Every year, there’s no shortage of Juneteenth dance parties in and around Denver. But rarely do they feature an all-Black lineup — and never has one taken place on the Colorado State Capitol steps.
Until now, that is. A joint venture between local collectives Denver EDM Friends, Champagne Productions, Flight Zone Records, Colorado Bassheads, and The Dreamformational Tribe resulted in a Juneteenth gathering that made Denver history.
Free to the general public, it captured the egalitarian spirit of the holiday with full integrity. And the location was second to none. It still amazes me that such grassroots organizers were the first to secure the necessary permits for this kind of event on the steps of our State Capitol.
A Lineup Fit for Juneteenth
At 4:00 PM, with the sun still beating down so hard that the organizers had to improvise a makeshift shield over the decks, local talent Jblu started things off proper. Before she even dove into a blend of experimental bass music and soulful rhythms, she cued up the audio of a mini documentary shared by the platform HBCU Alum earlier in the day.
As Jblu reminded the audience, Juneteenth memorializes June 19th, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger issued the final order instating the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas (it had previously gone into effect in the rest of the southern states). The holiday itself has been celebrated since 1866 to highlight Black achievements, and the name Juneteenth was first given to it in 1890.
Juneteenth is especially important to those of us who work in the music industry. From jazz and blues to hip-hop, rock and roll, and dance music, nearly all of the music worth talking about from the U.S. originated in Black culture. Even a cursory glance at the history makes this abundantly clear.
Also on the bill were were local artists The Rico Suave, NOVAKN and ZEREK, the latter of whom caught my attention the first time I saw him play a few years ago. He never sticks to one sound — nor did he before the pandemic, when it was more popular to do so.
“Getting a platform to play music that I’ve been making myself as a Black artist feels huge,” ZEREK told me. “I feel like a lot of the time in Denver, there’s a framework where you have to play a certain set for a certain amount of time in a certain genre. Getting to be out here playing original music is super exciting.”
By 8:00 PM, when bass music DJ and producer Black Carl took the stage, a sizable crowd had amassed in front of the Colorado State Capitol steps. As the sun disappeared behind the Denver skyline to the west, revelers from all walks of life enjoyed the symbolic moment, not to mention its gritty, grimy soundtrack.
We here at Party Guru wish our friends in Denver and everywhere else a happy Juneteenth. Hopefully, what took place this year becomes an annual tradition. If it does, it’s safe to say you’ll find us there.
