Photo by Amanda Koellner
In a year when the majority of lineups have felt underwhelming, talk of the festival bubble finally bursting has been louder than ever. Undeterred, two of the biggest names in the game are moving forward with plans to bring a new “super festival” to Denver, Colorado.
AEG, the parent group that owns Coachella, and Superfly, the production company behind Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, are hoping to launch their latest event by mid-September 2018. The current plan is to welcome anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 fans to the Denver area for a “Coachella-esque experience” mixing music and art.
(Read: A Guide to Music Festival VIP Experiences: Which Ones Are Worth the Price of Admission?)
Though news of the project is only now being publicized, AEG Live Rocky Mountains CEO Chuck Morris has reportedly been developing it since AEG’s Mile High Music Festival closed down in 2010. Denver’s Overland Park Golf Course is the current frontrunner to host the new festival, and details were presented to the public during a meeting at the course last week. While the gathered community members were reportedly split on the idea of a major event in their backyard, AEG’s David Ehrlich assured them the project would not be forced on anyone. “This is not a done deal by any stretch,” Ehrlich said (via Dancing Astronaut). “We will not do this festival here if the community doesn’t want it.”
More meetings will be held over the next few weeks to gauge public support. Should the Overland community reject the proposal, AEG and Superfly are said to have their eyes on a number of other potential nearby areas, including Westminster. The goal is to keep the festival close to Denver in order to tap into the wealthy millennial population of the city.
“The investment of festivals is an absolute bloody fortune, and we’ve just got to be sure,” Morris told Westword. “We’re in the phase of looking at all options.”
