17 OCTOBER 9-15, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | FIND MORE MUSIC COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/MUSIC The Climb SUMMIT MUSIC HALL CELEBRATES FIFTEEN YEARS WITH A REBRAND. BY TONI TRESCA When you walk through the Ballpark neigh- borhood today, it’s hard to imagine the many lives of the building that now houses Summit Music Hall. Before it became one of the city’s premier mid-sized music venues, the 12,500-square-foot space at 1902 Blake Street was home to the Blake Street Base- ball Club, a gathering spot for Colorado Rockies fans. It soon morphed into the LoDo Music Hall and eventually Club Bash, a hip-hop nightclub that thrived during the early 2000s nightlife boom. In 2010, everything changed. Indepen- dent promoter Soda Jerk Presents acquired the property, redesigned it and opened it as the Summit. Its inaugural show that July fea- tured Denver favorites the Rouge, Air Dubai and Honor the Fallen, an appropriately local launch of a space that would come to mean so much to the city’s music community. “I was there for opening night,” recalls general manager Emma Sigley. “For us, the Summit has always been defi ned by the artists who’ve played here, the fans who’ve shown up and our crew who’ve made it their home. The Summit is an incubation hub. We’ve hosted everything from breakout acts doing their fi rst big Denver show to names that keep coming back year after year. That mix of history and discovery is a big part of our identity.” The venue’s ownership shifted in Febru- ary 2018, when international concert giant Live Nation signed a twenty-year lease to take over booking and operations at both the Summit and its nearby sister venue, the Marquis. Soda Jerk Presents retained ownership of the buildings but stepped back from promoting shows, ending nearly two decades as a leading independent promoter. For Live Nation, the deal gained a strategic foothold in a market largely dominated by An- schutz Entertainment Group, which already controlled such venues as the Gothic, Blue- bird and Ogden theaters. “I think it changes the game in Denver quite a bit — at least for Live Nation,” Eric Pirritt, then-president of the Colorado branch of the company, told Westword at the time. “It’s a game change for us to have the ability to have the proper place to build artists from 400 seats to 1,000-plus.” Soda Jerk founder Mike Barsch called the decision one of timing rather than necessity, noting that his company had just come off its most successful year but was looking at consolidation as the future of the industry. Just months later, Live Nation oversaw ma- jor renovations at the Summit, closing the venue from June through September 2018 to improve sightlines, expand restrooms and dressing rooms, and increase capacity. “The renovations we did in 2018 were huge for us,” Sigley explains. “We opened up sightlines, so now there’s not a bad seat in the house. We expanded capacity, improved the fl ow and created a fl exible space. We can scale up or down depending on the event, whether it’s a sold-out concert, a wedding, a corporate event or anything.” As it celebrates its fi fteenth anniversary, the venue is getting a fresh identity. The space, long known simply as the Summit, has offi - cially rebranded as Summit Music Hall, com- plete with a new logo, website and visual look designed to carry it into its next chapter. For the team behind the venue, the change is both a nod to its roots and an invitation to the future. “With our new look and our new logo, we’re inviting fans to let the noise heal you,” Sigley says. “Live shows here have always been about recharging, so the rebrand is about refl ecting how fans actually experi- ence music inside this room.” The main fl oor is an open pit, where fans pack in tight to be part of the action. Above, a balcony wraps around three sides, offer- ing a bird’s-eye view of the crowd and the performers. That multi-level design, coupled with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, makes the room attractive for touring artists. “Artists want to come back over and over again because they had a great time and they felt taken care of,” says Rikki Aston, senior talent buyer. “Our location, for bands on tour, is pretty great, because if they want to have a nice dinner, there’s a place nearby. If they want to stay in a good hotel, there are some nearby. If they want to go to a baseball game or Meow Wolf, they can. We’re really centrally located, so this is a place that artists on tour want to come back to.” Summit Music Hall fi lls a vital niche in Denver’s music ecosystem. With a capacity of 900, it serves as a critical stop for burgeoning acts. Bands not yet ready for Red Rocks or Ball Arena can headline their fi rst big Denver show in the space, while veterans on “underplay” tours return to reconnect with fans in an intimate setting. And in the Moon Room, a smaller space inside the Summit, more local acts and rising stars can cut their teeth. “My hope is always that the calendar re- fl ects my personal playlist,” Aston says. “That means a little bit of everything. Because it’s a mid-sized venue, you get people on their way up, people on their way down and people who kind of stay in between. I’m always trying to make it as diverse as possible, because I really want to bring different people every year.” That diversity has been the Summit’s call- ing card. Over the years, its stage has hosted Talib Kweli, Alkaline Trio, Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, AWOLNATION and Wale, among others. For Denver bands, the Summit has been both a proving ground and a launchpad. “For me, it’s always the most exciting when I book acts that I grew up listening to because I have such a personal connection to them, whether that’s Good Charlotte or Taking Back Sunday, from when I was in my pop-punk era, or Garbage, because Shirley (Manson) is such a legend, or Tycho, because I’ve always been a huge fan of his. It’s always exciting to book a new act, like Little Simz, who’s coming up this fall and I have been going after for years, and I’m so excited to have her. So I truly have stars in my eyes. It never gets old.” Summit Music Hall’s magic doesn’t just come from the names on the marquee. It comes from the roughly 200 staff members who make each show possible. From pro- duction to security, food and beverage to the box offi ce, the team orchestrates the night like clockwork. “My job is about bridging the gaps be- tween departments so the experience feels seamless,” Sigley says. “Every show is dif- ferent. The unpredictability forces us to stay creative, but it also keeps the energy high. That’s what makes it so rewarding. No two nights are the same, but it always gives us a chance to do something cool and new.” Out front, box-offi ce manager Sydney Wiggs is often the fi rst face fans encounter. She’s constantly impressed that the Sum- mit “can create such different, but equally memorable, experiences for everyone who walks through the doors,” she says. “A typical night before a big show is a mix of preparation and fast-paced energy. Once doors open, it’s all about keeping things smooth for our fans with questions and keeping the box offi ce line steady so everyone gets inside safely and on time,” Wiggs adds. “A very memorable experience for me was putting together an exciting last-minute Hawthorne Heights show a few months ago. The show announced on the same day they were scheduled to play, and the fans were so excited to see them play in such an intimate setting.” Ask the Summit’s team members about their favorite shows among the 150 to 160 performances each year, and it’s hard to fi nd a common denominator. Except for one answer that comes up again and again: The Kills. “It was such a vibe,” Aston remembers. “A sold-out show and they’re an act that we both love. From the beginning of the day, it was an easy day for everybody. Across the board, it was just a memorable event to have them there and obviously, they’re very popular, too, so that’s always fun.” Sigley laughs, admitting she was about to say the same thing. For Aston, the thrill also comes from see- ing bands move up the ladder. “It’s always special to watch an act you booked here go on to headline Red Rocks,” she says. “And then sometimes, they come back, like Dermot Kennedy, who is playing Summit again on his underplay tour, even after fi lling massive ven- ues, and that’s the magic of a space like this.” As Summit Music Hall looks ahead to its next fi fteen years, the rebrand is less about changing what works and more about am- plifying its spirit. The new name and visual identity are a signal that the venue intends to keep evolving alongside Denver’s music scene, just as it has since opening night. “We’re open to all acts and all types of fans and everything,” Aston says. “We just want more people to be able to experience it. Like, fi fteen years is a long time, but it’s also a drop in the bucket sometimes, so it’s amazing how many people are still discover- ing us every day.” Summit Music Hall is located at 1902 Blake Street; learn more about its upcoming shows at summitdenver.com. Summit Music Hall is getting a rebrand. PHOTO BY ALIVE COVERAGE FOR LIVE NATION MUSIC
