Staffs at Denver Music Venues Join IATSE

Over a dozen audio engineers at three of Denver's most prominent independent music venues have voted to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 7. Workers at The Oriental Theater, The Federal Theatre, and HQ Denver each cast their ballots separately, delivering decisive majorities.

At the Federal Theatre, the vote was 11 in favor and two against. The Oriental Theater vote was five in favor and one against. At HQ Denver, five voted in favor and one against. Some workers were eligible to vote in more than one election.

The three venues share common ownership and together represent a significant presence in Denver's independent rock-and-roll market, operating outside the Live Nation and AEG ecosystem that dominates much of the city's entertainment landscape. The Federal Theatre, which sat vacant for several years, reopened last year as a music venue.

Workers first reached out to a Local 7 organizer about unionizing the venues following staffing changes at the properties. A majority of authorization cards were collected in early May 2026, and the votes followed on June 30.

"The live music industry has long left its crews behind. Unstable conditions, little to no benefits, and wages that fall well short of what a skilled workforce deserves," says Local 7 president Bryant Preston. "We look forward to sitting down with the employer and getting to work on the issues these workers face every day on the job."