Spotlight turns to Belly Up’s general manager | Arts & Entertainment

In his capacity as general manager at Belly Up Aspen, Pete Falknor performs almost every task imaginable for the storied venue. From hiring staff, to overseeing hospitality for artists, to swapping out the marquee poster before a sold-out show, to fixing issues from the basement to the roof of the building, Falknor has a hand in it. 

On Saturday at 8:30 p.m., Falknor will go from fixing lights to being under them when he takes the stage as the opening act for the O’Connor Brothers Band, roots-rockers from Denver.

Falknor has been the GM at Belly Up for close to two years. He started his career in the music business as a doorman and intern at Chicago’s Empty Bottle, the legendary 400-capacity club that helped launch artists like The White Stripes, Arcade Fire and The Flaming Lips. While attending Columbia College for music business management, he worked his way through nearly every position at the Empty Bottle before becoming general manager.

“That was my real education,” Falknor said during a recent interview. “I got the degree to make my parents happy.”

From there, Falknor joined the team that opened Thalia Hall in Chicago before later running operations at Chicago Music Exchange and eventually serving as GM at House of Blues-Chicago.

In 2024, Falknor moved to Carbondale with his wife and three young children for the opportunity to oversee operations at Belly Up Aspen. All issues outside of production, which is handled by production manager Matt Banno, fall under Falknor’s purview.

And while his career in the business side of music spans over 20 years, he has been a musician for almost his entire life.

“My dad put a guitar in my hand when I was in first grade,” Falknor said. “Music’s always been there.”

Raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Falknor came of age during the explosion of 1990s alternative rock. At 10 years old in 1994, he was absorbing a steady diet of Green Day, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.

“That was a great time to start playing guitar because it was all power chords,” he said.

By fifth grade, Falknor was already playing in bands. Over the next two decades, he played guitar, bass and drums in a string of mostly rock-oriented projects while simultaneously building a career in live music operations.

Falknor’s career has thrived in the Roaring Fork Valley at the helm of one of the most celebrated venues in Colorado. But as a musician, he has struggled to find collaborators who match his musical instincts.

“It feels like locally it’s either DJs or jam bands,” he said. “No slight on anybody — I just couldn’t find the right fit for what I do.”

So Falknor created his own band by using drum machines and live phrase sampling in which he “loops” other instruments in the mix. He sings over the electronic rhythms inspired as much by modern indie production as the loud-guitar ethos of 1990s alternative rock.

Falknor goes by the stage name of Falcor “because nobody could pronounce my name.” When asked to draw a parallel between his sound and a popular band, he cited Queens of the Stone Age as the gold standard. 

“I don’t think there’s a living rock band on the planet that can touch Queens of the Stone Age,” he said.

Saturday’s show will mark Falknor’s second in the Roaring Fork Valley, his first being an acoustic set. It’ll be his first substantial show since arriving in Colorado. 

The show itself reflects an increasingly important piece of Belly Up’s mission — keeping live music accessible for locals even as Aspen’s entertainment calendar grows bigger and more expensive.

Falknor says the venue intentionally programs low-cost community nights to combat  blockbuster bookings by artists such as Mumford & Sons, LCD Soundsystem and Foreigner.

“We really consider what’s a fair price,” he said. “Even for marquee artists, the Goldbergs (owners of the Belly Up) are conscious of making shows accessible to people from Aspen, Carbondale, Glenwood — not just visitors.”

That philosophy extends to nights like Saturday, when admission will cost just $6.

When not at the club, he can be found on the playground helping his younger kids maneuver the monkey bars and coaching his oldest son’s youth flag football team. He said he’s not afraid of throwing out a few “bad dad” jokes on stage. 

What does he hope audiences take away from his set?

“That loud guitars are great,” Falknor said. “Whether I’m surrounded by a five-piece band or up there with a loop pedal and a drum machine, the passion’s still going to come through. I just hope people enjoy hearing something a little bit different.

“And as far as the Belly Up, what I hope people take away is just an unforgettable experience and that locals feel the community that we have in our little music scene around here because it’s really special.”