Where to Find Live Music on Weeknights in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs

It’s the end of the day, and all you want to do is go out and listen to some live music. Just one problem: It’s Monday.

It’s easy to find bars with bands on the weekends. But on weekdays, your choices are much more limited. One great place to start: Manitou Springs.

Head for Manitou’s Armadillo Ranch (or “the Dillo”), 962 Manitou Ave., which hosts live bands with professional musicians multiple nights a week. On Mondays throughout the year, the Dillo welcomes jazz bands and musicians for performances and jam sessions, usually starting at 6 p.m.

“When we first started booking the jazz acts through KCME, we thought it would just be a seasonal thing,” says Jason Wells, co-owner of the Dillo with his wife, Jenna. But the jazz sessions were equally popular in summer, fall and winter, and Wells decided to continue them year-round.

Jason and Jenna bought the bar, restaurant and Manitou’s longest-running music stage to keep it from becoming a T-shirt shop. The building formerly housed the Ancient Mariner, a renowned music venue where well-attended jam nights spawned several bands, including Grateful Dead-influenced Shakedown Street.

Wells says his dedication to local music is a continuation of the tradition that began long before he came on the scene. During the pandemic, Armadillo Ranch helped local music stay alive by booking local artists who otherwise had no place to perform.

Just down the street from the Dillo at 950 Manitou Ave. is Kinfolks, the kind of rustic Colorado bar where you’ll likely see at least one large dog lounging on the floor among the patrons. Kinfolks hosts a jam session on Mondays and open mic nights on Tuesdays that are popular with local musicians.