Aspen Times Weekly: Current Events
Aspen Times file |
SPORTS
Extreme sports fans have come to expect high-flying thrills and spills from the Winter X Games, now in its 14th year at Buttermilk. The annual competition returns Jan. 23 to 25, with its beloved slate of snowboard, ski and snowmobile events along with some new additions, like a video game tournament.
While the lineup of on-snow events has been mostly solidified over the years – with signature events like halpfpipe, big air and slopestyle competitions — X Games music has been unpredictable and, at times, underwhelming. For a number of years, ESPN booked big name acts — 50 Cent, Calvin Harris — and put them on the awards stage for free shows that were brief and under-produced. Last year, the shows moved downtown to Wagner Park, where Phoenix and Tiesto headlined fan-pleasing, ticketed full-on concerts that were well-received but were a bus-ride away from the snow sports action.
This year X Games is switching it up again and may have finally landed on a winning solution. ESPN is building a music venue at the base of Buttermilk for a three-day run of ticketed concerts. The promising lineup includes Snoop Dogg (Friday, Jan. 23, 6:30 p.m.), Chromeo (Saturday, Jan. 24, 4 p.m.), Skrillex (Saturday, Jan. 24, 9:30 p.m.) and Wiz Khalifa (Sunday, Jan. 25, 4:40 p.m.).
Tickets are available at http://www.xgames.espn.go.com
There’s also still a free music option, in the Hi-Fi Concert Series’ show by SBCR (of the Bloody Beetroots) Saturday, Jan. 24 at Gondola Plaza.
THEATER
Colorado Mountain College’s Sopris Theatre Company is coming upvalley for a two-night run at the Wheeler Opera House Jan. 23 and 24. The student theater group is staging “The Glorious Ones,” a bawdy musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty about a 16th-century Italian Commedia dell’arte troupe.
Shows start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available at the Wheeler box office and http://www.aspenshowtix.com
POPULAR MUSIC
Local favorite and torchbearer of the Marley family musical legacy Damian Marley will return to Aspen for a two-night run at Belly Up Jan. 28 and 29. Known as “Junior Gong,” Marley’s fusion of reggae and hip-hop has birthed hits like “Welcome to Jamrock” and his most recent album, 2013’s “Set Up Shop Vol. 1.”
Shows start at 9:15. Tickets are $70-$155 and available at the Belly Up box office or http://www.bellyupaspen.com
