Things to Do in Denver This Weekend (October 16–18)

This weekend is stacked if you're into dance music, and Red Rocks alone is doing double duty with two totally different crowds on back to back nights. Add in a hockey game, some club nights, stand up, and a street festival with beer in hand, and you've got zero excuse to sit home. Grab tickets early for the Red Rocks shows and the Ball Arena stuff, both of those rooms fill up fast.

Friday

Sammy Virji with Confidence Man, Oppidan, Sam Alfred, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 6pm. UK garage at Red Rocks is not something that happens every week, and this one will sell out, so don't wait until Friday afternoon to decide.

Afrojack: Control, Mission Ballroom, 8pm. Big room house from a guy who's been doing this since before most of us could drive, the production at Mission Ballroom shows is always worth the ticket price on its own.

Adulti-Verse Howl-O-Ween, Meow Wolf Denver (Convergence Station), 6pm. Adults only costume party with a live DJ, scary-oke karaoke, and a bug themed art station, basically the weirdest and most fun way to kick off Halloween season.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Ball Arena, 7pm. Grab a group, get there early for the bars around the arena, and watch the Avs open their home slate against Pittsburgh.

BEAT: Belew/Vai/Levin/Bozzio Performing the Music of King Crimson, Bellco Theatre, 8pm. If you know, you know. This is the last North American run for a lineup playing some of the most technical rock ever written, and the musicianship alone is worth the ticket.

Saturday

Dermot Kennedy: The Weight of the Woods Tour, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 7:30pm. Jonah Kagen opens. This is the kind of show where everyone around you is singing every word, and it will sell out well before the weekend.

D.O.D, Mission Ballroom, 7pm. Tech house from a DJ who built his following playing local bars before he was headlining rooms like this one, come ready to dance for a while.

Galantis Presents Midsommar at The Junkyard, Junkyard, 5pm. Pop EDM and big room house with tiered GA pricing, so buy sooner if you want the cheaper tier.

Factory 93 presents: Beltran, The Fillmore, 7pm. A proper club night for the house heads who want something a little deeper than the arena shows happening across town.

Big Jay Oakerson, Comedy Works Downtown, 7pm. Raunchy crowd work in a small room in Larimer Square, this is a sweaty, loud, laugh until it hurts kind of night.

Two Dykes and a Mic: Soaking Wet Tour, Oriental Theater, 8pm. Irreverent stand up in one of Denver's best looking old theaters on Tennyson Street.

Sunday

Gorillaz: The Mountain Tour, Ball Arena, 7pm. This one will sell out, and honestly it already feels like it's going to be the show people talk about for the rest of the year.

Matt Rife: Stay Golden World Tour, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 7pm. Love him or hate him, the guy sells out rooms this size, and Red Rocks on a Sunday night is a solid way to close the weekend.

Free This Weekend

Tennyson Fall Fest, Tennyson Street (W. 41st to W. 43rd Ave), Saturday 10am. Two car-free blocks packed with local vendors, breweries, and food, this is the best patio hopping excuse of the weekend and it costs nothing to walk around.

Denver BAZAAR at Larimer Square, Larimer Square, Saturday 3pm. The last third Saturday market of the season under the string lights, grab a drink from one of the Larimer Square bars and browse local makers before the weather turns.

Urban Market at Union Station, Union Station, Saturday. Local artists and small businesses set up outside the station, an easy stop before or after brunch downtown.

Union Station Farmers Market, Denver Union Station Plaza, Saturday 8am to 1pm. Good coffee, good produce, and a solid excuse to walk off whatever you drank the night before.

Stephen Shugart & Mark Brasuell Exhibition (Closing Weekend), EDGE Gallery, Sunday. Last chance to catch this co-op gallery show before it comes down, free to walk through.

Last Look: Interstices by Tom Riedel, D'art Gallery, Sunday 11am. Final day to see this photography show on Santa Fe before it's gone, a quiet way to spend a Sunday morning without spending a dime.

Way more going on than we could fit here, full list is at /events.