Each summer our Arts & Culture community delivers an epic summer season filled with events. Aspen, Colorado boasts an array of events and festivals all summer long with musical performances around town, access to new art exhibits, theatre performances and more. Arts and culture are an integral part of our dynamic community, making Aspen a haven for nurturing mind, body, and spirit. The following are some examples of Aspen’s elevated cultural offerings for summer 2024:
History & Literature:
- Aspen Historical Society is pleased to provide plenty of opportunities to get out and learn about Aspen's eclectic past this summer. From guided tours and history hikes, to history on tap and ice cream socials, there's plenty to choose from this summer that will entertain and immerse you in Aspen's history.
- Aspen Words Summer Words returns to Aspen/Snowmass June 23-28. Recognized as one of the nation’s top literary gatherings, Summer Words is a six-day celebration of words, stories, and ideas held annually in Aspen. Advanced workshops with renowned authors and teachers are an intimate place for writers to develop a manuscript. Literary agents and editors meet one-on-one with workshop participants. Public panel discussions and craft talks provide inspiration and insight for writers and readers alike. Summer Words 2024 will return to Snowmass Village, Colorado, a vibrant community just 9 miles from Aspen, with incredible mountain vistas in addition to 2.8 million adjacent acres of wilderness open for activities and exploration. Snowmass is home to 30+ restaurants, shopping, unique special events and music.
Music:
- Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience– The Jazz Aspen Snowmass June Experience will be from June 20-23 and includes four nights of headline performances from world-class musicians hosted at various venues throughout town. The lineup for the June Festival includes Cory Henry, The Headhunters, Blind Boys of Alabama, Cedric Burnside, Katie Thiroux, and more!
- Aspen Music Festival and School June 26-August 18 – The 2024 summer festival will feature dozens of world-renowned guest artists and top student musicians from around the world. Concerts take place at the Benedict Music Tent, Joan W. and Irving Harris Concert Hall, and various local venues. Many students also hold impromptu concerts in the streets of Aspen.
- The lineups at Belly Up Aspen, an intimate 450-person music club, and the Wheeler Opera House, Aspen’s historic theater and stage, are ever-changing but always entertaining. Belly Up’s summer calendar includes performances from Jamestown Revival, Modest Mouse, Deadmau5, Nora en Pure, Spoon and many more to be announced soon. The Wheeler Opera House presents its own festivals, live music, stand-up comedy, and other performances.
- Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience August 30- Sep 1- The Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival will take place in the Snowmass Town Park. Acts for this year’s festival include Sting, Tim McGraw, Brandi Carlile, and more!
Performing Arts:
- Theatre Aspen, June 17-September 8 – Theatre Aspen has received national acclaim and performs a rotating schedule of productions for both adults and families. The summer stock theater performs under a tent in Rio Grande Park. This year’s season is set to feature Steel Magnolias, Legally Blonde, Come From Away, and Fiddler on the Roof.
Film:
- Aspen Film will host their Summer of Cinema, a series of collaborations and special screening events in the lead up to Aspen Film’s 45th Annual Filmfest. Aspen Film, in partnership with 74th arts, as part of the Aspen Art Fair will present the Aspen premiere screening of the newly released arts documentary “Taking Venice” (2023) on Tuesday, June 25th, at 5:00 p.m. at the Aspen Film Isis Theatre. “Taking Venice” uncovers the true story behind rumors that the U.S. government and a team of high-placed insiders rigged the 1964 Venice Biennale – the Olympics of art – so their chosen artist, Robert Rauschenberg, could win the Grand Prize. The timely documentary film draws attention to the vital role of art in advancing cultural exchange and building international community, and the soft diplomacy and influence of artists today in making and advocating for change. The film premiered at DOC NYC on May 17 and in Los Angeles on May 24. $40 GA tickets, AF Member tickets $30.
Visual Arts:
Anderson Ranch Arts Center - Will host their annual Summer Series: Featured Artists and Conversations program includes some of the most influential artists of our time, explores the work of world-renowned creators and curators, and hosts conversations with today’s most significant critics and collectors in both lecture and Q&A formats.
Bayer Center: The Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies is an exhibition space and center for the study of art and culture located in Aspen, Colorado. The Bayer Center is operated by the Aspen Institute. The Bayer Center preserves the art and legacy of Herbert Bayer (1900–1985), an influential modern artist and designer who studied and taught at the Bauhaus before emigrating from Germany to the United States in 1938. After relocating to Colorado in 1946, Bayer helped lead the postwar revitalization of the city of Aspen, shaped the early artistic and programmatic vision of the Aspen Institute, and designed the historic Aspen Meadows campus between 1953 and 1973.
Aspen Art Museum is a 30,000 square feet non-collecting institution in downtown Aspen which features contemporary art. Summer 2024 exhibitions include: In the House of the Trembling Eye:an exhibition staged by Allison Katz,
Intelectual:
Aspen Ideas Festival - The 20th annual Aspen Ideas Festival returns to the Aspen Institute campus from June 23–29. Guests will reunite for stimulating and invigorating conversations with some of the brightest, most interesting thinkers and doers. Leaders from around the globe and across many disciplines will engage in deep and inquisitive discussions of the ideas and issues that shape our lives and challenge our times. This year’s event will be broken up into two sections, June 23-26 and 26-29, with Ideas Health taking place June 20-23.
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