Fort Collins is a city rich in its music scene and artistic atmosphere, boasting several venues and gathering spots for the community to come together in music and art. Since its founding, one venue in particular stands out as an especially creative testament to the city’s local music culture.
The Sun Spot was founded by members of autumnal, a woodland indie-pop band based in Fort Collins. Band members Geneva Devine and Annalee Knies first formed a friendship in elementary school, and the duo began writing and performing songs together with their ukuleles in high school.
Both continued to learn instruments and went on to explore the music scene through the modern band program at Polaris Expeditionary Learning School in Fort Collins. In 2021, the duo rebranded to autumnal. In 2022, the group welcomed bassist Justice Devine, and in 2023, the group’s fourth member, Nina Dorighi, joined as the band’s drummer. Justice Devine and Geneva Devine recently celebrated their wedding in June 2026.
As the story goes, in 2020, Geneva Devine and Knies’ senior prom was cancelled due to the pandemic. The duo, who had already bought their prom dresses, decided to throw their own prom, hosting live music in Geneva Devine’s family’s garage for friends to attend in their prom outfits.
It was such a good time, recalled Geneva Devine, that the duo decided to repeat the experience — a decision from which The Sun Spot grew from a makeshift prom into the DIY music venue that it is today.
Geneva Devine said the project saw immediate interest from their father, Darren Hein, who became adamantly involved in the process, “growing the space and adapting it all the time.”
Darren Hein even built a stage for the venue while autumnal was away on tour. Geneva Devine, who said they have always been close with their dad, noted that their parents “feel very honored to be a part of the culture around that (music) and to both provide a safe space for people but also get to participate in that safe space.”
Because Hein played such a big role in the development of the venue, the team said they decided to name it The Sun Spot in honor of the skylight company Hein founded in 2004 and the sunny personality that he brings to the place.
The Sun Spot, which Knies described as a DIY venue — a term for small, local spaces that host events on a volunteer, underground basis — is a place for collaboration and creativity among a variety of ages, music tastes, aesthetics and life paths.
“We want it to be a community-gathering space,” Knies said.
The Sun Spot hosts musicians of all genres, from electronic and acoustic to indie rock and jazz. The variety in genres brings in crowds of all different aesthetics and personalities, and because The Sun Spot isn’t only geared toward college students, the venue draws all different ages and members of the Fort Collins community.
The team even discussed the wide range in location that the venue draws from, noting how they’ve hosted bands on tour from all over North America.
Another unique aspect of the venue is the variety of experience between the musicians hosted. The Sun Spot provides a space for emerging bands to play, since bands that are beginning to become established are often forced to choose between the casual atmosphere of house parties and the professional levels of Sound Bar or Aggie Theatre.
Knies reflected on the importance of a consistent space for musicians to get their foot in the door, recalling the venues that gave autumnal a chance when they were first coming up.
“Geneva and I’s first few shows when we were 15 or 16 were with Blast N Scrap, and we definitely were not very good, but we needed that place to be bad and not feel shame about it,” Knies said.
Knies went on to discuss a recent show in which The Sun Spot hosted Backblunt, a local band that formed in Colorado State University’s residence halls and whose second-ever show was at the venue.
“Seeing them grow, and their new songs … I was really impressed,” Knies said.
Autumnal only performs at The Sun Spot once or twice annually to give other artists room to take to the stage, and the team works to ensure at least one university band is represented on each bill to bring in student attendance.
“I do find that sometimes it’s a little separated,” Knies said in reference to the CSU student music scene and the broader Fort Collins music scene.
Justice Devine described The Sun Spot as a “pocket of community” when discussing what small venues like The Sun Spot bring to the scene. On tour, autumnal has found community in the venues that have hosted them, driving the group’s passion for maintaining such a space back home.
Justice Devine and Knies shared a memory of their favorite moment from The Sun Spot thus far: hosting the artist Topeka Clementine from San Diego.
Topeka Clementine taught the crowd the melody for the song and then let everybody play along with small percussion instruments that they passed out.
“It was such a wholesome moment and really cool to see a bunch of people participate,” Knies said.
As The Sun Spot continues to flourish, the team said they hope to bring in more international artists and that they are on the lookout for more unique opportunities to bring to their scene.
“Growth is the big word on my mind,” Justice Devine said. “The Sun Spot has space for growth, like personal growth and community growth.”
To incoming first-years at CSU as well as any students and Fort Collins community members that have not yet been to The Sun Spot, the team encouraged them to give the venue a shot.
“Even if you don’t know who’s playing, if you bring your regular, authentic self, you’ll have a great time,” Geneva Devine said. “You’ll feel invited and feel whole.”
Reach Addie Mitchell at entertainment@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
