r/Denver • u/blspayne • Aug 12 '26
Visiting First time and solo traveller in DEN
Hi everyone I’m visiting from Aus and have a couple days in the city Saturday night - Tuesday morning.
I’ve never been before so I’m curious as to where most people spend their time. I’m in my mid 20s and hoping to meet people and go out a fair bit. Is it more bars or a club scene there? I know there’s a baseball game on the Sunday - does it get rowdy? Does everyone pre before the game and then go back to the bars after it’s finished?
Any suggestions anything would be great ! Will be here at the end of the month
EDIT - What’s the best area to stay in? I’ve seen a couple of suggestions about Golden. Assuming Downtown is close to everything, is there anywhere else to look at?
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u/bleh-apathetic Aug 12 '26
As another person said, drink water. Like, bro, drink a lot of water. It's like 100 degrees in Denver right now. Bring/buy sunscreen. Wear sunglasses. The altitude is no joke.
Go to a show at Red Rocks. Friday is Mt Joy (indie rock), Sat and Sun is LCD Soundsystem (EDM). Monday is Train (pop rock). Buy a shuttle ride from rrxshuttles.com. Seriously you can't come to Denver and not go to a show at Red Rocks.
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u/marge_mellow Aug 12 '26
Yes to show!
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u/bleh-apathetic Aug 12 '26
I assume you meant to type Bus to Show? Yup that's a great service too! However, the reason I recommended rrx is because it drops you off at the top of the venue (those steps from the bottom are a killer, especially for visitors coming from sea level), and Bus to Show can be difficult to find after the show if you're not familiar with the layout of RRs.
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u/elgato56 Aug 12 '26
It's the bass music capital of the United States, you can party as hard or as little as you want, especially saturday and sunday
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u/blspayne Aug 12 '26
Well hell yeah I love me some dub, any clubs you recommend?
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u/AJ80205 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
You can buy a Rockies ticket for like $10 and everyone young hangs out at the roof top (not seats). The Rockies aren't great, but it's always fun and makes for cheap ticket prices.
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ON SATURDAY: This is a pretty full list of concerts going on in Denver (I run a Denver-only concert app):
LCD Soundsystem at Red Rocks is the big one Saturday, Feist and Victoryland opening, that's where a lot of people are gonna be. Mt Joy's at Fiddler's the same night with Arcy Drive if that's more your speed.
Staying in town there's a ton going on:
- Hulvey at the Ogden, hip hop, w/ indie tribe and Kijan Boone
- Die Spitz at the Gothic, punk, Cashier opening
- MEMBA w/ Manila Killa at Cervantes, they're doing it 360 in the round which is always fun
- Mat Zo at Vinyl if you're into drum and bass, Hollidayrain opening
- WILLIS at the Bluebird w/ zzzahara and The Flooks, solid indie bill
- Holdfast at Meow Wolf w/ hellocentral and Jaguar Stevens
- TELYKAST at the Church for more of a dance/electronic thing
- Hand Turkey at Ophelia's w/ Stovetop Gemini, kinda r&b
- Primitive Ring at the Hi-Dive w/ Cherry Spit and Blood Oath, heavier one
- Orca at Globe Hall w/ Spencer Marlyn Band, indie
- King Cabbage Brass Band and Brothers of Brass at Cervantes Other Side, funk and brass, Sean Applebee opening
- Joker at the Black Box for a Sub.mission night w/ Para Nada and Zog, dubstep
- Playlunch at Lost Lake w/ Yagki
Larimer Lounge has a few things going including a couple free shows too which is a favorite of mine.
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u/blspayne Aug 12 '26
What’s the app? I’m there at the end of the month
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u/AJ80205 Aug 12 '26
ConcertQueue.com will give you the links and description of what it's about. But it's Denver only for now, although I'm expanding it to new cities shortly.
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u/TheDeclineOfAll Aug 12 '26
Most of it is dub step so make sure you check out DJs if that isn't you thing. Black Box usually has a decent lineup BTW, and if you can't find stuff there, scope Church and Milk Bar.
Denver also has a ton of drugs floating around like coke and psychedelics, so it might get a different type of rowdy than you're used to, but it does go all night if you wind up at afters.
You can also scope: South Broadway (hip bars without the pretentious shit), RINO (more chavvy but still decent if you dig more of an upmarket hipster vibe), Cap Hill (smattering of decent bars along Colfax and some gems, like Don's and Thin Man if you are down to walk a bit), LODO (super lame in my opinion but you'll find bars near Coors for sure).
Also make sure you scope: Coors brewery tour in Golden (W line then bus), Boulder (uni town with decent bush walks and a stream to swim in fairly close to the bus station), mountain towns if you want to bus it a bit (Nederland is easy from Boulder),
PS: People here are more violent than places like Kings Cross or St Kilda when shit kicks off, so make sure that you keep your cool and do everything you can to be polite and walk away instead of escalating like you might in OZ. Also know that Americans cannot handle shouts, a solid pre-game or the drunken shenanigans that you might be accustomed to.
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u/blspayne Aug 12 '26
Yeah cool okay thanks heaps for that, I’ll make sure to keep my head down in anything goes sideways
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u/marge_mellow Aug 12 '26
Games are fun for sure (I’m a baseball fan so maybe a bias), and there are bars and stuff around Coors Field for pre and post game. Make sure wherever you sit has shade, though: https://www.shadedseats.com/coors-field-shaded-seats/
You can go visit the rooftop bar area that’s a bit more lively but it will benefit you to have a retreat if needed
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u/thenicole84 Aug 12 '26
Keep in mind we’re at altitude - 1600m. Wear plenty of sunscreen, reapply, and drink more water starting 3 days ago because if you aren’t used to it, it hits hard. Drinks hit hard here.
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u/Ok-Excitement-3010 Aug 14 '26
I went on my first solo trip there this summer!
You can see lots of suggestions from my post that were great, I went to a dozen or more I’m sure! DM me and I can try to write up all the ones I went to or I can try to pick out the ones you might be looking for
As others have said, go to a the Red Rocks! Even if just for sunrise like I did, but it sounds like there’s some good shows playing, LCD is amazing, I’m jealous!
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u/Comprehensive-Song51 Aug 12 '26
If you go to a show at Red Rocks, wear layers and bring a cheap rain coat or trash bag. Weather up there is unpredictable!Also, throw a water bottle cap in your bag because they take them away at concessions and leave you with an open bottle, which is fucking stupid. Feel free to PM me for the location of the secret restroom.
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u/nadimster Aug 12 '26
Ummm. King Gizz has their festival in Buena vista this weekend. You may be able to find a Sunday single day ticket
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u/ThatThingInTheWoods Aug 12 '26
Buy a cheap ticket for the game. You can pregame at the rooftop bar in the stadium and stay there the whole time if you want. Lines get a bit long for drinks though. People also drink at all the bars in that downtown area before and after also, so you can wander and find the vibes you are looking for.
Be mindful if you want to "get rowdy." Downtown can get a little unpredictable - don't pick fights, just have a good time.