By Akilah Graham and Bobby Rogers

There was a time when Denver was a destination for music lovers. Jazz clubs lined our streets, and places like El Chapultepec — that legendary little bar on 20th and Market — drew world-class musicians and loyal locals alike for nearly nine decades. It wasn’t just entertainment. It was culture. It was community. It was the heartbeat of our neighborhoods.

That heartbeat has grown quieter in recent years. El Chapultepec closed its doors in 2020, and with it went a piece of Denver’s soul. But we refuse to believe that era is gone for good — because we’ve seen what’s still possible when our community comes together around art and music. At one point, there were 250 Black-owned small businesses in Denver. Today, there are just 25, and our community can feel it.

We have been part of Denver’s black music scene for decades — one a former musician and now promoter the other the founder of the Black Arts Festival. The decrease in the music scene has been detrimental, and we are here to fight for and preserve one of the many things that makes our culture and our community thrive.

We have watched the Black Arts Festival grow from a cherished local tradition into one of the largest cultural festivals in Colorado — and one of the largest celebrations of Black art and culture in the entire country. Every year, it draws tens of thousands of people to our community, filling streets with music, creativity, and joy. It generates economic activity, builds pride, and reminds us of what Denver is capable of when we invest in our culture.

That is exactly the kind of vibrancy we want to see in every neighborhood across this state. Not just once a year at a festival, but every weekend at a local venue, every evening at a neighborhood restaurant with live music, every summer at an outdoor stage in a community park.

But right now, that vision is at risk.

In 2025, the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling in Hobbs v. City of Salida stripped local governments of the authority to issue noise permits to private businesses — the very permits that allow venues, breweries, restaurants, and festivals to operate. Businesses that had built their entire model around locally negotiated agreements suddenly found themselves in legal limbo. Events that communities had planned for months faced uncertainty. The ruling wasn’t anyone’s fault, but the consequences are real and they are being felt right now.

Senate Bill 26-098 is a straightforward, bipartisan bill that restores local authority — putting sound policy decisions back in the hands of the mayors, city councils, and county commissioners who know their communities best. It doesn’t weaken protections for residents. It doesn’t give corporations a free pass. It simply restores the collaborative, community-driven system that Colorado has relied on for decades.

Revitalizing our neighborhoods requires more than new construction and economic development plans. It requires culture and places where people gather, where artists perform, where communities celebrate who they are and where they come from. Live music is one of the most powerful tools we have for that kind of revitalization, and SB 26-098 is one necessary step toward making it possible again.

Colorado was once great for music. Colorado can be great for music again. We urge every member of the Colorado House of Representatives to vote YES on SB 26-098, and let’s encourage this vibrancy across our state.

Akilah Graham is founder of Colorado Black Arts Festival. Bobby Rogers is 3rd Vice-President of the Denver NAACP.