2 westword.com WESTWORD AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2, 2026 | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 6 GLORY DAYS A Colorado nostalgia boom is fueling local artists, like Andre Lippard. BY MELANIE ULLE 4 ZONED IN, FUNDED OUT Denver’s ADU dream faces a budget wall. BY SAGE KELLEY 11 FEAST MODE Denver food challenges designed for a high metabolism, low cholesterol and no shame. BY SAMANTHA FARMER 13 GHOSTING BROADWAY Ghost Canyon Fest brings world-class weirdo music to Denver this weekend. BY ZACHARY VISCONTI 6 Culture 11 Cafe 13 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 14 19 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 20 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 52 AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 2, 2026 E D I T O R I A L Senior Editor, News Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Antony Bruno 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 McKin- ley, Abigail Bliss, Ryan Pachmayer, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Evan Semón, Toni Tresca Music Listings Matthew Jones Cover Designer Kristin Bjornsen Editor Emeritus Patricia Calhoun 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 Brad Belanger, Remy Diamond, Rachel Gilmore, Keith Gordon, Trey Konsella, Kirby Quick, 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 National Editor Sam Eifl ing 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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DESIGN BY KRISTIN BJORNSEN C O L O R A D O I S B E G G I N G Y O U T O G O F I S H I N G A T T H E S E L A K E S A N D R E S E R V O I R S Give a man a fi sh, and you feed him for a day. Give a man unlimited fi shing access… Colorado Parks and Wildlife issued an emergency public salvage order for Banner Lakes State Wildlife Area in Weld County on Tuesday, Aug. 18. The order lifts all bag and possession limits for fi shing in ponds in the area, as the fast-drying bodies of water threaten to kill the fi sh, anyway. This is the second fi sh salvage order in a week and the eighth this summer, loosening or pausing fi shing restrictions across the state, according to CPW’s database. They come as half of the state is suffering from extreme or exceptional drought conditions amid con- tinuing record-high summer temperatures, following the winter’s record-low snowpack. “The fi sh belong to the public,” Carrie Tucker, CPW aquatic biologist, said in a press release earlier this summer. “We want to provide anglers the opportunity to harvest as many fi sh as possible before declining water levels potentially cause us to lose the fi shery.” Some reservoirs under salvage orders are set to be drawn down to redirect water to other areas, largely to serve local communities or sup- port irrigation that typically relies on mountain snowpack. Other bodies of water are already running low and facing “imminent” fi sh loss, according to CPW. Daigre Reservoir, for ex- ample, currently has only one-sixth of the water storage it had this time last year, according to data from the Division of Water Resources. In addition to Banner Lakes State Wildlife Area, fi sh salvage orders are currently in ef- fect at the following locations as of Aug. 20: Daigre Reservoir in Huerfano County, Doug- las Reservoir State Wildlife Area in Larimer County, McKay Lake in Westminster, Mountain Home Reservoir State Wildlife Area in Costilla County, Nee Noshe Reservoir in Kiowa County, Timnath Reservoir in Larimer County, and Wa- hatoya State Wildlife Area in Huerfano County. The unlimited fi shing won’t last forever. Low water levels and high water tempera- tures have already resulted in fi shing clo- sures in dozens of areas across the state, according to the CPW database. — Hannah Metzger F O R M E R P E A R L W O R K E R P L A N S B A R I N C A P H I L L Sabina Palermo worked as a bartender and event planner at The Pearl, which closed in April after months of fi nancial woes from the bar’s owners. Now she’s days away from signing a lease at 1209 E. 13th Ave. in Capitol Hill and prepping the building to be Denver’s newest (and currently only) sapphic bar: Wild Tulips. Days after The Pearl’s closure, Palermo says an “anonymous angel investor” mes- saged her on Instagram and offered to invest in a new sapphic space. She spent the next several months searching for an available venue, but faced skepticism and backlash due to The Pearl’s reputation. Eventually, she landed on the space between Thump Coffee and Wild Corgi Pub (formerly Ritual Social House), in Denver’s historic gayborhood, blocks away from the original Pearl Divers. Palermo cherished what The Pearl repre- sented – a space for sapphic folks, trans people, and BIPOC community members who may not feel safe or welcomed at Denver’s plethora of gay male-centric spaces to fi nd their people. “We do have plenty of other gay spaces in the city, but none of them center BIPOC, trans and nonbinary people,” Palermo says. “And that’s what we feel our community desperately needs right now.” She hopes to hold a soft opening on Oct. 11, with a grand opening the following Saturday. Since The Pearl’s closure in April, Pal- ermo and other former Pearl staff have thrown parties around town catered toward the sapphic community, and Palermo hopes to take what she’s learned and keep the momentum going at Wild Tulips. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to not just up- lift ourselves but also uplift our neighbors and other members of the community,” she says. Palermo is the sole owner of Wild Tulips, a lesson she said she learned from The Pearl’s ownership model, which once included fi ve people. She’s bringing on three Pearl alumni: Emma Rosenfeld as general manager, Len- non Dogget as kitchen and operations man- ager, and Lexy (also known as sailorkrat0m) to throw featured parties every Saturday. The team is hoping for a ‘70s-style theme, with vintage decor and dark, moody lighting. — Alec Berg
