I kept hearing about this one festival in Denver ever since I moved out here three years ago. “You’ve got to go to UMS!!” my friend Kevin would insist every time we talked about music. “Put it on your calendar, don’t miss it. You’ll love it.”
But that’s in July, I would protest when we talked in October, December, March, and so on. Sounds great, but that’s down the road, and I’ll plan for it when it gets closer. And how good could this local showcase be anyway?
It turns out the Underground Music Showcase is probably the best thing you could do all year in Denver. Mark your calendars, people! Yes, a whole year in advance. Here’s why:
First, UMS is a steal. In advance, tickets were $50 for more than 200 artists over three days on three outdoor stages and 16 indoor venues along one mile of South Broadway in Denver. If you miss the deadline, they were still only $75 (and you can buy one-day passes as well). Headliners and big names this year were Honne, Chicano Batman, Black Mountain, Tuxedo, Earthgang, and Still Woozy. I got to see some of my up-and-coming indie favorites: Empress Of, Liza Anne, and Miya Folick. Even if you were only able to see 10 acts the whole weekend, that still boils down to $5 an act. You can park a 10-minute walk away in surrounding neighborhoods for free, take the bus or the light rail, or bike to this central area of Denver. If you’re coming from out of town, there are no camping or limited availability price-gouging hotels to worry about.
Second, UMS provides a fantastic resource. Their online lineup is interactive, which means you don’t have to go look up all the acts separately to know what you want to see – it’s all there right on their site. Click on their name, a box pops up, and you can read about them and listen to their music within seconds. They also made a Spotify playlist of all the bands, so you can listen in advance, or afterward – because there’s no way you’re going to know all the bands before you go, or be able to see all of them.
UMS is also a great example of mashing local and touring acts together in one festival. Your friends want to see the big indie headliners, but you want to discover some unknown local acts. Where else can you so easily do both at a music festival? At UMS, you walk along South Broadway and pop into indoor venues featuring mostly local acts, or pass through the gates for one of three outdoor stages, featuring mostly bigger names. The only hassle is going through security (which is really just a bag check) each time you want to switch locations. But the payoff is that each time you see a band, you don’t feel like you’re at a massive festival – you feel like you’re at a local venue or gig, with a group of people who are stoked to be there with you. You can easily split off from your friends and find them again because the crowds are distributed and manageable. Cell service even works! And if you want to catch a breather from the crowds and the people, simply cruise around on South Broadway for a while, or pop into a local business for refreshments that won’t overcharge you like the stands inside the gates.
UMS is simply the best way to discover a bunch of new music through experience. Sure, there’s a schedule and you may want to see some specific bands over the weekend (which I did). But you could easily show up with no agenda and have an amazing time, every single day at UMS. The acts they book are high quality and range from super local to big-name bands. You can just walk along the mile of venues, hear something you like, and go check it out. I discovered Drama and finally saw Y La Bamba by accident. While you’re wandering around, there’s food, ice cream, drinks, and (free) water. Just bring a plastic water bottle (no metal).
And finally, UMS is a great place to meet and hang out with strangers. Or new friends, as you could call them if you stay in touch. I was approached multiple times by people who wanted to flirt, hang out, chat about the bands, chat about photography, or connect over tattoos. It was an extrovert’s dream, with a few awkward exceptions. You can also simply people watch to your heart’s content.
The dates haven’t been announced for UMS 2020 yet – but once they are, put them on your calendar. And if you don’t live in Denver, it’s a great excuse to visit. See you there next summer!
UMS Pics!
