Pubdate: Sat, 19 Apr 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Ricardo Baca

MUSIC HOLIDAY

4/20 Is a Full-on Entertainment Holiday As Music Shows Abound This 
Weekend, Four Months After Recreational Pot Was Legalized.

As Denver musician Wes Watkins booked springtime shows for his 
gospel-tinged band the Other Black, one date on the calendar took 
absolute priority.

"I decided that we had to play 4/20," Watkins said of the stoner 
holiday known as 4/20, or April 20."We played last 4/20 at 11 o'clock 
at night, and it was a laid back and silly show because everybody was 
so tired and stoned.

"This 4/20 we're playing a brunch show at the Larimer Lounge because 
it's also Easter. And like Easter, 4/20 is a date that speaks for itself."

Especially in a Denver with nearly four months of legal recreational 
marijuana sales under its belt, 4/20 - the calendar equivalent to 
4:20 p.m., the time pot smokers would historically toke up - does 
speak for itself. And it speaks in a language of music festivals, 
unseasonably early Red Rocks shows selling out a month in advance and themed

The Denver Post concerts sponsored by the biggest marijuana companies 
in the state.

April 20 is now a full-on entertainment holiday in Colorado with 
promoters and entrepreneurs looking to capture a slice of the massive 
audiences in the same way they might on Halloween or New Year's Eve- 
and music fans are the winners with a dizzying array of music 
throughout the city.

"We've got the concert at the sculpture park, shows at Red Rocks and 
if you look at any of the band-oriented clubs and even the dance 
clubs they have a theme to their nights this weekend," said Brian 
Kitts, spokesman for Denver Arts& Venues, the division of the city 
that manages venues like the Denver Performing Arts Complex and Red 
Rocks. "4/20 has become another way to market music."

Just how in-the-know is Denver's 4/20 with national trends? The 
current High Times magazine cover features Mount Kushmore, a Mount 
Rushmore styled photo of Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill frontman B-Real and 
Method Man& Redman-"the four godfathers of weed culture," said the 
magazine's editor-in-chief Chris Simunek. All four MCs are playing 
unrelated 4/20 shows in Colorado this year, and Snoop and Method & 
Red are each doubling up with two shows in one day. And it doesn't 
stop there. In the past week, rappers Ice Cube and Too $hort, 
comedians Cheech & Chong and Andy Haynes and the actor who played 
McLovin in "Superbad" (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) have played 4/20 
shows in Denver. The list of those yet to play this weekend reads 
better than any New Year's Eve lineup in recent Colorado history:

That list includes Snoop, Wiz Khalifa, Wyclef Jean, Slightly Stoopid, 
Matisyahu, Mac Miller, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Talib Kweli, 
Leftover Salmon, B.o.B., Method & Red, Julian Marley, Paper Diamond, 
Nappy Roots, Collie Buddz and Pato Banton.

"Weed culture"

It's a lot of hip-hop, but rap music and weed culture have long 
walked hand-in-hand.

"The hip-hop community is where you're seeing 4/20 thrive the most 
because it's been a part of weed culture for a long time now," said 
Robert Castro, founder and managing editor of Colorado-based music 
blog Ultra5280. "The weekend around 4/20 has become a hub, and(4/20) 
really started picking up steam in Colorado two or three years ago as 
all the dispensaries were taking root."

A very local example of 4/20's growing presence: At least four 
entirely new music festivals will take over Denver parks and clubs 
this weekend - from Daze on the Green to Festival 64, Dabroots to 
Waldos Music Festival - debuting this year in hopes of capturing an 
audience and potentially returning next year.

Another example: In 2013, Red Rocks hosted its first ever 4/20 
concert with Cypress Hill and Slightly Stoopid. They called it 
"Hotbox at RedRocks," co-opting a popular stoner term for getting 
stoned in an enclosed space, and the show sold out. This year the 
mountain amphitheater will host two sold-out shows on April 19 and 20 
- - not to mention the venue's annual Easter Sunrise Service on the 
morning of the 20th.

"There's an underlying theme going on (in those concerts), but for us 
it's another couple concerts," said Tad Bowman, Red Rocks' venue 
director. "I'm excited that we have a show on Saturday night, Easter 
Sunrise Service on Sunday morning and another show on Sunday night - 
regardless of the shows' theme."

Cannabis Cup

The biggest 4/20 events in Colorado are the 420 Rally at Civic Center 
and the Cannabis Cup, a sprawling trade show for all things marijuana 
at the Denver Mart. Both events run April 19-20, and both are pumping 
more money into their 2014 music offerings than years past.

Both Red Rocks shows are tied to the Cannabis Cup, which sold out 
last week and is expecting more than 37,000 people over two days, as 
was their Friday night show with Ice Cube and Action Bronson.

"There's more entertainment going on this year in Colorado than past 
4/20s," said Jen Bernstein, managing editor of High Times magazine, 
which presents the Cannabis Cup. "And if you can't get a ticket to 
the Cup, there's plenty else happening."

Matisyahu is headlining the much-hyped Waldos Music Fest on April 20, 
an event prominently sponsored by marijuana companies Dixie Elixirs 
and Native Roots Apothecary. The expansion of 4/20 was part of what 
inspired Dixie managing director Tripp Keeber to create event 
production company Munch& Company, which is producing the Waldos 
festival and other events this weekend.

"We've been approached by half a dozen music festivals around the 
country where they'll have Jack Daniels, Marlboro and now they're 
specifically reaching out to Dixie - not for retail sales at their 
event but for brand awareness."

For Denver musician Watkins, whose Other Black will headline an 
Easter brunch show at the Larimer Lounge, 4/20 remains a sacred day 
for his art and his family.

"We're musicians," Watkins said, "and all our friends are stoners. 
But at the same time, this Easter show will be the first time my 
grandma will have seen me play since high school.

"It'll be an interesting combination of cultures, older and younger, 
and it'll force some people to get over their biases, which is what 
I'm all about. My grandma is like, 'Weed smokers, blah blah.' But I 
smoke weed every day, and she still loves me. So she and her friends 
will be at our show with their Sunday hats, and I'm excited to hang 
out with her on 4/20."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom