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.
Address: 2528 Walnut Street, Denver, CO 80205
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.
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.
Lion's Lair on East Colfax has run live music in a low-ceilinged Colfax dive since the early 1990s, an Aladdin Lounge holdover from 1936 that signed a fresh ten-year lease in 2024.
Tip: Music most nights from 21:00, cash bar, last call 01:30. The back bar is the quieter spot when the front stage is loud.