{"id":517,"date":"2026-06-11T09:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=517"},"modified":"2026-06-11T09:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:33:08","slug":"our-10-favorite-places-in-colorado-to-see-music-theater-and-the-performing-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=517","title":{"rendered":"Our 10 favorite places in Colorado to see music, theater and the performing arts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> Welcome to the eighth installment of our 15-week series Colorado 150, marking 150 years of statehood with our favorite Colorado things.<\/p>\n

Read more Denver-area inflation increases to 5%. Blame energy costs.<\/a><\/p>\n

O<\/mark>ne of the best parts of any concert, play or comedy act, at least for me, is the last few minutes before showtime. There is a hush that settles over the crowd, a buzzy anticipation hanging in the air, sometimes followed by a rumble of applause as the lights dim and the artists take their places.<\/p>\n

In Colorado, that flicker of excitement lasts more than just those final moments before the stage comes alive. That\u2019s because of the bounty of performing arts venues across the state, some of them almost too spectacular to describe. The places we go to shake off the rest of the world and connect to artists and acts that stir something deeper within us are unlike venues anywhere else. And they\u2019re a big part of what makes a night spent in a sea of concertgoers or theater enthusiasts so memorable.<\/p>\n

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, perhaps the centerpiece of the arts and music scene, is as Colorado as it gets. No matter the hour, it\u2019s the kind of destination that will give you something to marvel at in every direction \u2014 a towering peak carved by the hands of time, a distant view of Denver\u2019s skyline and a web of nearby hiking trails.<\/p>\n

But there are plenty of other spots in the state where musicians and performers captivate and elate their audiences \u2014 less famous but no less stunning. Take, for example, Mountaineer Theatre in Lake City, which will transport you back in time to the golden age of cinema. Or Rangely\u2019s Tank Center for Sonic Arts, an old water tank where the most ordinary sounds and songs are made otherworldly by all kinds of notes and octaves spilling from instruments and sound engineers.<\/p>\n

Where do you escape into the arts? Let us know and we\u2019ll keep growing our list.<\/p>\n

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\n

Erica Breunlin<\/strong> | Education Reporter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Red Rocks Amphitheatre<\/h2>\n

Since July 1941, Red Rocks has consistently awed audiences with its setting and the big acts it attracts. The natural amphitheatre was developed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, who recognized the remarkable acoustics of the site and blasted out a slope full of built-in seats. Audiences in the outdoor venue face east, and summertime shows often feature the double spectacle of live musical performances backed by scattered lightning across the Eastern Plains. Of course, those storms don\u2019t always stay at bay, so check the weather before you head to a show (or a sunrise).<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creede Rep<\/h2>\n

The curtain first lifted on the Creede Repertory Theatre in 1966, the idea of a theater-loving pastor and the town\u2019s Junior Chamber of Commerce, who were looking for a way to stoke summer tourism during an era of decline for the local silver mines. It started small \u2014 with five shows performed by 12 students who drove out from the University of Kansas \u2014 and has only grown, now employing around 75 artists and offering over 100 performances to nearly 20,000 patrons every year. When the last mine in Creede closed in 1984, the Rep became the county\u2019s largest employer, and continues to be the economic driver that its founders had hoped for.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ivy Ballroom<\/h2>\n

A standing room-only venue that often pulls in national headliners on their way to Red Rocks, as well as plenty of local and regional talents. While Colorado\u2019s mountain towns have no shortage of intimate spots for live music, the Ivy stands out for its location, inside the Surf Hotel on the banks of the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, making it a perfect Main Street spot to end a day of adventuring. It\u2019s also, according to Sun reporter Jason Blevins, the \u201cundisputed best small room in the state.\u201d (And thanks to Jason Myers for the great photo).<\/p>\n

Read more Colorado women cite cost of living and inequality as top election issues<\/a><\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shakespeare in the Sangres<\/h2>\n

At Shakespeare in the Sangres in historic downtown Westcliffe, the Bard\u2019s tales are brought to life in the unlikeliest of places \u2014 a small stage in the leafy backyard of an old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad depot, with spectators fanned out on lawn chairs under sprawling trees and a few canopies for shade, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains towering in the distance. Part of the fun in these outdoor performances is in watching players scramble to prepare for their next scenes, sometimes dashing off stage into a restored railcar perched in a sideyard for rapid wardrobe changes.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Central City Opera House<\/h2>\n

This beautiful two-story stone building that fronts Main Street in Central City is the state\u2019s oldest surviving opera house, and the fifth oldest in the nation. The venue was built in the 1870s with money raised by a citizens\u2019 group to bring cultural opportunities to the gruff mining area. It fell out of disrepair not long after its opening season in 1878, and was revived in 1932 with a summer festival that offered both opera and theater performances \u2014 a tradition that continues to this day. The events calendar is typically filled year-round.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mountaineer Theatre<\/h2>\n

Nestled in the San Juan Mountains, the one-screen Mountaineer Theatre in Lake City is a go-to among locals during the winter and Texas tourists in the summer. It opened in 1975 with vintage projectors and old-style popcorn and cotton-candy machines. The theatre has been around long enough that the previous top hits have become today\u2019s classics, and the release posters for \u201cSome Like It Hot\u201d with Marilyn Monroe, \u201cJaws,\u201d John Wayne Westerns, \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d and \u201cCasa Blanca\u201d remain on the walls, along with black-and-white photos of the Virden family, who founded the theater, and community members over the years.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Telluride Bluegrass<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the obvious: Telluride Bluegrass is a festival, not a venue. But what sets this annual revelry apart are the sprawling grounds that fill Town Park, and spill into nearby campgrounds, where Festivarians \u2014\u00a0as they\u2019re known \u2014 gather to meet new folks and share a meal. For more than 50 years crowds have gathered during the weekend closest to summer solstice, enduring intense sun and afternoon thunderstorms \u2014 summer signatures in the high country \u2014\u00a0that are as much a part of the festival experience as the music itself. As the festival\u2019s website says, the show goes on rain or shine.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mishawaka Amphitheatre<\/h2>\n

Tucked partway up the Poudre Canyon, Mishawaka has been through a few phases over its more than 100-year history. It began as a dance hall and general store handbuilt by a Fort Collins musician starting in 1916, expanding to include an outdoor amphitheater in the 1970s and drawing crazy crowds who many thought would lead to its own demise. After a few rowdy decades, the Mish was sold in 2010 and the new owner has revived the property and its reputation, creating a warm and rustic concert venue.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tank Center for the Sonic Arts<\/h2>\n

One day in 1976, composer and sound artist Bruce Odland was touring Colorado when a couple of oil workers drove him to an abandoned water tank on the hillside above Rangely. They demonstrated for Odland a nearly minute-long reverberation that bounced around the parabolic floor and 65-foot concave roof. The tank became and remained an unofficial stop for sound artists and musicians until 2012, when Odland and others formed Friends of the Tank, renovating the space and turning it into the Tank Center for the Sonic Arts. Its title, beautifully and purposely ambiguous, reflects the open-ended manner in which people visiting the tank use its acoustics.<\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pea Green Saturday Night<\/h2>\n

On the fourth Saturday of January, February, March and April as winter turns to spring, a community hall in Pea Green fires up for a night of music, food and comedy. It\u2019s open to all but filled mostly with folks from Delta, Mesa and Montrose counties who know how to get there without Google maps. Attendees are charged $10 and a potluck dish for entry, and the format for Pea Green Saturday Night is always the same: an opening band, followed by refreshments and potluck, a short comedy routine and then more music.<\/p>\n

Read more Littwin: Why do Dems still support scandal-roiled Graham Platner in Maine? Ask yourself what choice they have<\/a><\/p>\n

MORE INFO<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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