Category: News & Notes

Mishawaka Amphitheatre Partners with Sonic Guild to Launch 2026 Colorado Tour Support Grants

Live music is a gift and we must support our Colorado musicians! We’ve all heard the romanticized stories of bands sleeping in vans and living on ramen to make it to the next gig, but the reality is that the financial strain of touring often ends careers before they truly begin. 

For years, the Mishawaka Amphitheatre has been more than just a venue; it’s been a cornerstone of the Colorado music community. Now, through its “Mish Initiative,” it is stepping up to solve one of the biggest hurdles facing local artists: the staggering cost of taking their music on the road.

I’m excited to share that the Mishawaka is partnering with Sonic Guild to officially expand the Tour Support Grant Program into Colorado for 2026. While Sonic Guild no longer operates a standalone chapter here, the Mishawaka’s funding has created a renewed commitment to our local musicians.

The Mishawaka Impact:

  • Direct Funding: Through the Mish Initiative, ten Colorado-based artists will receive $1,500 grants to offset the “hidden” costs of touring—lodging, van rentals, and gear.
  • National Collaboration: The Mishawaka is joining forces with legendary artist foundations, including Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation and The Head & The Heart’s Rivers & Roads Foundation, to co-fund this 2026 cycle.
  • Re-engaging Local Icons: This program is specifically designed to support both emerging talent and established Colorado favorites like iZCALLi, 2MX2, and Alysia Kraft as they build audiences outside their home market.

Why this matters now: In today’s economy, an independent tour can be a financial gamble. By providing these application-based grants, the Mishawaka is ensuring that Colorado’s sound reaches fans in the U.S. and Europe without leaving the artists in debt.

What these grants actually cover: These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet; they are the “un-glamorous” essentials that keep a tour alive:

Safety and Rest: Reliable lodging and van rentals.
Sustainability: Food and transportation costs.
Growth: Production of merchandise to sell at shows.

As Terror/Cactus, a 2025 recipient, put it: this support allows artists to stop worrying about the financial strain and start focusing on “creating meaningful connections” with their audiences. 

The first application window for tours taking place between February and May is open now through January 16th.

Application Windows
Grants are awarded through three application cycles, based on tour dates:

  • Stage 1: Tours February–May 2026
    Apply December 15, 2025 – January 16, 2026
  • Stage 2: Tours June–August 2026
    Apply March 16 – April 10, 2026
  • Stage 3: Tours September–December 2026
  • Apply July 13 – August 7, 2026

Gift from legendary L.A. publicist inspires launch of Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s Encore Legacy Partners program this holiday season

Hollywood publicist Phil Lobel, who started his career as a student putting on concerts with the University of Colorado Program Council, has initiated the first legacy gift to Colorado Music Hall of Fame, inspiring the launch of the nonprofit’s planned giving program: Encore Legacy Partners.

“I started thinking about how much Colorado music has meant to me,” says Lobel, “and how my life-success was derived in Colorado. There’s nothing that’s been more instrumental to my career than the music of Colorado. That’s why I wanted to give back for generations to come, and to encourage Colorado music lovers like me to give back, too, to Colorado Music Hall of Fame.”

Maintaining his Colorado connections while in L.A., Lobel served as a founding member on Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s board of directors from 2011 to 2020 and remains an emeritus board member.

“Many people may not realize it, but legacy gifts are just as important to nonprofit organizations as annual donations are. They ensure that there is a sustainable stream of funding well into the future, which is especially important in times of economic downturn,” explains Karen Radman, executive director of Colorado Music Hall of Fame. “Developing a legacy giving program for The Hall has been one of our long-term organizational goals. So, when Phil reached out to me expressing his interest in naming The Hall as one of three beneficiaries of his trust, I knew the time had come to make it a reality. We are all so thankful to Phil for believing so much in the vision of Colorado Music Hall of Fame, and hope that this season of gift-giving for the holidays motivates others to remember us.”

Lobel found his passion for music and the entertainment industry as an undergrad student at CU Boulder, where he took the CU Program Council, a student-run on-campus entertainment programming powerhouse to new heights. Partnering with legendary promoter and Colorado Music Hall of Famer Barry Fey and his company Feyline, Lobel and the Program Council brought giant musical acts to Folsom Field: the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, the Beach Boys, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band and Boulder’s own Firefall (inducted into Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2015). The magnitude of these accomplishments was recognized by Billboard Magazine, which named Lobel 1978’s College Talent Buyer of the Year and Fey its Concert Promoter of the Year.

After college, Lobel joined Feyline Presents alongside Chuck Morris (future Colorado Music Hall of Fame founder); in 1986, he relocated to L.A. and launched Lobeline Communications. Over the years, Lobel has served as publicist for music icons George Michael, Van Morrison, Reggae Sunsplash and B.B. King, to name a few, along with actor Brad Pitt, magician David Copperfield, Cirque du Soleil,and Immersive Van Gogh.

“Music is the soundtrack to people’s lives,” Lobel says. “It’s the very fiber of Coloradans’ existence…from Red Rocks to every other venue across the state. What better legacy is there than thanking the greatest per capita ticket purchasing public in the nation by giving back to Colorado Music Hall of Fame?”

To learn more about The Hall’s Encore Legacy Partners program and to read the full interview with Phil Lobel, visit https://cmhof.org/donate/encore-legacy-partners.

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CP S19 EP38 2025

MONDAY OCT 20, 2025 – MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING = Montana Sand, Amber Cole, Slow Caves, Packaging = CUT EM or KEEP EM + A view of Morrow Reservoir at Black Canyon of the Gunnison (JUNE) courtesy of Clear Vistas Photography.

THE COLORADO PLAYLIST NEEDS YOUR HELP

The Colorado Playlist is the only show showcasing Colorado music statewide. Your support is essential to keeping it on the air.

I make this show available at no cost to public radio stations, which as you may know are facing their own revenue issues now with the loss of CPB funding. Because of those CPB issues, what little money I was making is now $0.

Please make donations via Venmo at chrisk-2 or use the form below. Thank you, sincerely – chrisk

To learn about getting your business heard across thirty FM frequencies and on the Colorado Playlist other assets, please email chriskmusic@gmail.com
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The Monday Morning Music Meeting happens courtesy of Starr’s Guitars in Cedaredge, serving the western slope music community since 1998.

Every year I debut approximately two hundred new current-year songs. Every week I have to make decisions about what to keep to play again and what to archive.

Let me know what you think of the debuts (D) and new songs (N) I shared in the show this week.

Results enter into determining which cuts stay in the library and which cuts might eventually make it to the annual Colorado Playlist Fan & Listener Poll and the “some of the best of the year” show.
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MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING

The Christines – Hollow – The Christines (1994)
The Apples In Stereo – Ruby – Her Wallpaper Reverie (1999)
(D) Montana Sand – Wild n’ Wide feat. Chaz Ultra (2025)

Sugar Nova – Cool Me Down feat. G. Love & Special Sauce (2024)
Kiltro – Errasuriz (radio edit) – Underbelly (2023)
Analog Son – This Time Around f. Adryon de Leon – Keep It Coming (2025)
Churchill – The War Within (2013)
Covenhoven – Where To Begin – A Kind Of Revelation (2018)
Stillhouse Junkies – Down the Line – The Ballad of Charlie Avalon (2025)
(D) Amber Cole – Ghost (2025)

Big Head Todd and The Monsters – Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) (2020)
The Motet – Something Better – Love Time (2024)
Paa Kow – African Lady – Cookpot (2017)

Electric Swingset – Middle Ground – Inebriated Witch Doctor (1996)
Five Iron Frenzy – Oh, Canada – Our Newest Album Ever! (1997)
(D) Slow Caves – I Wanna Bite (radio edit) (2025)

A.J. Fullerton – Sorry You’re Blue – Closer (2024)
Robert Shredford – Queen Elizabeth’s Corgis – Robert Shredford (2020)
Gasoline Lollipops – Tennessee Nights – Kill the Architect (2025)
Leftover Salmon – Sing Up to the Moon – Aquatic Hitchhiker (2012)
piKziL – Brand New Soul – Songs From My 3rd Life (2016)
Kyle Hollingsworth – All We Are – All We Are (2025)
(D) Packaging – In Your Pocket – Packaging (2025)

Wood Belly – Pockets of Gold – Cicada (2023)
Marfa – 66 (2024)
Gerald Albright – Taking Control – G (2016)

THIS WEEK ON YOUTUBE

HOT SPINS WEEK ENDING OCT 19, 2025

STATIONS TRACKED: KAFM Community Radio (Grand Junction), KBUT Community Radio (Crested Butte), KDNK Carbondale Community Access Radio (Carbondale), KDUR Community Radio (Durango), KFFR 88.3 FM (Winter Park), KOTO Community Radio Telluride (Telluride), KRFC 88.9 FM (Fort Collins), KRZA Community Radio (Alamosa), KSJD Radio (Cortez), KSUT (Ignacio), KVNF Mountain Grown Public Radio (Paonia), 105.5 The Colorado Sound and Indie1023 (Denver) …

Spins tracked on Spinitron (except 102.3 and 105.5), designed to benefit community and college radio, and offering search functions to track airplay on over 300 stations around the country.

ALL STATIONS + THE COLORADO PLAYLIST
(D) 1. A.J. FULLERTON, LAUREN FRIHAUF – Slow Killer / Bitter Song SP Sep-25
(R) 2. GASOLINE LOLLIPOPS – Kill the Architect LP Mar-25
(R) 3. ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N. – Growing Pains LP Feb-25
(D) 4. ANALOG SON – Keep It Coming LP Jan-25
(D) 4. MADDY O’NEAL x UNDERLUX – Mr. Bassman SP Sep-25
(D) 4. MAY BE FERN – The Way We Do SP May-25

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