ESP HiFi on Santa Fe Drive opened 2021 as Denver's first vinyl listening bar, with Klipschorn speakers, a Garrard 401 turntable, low-watt class A amps and a natural-wine list.
Tip: Mornings run coffee from 10:30, evenings switch to natural wine and cocktails. Wednesday through Friday are the quietest seats for the rig.
Address: 1029 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204
Pon Pon on Walnut Street pairs a tiny RiNo cocktail bar with a vinyl listening room and rotating gallery space, with records lining the walls and dive-bar pricing on creative cocktails.
Tip: Records play through the front room nightly; the gallery in back rotates monthly. Cash-friendly, walk-in only.
Hudson Hill on East 13th runs Capitol Hill's all-day room across coffee shifts and a late-night cocktail bar, with vinyl crackling across the room and Wax Trax Records across the street.
Tip: Late-night happy hour starts at 22:00 daily. The Friday and Saturday close at 00:30 carries the vinyl sets longest.
Nocturne in RiNo runs nightly live jazz with an artist-in-residence program, a seasonal kitchen and a curated wine and cocktail list inside a mid-century supper-club room.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Reserve via the website for the dinner-and-set; the bar room walks in for the late set.
Dazzle at the Denver Performing Arts Complex runs 70 jazz, blues and large-ensemble shows a month across two rooms, the city's anchor jazz club since the late 1990s.
Tip: Shows nightly with the early set the easier reservation. Enter on Arapahoe at the corner of 14th; the room has full table service.
The Cooper Lounge runs the mezzanine above Denver Union Station with 28-foot cast-iron windows, an Art Deco cocktail program from culinary director Kevin McCormick and small plates until 21:30.
Tip: Sunday through Wednesday closes at 22:00; Thursday through Saturday runs to midnight. Reserve via Tock for the window seats.
My Brother's Bar at 15th and Platte has poured since 1873 as the oldest continuously operating bar in Denver, with a Jack Kerouac letter on the wall and a brick patio overlooking the Platte.
Tip: Open until midnight weekdays, 02:00 Friday and Saturday. The Johnny burger and JCB cheeseburger are the food orders; the jukebox is classical only.