4 MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 12 ANOTHER ROUND Raise a glass to Denver’s top rooftops, patios and outdoor bars. BY CAFE STAFF 6 SPEAK UP Wanda James has sued her fellow CU regents for violating her First Amendment rights. BY HANNAH METZGER 10 BRICK BY BRICK LEGO enthusiasts play well with Colorado. BY TEAGUE BOHLEN 17 AMERICAN GOTHIC Wayfarer looks back one last time before marching forward. BY JUSTIN CRIADO 10 Culture 12 Cafe 17 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 18 22 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 22 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 39 MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2026 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Antony Bruno Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Sage Kelley, Hannah Metzger Senior Contributors Brendan Joel Kelley, Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Gil Asakawa, Teague Bohlen, Justin Criado, Audrey Ferrer, Nick Hutchinson, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Skyler McKinley, Abigail Nueve, Ryan Pachmayer, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman Music Listings Matthew Jones Cover Designer Monika Swiderski Editorial Intern July Ramirez P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Caleigh Gearheart, 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, Rachel Gilmore, Keith Gordon, Trey Konsella, Kirby Quick, Dalton Wilson, Allison Wissink Operations Manager Carver Hodgkiss Digital Sales Coordinator Anne-Grace Hartman Director of Digital Sales Alan Heath C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Ty Koepke B U S I N E S S Director of Business and Operations Russell Breiter 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 Executive Editor Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek Editorial Operations Director Bridget Thomason Director of Membership and Community Development Jennifer Robinson Digital Operations & Audience Strategist Allison Stephenson Audience Strategist Lauren Antonoff Hart 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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PHOTO COURTESY LOUDER MORNINGSTAR “SEEDS OF CHANGE,” ANTONY BRUNO, MAY 14 T A K E A S E A T I’d love to taste Johnny Curiel’s food...but I haven’t been able to get a reservation at Alma Fonda Fina for three months, much less a seat at Milpero. Does Antony Bruno need a plus one? Tony Ryan Denver Given the amount of press he gets, you’d think Johnny Curiel was the only chef doing interesting things in this town. But there are so many others! Let’s hear about them, please. Jaymie Black Denver “RENTER’S REVENGE,” SAGE KELLEY, MAY 14 R E N T A L H E A L T H Ross Ziev is doing the lord’s work. Stacy Jay Nederland Good for him! Glad someone is fi ghting for tenants. He got his start suing corporate landlords. In my experience, most small landlords are decent. It’s the corporations who are slum- lords, and they deserve to be nailed to the wall for exploiting and abusing poor people. Siobhan Keleher Posted on Facebook Everybody wonders why rent is so high and why it’s hard to get a place to rent .... not worth renting out a place anymore. Rob Bowen Posted on Facebook Wish I’d known about him a few years ago when we got completely screwed by a former landlord and the attorney we hired. Amanda Sculley Castle Rock Ambulance chaser. He must have learned from Frank Azar! HD Phillips Posted on Facebook “OPEN SECRETS,” SARA ROSENTHAL, MAY 14 D R O P P I N G T H E M I C Love the piece on open mics. Thanks for keeping us posted on the cultural changes in this town. If Westword didn’t do it, I don’t know who would. Leslie O’Roark Aurora Y’all are crushing it! So impressed with the quality of Westword lately. Feel like there is an increased sense of fun, confi dence and great/relevant story ideas. Hannah Metzger’s Instagram reels are so great. Emily Ferguson always puts out quality writing. Y’all made this journalism grad excited! Thank you! Eddie S. Denver I think the issue with places of artistic expression closing is largely a fundamental cultural and political problem across the board in the USA. This country doesn’t pub- licly fund the arts, nor does it fundamentally encourage participation in the arts. This keeps the art community in struggle mode fi nancially from an individual to a collective perspective. It’s hard keep a business tied to the art community open if patrons and participants can’t afford a cup of coffee and a muffi n to support the hosting business. Artists are as pro-capitalism as anyone else, but in our society we marginalize every single form of art from that dynamic. It is political and intentional by certain political leanings. A society that has time to make and share its art and make a living from it is a society that also has time to think about its lot in life politically, and force change for the better. Unfortunately, we live in a society that fundamentally dis- courages cultural and political exploration. The Bear Posted on westword.com Editor’s note: To our list of open mics around town, you can add Pallet City Comedy, one of the town’s longest-running comedy open mics, at Monkey Barrel every Thursday, and SAME Cafe’s open mic every third Wednesday.
