Denver City Guide - Nightlife

Lower Downtown's continually growing number of restaurants, bars and brew-pubs ensures that the area is vibrant and alive during the week and positively jumping at the weekend. Live music can be found there most nights, as well as at Cherry Creek. Country music is prevalent, as are jazz and blues and, with a bit of searching, you will also find venues offering folk, bluegrass, hard rock and pop. In the clubs, you can expect to dance to everything from 1960s and 70s tunes to hip hop, house and jazz. Dressing is informal and anything goes, provided it is tidy and clean. Under state licensing laws alcohol can be served 0700-0200 but only to people over the age of 21 years old.

The most comprehensive nightlife listings can be found in the weekly free newspaper, Westword (website: www.westword.com).

Bars: There are numerous brew pubs and micro breweries in Denver (see Further Distractions). Nallen's Pub, 1429 Market Street, at 14th Street, is the quintessential Irish bar (the genuine article, complete with Irish owner) and the place to drink Guinness. Another excellent and genuinely Irish establishment is Fado Irish Pub, 1735 19th Street. Churchill's Bar, located in the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa, 321 17th Street, is Denver's most fashionable cigar bar with a fine range of single malt scotches available. The Wazee Supper Club, Wazee Street, is open late and has an informal, bohemian and very welcoming diner atmosphere, with beers from the Wynkoop Brewing Company.

Clubs: La Rumba, West Ninth Avenue and Acoma Street, is a sexy dance club for all ages, with salsa music. Rock Island, 15th Street, has rock and alternative music. Vinyl, 1082 Broadway, is a popular and trendy club covering two floors and a stunning rooftop patio. The Church, 1160 Lincoln Street, an old church building with stained glass windows that has been turned into a top dancing venue, caters to a big and diverse audience.

Live Music: Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and The Beatles all have played Denver's most spectacular venue, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Red Rocks Park (tel: (303) 295 4444; website: www.redrocksonline.com). Audiences of 9,000 come to listen to symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles and pop groups against the magical sunlit glow of the 70-million-year-old red rocks. The Pepsi Center, Speer Boulevard and Auraria Parkway (tel: (303) 405 1111; website: www.pepsicenter.com), also stages large concerts with international artists.

The Ogden Theatre, 935 East Colfax Avenue (tel: (303) 831 9448), is an old vaudeville theatre and movie house that is now a venue for local and national bands. The Bluebird Theater, 3317 East Colfax Avenue (tel: (303) 322 2308), and the Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson at Colfax Avenue, are other historic venues.

Herman's Hideaway, 1578 South Broadway (website: www.hermanshideaway.com), is probably Denver's top venue for live rock music. This is where to see the up-and-coming stars of tomorrow, at the frequent New Talent Showcase concerts. If you have read Kerouac's On the Road (1957), you will be familiar with the legendary jazz joint, El Chapultepec, 1962 Market Street. Crowded and smoky, this blast from the past still has some of the best jazz in Denver. Jazz@Jack's, 500 16th Street (website: www.jazzatjacks.com), is another hotspot for live jazz. For country and western, the Grizzly Rose Saloon & Dance Emporium, 5450 North Valley Highway (website: www.grizzlyrose.com), offers nightly live music and free dance lessons.