On January 31st, 2020, Live For Live Music and AEG are thrilled to present the inaugural Denver Comes Alive at Mission Ballroom. Following in the footsteps of its East Coast predecessor, Brooklyn Comes Alive, Denver Comes Alive will mix in never-before-seen collaborations with nationally touring, fan-favorite acts. A limited number of $29.95 early bird tickets are on sale now. General on-sale will begin on Friday, November 22nd at 10:00 a.m. MT. Tickets can be purchased here.
*UPDATE: Earlybird tickets are now SOLD OUT. A limited allotment of $35 Tier 2 tickets have been added, while supplies last.*
The lineup for the inaugural Mile High edition of the event will feature Oteil Burbridge & Friends, Ghost-Live (a special Ghost-Note/Soulive collaboration), Star Kitchen & Friends, and Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper: A Tribute To Art Neville & Dr. John, a tribute to Art Neville, the legendary founding member of The Meters, and Dr. John, a.k.a. The Night Tripper, after their respective deaths in 2019. These carefully crafted lineups are comprised of some of the finest musicians in the live music space and beyond, including members of Dead & Company, Jerry Garcia Band, The Disco Biscuits, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Snarky Puppy, Soulive, Ghost-Note, Prince’s band, Break Science, Pretty Lights Live, The Motet, Dumpstaphunk, and more.
OTEIL & FRIENDS
Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company)
Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band)
Eric Krasno (Soulive)
Scott Metzger (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead)
Jeff Sipe (Aquarium Rescue Unit)
Alfreda Gerald
Weedie Braimah
Oteil Burbridge is one of the most talented and accomplished bass players on the planet. From his current role as the bassist for Grateful Dead offshoot, Dead & Company, to his past roles in bands like Tedeschi Trucks Band and Col. Bruce Hampton‘s Aquarium Rescue Unit to his fifteen years as a member of the iconic Allman Brothers Band, Oteil’s fingerprints have been all over the live music community for over three decades. Following the 2017 release of his solo album, Water in the Desert, Burbridge introduced a new project, Oteil & Friends, which has quickly become one of the most exciting acts in the genre, headlining festivals and theater dates nationwide alongside a rotating cast of ace musicians.
This edition of Oteil & Friends will feature a lineup never-before-seen lineup of musicians surrounding Burbridge. The band includes soulful organist and modern-day Jerry Garcia Band torchbearer Melvin Seals, guitarist Eric Krasno of Soulive, guitarist Scott Metzger of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, drummer Jeff Sipe of the Aquarium Rescue Unit, vocalist Alfreda Gerald, and former percussionist for The Nth Power, Weedie Braimah.
POPPA FUNK & THE NIGHT TRIPPER: A TRIBUTE TO ART NEVILLE & DR. JOHN
Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk)
Jon Cleary
George Porter Jr. (The Meters)
Ian Neville (Dumpstaphunk)
Tony Hall (Dumpstaphunk)
Skerik (Les Claypool)
Big Sam (Big Sam’s Funky Nation)
Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce, The Nth Power)
In 2019, the world lost two of the most iconic figures in the vibrant New Orleans music scene: Art Neville and Dr. John. Both Neville (also known as “Poppa Funk”) and Dr. John (whose full billed performer name was “Dr. John The Night Tripper”) were incredibly influential musicians that left indelible marks on music fans in the Big Easy and beyond.
Neville, a three-time GRAMMY award winner, was the founding member of the quintessential New Orleans funk band, The Meters, and was a co-founder of The Neville Brothers and the later-career Meters spin-off, The funky Meters. He was a foundational player in New Orleans who went on to record with many of the top rock, pop, and soul artists of his era.
Six-time GRAMMY winner Malcolm “Mac” John Rebennack Jr., aka Dr. John, is one of the most recognizable characters to ever emerge from the New Orleans music scene. Heavily influenced by the theatrics and attire of early mentor Professor Longhair, Rebennack adopted a flamboyant style on stage that stuck with him for the entirety of his career. Following a stint in Los Angeles as a member of the famed studio band known as the “Wrecking Crew,” Rebennack returned to New Orleans where he took on the “Dr. John The Night Tripper” persona and launched a legendary solo career centered around the combination of New Orleans funk, psychedelic rock, and jazz.
For this special tribute performance, an all-star band of artists will recreate the music of these two giants. George Porter Jr., Neville’s longtime friend and collaborator in The Meters, as well as Art’s son, guitarist Ian Neville (Dumpstaphunk), and his nephew, Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk), will all be in the band. The band lineup will also feature pianist Jon Cleary, who toured extensively with Dr. John during his later years and maintained a close friendship with him up until his death. Multi-instrumentalist Tony Hall (Dumpstaphunk), drummer Nikki Glaspie (The Nth Power, Beyonce), NOLA trombonist Big Sam, and enigmatic saxophonist Skerik will round out this impeccable lineup.
GHOST-LIVE
Eric Krasno (Soulive)
Neal Evans (Soulive, Jack White)
MonoNeon (Prince, Ghost-Note)
Robert Sput Searight (Ghost-Note, Snarky Puppy)
Nate Werth (Ghost-Note, Snarky Puppy)
Ghost-Live is a mashup of two of the most skilled and adventurous bands in the land, Soulive and Ghost-Note. The hybrid outfit featuring Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno and keyboardist/organist Neal Evans alongside Ghost-Note drummer Robert Sput Searight, percussionist Nate Werth, and bassist MonoNeon, will make its first-ever appearance at Denver Comes Alive.
Krasno and Evans have a long and storied musical history with Soulive, their former band, Lettuce, and as hired guns on a variety of other projects. Krasno has become a renowned solo artist in his own right while also maintaining his role as an in-demand musical director, producer, songwriter, and guest musician. Neal Evans has also emerged as an in-demand session player in recent years. In 2018, he toured the world as part of Jack White‘s band.
Robert Sput Searight and Nate Werth came from the lineage of modern jazz fusion heavyweights Snarky Puppy, with whom they cut their teeth for years before branching off and starting the powerful funk fusion outfit, Ghost-Note. Searight and Werth have also contributed their world-class abilities to a variety of different projects. Sput has played and recorded with everyone from Kendrick Lamar to Herbie Hancock, while Werth has performed with the likes of Turkuaz, The Motet, TAUK, and more while maintaining a touring role in Snarky Puppy.
After forming a bond with the uber-talented and enigmatic former Prince bassist, Mononeon, Werth and Sput invited him to join Ghost-Note full-time. The three of them have been touring the globe alongside their bandmates ever since. The trio’s noticeable bond and a vast array of musical knowledge have quickly made them some of the most important players in the funk world today.
STAR KITCHEN & FRIENDS
Marc Brownstein (Disco Biscuits)
Danny Mayer (Star Kitchen)
Rob Marscher (Matisyahu)
Marlon Lewis (Lauryn Hill, John Legend)
Borahm Lee (Pretty Lights Live, Break Science)
Gabe Mervine (The Motet)
Nicholas Gerlach (Michal Menert)
Star Kitchen is the brainchild of Marc Brownstein, bass player and founding member of The Disco Biscuits. The band is rounded out by guitarist Danny Mayer (Alan Evans Trio), drummer Marlon Lewis (Lauryn Hill/John Legend), and Rob Marscher (Matisyahu). Since forming in late 2018, the group has toured across America on a mix of headlining dates, high-profile support slots, and appearances at many festivals such as Electric Forest, High Sierra, The Peach Music Festival, and Jam Cruise. Star Kitchen consistently brings incredible energy to the stage with their patented mix of out-of-left-field covers, originals, and a healthy dose of funky full-band improvisation.
At Denver Comes Alive, the band will be joined by special guests Borahm Lee (Break Science, Pretty Lights Live Band) on keys, former The Motet member Gabe Mervine on trumpet, and Nick Gerlach on saxophone.
DJ SOUL SISTER
DJ Soul Sister is the award-winning “queen of rare groove.” As the host of Soul Power on New Orleans’ famed WWOZ FM radio station, she is a well-renowned tastemaker and staple of the Crescent City music scene. Her live, improvisational, vinyl-only sets of funk and groove music have landed her everywhere from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to Voodoo Music Experience, BUKU Music & Art Project to Jam Cruise, Boiler Room to Electric Forest.
DJ Soul Sister has also performed in opening slots for artists such as George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, The Roots, Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, DaM-FunK, Average White Band, George Duke, Teena Marie, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, ConFunkShun, the funky Meters, Dumpstaphunk, Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers, The Soul Rebels, Lettuce, Tower of Power, and more.
In addition, DJ Soul Sister is the host of Lost and Found on Red Bull Radio, a monthly show which debuted in July 2018. As a scholar of music, she has also presented papers at the Pop Conference at MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle), Stanford University, and at academic conferences for IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) and SEMSEC (Society for Ethnomusicology Southeast and Caribbean Chapter).
DJ Soul sister will perform multiple times throughout the event, starting when doors open and in between sets all night long.
“We are very excited that Live for Live Music is bringing the concept of Brooklyn Comes Alive to Denver at the new Mission Ballroom,” expresses Scott Morrill, AEG talent buyer and owner of Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom. “The Denver music scene is very accepting of new creative collaborations, so I feel like this concept is going to go over very well here. All the bands on Denver Comes Alive are never-been-done before collaborations, so fans will be a part of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“Brooklyn Comes Alive was inspired by the unique musical community of New Orleans, where on any given night, especially during Jazz Fest, you can see once-in-a-lifetime supergroups, collaborations, and surprise sit-ins from locals and legends alike,” adds Kunj Shah, founder of Live For Live Music and the visionary behind the day-long festival’s concept. “Doing a version of BCA in Denver was a no brainer…The Denver music scene is unstoppable right now. We get some of the greatest music in the world on any given night, some of the best music venues in the nation, and an inexplicable amount of fans all over the city that support the arts.”
For this one-day music marathon, the Mission Ballroom will transform into an indoor music festival unlike anything the Mile High City has seen before. With its near-perfect sightlines from every seat in the house, an intimate but large feel, and immaculate production, the new venue is the perfect place to host this exciting new event.
Previously, Live For Live Music presented their staple Brooklyn Comes Alive festival in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY featuring unforgettable cross-collaborations between the likes of George Porter Jr., John Scofield, Johnny Vidacovich, John Medeski, Bernard Purdie, Henry Butler, Oteil Burbridge, Cyril Neville, Eric Krasno, Jon Cleary, Joe Russo, Skerik, and Marco Benevento, plus members of Umphrey’s McGee, moe., The Disco Biscuits, The String Cheese Incident, Trey Anastasio Band, Lotus, Snarky Puppy, Lettuce, Soulive, The Motet, The New Mastersounds, Break Science and more. Tributes to Herbie Hancock, Earth Wind & Fire, The Allman Brothers Band, J Dilla, Jamiroquai, and Green Day comprise just a few of the many highlights over previous years.
For more information and ticketing details for Denver Comes Alive, head here.