The owners of Denver’s Underground Music Showcase are reviving the indie music festival in a big way this summer, but with a major new financial partner, and in a new part of town.
Previously held along South Broadway in the Baker neighborhood, the multi-day music fest known as The UMS will take over the River North Art District, July 24-26, said Keanan Stoner, owner of the Denver-based Two Parts marketing and production company. It announced before last year’s event, however, that 2025 would be its final iteration in its longtime, South Broadway location.
The RiNo Business Improvement District will purchase a 50% stake in the event, Stoner said, valued at $250,000. That follows monthslong negotiations that began when the BID approached Two Parts early last fall about acquiring the fest. The BID’s board has also pledged $250,000 annually for UMS title sponsorship for the next three years, which will shore up the fest’s estimated $1.4 million budget — and which brings the BID’s overall investment to $1 million.
After the purchase, Stoner will transition from CEO of Two Parts to director of The UMS this year — a contract job, he said.
The festival is valuable not only for its artistic discovery but also for its commercial potential, said Terry Madeksza, executive director of the RiNo BID. She was up front about the organization’s interest in the event as an economic engine that promotes RiNo’s businesses and promotes its cultural offerings, but that remains affordable for fans, and reliable in paying bands, artists and venues what they’re worth.
She expects a number of public and private partners, from big promoters to independent businesses, to take part, but has yet to start that process of reaching out to them. BIDs are private-public partnerships that collect money from local businesses in a particular area to fund services, improve public areas, and develop economic opportunities.
“Yes, it is about the music and the festival (experience),” Madeksza said. “But it’s also about the businesses and venues that will participate, or be adjacent to music venues. If we can involve people and engage visitors while also showcasing and celebrating the arts, it can provide more exposure for RiNo.”
Two Parts has owned The UMS for several years, and last year produced its final event with nonprofit partner Youth on Record (YOR), which owned a 30% stake. As a music education organization, YOR ultimately said costs were too high to sustain the festival, forcing it to divest and refocus on its core mission, according to executive director Jami Duffy.
The retooled event is scheduled to return on its traditional weekend and with a similar format to last year, Stoner said. That includes welcoming an estimated 10,000 people per day and hundreds of mostly local and regional bands on multiple indoor and outdoor stages.
Past UMS Denver acts have included Nathaniel Rateliff (pre-Night Sweats), DeVotchKa, Dressy Bessy, and Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, as well as acclaimed national headliners such as Blonde Redhead, Amyl and the Sniffers, The Beths, Real Estate, Lord Huron, and many more.
RiNo’s BID already had money set aside for a “signature event” for 2026, Madeksza said, but didn’t have an idea for what that would be until The UMS announced its final event of South Broadway last year. Harnessing the name recognition and overall experience of the 25-year-old UMS could boost local breweries, restaurants, performance venues, galleries and boutiques in the area northeast of downtown Denver, she said.
RiNo includes large and small music venues ranging from promoter AEG Presents’ Mission Ballroom to rock clubs such as the Larimer Lounge, the jazz-forward Nocturne, Two Moons Music Hall, The Meadowlark, and others. Stoner said he did not commission an impact report on South Broadway visitation or spending during its time there, but that he hopes to do so in RiNo to gather more data.
“We have some wonderful outdoor, public spaces like Denargo or the Art Park, not just for the festival but in general, and we have the stages, so there’s an enthusiasm to tap into that naturally built infrastructure,” Madeksza said.
Those who tearfully waved goodbye to The UMS last year might be surprised by how quickly it roared back, Stoner said. But that was never the plan.
“Some people might think this was our mischievous master plan the whole time,” he said. “It was not. Truly, that week after the festival, I remember sitting there and being like, ‘It’s a coin toss if this thing ever returns. I hope it does because I still have a lot of heart in this thing, but I’m tired, and it’s not working, and we don’t have a path forward.’
“But when the (RiNo BID) approached a month or two after the fest, they said, ‘Let’s have a conversation, because we’re curious if this thing is really over,’ ” he added. “From there, we had many conversations and realized, yes, finances are a huge part of this, but it’s not just a big check from a corporate sponsor.”
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