UMS Schedule, Single Day Tickets On Sale

If you think it’s hot now, wait until you’re sandwiched in the midst of hundreds of music fans on South Broadway, reveling in the noise, sweat, and ecstasy that is the Underground Music Showcase (UMS, or #UMS2019). The mile-long event will host 350+ shows this year, featuring 250+ bands, surprise pop-ups, craft (and other) beers, cocktails and wine, food, fun, and friends from Friday afternoon, July 26, through Sunday night, July 28th.

And you’re lucky enough now to be able to plan your whole weekend experience, ’cause the schedule’s final. You can plan online (be sure to register to create your own special lineup), or download your own copies below:

For nearly two decades now, Denver has been privileged to host the best summer music festival in the West, if not in the country, and this year will be better than the last – as each year has been since its small – but hugely significant – inception in 2001, all at the hands of a certain Denver Post music writer. Those first few years – while certainly significant to Denver’s music scene – may have looked small in comparison to today’s version, but they were all born out of love for the scene and contained the seeds of what is now the best time each summer on South Broadway has to offer.

While the early versions featured just a few bands in one of a few local venues that were willing to allow for the last-minute shows – cobbled together as the result of some wicked-smart polling of Denver’s music scene (including artists and journalists, as well as much of the industry folk). The list of the Top 10 Denver Underground Bands would be published in The Post on a Sunday that would hopefully coincide with a show that featured as many of those bands that were available – and willing – to show up.

Usually, at least in the first years, the number of bands was about three, and the number of fans was not too many more – but every musician got paid, and every fan had a blast. And the bands got some great publicity – many went on to much bigger things – and some high praise from musical peers.

Compare that to the 2019 version of the UMS, complete with three outdoor stages and fifteen indoor venues, covering South Broadway from 6th Avenue to Alameda. While the originals were lucky to host a hundred fans, the UMS now welcomes thousands over the three-day shindig. But the love is still there, and there’s more than enough to handle many more fans.

So plan your whole weekend so you can catch bands like Black Mountain, Gardens & Villa, Covenhoven, The Still Tide, and much more – on just the first day! Or Wheelchair Sports Camp, Modern Leisure, Dressy Bessy, Oxeye Daisy, Chicano Batman, or Don Chicharrón – to mention just a few – on day two. Or Vic ‘N the Narwhals, Flaural, DBUK (!), Earthgang, and so many more on day three!

While you’re at it, make sure all of your friends have their weekend passes ($50 for now, but going up to $75 soon!), available in sweet four-packs for the budget-conscious. Or maybe they’re more the type to handle one or two days (whatever…). Good for them – now that single day tickets are available for purchase.

Keep your eyes right here on DenverThread.com, too, for our traditional UMS previews, featuring daily recommendations for each hour of each day! We’ll also be interviewing bands, performers, and whoever else will talk to us, and offering live coverage, daily reviews, and stunning photography of the whole gig. This year we’re pulling out all the stakes, and plan to offer more coverage than ever before. Look back here in the next two weeks for updates, and for help choosing which bands you MUST see.