4 JUNE 19-25, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 12 FIGHTING FIRE WITH IRE Legendary lesbian band the Dead Sinatras puts its best boots forward to kick LGBTQ+ artists into musical activism. BY KRISTEN FIORE 6 HOME RULE DRAMA Douglas County commissioners want voters to okay their power grab. BY BRENDAN JOEL KELLEY 8 HOME STRETCH Is Denver really halfway to solving homelessness? BY BENNITO L. KELTY 21 BREAKING OUT OF THE BOX Bibamba Artisan Chocolate produces and promotes slavery-free chocolates. BY ABIGAIL BLISS 23 DOOMGAZE DUALITY Post-metal group Circling Over melds hushed ambience with leaden loudness. BY JUSTIN CRIADO 12 Culture 21 Cafe 23 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 24 29 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 30 ASK A STONER ......................................... 30 VOLUME 48 NUMBER 43 JUNE 19-25, 2025 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Interim Food and Drink Editor Gil Asakawa Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Brendan Joel Kelley, 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 Intern Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez Cover Designer Monika Swiderski 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, Martin Ellison, Trey Konsella, Kirby Quick, Allison Wissink Operations Manager Carver Hodgkiss Digital Sales Coordinator Anne-Grace Hartman Director of Digital Sales Alan Heath 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 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 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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DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI “THE BALL’S IN HER COURT,” CATIE CHESHIRE, JUNE 12 A S P O R T I N G C H A N C E Thank you for the uplifting look at women’s sports! I hope Denver NWSL doesn’t screw things up with its stadium plan and disap- point people. Jordan Nytes and other female athletes deserve better...a sporting chance. Laynie Myers Denver You hit it right: “Jordan Nytes and other athletes could score....”. All the pictures and coverage I have seen or read are men being in charge of a women’s soccer league. Are there no women in charge? Steven W. Giles Denver First, given the current “men in woman’s sports” climate, Ifi nd the testicular reference in the headline to be amusing. Second, with the city facing a huge budget defi cit, can we afford a new facility? Third, the WNBA was created and subsidized by the NBA and would go broke without it. However, I guess the big question would be: What is a woman? C. Sean McManus Denver “BACK IN BLOOM,” KRISTEN FIORE, JUNE 12 M A D E I N J A P A N T O W N Thank you for mentioning “Japan Town” in your article about the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival. Many people talk about Chinatown and the area that it covered in LoDo, but these days hardly anyone mentions a thing about the Japanese-owned businesses that were there before Sakura Square was built. Res- taurants like the Mandarin Cáfe and Ake- bono, the Rocky Mountain Jiho newspaper, and Granada Fish Company were just a few of the businesses that catered to the Japanese and Japanese-American com- munity back in the day, and were vibrant places that introduced many Denverites to Japanese cuisine. The 20th Street Cáfe was another one of the restaurants that has received some cover- age recently... but only because it became a Mexican restaurant. Alan Nakamura Denver “A PLACE OF ONE’S OWN,” HELEN XU, JUNE 5 P R I D E O F O W N E R S H I P Let’s rewrite that fi rst paragraph in this story: To be conservative in America has never been simple, and that’s especially true right now. In a year marked by escalating political (and physical) attacks on the Republicans, from calls and attempts to restrict religious freedom, to open assaults for being MAGA — the hits keep coming: against religious values, against women’s rights, against conservative joy. Chris Erickson Denver “THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING,” JUSTIN CRIADO, MAY 29 S E R M O N O N T H E M O U N T A I N S I wanted to thank you for your Telluride Bluegrass article. It was very well written and I enjoyed the history very much. As a long- time attendee of the festival (since 1996), it’s amazing to hear some of the early backstory that very few are aware of. Also, as one of the “inmates” of Camp Run-A-Muck, it was super cool to read the shout-out from Jake Simpson! And I was a close friend of Hippie Jerry, so it was lovely that you mentioned him and how the Planet renamed the green campsite chal- lenge after him. He would be humbly honored. Brett “Hooch” Hensley Grand Junction I’m writing to clarify your story that says that a documentary about the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is “set to premiere at Sundance.” While we appreciate the men- tion, this information is not accurate. The documentary is currently in production, and while we’re excited about its develop- ment, there is no confi rmed premiere set for Sundance or any other festival at this time. Laura Schurich Producer Telluride Bluegrass Documentary
