It’s no secret — Denver has a lot of music venues. We were once talked about as a rival for Austin, Texas, which has long claimed the mantle of “live music capital of the world.” But distinguished title or not, the Mile High is home to a variety of unique concert settings from converted movie palaces like the Bluebird and the Ogden to state-of-the art spaces like Mission Ballroom and Meow Wolf's Perplexiplex to hole-in-the-wall wonders like the Lion’s Lair and the hi-dive to longtime local icons like Red Rocks and Levitt Pavilion — plus dozens more.
So recently, when a brand new open space for live music called Project 70: Under the Bridge popped up in my Instagram feed, I was intrigued.
Literally Under the Bridge
One of my favorite Colorado-connected bands, Mannequin Pussy, announced a show this fall at a brand new venue I had somehow never heard of. Turns out, Project 70 is an undertaking by AEG Presents. It’s a new transitory venue the mega concert promoter is trying out in Elyria-Swansea.
"[It was] largely inspired by the outspoken desire from the younger generation for more creative and more experiential things in the music world beyond your typical venue," says Evan Marks, a talent buyer for AEG Presents. This temporary space is literally under the I-70 overpass at 46th and Humboldt, just outside the doors of the Denver Coliseum, which is also often used as a music venue (I saw Slipknot there in 2009 — wild show).
A Colorado Way of Experiencing Music
But a concert taking place in the liminal space under a highway? Well, it’s not exactly a new idea for Denver music fans. And those “younger generations” Marks mentioned — plus the elders who have kindly passed on the knowledge of good sound systems and instructions for best dealing with the cops responding to noise complaints — have always existed in every version of the Mile High City. Countless Denver basements, back porches, junkyards, parking lots, warehouses, (and yes, even highway overpasses) have a long history of being ephemeral venues for concerts, raves, and parties.
From Drop City’s happenings in Trinidad in the ‘60s to queer spaces like Tracks opening its dancefloor in the ‘80s to the Mile High’s hotlines-and-map-points-required rave scene of the ‘90s to current day outfits like Maybe Forever’s secret location parties, Colorado has always been a place for unconventional gatherings around every genre of music. But AEG is right in that people are always still on the lookout for new places and ways to experience it.
What to Expect
So far, only two shows have been announced at Project 70 in 2025 — hardcore band Turnstile (with the above-mentioned Mannequin Pussy) on September 30 and the drum and bass purveyors Chase & Status on October 4, two very different styles of events. “[Project 70] has the kind of vibe that works for certain acts; we wouldn't do an Amos Lee or Jason Mraz [show]. We know the fanbase interested in seeing Chase & Status at Red Rocks is also excited to see them in a place like this,” says Marks. He shares that the sort of barren flatness of a space like Project 70 — free from things like staircases and tiered seating — allows for fans to go “completely feral” and mosh.
Marks adds that unlike other shows that take place in say, a parking lot, AEG will build out an actual stage for Project 70 shows — not just drag in a stage on the back of a flatbed truck and plop it on the asphalt. Because regardless of how DIY or underground of a vibe Project 70 is projecting through its mysterious online presence, this is still a full-fledged production from the second largest event promoter in the country. And they know how to put on big shows.
— Bree Davies, host of City Cast Denver / musician and music critic
Editor's note: The original reporting for this article included the incorrect location of the Project 70 venue. It has since been updated.
