Shine Music Festival Brings Revolutionary ADA-inclusive Festival to Denver
On August 26th, Shine Music Festival will take over Reelworks Denver as a mecca for music lovers of all abilities. While accessibility at festivals has come to largely mean organizers creating special viewing areas for those that are handicapped, Shine has truly elevated what it means to embody allyship for ADA patrons. Rather than creating sectioned-off areas, Shine promises to create an event that allows all guests to mingle throughout the event collectively and fluidly. In an effort to maintain accessibility for all, Shine offers both free and donation-based tickets, ensuring that anyone can attend regardless of financial constraints. 100% of donation proceeds going towards continuing Shine Music's mission to make live music accessible for all.
Musical highlights include Denver-based jamntronica trio SunSquabi, musical supergroup Neal Evans Fro Down - which is led by Dopapod-drummer Neal Evans and will feature Thievery Corporation-bassist Dan Africano, bassist Felix Pastorius (son of jazz bassist legend Jaco Pastorius), British-pianist Harry Waters (son of Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters), guitarist Enmanuel Alexander, saxophonist Nick Gerlach, and vibraphonist/percussionist Greg Harris. Festival mainstays Frick Frack BlackJack will also be in attendance to offer some quirky and fun blackjack games for the crowd.
When attending Shine this August, guests can expect revolutionary adaptive and safety features that will uplift the experience for all. A couple of the stand out collaborators:
Feel The Beat’s vibrotactile dancefloor, allowing users to feel sound through vibrations.
XRAI Glass’s closed-captioning glasses, which allow guests to see subtitles from anywhere.
Full Body Sound devices, which translate music into tactile audio stimulations.
The Sensory Club sensory zones for neurodivergent guests prone to overstimulation.
Shine Music Festival’s effort to create a wholly inclusive environment for guests of all ages, backgrounds, abilities, and needs does not go unnoticed. This signals a welcomed shift in what ADA-compliancy should mean for the festival industry. Rather than treating ADA-accessibility as an after thought, Shine shows how beautiful it can be when accessibility is treated as a necessary aspect of festival production. Donate to their mission to make music accessible for all here.