Outside festival brings live music, podcasts, food, outdoor vendors, and film screenings to Denver.

The Outside Festival and Summit, held on May 29-June 1 and founded by Outside Interactive Inc., wrapped its second successful year at Denver’s Civic Center Park with 35,000 attendees across four days of events and gatherings, nearly doubling in size from 18,000 in its inaugural year in 2024.

We had the opportunity to cover the festival (not the summit, which was separate), and we have a lot of takeaways!

This year, the festival proved that it’s about more than just one thing—it’s a full-on mashup of outdoor culture, music, film, and ideas. From live podcasts and speaker sessions to skate ramps, climbing walls, gear demos, and endless samples (snacks, drinks, and even socks and insulated water bottles), the festival was overflowing with things to do.

The “Ideas” programming stood out as one of our favorite parts, blending talks and live podcast interviews. It’s not something you usually see at a festival, and the robust mix of notable and insightful voices from the outdoor community made it all the more memorable.

Our highlight was catching John John Florence sit down for a podcast taping. We were lucky to sit front row, hearing him talk about his surf history and upcoming trips, and there was a Q&A opportunity at the end.

Shelby Stanger interviewing John John Florence.

Alex Honnold also drew a crowd during the “Ideas” sessions, bringing stories from the climbing world that left people buzzing. These moments showed what Outside does best: giving fans a chance to get up close with the athletes and adventurers who share a love for the outdoors.

On the music side, we loved a few of the acts, but the lineup felt a bit all over the place. The mix of genres and sounds has its perks—it brings in a wider crowd and makes sure everyone hears something they like. At the same time, it did leave the music feeling more like background at times.

One big challenge was a long gap on Saturday, when there was an hour between the last two sets of the night. It was hot, packed, and people were clearly restless—some even passing out. During the day, with more grass seating and plenty of activities, this wasn’t an issue, but we’d love to see the fest tighten up scheduling in the evenings and have a quicker turnaround time.

Still, it’s impossible not to appreciate how much there was for everyone.

Whether you were skating, lounging at a picnic table, learning something new in a panel, or discovering your new favorite outdoor brand, Outside Festival leaned into its role as a massive outdoor-focused community gathering.

And while it’s clear that brand activations are a huge part of the event, the free samples and useful giveaways actually worked in attendees’ favor—it didn’t feel like empty promo, but more like gear and snacks people genuinely wanted. REI Co-op and Ben & Jerry’s even teamed up to hand out free kiddie scoops, which was much appreciated in the heat.

Still, it’s worth noting that brand marketing was woven into almost every corner of the festival, sometimes to the point of shaping the flow of the experience. One example was the repeated “Capital One holders get a discount on festival purchases” message, which only applied to a specific Capital One REI Co-op card—a detail that wasn’t always clear. The discount also didn’t extend to artist merch, which might make sense if you’re familiar with how sales are structured, but left some festivalgoers confused. This is definitely an area with room for improvement.

Ultimately, we really enjoyed the festival and all it had to offer.

Here’s just a slice of the weekend’s featured speakers:

And of course, the films:

And all the musical acts:

Overall, we’d love to go back next year. Outside Festival has established itself as one of the most unique outdoor culture festivals in the U.S. With some fine-tuning around music cohesion and scheduling, it could elevate into an even more memorable experience for all who attend.

Were you at Outside Festival? We’d love to hear about your experience!

Here are some photos we captured during Saturday’s sets.