New Boulder Roots Music Festival spotlights 175 Colorado bands

BOULDER, Colo. — Organizers of a new three-day long music festival hope it will help revive a local scene that can be tough for up-and-coming musicians.

The Boulder Roots Music Fest, set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 17-19) along Pearl Street, will feature 175 Colorado artists across 15 stages and over 800 musicians.

Roots Music Project, a Boulder nonprofit that provides paid gig space and workshops for emerging musicians, is staging the festival to create more performance opportunities and exposure for local artists. The organization runs shows and programs that include youth offerings, sober open mics, and business and wellness classes for musicians.

“The local music scene is actually in trouble because it’s under a lot of threats,” said Dave Kennedy, executive director of Roots Music Project. “It’s under threats from AI, from the big streaming services, and from expensive housing. It’s very difficult for emerging musicians to thrive in our community without having some nonprofit help.”

There are several headliners traveling from across the country for the festival including Andy Frasco and the U.N., Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, and the North Mississippi Allstars, but the vast majority of musicians are from Colorado. The music spans across genres from jazz and bluegrass-influenced “jam grass” to psych rock, R&B, folk, and hip-hop.

Fifteen stages and venues will be centered around Pearl Street, with the goal of directing foot traffic to many businesses that may not otherwise host shows, like record stores and a real estate office.

“It’s meant to be an experience,” said Jesse Ogle, director of community outreach for Roots Music Project. “We want people moving around. We want them looking at new businesses and patronizing businesses.”

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He said that while most shows require a ticket, the prices of those tickets vary depending on the artist, and that they have some shows that are free to everyone.

The festival’s scope expanded after the Caruso Foundation, a backer who has supported Sundance Film Festival’s arrival in Boulder, provided funding and helped recruit other donors. Organizers had run a smaller version of the event last year with the city, and the new support allowed them to scale up.

“We were planning a much more modest festival, but then we got involved with the Caruso Foundation,” Kennedy said. “It’s an incredible moment for the local music scene, and frankly, for the City of Boulder and the creative community.”

New Boulder Roots Music Festival spotlights 175 Colorado bands

Ogle said Roots Music Project produces about 250 shows a year and supports thousands of artists through its program, and that live performance remains the primary source of income for most bands because record sales and streaming bring in little revenue.

“These artists are crucial to the overall ecosystem of music,” Ogle said. “Your favorite A-list artists that are playing at Red Rocks… They were all locals at one time… We want to grow our community and grow our musicians, and we want them to get to that highest level. We have to support them now, not once they get to that level.”