Evening concert crowd in Crested Butte, Colorado

The Crested Butte Summer Music Guide

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From June's first Alpenglow show to the last festival set of September, summer music in Crested Butte is as prevalent as our wildflowers: free weekly concerts, ticketed headliners at the Center for the Arts, and late rooms on Elk Avenue that keep going after the lawn chairs fold.

Everything below comes straight from the events calendar, so what you see is what is actually playing. Most of it costs nothing but the effort of showing up, which at this altitude still counts as effort.

Summer at a Glance

Every bar is a week, every bar's height is that week's show count. Tap a week to browse it.

Featured Venue

Center for the Arts

Center for the Arts

Center for the Arts

The Center runs three summer series at once: free lawn concerts, courtyard classics over cocktails, and ticketed headliners in the Steddy Theater. It is the town's musical center of gravity, and it schedules accordingly.

Ticketed

Steddy Theater

The indoor stage for ticketed shows, where the season's touring names land, and the one room in town where the weather has no vote.

Wrapped for the season.

Earlier This Season (7)
Jun 3The String Cheese Incident
Jun 4The String Cheese Incident
Jun 26Welcome to Britney’s Circus
Jun 27Seratones
Aug 1Opera Lollipops
Aug 6Steve Earle
Sep 15Fall Folk: LVDY

More Stages Around Town

Public House

Craft beer, farm driven food, and the most reliable late show on Elk Avenue.

A Bar Above

Cozy room, low lights, free local music all summer, and a full menu next to the bus stop.

The Eldo

Intimate late night shows above Elk Avenue, with a balcony that has the best sightline in town and knows it.

Down Valley

Almont Resort

Riverside stage at the confluence of the Taylor and the East, running the Headwater Summer Concert Series all season. The only venue in the valley where the opening act is a river.

I Bar Ranch

A converted hay barn with a covered stage, a bonfire, and a booking calendar that refuses to act its size. Rain or shine, and the drive back over the sagebrush at midnight is worth the ticket on its own.

Common Questions

Is live music in Crested Butte free?

Most of it, yes. Four free series run every week through the summer: Sunday afternoons at the Umbrella Bar Deck, Monday evenings at CB Town Park, Tuesday evenings in the Courtyard at the Center for the Arts, and Wednesday evenings at the Red Lady Stage. Ticketed shows fill in around them at the Center for the Arts, I Bar Ranch, and the bars on Elk Avenue.

What time do the free concerts start?

Sundays run 2 to 5 pm, Mondays and Tuesdays start at 5:30 pm, and Wednesdays run 5 to 8 pm. Bring a chair or a blanket for the outdoor ones, and a layer for after the sun drops behind the ridge.

Do I need tickets?

Not for the weekly free series. Ticketed shows sell through the venue, and the popular ones do sell out, which is worth knowing before you drive over.

When does the summer music season run?

June through September. Bookings build toward the week of the Fourth of July, hold through August, and close with live bluegrass at the Chili and Beer Festival in September.

What can I bring to Alpenglow?

Low profile lawn chairs, blankets, snacks, a full picnic if you want one, and non alcoholic drinks in cans or plastic. Leave the alcohol and the glass at home: the Center sells beer, wine, and liquor under a special event license, so outside alcohol is not allowed, and glass is banned in Town Park. Dogs are not allowed either. The show runs rain or shine, and the Town asks that nobody empty an ice chest onto the grass, which cold water kills.

What about the other free concerts?

Music on the Mountain at the Red Lady Stage takes camp chairs and blankets on the lawn, with food and drink for sale and a local opener before the headliner, rain or shine. Tunes at Ten Peaks is a deck at the top of the lift, so it is table seating rather than a picnic. Neither one publishes a dog policy, so ask the venue before you count on bringing one.

Where do I find who is playing tonight?

The Right Now block at the top of this page counts tonight's shows straight from the events calendar, and every listing on this page links to the show it names. Nothing here is hand maintained, so it does not go stale.

Before the show: restaurants, shops, and services around town.

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