Organizers say Edge Fest's 10th year will be its last

Hosting the state’s largest free music festival has become expensive for Warehouse 21, Teubner’s marketing and event firm of 20 people, which hosts the event. Teubner said he personally fundraises around $170,000 a year, and Warehouse 21 contributes the rest of the funds and labor. He said it can cost around $300,000 to put on the event every year, and it seems to get more expensive every time.

For its last year, though, Teubner said he wants it to be even bigger and better than ever.

“We’re just trying to go bigger,” he said. “We’re putting our money back into the same level of high-end production — big screens, big stage, big lights, big show. And we hope to book really great bands that we hope surprise some people or just get people really excited.”

Edge Fest has brought national and international acts to Wyoming’s capital city, such as Tones And I, LP, Bishop Briggs and COIN. For Teubner, it has always been important that the event be free to the community.

“We always felt like Cheyenne deserved to have the best of the best come in and entertain us, and we really wanted to keep it free for the people and give them a show that they could bring their family to without the cost of a ticket,” he said. “And then put their money into the food trucks and the merchants instead of into ticket prices.”

From its first year, where around 100 people gathered in the Dinneen Building to hear a Portland-based guitarist from Lander, the event has always played a role in the city’s West Edge revitalization efforts.

West Edge revitalization

In its second year, the festival moved outdoors in front of the historic Asher Building on 15th Street. It has also been hosted in the Civic Commons Parking Lot, the Old Cheyenne Elevator and at Civic Commons Park since 2019, after the parking lot was converted to a park. Regardless of the venue, though, it has always been important to Warehouse 21 to bring people, culture and life to Cheyenne’s West Edge.

“The reason behind it is really to just celebrate and help grow and revitalize the West Edge District and downtown Cheyenne and all the fairly abandoned and boarded-up brick inventory that used to be the pinnacle of the area back in the day,” Teubner said. “All great urban cities redevelop themselves around their city core, in our opinion, and so we just wanted to show that that was possible, and try and bring a little bit of light, love and healing, and we thought live music was the best way to do that. Bring the people together.”

Nowadays, he says, Civic Commons Park is the only venue large enough to host the event. In 2018, with Bishop Briggs headlining, Edge Fest was so popular that thousands of people were flooding the streets after only around 500 had attended the year prior.

Before 2014, Teubner had no experience hosting events or live music, but it turned out he and his team had an eye for bringing up-and-coming artists to Cheyenne, rather than going through a production company. Acts like Tai Verdes, who Teubner said could cost upwards of $100,000 to book today, and Tones And I, who now has the most streamed song by a female on Spotify at over 3 billion streams, are some that are special to Teubner.

“I truly appreciate everything that group has done for the community in putting on those shows, and I fully appreciate everything they have done,” Cheyenne Community Recreation and Events Department Director Jason Sanchez said.

Sanchez, who also volunteers to help clean up after the event, said Edge Fest has brought a lot of awareness to the developments in the West Edge and to Civic Commons Park.

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins said the festival has been a vital part of the West Edge revitalization efforts.

“I think Edge Fest has been a premiere music and ... cultural event in the west side of town for a decade now,” Collins said. “I recognize it’s a labor of love to put it on, but it takes a lot of resources, so I understand why it’s ending. But it’s kind of sad for folks who enjoy the music scene and what it brought to Cheyenne.”

Collins said he’s excited to see the area continue to develop through plans such as the Reed Avenue Rail Corridor project.

“I really look forward to seeing those old buildings, like the grain elevator and some of the old warehouses, becoming bars and breweries and distilleries and restaurants and fun shops,” he said. “I just think it’s going to be amazing.”

Teubner said Edge Fest won’t completely go away, though. The team is exploring next steps for how to continue to contribute to the West Edge District and the music scene in Cheyenne. He said he’s not yet sure what that will look like, but they’re focused on throwing a great final show for now.

He said he’s unsure if starting something similar would be the right thing for Cheyenne, but he encourages everyone to be involved in their community.

“Keep pushing on the development and the opportunity of the downtown and the music scene and all these beautiful old buildings in the West Edge that can change and can find a very walkable, urban environment in Cheyenne’s own unique way,” he said. “And so, I say just get involved. Get involved in the things that matter and contribute and see the downtown as the backbone of the city, because it is.”

Teubner encouraged attendees and supporters to sign up for the Edge Fest email lists to stay up to date on the lineup announcement in June, as well as receive an invitation to a private lineup announcement party at The Lincoln.

“I’d say a big, deep thank-you to all the sponsors that have made it possible, all the volunteers that have made it possible. Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to keep it free,” Teubner said as his final message on behalf of Edge Fest.