The Best Concerts in Denver This Weekend

On tap: Young the Giant, Anders Osborne, the Eagles and more.

September 17, 2021

The Westword Music Showcase takes place Friday and Saturday in the RiNo Art District. Aaron Thackeray

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This year's Westword Music Showcase takes place Friday and Saturday in the RiNo Art District, with Young the Giant, Thundercat, Matoma and Hippo Campus playing the outdoor stages, along with locals Dafna, 2MX2, N3ptune, Roka Hueka, Nay Renee, Brothers of Brass, Zanib, Holdfast., Joseph Lamar, Ramakhandra, Neoma, A Meazy, Izcalli and YaSi; Kaytranada and Duke Dumont play a special-ticket event in the Mission Ballroom indoors after the outdoor festivities.

Also on tap this weekend are Greensky Bluegrass playing three nights at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Herbie Hancock at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and the Zac Brown Band's two-night stand at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre.

Here are the best concerts in Denver this weekend:
Denver Jazz Festival
Friday, September 17, through Sunday, September 19, 5 p.m.
The Studio Loft at Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 908 14th Street
$119 three-day pass
Community-Minded Dance presents the three-day vintage jazz festival with Charles Turner, Joe Smith & the Spicy Pickles, Joshua Mclean, Ana Lisa Sutherland and more.

Greensky Bluegrass
Friday, September 17, through Sunday, September 19, 7 p.m.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison
$46.75 to $80
Michigan's Greensky Bluegrass plays a three-night run at Red Rocks with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real opening Friday, Circles Around the Sun on Saturday and Railroad Earth on Sunday.

Herbie Hancock
Friday, September 17, 8 p.m.
Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 1400 Curtis Street
$55 to $109.95
Herbie Hancock, who teamed up with Vinyl Me Please to release the eleven-LP set VMP Anthology: The Story of Herbie Hancock to celebrate the iconic jazz pianist's eightieth birthday last year, performs at the Ellie with guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist James Genus, flautist and vocalist Elena Pinderhughes and drummer Justin Tyson.

Larkin Poe
Friday, September 17, 8 p.m.
Ogden Theatre, 935 East Colfax Avenue
$28.50 to $59.95
Grammy-nominated roots-rock duo Larkin Poe, with sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, released Self Made Man and the covers album Kindred Spirits last year and teamed up with hybrid orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble for Paint the Roses: Live in Concert, which drops today.
Westword Music Showcase
Friday, September 17, 5 p.m., and Saturday, 18, 12 p.m.
RiNo Art District and Mission Ballroom
Friday: Free/Saturday: $55-$100
The Westword Music Showcase is back…and bigger than ever. The city’s largest single-day festival celebrating Denver’s music scene has been transformed into a two-day event for 2021 and will take over the RiNo Art District with performances by local and national musical acts, as well as visual and performing arts events, food and drink opportunities and more. The outdoor stages will include Young the Giant, Thundercat, Matoma, Hippo Campus and many Denver bands. The indoor stage inside the Mission Ballroom will host Kaytranada and Duke Dumont.

Zac Brown Band
Friday, September 17, and Saturday, September 18, 7 p.m.
Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
$45.50 to $180
The Zac Brown Band, which is set to release The Comeback on October 15, plays two nights with fellow country acts Adam Doleac and Ashland Craft opening.

The Eagles
Saturday, September 18, 8 p.m.
Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle
$129 and up
The Eagles, whose current lineup includes Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit with Deacon Frey and Vince Gill, play Hotel California in its entirety plus a greatest-hits set.
Rickie Lee Jones
Saturday, September 18, 8 p.m.
Boulder Theater, 2023 14th Street
$35-$45
While singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones headlines the Boulder Theater on Saturday, she'll also be at the Boulder Book Store on Friday, September 17, and at the Tattered Cover on Monday, September 20, to discuss her recent memoir, Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour.

Anders Osborne
Sunday, September 19, 6 p.m.
Levitt Pavilion Denver, 1380 West Florida Avenue
Free/VIP $45
Sweden-born New Orleans-based singer and guitarist Anders Osborne, who knows his way around rock, blues and soul, headlines, while local singer-songwriter Rob Drabkin opens.

Find more music events in the Westword concert calendar. Organizing a show you'd like to be considered for this list? Send information to [email protected].

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