Top 10 Local Events in May 2025

The Newman Center team has curated a fantastic list for our Top 10 Local Events in May 2025. As the weather gets warmer, we encouage you to go out and explore all of the music, arts and dance happenings around the Denver-Metro!

  1. NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz. May 1 at Dazzle. Gary Bartz has been one of the best purveyors of what he calls “informal composition” (as opposed to improvisation) on alto saxophone since the 1960s, working with such luminaries as Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis. He has released more than 45 solo albums and appears on more than 200 as a guest artist, as well as working with some of the up-and-coming artists in jazz today, such as Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge for their Jazz Is Dead series and the jazz-funk band Maisha.
  2. Language Without Words: Works by Ashley Eliza Williams. Ongoing - May 4, 2025 at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Encounter a world inhabited by sun, stone, weather and the intricate living tapestries of tiny organisms. Rediscover the world around you through Ashley Eliza Williams' paintings and sculptures and re-consider the natural world through the eyes of its non-human inhabitants. An invitation to discover alternate ways to interact with nature (and one another), Language Without Words  is an opportunity to contemplate perspectives beyond human experience. 
  3. Cinco de Mayo Festival. May 3–4, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. at Civic Center Park. This vibrant celebration features live music, traditional dance, food vendors, and a parade honoring Mexican heritage. ​
  4. Denver Brass: Sketches of Courage. May 17 & 18 at Bethany Lutheran Church. Frank Xavier Hennessy was a soldier in the European Theater of WWII. His mission: document the war through first-hand accounts and hand-drawn sketches as a battlefield historian. His tour of duty took him from desolate battlefields to the liberated streets of Paris. Frank captured harrowing images of war in his sketch pad, as well as scenes of everyday life for the soldiers and civilians caught in the carnage. The world premiere of Sketches of Courage composed by Denver Brass’ own Sean Hennessy brings Frank’s images and stories to life with the soul-rending power of brass and percussion. This season finale concert will also feature inspiring tributes to veterans, first responders, and others who serve our country.
  5. Little Shop of Horrors. April 11–May 25 at Wolf Theatre at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Feast on the Denver Center’s production of a beloved sci-fi musical that has rocked the globe for generations!  
  6. Sting. May 19 & 20 at Red Rocks.  Former Police member and all-round pop icon Sting has produced some of the most indelible popular songs of the past forty years, from 'Roxanne' and 'Walking on the Moon' to 'Fields of Gold' and 'Englishman in New York'.
  7. Leon Bridges. May 23 at Red Rocks – Leon Bridges is a gospel and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer from Fort Worth, TX. Bridges is known for his respectful and loving treatment of old-school music, capturing the essence of the old masters without simply copying it. He has collaborated with modern pop artists, including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and opened for Harry Styles and Pharrell Williams. 
  8. Colorado Symphony Orchestra - The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring. May 23, 24 & 25 at Boettcher Concert Hall. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – in Concert comes to Denver this May. Howard Shore’s complete Academy Award® and Grammy®–winning score, will be performed live on-stage by more than 250 musicians simultaneously alongside a screening of the film.
  9. Colorado Ballet Academy Presents: Swan Lake. May 24 at Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Swan Lake tells the story of Prince Siegfried, who falls in love with Odette, a princess cursed to live as a swan by day and human by night. Their love is tested by loyalty, deception and dark magic.
  10. Where is Denver's Chinatown? Exhibit by History Colorado. May 28 (Register by May 21). History Colorado hopes you join them for an evening where Chinese stories, food, and history are the main event. Curators from the Where Is Denver Chinatown? exhibit will provide guided tours of the exhibit before and after the panel discussion. The speaker panel will include Chef Tommy Lee of Hop Alley and descendants of Chinatown, Linda Lung and Heather Clifton. Three restaurants, including Hop Alley, will provide appetizers for our guests to enjoy as part of your ticket.