Blenders, Robots, and Rainbows: Magic of Outside Days
Outside Days has concluded! After an amazing few days of the festival and the Outside Days Summit conference, I can say that this event was completely unforgettable. This weekend marked a big milestone for me – my 30th music festival. I loved that the three-day event l had a much deeper meaning than just getting together with like minded people to dance and listen to music.
The conference was hosted in the Auraria Campus in Downtown Denver. While at the conference, my co-writer, Anna Neumann, and I had the opportunity to sit in on quite a few presentations. One that really stood out was the Lunch & Learn Workshop: Protecting Colorado’s Land and Water, presented by Jim Petterson, Tarn Udall, Carlos Fernandez, and Alan Salazar. The talk primarily focused on the proposed initiative 308, which is expected to be on the ballot in November. With this bill, the aim is to generate more funding, without raising taxes, for water conservation, land conservation, outdoor access, and workforce development. The conference overall, really spoke to the importance of protecting the outdoors across the country but especially here in Colorado. The conference hosted a ton of different vendors such as Shokz, Pura Vida, Shār, Aboard, and more. Outside Days Summit truly established the foundations of the festival: to appreciate the earth while being aware of our impact on nature.
On to the music festival! The 3-day music festival was one that had great music, delicious food, phenomenal vendors and chill vibes. Let’s start with the music! The indie lineup was one to remember.
On day one, the standouts for me were Goth Babe and Death Cab for Cutie. Goth Babe had a strong turnout and engaged their high-energy crowd with interactive activities in between songs. Griffen Washburn, the lead singer, split the crowd into two sections to have a dance-off, with the winner receiving a Hamilton Beach blender which was thrown into the crowd after the dance competition followed by a vacuum cleaner. Goth Babe chose a fan from the crowd named Cooper to get onto an air mattress (pictured below) and crowd surf throughout an entire song. The fan ended up falling off the air mattress but it stayed in the crowd and different fans got a chance to mount the mattress and crowd surf. Death Cab for Cutie had a very chill and intimate vibe. There were a lot of couples in the crowd. This set was very special because I could feel the connection that the crowd had to each song. There were multiple songs that it seemed like every person in the crowd was belting out together!
On the first day, Neumann and I spent most of our time exploring what GA had to offer! There were so many incredible vendors! Vivo Barefoot was giving out free foot scans and entering festival goers into a drawing for new hiking shoes. Outside days provided free SPF stations because the Colorado sun is no joke! From rock climbing walls, cold plunges, Jeep rides, and Avid4Adventure bike rides through an obstacle course, you could never get bored at this festival.
I purchased an amazing and intentionally made hemp hat from Sunny Life Hats. I spoke with Jules, one of the people who were selling the hats, and she informed me that the products were handmade in the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal. For the 100+ farmers, weavers, dyers and artisans involved, Sunny Life ensures the partnership provides valuable resources to all parties. Sunny Life strictly supports an equitable trade workshop that provides many social services to their workers like, education for children of workshop workers, school supplies for the surrounding local community, health care assistance to workers and other communities, free skill training to increase access jobs, clothing and food distribution to the countryside, disaster recovery support (landslides, earthquakes, etc).
On day two, we explored the Capital One lounge at Outside Days! There was a bit of a wait, but it was worth it because of the great view of the stage, free food, and private bathrooms that were inside! When we entered the line, we were given canned cold brew. There were mini burgers and sandwiches, fruit, and protein bars! The lounge also offered a lot of free Capital One merch. In the lounge, we ran into Jose Andres, the Spanish-American chef and restaurateur. It was so cool to see him hanging out in the lounge, connecting with festival goers, taking photos, and enjoying the music like everyone else was. While in the lounge and enjoying the view of the stage from there, the Flaming Lips brought some incredible energy to the stage! They also brought multiple massive inflatable pink robots to really make their entrance pack a punch. They immediately got the crowd engaged and ready to dance! The second night, it got a little chilly, I purchased a pair of women’s Lookout Overalls 2.0 from Allover Apparel in shade Lunar. This Salida based brand is made by women from all recycled materials. Allover Apparel makes clothing that goes wherever you do—from trailhead to taphouse, campsite to coffee shop. Their core product, the OG Overalls I purchased, are designed for everything from hiking, biking, and climbing to rafting and campfire hangs. They blend technical performance with everyday style and are incredibly comfortable!
My Morning Jacket closed the chilly night out. The rock legends opened their set with Wordless Chorus and had incredible energy, unique visuals, and phenomenal jams! They expressed their gratitude to the fans that were in attendance.
Day 3 of Outside Days was my personal favorite in terms of music wise! We explored the luxury of what GA+ had to offer: private air conditioned bathrooms, private bars, GA+ specific food vendors, and a concierge! The concierge had mints, multiple types of sunscreen, feminine products, and workers who had a wealth of knowledge about the festival.
Girl Tones brought some amazing punk rock vibes! They immediately got the crowd involved in their set by playing dynamics. Sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe instructed the crowd to rapidly alternate between playing and singing “REALLY LOUD” and then “really, really soft.” This was a super fun way to feel connected with the duo. The festival was one of many stops on their country-wide tour, traveling in their grandma’s mini van.
Next, Grouplove took the stage and the crowd immediately locked in! Everyone in the crowd practically screamed Tongue Tied back at the band. During their set, Hannah Hooper, talked about the importance that we all share the art we create. She had everyone who creates art, of any type, to raise their hands, saying to the crowd, “Making art saves the world and we need a lot of saving right now.” Seeing this band live was such a full circle moment for me because this band was one of my favorite bands back in high school! Then, Tash Sultana took the stage! They were one of the artists I was most looking forward to seeing. Sultana has such a unique skill to layer different instruments and bring their unique sound. Toward the end of their set, they called out the rainbow in the sky as an omen for themselves, sharing that they’d recently experienced the loss of their 18 year old dog and the rainbows have been a sign from the universe that their loved ones are with them, bringing an emotional end to an amazing set.
Finally, Cage the Elephant made a fiery (literally) entrance to the stage. The group brought pyrotechnics, lasers, and high energy all night long. The lead singer, Matt Schultz, thanked the crowd for being with and supporting the group for 20 years. Matt also teased that the reason the group has been “more quiet” than usual is because they’ve been working on new music, hinting that a new single will be released on July 10th! Cage hit all the high notes by playing every single song we all wanted to hear. Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked was definitely a highlight during the set. This was yet another moment where the festival became a singalong which was so fun!
Overall, the festival was great! The music was amazing and the vendors were unique. Like any festival, there is always room for improvement. With the move from Civic Center Park to the MSU Auraria campus, there were definitely times where the layout and signage in the festival was hard to follow. Once we got the lay of the land, the festival was pretty easy to navigate; however, the first day it was a bit confusing!
The three-day festival was more than just music. It reminded everyone of the importance of getting outside, respecting the land we stand on and appreciating the little things. I really enjoyed my time, and can’t wait for next year!