With acts like Ludacris, Warren Zeiders and Parker McCollum highlighting this year’s SuperStars Concert Series, the 2025 Greeley Stampede is bound to bring fans from all over.
Even acts on the free Civitas Park Stage — including Rodney Atkins, CAIN and Lit (of the ’90s hit “My Own Worst Enemy”) — will surely coax more than a few out-of-towners into making the trek to Island Grove.
And while those larger stages and acts help bring in talents and listeners from all around, one stage will again celebrate the talents right in the Stampede’s backyard.
The Hensel Phelps Construction Locals Stage — toward the north end of Island Grove next to the Dew Zone and Craft Beer Lounge — is in its third year of highlighting local musicians at Greeley’s largest gathering.
“It’s really cool that they’re making the effort to be like, ‘Who is within Greeley that we can really showcase?’ ” singer-songwriter Gii Astoria said.
The locals stage in its current form stemmed from an idea Astoria had back before the 2023 Stampede, when the committee felt the event was straying too far from its local roots.
“That’s the whole reason they even started a local stage,” said Chris Arias, who books the artists and runs sound for the stage. “Because (they) weren’t feeling connected to the community enough.”
Astoria originally envisioned several local acts, essentially busking in various spots around Island Grove. But those involved quickly realized finding five-plus sets of all the equipment needed posed a pretty steep challenge. Finding the acts to fill those stages was almost more daunting.
“The first couple years, I just had to ask all my friends to play almost as a favor,” Arias said. “And now people are reaching out to the Stampede looking to play.”
Because of the Stampede’s reputation — as well as a professional stage and sound setup run by Arias — it can be a great springboard for newer musicians to both make a few fans and get live videos to further promote themselves and book future gigs.
“I hate to use this word, especially for musicians, but it is massive exposure,” Arias said. “But something the Stampede does really well is budget every position.”
And as a nonprofit with as many moving pieces as the Stampede, budgets need to be approved as far ahead of time as possible. Arias said the Stampede Committee has been dedicated to making sure they are paying the artists fairly for their time, even when it was a bit of a scramble the first year.
Arias said each act gets a baseline amount of $250 for the two-hour set — though acts with higher expenses or more members can negotiate that up. In a world where new local bands often must play for “exposure” to book their first handful of gigs, the $250-plus payout goes a long way.
Arias said the nature of the local stage also gives artists a relatively low-stress opportunity to play in front of a pretty sizable crowd. With people constantly coming and going, he even tells new artists who may not have two hours of material that they can learn an hour-long set and just play it twice.
“It’s more about the other ‘ex’ word: experience,” Arias said. “Because if they play a song and it doesn’t go well and they’re rattled by it, I’m like, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it. All the people that heard that song have left. It’s a brand new group.’ ”
Along with the locals stage, Astoria said he appreciates the general effort the Stampede has been making to reflect the greater Greeley community. This year on Sunday, June 29, the Stampede is featuring a fully Spanish-speaking lineup on the free Civitas Stage, headlined by Kieth Nieto.
“It’s cool to see them moving the bar forward in the sense of what they want this to be in the future,” Astoria said.
Local stage schedule
Wednesday, June 25: Braxton Hamblen, 5-7 p.m. Thursday, June 26: Soup du Jour, 5-7 p.m. Friday, June 27: Gii Astoria, 6-8 p.m. Saturday, June 28: Clark Ellis, Noon to 2 p.m.; Mtn. Duo, 6-8 p.m. Sunday, June 29: Capture This, Noon to 2 p.m.; Ben Pu, 6-8 p.m. Monday, June 30: Rayna Marie, 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 1: Alexis Walpole, 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, July 2: Mtn. Duo, 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 3: Soup du Jour, 6-8 p.m. Friday, July 4: Clark Ellis, Noon to 2 p.m.; Samantha Erin, 6-8 p.m. Saturday, July 5: Gii Astoria, Noon to 2 p.m.; Rayna Marie, 6-8 p.m. Sunday, July 6: Samantha Erin, Noon to 2 p.m.; Ben Pu, 6-8 p.m. Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Locals music stage bringing Greeley back to the Greeley Stampede )
Also on site :