Monday, August 31, 2026

The Top 100 Things to Do Near Brothers BBQ



























  1. The restored neon sign out front has been pulling people off Broadway since this building has been a bar, which is basically forever. Bar 404 is an old-school neighborhood watering hole on North Broadway, the kind where the vibe is loose and the programming punches above its weight: free jazz nights, live music, and a food program that Westword keeps recognizing alongside the concerts.

























  2. The vaulted ceiling, Victorian-era paintings, and sculpted details make the Bluebird feel more like a recovered ballroom than a live music venue, which somehow makes the indie rock louder. It holds around 550 people, putting touring acts close enough to feel like a secret and giving local bands a room that announces they've arrived. Westword has named it Denver's top stepping-stone venue, and Colfax gets a little better every time the marquee goes up.








  3. A wristband taps to your credit card at check-in so you never fish out your wallet again, which is either clever hospitality or a mild threat depending on your willpower. Number Thirty Eight is a vast indoor-outdoor beer hall where stalls run by Colorado breweries, cideries, wineries, and distilleries line the walls, the patio is dog-friendly, and Split Lip handles the burgers. Westword named it the city's best free entertainment.




  4. Su Teatro has been Denver's anchor for Chicano theater for decades, running out of the Denver Civic Theatre at the heart of the Santa Fe Arts District, which also happens to be the city's historic Latino neighborhood. The company produces its own touring work and rents the space to outside groups, so the calendar stays eclectic. If you're catching one of their own shows, you're in the right hands.






  5. A historic tavern on Larimer that's been a dive, a cougar bar, and a live-music dance hall, sometimes all in one night. The drinks are stiff and cheap, a band usually occupies the small stage, and the whole place functions as a pressure valve for anyone who's had enough of the polished LoDo scene just outside. The occasional Phi Alpha Whatever will wander in, but the regulars absorb them without incident.














  6. A Czech-owned sports bar on Broadway where the roast duck shares menu space with chicken wings and the back bar stocks Becherovka alongside the usual domestic taps. Pool tables, a Pac-Man cabinet, karaoke nights, and Avalanche games on the screens make it a full-service neighborhood hangout. Westword named it Denver's top bar for Avalanche games in 2025, which feels right for a place this cheerfully, improbably itself.


















  7. The acoustically treated walls mean the sound hits you right no matter where you sit, which matters when the names on stage have included Esperanza Spalding and Bill Frisell. Dazzle is Denver's long-running jazz club, the kind that draws serious talent week after week and keeps the bar busy with martinis and a four-cheese mac that regulars order without looking up. DownBeat placed it among the top 100 jazz clubs in the world.



  8. A record shop sprawling across the old Lowenstein Center on East Colfax, Twist & Shout stocks vinyl, CDs, DVDs, books, and decades of rock-era paraphernalia in a space big enough to lose an afternoon in. Touring acts play occasional in-store shows, and a rotating Local Listening Post keeps tabs on Denver's own scene. Westword named it the city's best record store in 2025, which will surprise nobody who has spent an hour here and left with six things they didn't plan to buy.




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