Underground Music Showcase Returning, Moving Up to RiNo

Last July, Underground Music Showcase hosted its 25th festival…and warned that it could be the last.

“We’ve been having conversations for the last three years about the sustainability of the festival,” Jami Duffy, co-manager of UMS and executive director of Youth on Record, told Westword. “Every year is a bit of a nail-biter, but we’ve really been having these conversations in seriousness in the past couple of months as we’ve seen ticket sales and rising costs.”

In fact, she said, they’d talked about cancelling the 2025 fest, but instead UMS went on as planned July 25-27, filling venues along Broadway. Meanwhile, the talks about the festival’s future continued.

The end result of those talks? The nonprofit Youth on Record is transitioning out of ownership of the portion of UMS that it purchased in 2022; the board of the RiNo Art District Business District just approved a letter of agreement outlining the BID’s intent to acquire a 50 percent ownership stake in UMS. The other half will remain part of Two Parts, an experiential and creative agency that in 2018 had purchased UMS — originally started by Denver Post writers Ricardo Baca and John Moore back in 2001.

And the show will again go on in 2026, but will move to RiNo from the area along Broadway it had staked out 25 years earlier.

“UMS was a critical part of Youth on Record’s story, but ultimately young creatives are our North Star,” says Duffy in an announcement of the deal. “Choosing to step out of the co-ownership and management of UMS allows us to fully meet this moment in our city and across the country. Young people and families are navigating real and growing challenges, and they need us to provide more opportunity, creative spaces and pathways to meaningful work. Right now, Youth on Record’s strongest contribution to our community is to focus our full energy on young people — and to help build the future they deserve.”

RiNo had been going through changes, too. Late last year, management of the RiNo Art District and the RiNo BID separated. The BID is funded by commercial property assessments; all of its ratepayers are members of the RiNo Art District, which was founded in 2005 and is now headed by Daisy Fodness-McGowan. The BID supports the art district through a grantor/grantee model, and has been looking for ways to expand its commitment to culture in the neighborhood.

“The BID saw this partnership as an intentional way of investing in RiNo’s creative ecosystem, not just funding a festival, but actively stewarding it,” says Terry Madeksza, executive director of the RiNo Business Improvement District. “With hundreds of shows activating venues, businesses and public spaces across the district, UMS creates opportunities for us to build stronger partnerships with our local businesses, hotels, restaurants, and arts community while driving exploration and economic activity throughout RiNo.”

Keanan Stoner, previously CEO of Two Parts, will be the UMS festival director for the 2026 edition, set for July 24-26 in various venues around RiNo.

“UMS has always been about discovery,” says Stoner in the announcement. “This partnership allows us to deepen that idea, helping people discover new music, new venues and new ways to experience Denver through a district that has always championed art and artists. We’re so thankful for all the amazing years on South Broadway, and are excited to bring the magic of UMS to RiNo and build this next era of the festival.”

Final agreements are expected by mid-February; the RiNo BID is expected to serve as UMS’s presenting sponsor for at least the next three years, committing $250,000 annually.

UMS started five years after Westword created the Westword Music Showcase; it grew to become Denver’s largest single-day music festival. Over the years, the Westword showcase moved from LoDo to the Golden Triangle and then to RiNo in 2021; it went on hiatus in 2023. (For a blast from the past, see the Westword Music Showcase lineups from 1995 to 2022.)

Watch for upcoming UMS news here.