4 AUGUST 14-20, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 14 WHAT THE YUK? How two fearless Coloradans got under Trump’s skin (and under the covers) in the new season of South Park. BY MICHAEL ROBERTS 6 YOUNG BLOOD Meet the Gen Z candidates challenging Colorado’s longest- serving member of Congress. BY HANNAH METZGER 12 AI WITNESS Who’s really producing that police report? BY BRENDAN JOEL KELLEY 19 VINES AND VIBES Raise a glass to Somebody People, a vegan restaurant... and much more. BY ANTONY BRUNO 21 NEW MOVEMENT The debut of Emo Fest signals a real musical trend in Denver. BY JUSTIN CRIADO 14 Culture 19 Cafe 21 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 22 29 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 29 ASK A STONER ......................................... 29 VOLUME 48 NUMBER 51 AUGUST 14-20, 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 Brendan Joel Kelley, Bennito L. 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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 COVER DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI 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! “TRANSCENDENCE” BY SEAN MARSHALL “TIME FOR COLORADO TO GIVE ITSELF A REAL BIRTHDAY GIFT,” PATRICIA CALHOUN, JULY 17 P A I N T T H E T O W N R E A D Your “Fifteen Books About Colorado to Read Now” missed one. It is Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne. It takes place in Monument, Colorado, and is an end- of-times story. Here is a synopsis from Goodreads: “Fourteen kids stranded inside a superstore. Inside they have everything they could ever need. There’s junk food and clothes, computer games and books, drugs and alcohol ... and without adult supervision, they can do whatever they want. Sounds like fun?” Marjorie K. Nanian Englewood You missed Timber Line: A Story of Bon- fi ls and Tammen, by Gene Fowler. It centers around the two founders of the Denver Post but reads more like an anthology at times. Feels like you’re reading an HBO original series about Denver in the same vein as Deadwood or Boardwalk Empire. Highly recommend! Thank you for the other recommendations! Defi nitely will be checking them out. Russell Meinzer Denver Really enjoyed your list of fi fteen books to read about Colorado. I would also sug- gest that Principled Politician by Adam Schrager about Governor Ralph Carr is excellent. “Halfbreed” by David Halaas and Andrew Masich tells an amazing story about the life of George Bent. Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides about Kit Carson is a great contemporary account of his life. Dick Wadhams Littleton Thanks for the great birthday list of books about Colorado. I think Little Britches by Ralph Moody is a defi nite must! My kids and I have been reading it, and it’s an invaluable look into Colorado history, life on the land, and the community in Littleton not very long ago. Katy Johnson Littleton A year and a half ago, Colorado author KP (Kevin Patrick) McCarthy came out with Mortal Weather. Though the story moves on to San Diego, it starts in Denver. Great stuff. Beyond the fate of the hapless protagonist, I was greatly taken by the propulsive tilt of McCarthy’s style that sped me through the chapters with its graceful and playful devo- tion to language that is too rare in modern literature. Do read this mystery/romance/spiritual adventure if you’re attracted to exploring the vagaries of life as pondered by a deeply engaged romantic. If you value beautiful de- scription, sharp dialogue, the deep probing of a curious mind, devoted relationships and an elegant contemplation of how the living can navigate the natural presence of death with grace, this is the next book for you. Randy Russell Golden You should read the “Brules” trilogy by Harry Combs: Brules,The Scout, The Legend of the Painted Horse.You will think you’re reading fi ction when this trilogy is 100 per- cent fact! Skip Raschke Sent note Fun fact: Charles Hendrick, aka Cham- pagne Charlie, inherited a bunch of Denver from the Bayaud brothers (a street’s named after them). Read Champagne Charlie, by Don and Petie Kladstrup. Lauren Jestes Denver John Dunning’s Denver was an engaging read, too. Michael Farrimond Denver After being gone from Denver for thirteen years, coming home and seeing a Westword was everything. Lisa de Graaf Denver
