4 MAY 1-7, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 6 THE END IS NEAR Psychedelic death doulas — and a psilocybin clinical trial at CU Anschutz — could unlock the doors of perception for terminal patients. BY BRENDAN JOEL KELLEY 10 ART SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS “People always say what they’re going to do. Showing is so much better.” BY KRISTEN FIORE 13 NATIVE TRUTHS! Narissa Ribera’s Ch’il Indigenous Foods reclaims culture by cultivating and cooking traditional plants. BY ABIGAIL BLISS 15 THE CLUB KING Regas Christou refl ects on decades of building nightclubs. BY MICHAEL ROBERTS 10 Culture 13 Cafe 15 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 18 21 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 31 ASK A STONER ......................................... 31 VOLUME 48 NUMBER 36 MAY 1-7, 2025 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Bennito L. Kelty, Hannah Metzger Senior Contributors Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Teague Bohlen, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Justin Criado, Audrey Ferrer, John Flathman, Susan Froyd, Jason Heller, Nick Hutchinson, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Skyler McKinley, Abigail Nueve, Ryan Pachmayer, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Helen Xu Music Listings Matthew Jones Editorial Interns Justin Goodrum P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Kami Miller, Tori O’Connor C R E A T I V E S E R V I C E S Senior Graphic Designer Allie Seidel A D V E R T I S I N G Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke Multimedia Account Executives Remy Diamond, Trey Konsella, Kirby Quick, William Savoie, Allison Wissink Operations Manager Carver Hodgkiss Digital Sales Coordinator Anne-Grace Hartman Digital and Advertising Sales Manager Taylor Wheeler Advertising Director Teri Driskell C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Ty Koepke B U S I N E S S Business Manager Sarah Dunahay Financial Accountant Robert Scribner AR Coordinator Stacy Phillips IT Systems Manager Kris Robinson Receptionist Cindy Perez Associate Publisher Tracy Kontrelos Publisher Scott Tobias V O I C E M E D I A G R O U P Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek Editorial Operations Director Bridget Thomason Director of Membership and Community Development Jennifer Robinson Audience Strategist Allison Stephenson Audience Development Director Dallon Adams Corporate Controller Beth Cook Legal Counsel Steve Suskin Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff Mars Chief Executive Offi cer Scott Tobias V M G N A T I O N A L National Advertising: 1-888-278-9866, www.voicemediagroup.com Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Joe Larkin D I S T R I B U T I O N Westword is available free of charge. 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Peri- odicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $100/year or $50/six months. Postmaster: Send address changes to Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 5970, Denver, CO 80217 Street address: 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver, CO 80203 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY EVAN SEMÓN LETTERS T O T H E E D I T O R YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] Don’t miss a word! The stories in this print edition are just a fraction of the pieces we publish every week on westword.com. For a cheat sheet on all that content, subscribe to our daily newsletter at westword.com/profi le. You can also follow @denverwestword on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. And it’s all free! ILLUSTRATION BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI “SLOW BURN,” THOMAS MITCHELL, APRIL 17 About time that Tetra Lounge fi nally opened! I’ll smoke to that! Lance Ross Denver I led a social consumption initiative back in 2016 before the industry torpedoed the effort and introduced I-300 to satisfy a hand- ful of half-baked investors who wanted to commingle alcohol and marijuana. Like most aspects of the rollout of legalization, honest efforts were derailed by self-serving “ganjapreneurs.” Kevin Mahmalji Florence Dwayne Benjamin is unbelievably ac- commodating, hospitable and kind! Tetra is becoming a true cornerstone for the Denver cannabis community, and I feel lucky and honored to have been able to display my art there. God bless. Jakey Martin Instagram “FRANK TALK,” GABE TOTH, APRIL 17 F R A N K S F O R T H E M E M O R I E S I was really sad when we lost Biker Jim’s. Glad he was able to take back the name. Neil Bergin Westminster Dog Haus is better than all of them, and it’s not even on the list. Get your shit together, Westword. Benny Wineglass Denver Please don’t publish the phrase “Chi- town” ever again. Ronan O’Shea Denver You hear it a lot from smug transplants like myself: “Denver has bad food.” And while it’s true that the food scene can’t compare to a city like Chicago or New York, where you can toss a rock and hit a great restaurant, we need to give credit where credit is due. Food in Denver has gotten a lot better, in part due to all the transplants — so say my friends who grew up here. You can go beyond the average “meh” restaurant and find great food, it just takes research. Picking random restaurants or going to instagrammable places will only land you in trouble. Put in some effort. Also, consider the source when people recommend restaurants. It’s also a shame so many good places have closed recently. Alex Russo Denver “MORE THAN A MOMENT,” JUSTIN CRIADO, APRIL 24 T H A N K S F O R T H E M E M O R I E S Wish I’d been at that last show with the Stephen Lear Band at the Mercury. But I’m glad I was able to see as many shows as I did. Joe Vigil Denver I moved to Capitol Hill in 1982 from Golden. I discovered the Mercury Café accidentally. I just happened to live two blocks from this iconic establishment the located at 13th and Pearl just down the street from “Howeird’s Liquor,” where you could fi nd The Oyster newspaper on the magazine rack. The Mercury kept its eclectic calendar of events over the years. I remember Devo playing one night and even hearing the revolutionary poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron performing. Sunday mornings at the Mercury included Doc on the piano and delicious breakfast fare and lots of socializing with friends. I did take a belly-dancing class once at 2199 California Street. At all the addresses, Marilyn Megenity was always there with a friendly hello. The Merc was a great and inviting place to ren- dezvous with friends for food, music and other events. Thanks, Marilyn and crew, for the creation of such fun memories! Christina Panczyk Denver
