2023 Wrapped: Vail Daily’s year in entertainment stories

For over six decades at Vail and over four decades at Beaver Creek, visitors have been coming to these world-class ski and snowboard destinations to enjoy the mountains, but the fun doesn’t end when the lifts close. The Vail Valley has also positioned itself as a great place for entertainment. From on-mountain bars with live music on the patio to the more formal surroundings of the Vilar Performing Arts Center, these experiences round out the vacation and create memories. Looking back at 2023, here are the entertainment highlights from the last 365 days.

VPAC celebrates 25 years

The Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek celebrated 25 years of showtime in the mountains in February. To mark the occasion, it celebrated with a gift that was not silver – which is typically what’s given to acknowledge a 25th anniversary – but glass … 205 pieces of glass, to be exact. The glass was assembled into a chandelier created by famous American glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work is known worldwide. Many of the folks involved in gifting the chandelier spoke at its anniversary event and remarked on how ingenious it was to build the 535-seat theater underneath the Black Family Ice Rink in the heart of Beaver Creek Village. Special performances for the anniversary season included Nora Jones, Lyle Lovett, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Joe Nichols.

Soul on Snow

Soul on Snow brought people out to the base of Golden Peak for a concert put on by the National Brotherhood of Skiers. This was the fifth time the National Brotherhood of Skiers has been to Vail. The organization’s mission is to identify, develop and support athletes of color and help get them to the Olympics and other competitions, but they also bring the party and have plenty of events for members after the slopes close. Soul on the Snow was open to the public and the whole valley showed up to see Ne-Yo, Mix Mast Mike and DJ Logic. Nobody was cold on that chilly February night because they were all movin’ and groovin’ under the stars and strobe lights.

Après at The Amp

The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is typically thought of as only a summer venue, but in 2023 it saw its longest season ever. The Amp hosted shows as early as April and had their last show in October. To get ready for the Après at The Amp event on April 7 and 8, crews had to make electrical and water line adjustments, use plows and other snow removal equipment and shovels to clear off the snow from the steps and in between the seats to get The Amp ready for guests to see Polo & Pan, Lewis OfMan and Haasy one night and Alana English, DJ Pee .Wee (Anderson .Paak) opening for Big Gigantic. Tickets sold fast for these high-energy electronic acts. The early season shows did so well, the Vail Valley Foundation is already planning the second annual Après at The Amp in April of 2024 and will bring in Bob Moses, Daily Bread, Disco Lines and Sofi Tukker.

The last show of The Amp’s 2023 season featured comedian Bert Kreischer on Oct. 5. Kreischer made a stop in Vail during his Tops Off World Tour and had the crowd in stitches with his hilarious storytelling and observational humor, all delivered shirtless, so obviously Kreischer didn’t know how snowy and cold it can be here in October.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

In-person events make a comeback

The Star Dancing Gala returned as an in-person event in July. The annual fundraiser for YouthPower365, the educational arm of the Vail Valley Foundation, had been doing scaled-down talent shows at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater the past two years after the COVID-19 shutdowns. Organizers felt it was time to gather the masses at the Vail Valley Jet Center in Gypsum and enlisted the help of community dancers who put in the effort to learn dance moves and perform routines with professional dancers in front of hundreds. This decision paid off as over $1.5 million was raised to help the programs at YouthPower365.

In December, the Vail Film Festival also returned to an in-person format, ushering in crowds of film artists and enthusiasts to the valley for four days. Among them was actress Alicia Silverstone, who was honored with the 2023 Excellence in Acting award.

Block Party Eagle moves to late summer

The Eagle Block Party, which, in its short yet impressive history, has earned the votes of Vail Daily readers as one of the best events in the Vail Valley in the annual reader’s poll, moved from early summer to August. Dubbed the “Summer Kickback,” this multi-day event gave music lovers one last hurrah before school started and Labor Day festivities began. Headliners included Otiel & Friends, Lettuce and Pepper. The Record Company returned to the Eagle Block Party and local bands Trees Don’t Move and Danger Mountain filled up the roster. Other artists include Paul Cauthen, Sam Bush, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Dumpstaphunk, Kyle Hollingsworth Band and Bill & Jilian Nershi. The streets of downtown Eagle were shut down to make room for three stages and many people from outside of Eagle County came to enjoy this summer’s lineup.

Vail Jazz Festival closes the curtains

This fall marked the announcement that the Vail Jazz Festival would be calling it quits after 29 years. When Vail Jazz founder Howard Stone died in the summer of 2022, Vail Jazz knew that replacing him would tax the organization on many levels. However, the staff rose to the occasion and in 2023 pulled off a terrific summer Vail Jazz Festival, Vail Jazz Workshop and Vail Jazz Labor Day Party. It wasn’t until they started to reconcile the revenue and expenses in September that the gravity of its challenges began to come to light. After many discussions and an in-depth planning session, the Vail Jazz board voted on October 23 to suspend operations.

Local band sells out the home stage

In December, local band The Runaway Grooms sold out the Vilar Performing Arts Center. Usually reserved for big-name acts, the Vilar hosted the Grooms and the crowd showed up. It’s a testament to how much this valley loves live music and supports local bands, wherever the venue. The band’s drummer, Justin Bissett, said in an article in the Vail Daily that selling out the show at the Vilar was an “overwhelmingly humble experience,” and credits the valley locals for their continued success.