – WRD
Back on the Other Side organist Robert Walter (The Greyboy Allstars, Mike Gordon, Roger Waters), guitarist Eddie Roberts (The New Mastersounds, The Lucky Strokes), and drummer Adam Deitch (Lettuce, Break Science) were busy reviving their organ trio project, WRD, which began more than a decade ago via their perennial shared presence in New Orleans during Jazz Fest.
With Deitch matching the all-business aesthetic of his bandmates in a sharp sport coat (to Roberts’ delight), the trio welcomed saxophonist Nicholas Gerlach and trombonist Alex Wasily into to the mix as they wove together Walter’s evocative organ, Roberts’ maestro abilities on guitar, and Deitch’s impactful rhythms to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
“It’s like Jazz Fest, right?” Roberts asked at one point. The audience, by way of applause, was inclined to agree.
Friday, 1/17 – Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper
The first night of Denver Comes Alive came to a climax with Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper, a “to heroes, by heroes” homage to a pair of New Orleans funk legends lost in 2019: The Meters’ and The Neville Brothers’ Art Neville (also known as “Poppa Funk”) and Dr. John (who performed under the moniker “Dr. John The Night Tripper”).
The set was loaded with original band members, blood relatives, collaborators, and contemporary funk and soul torchbearers including pioneering The Meters bassist George Porter Jr., decorated guitarist/vocalist Eric Krasno (Soulive), lauded NOLA piano man Jon Cleary, beloved funk Stanton Moore (Galactic), Crescent City soul singer Erica Falls, trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), saxophonist Nate Miller in addition to five members of contemporary NOLA funk powerhouse Dumpstaphunk: Ivan Neville (keys, vocals), Tony Hall (bass, vocals), Ian Neville (guitar, vocals), Deven Trusclair (drums), and Alex Wasily (trombone).
With band members cycling in and out throughout the performance, this multi-faceted funk orchestra made its way through the foundational catalogs of both legends being feted. After this project got its start at the inaugural Denver Comes Alive in 2020 and later made its way back to New Orleans during Jazz Fest in 2022 and 2023, the return of Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper at Denver Comes Alive 2025 felt like a moment worth celebrating. Consider yourself Hoodood.
Friday, 1/17 – Jimkata
Accommodating those still trying to dance, Jimkata manned the Other Side for a late-night set that ran until after 2:00 a.m. The long-tenured, constantly evolving outfit showcased its intricate patchwork of styles—from alt-rock to jamtronica and beyond. No matter what sonic plane they occupied at each given moment, the group managed to keep the party rocking and raging until its very last notes.
Saturday, 1/18 – Isaac Sinclair Presents: Wayback
Among the most unique sets at Denver Comes Alive 2025 was Isaac Sinclair Presents: Wayback, a live retrospective on the R&B and hip-hop hits of the ’90s, ’00s, and beyond led by drummer/lead vocalist Isaac Sinclair, otherwise known as TAUK drummer Isaac Teel.
Kicking off Saturday night in the Ballroom, the eight-piece tribute outfit, a running Denver secret, brought magnetic stage presence and stellar musicianship to its renderings of tracks like Kanye West’s “Gold Digger”, Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama”, J. Cole’s “Work Out”, Usher’s “Remind Me”, Fugees’ “Killing Me Softly With His Song”, Ginuwine’s “Pony”, Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been”, and Justin Timberlake’s “Summer Love” and “Sexy Back”. Many of the highlights of the set came when the live setting interacted in surprising ways with the well-known material—like when Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” slid smoothly into the Ludacris verse from Usher’s “Yeah” (delivered with confidence by Isaac and every single member of the audience).
Saturday, 1/18 – Joey Porter’s Vital Organ
Over on the Other Side, The Motet keyboardist Joey Porter led a lineup of funk assassins featuring bassist Garrett Sayers (The Motet), guitarist Matt Jalbert (TAUK), and drummer Jeff Franca (Thievery Corporation) for a set billed as Joey Porter’s Vital Organ. In addition to showcasing the ample soloist abilities of the group’s members, Joey Porter’s Vital Organ dug into its namesake’s original compositions including an appropriately New Orleans-flavored track called “Crescent Roll” (“I wrote it about the Crescent City… ’cause I was rollin’ too hard,” Porter joked). Later in the set, trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce) joined in on the action.
Saturday, 1/18 – Krasno/Moore Project
Back in the Ballroom, Krasno/Moore Project continued the organ-focused Saturday schedule at Denver Comes Alive with yet another memorable performance. In addition to material from their respective solo endeavors and a smattering of crowd-pleasing covers, the group showed off various arrangements from Krasno/Moore Project’s 2023 debut LP, Book of Queens, a collection of organ trio arrangements of songs by notable women through the years.
While the band is named for its guitarist, Eric Krasno (Soulive), and its drummer, Stanton Moore (Galactic), touring organist Eric Finland asserted his “secret weapon” role in the unit as usual, providing the bass parts and supplying melodic structure from behind the keys. At one point, they expanded the band’s roster to include Skerik (on saxophone) and Eric “Benny” Bloom (on trumpet and percussion) for a few fiery minutes of collaboration.
Of course, Krasno and Moore had plenty of chances to shine, as well, with Stanton’s relentless grooves often serving as a focal point (like on Book of Queens favorite “Carried Away”, by H.E.R.) and Eric’s searing solos consistently raising them to lofty heights (like on a set-closing run of the Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”, Grateful Dead’s “Deal”, and Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire”).
Saturday, 1/18 – Worship My Organ
Over the past decade-plus, Worship My Organ has become a beloved Jazz Fest after dark tradition for hosting nail-biting B3 bouts between world-class organists alongside a who’s who of notable musicians. On Saturday night during Denver Comes Alive, Skerik (saxophone), Adam Deitch (drums), Robert Walter (organ), and Wil Blades (organ) exported this NOLA delicacy to the Mile High City.
With Blades and Walter positioned facing each other at either side of the Other Side stage, their twin Leslies spinning stoically at their sides, this skilled group of explorers tested the definition of “organ music,” weaving in sounds and genres from across—and beyond—the known spectrum. Deitch often set the tone for each given passage, indicating styles by way of rhythm (some electronica here, some gospel there, a bit of jazz here, a funky groove there) and allowing Skerik and the organists to fill in the blanks with otherworldly sound.
At times, Blades would saunter across the stage to join Walter on his keyboard rig. At others, Skerik would repeat ominous, filtered incantations into the mic to maddening effect, as if he was testing how far into the cosmos this group might push. Late in the set, Krasno/Moore Project organist Eric Finland joined in to turn two organists into three. “We’re at maximum capacity right now,” Skerik growled. “Every keyboard station is at maximum capacity.” Then, naturally, they broke that boundary, as well, adding D’Vibes (Watermelon Funk) to the madness on fourth organ.
“Denver Comes Alive!!!” Skerik howled over an outro jam reminiscent of the SNL theme. “Thank you for worshipping organs with us. Remember, you have several organs within you at all times.”
[Photo: Andrew O’Brien – Worship My Organ w/ guests: (from left) Eric Finland, Skerik, Adam Deitch, Wil Blades, Robert Walter, D’Vibes]
Saturday, 1/18 – Crescent City Classics
A second New Orleans tribute project, Crescent City Classics, rounded out Denver Comes Alive 2025 in the Ballroom on Saturday night. Much like Friday’s Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper Set, the all-star lineup for Crescent City Classics featured bassist George Porter Jr. (The Meters), guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive), beloved NOLA piano man Jon Cleary, Big Easy soul singer Erica Falls, trumpeter Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce), and saxophonist Drew Sayers (The Motet) alongside four members of torch-bearing New Orleans funk outfit Dumpstaphunk: Ivan Neville (keys, vocals), Tony Hall (bass, vocals), Ian Neville (guitar), and Deven Trusclair (drums). Additional guests included Stanton Moore (drums) and Parris Fleming (Harry Styles).
While Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper feted two of New Orleans’ most outwardly recognizable acts, Crescent City Classics delves into the historical deep cuts, alternate styles, and cultural flourishes that serve as the foundation of the city’s vibrant musical lineage.
Highlights from the closing set included lively takes on NOLA staples like Professor Longhair’s “Big Chief”, The Neville Brothers’ “Brother Jake”, Allen Toussaint’s “Night People”, Chocolate Milk’s “Action Speaks Louder Than Words”, and Wild Magnolias’ “New Suit”. As the clock ticked toward 1:00 a.m., George Porter Jr. helped lead this group of seasoned NOLA “night people” into a fiery pairing of The Meters’ “Ain’t No Okey Doke” and “Fire On The Bayou” to close the show.
Would those last two songs have been a better thematic fit with Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper? Maybe. But would we pick any two other songs to round out a New Orleans-inspired weekend of thrilling live music—with George Porter Jr. in the driver’s seat, no less? No sir. It’s all part of the Big Easy gumbo.
On to Jazz Fest…
Check out photos from Denver Comes Alive 2025 below via Michael McGrath, Andrew Phillips (PixelBubs), Jay Rawk Photography, and Jonathan Angel.
