The annual festival Fort Collins Music Experiment is exposure therapy for anyone who says, “No, that genre’s just not for me,” bringing together over 400 bands, DJs and solo acts across all music genres.

The two-day festival, which took place April 19-20, continues to provide a space for the constantly growing music scene that is Fort Collins. The festival was a combination of artists and music lovers coming together to see their favorite artists and discover new ones as well.

“It’s a blessing to play any slot at FoCoMX because there’s going to be people there regardless, and people are excited, and people want to see music and see something new.” -Will Ehrhart, Jesus Christ Taxi Driver lead drummer

“Fort Collins is lucky to have FoCoMX,” musician Jessi Reed said after guest performing with the band Jesus Christ Taxi Driver during their headlining show Friday night. “If you grew up in other places, you can see that a festival like this is pretty rare, so it’s really special that it’s in this town.”

Although it is an annual spring event that has taken place in April for 16 years now, the Colorado weather does not always catch the memo. But come rain or snow —and in this year’s case, both — nothing stops locals from showing up wholeheartedly for the festival. 

“FoCoMX was the best night of my life,” members of local Colorado band Horse Bitch collaboratively wrote when reflecting on their performance at Aggie Theatre Friday night. “Like, what? We are so grateful for the community braving the weather and filling the venue. The Sprite was strong; the spirits were high.”

The festival allows both local favorites and lesser-known locals to share a stage. The Crooked Rugs and Jesus Christ Taxi Driver headlined Aggie Theatre, but neither of these bands were experiencing their first FoCoMX performance.

“It’s packed no matter what,” said Ian Ehrhart, lead vocalist for Jesus Christ Taxi Driver. “There’s always a line around the block for no reason. The first year we played FoCoMX, we were an unknown band. … We showed up, and there’s a line around the block, and we were like, ‘Oh, my god, we don’t even exist yet,’ and that is really every show you go to. It’s just completely packed.”

Through FoCoMX, multiple bands have been able to expose themselves as artists and create a new fan base.

“The room’s energy was off the charts,” band Wolfblitzer wrote. “The crowd, to me, looked like 80% new faces, and they were loving it. … We really felt the love that night, and that show will go down as one of our most memorable ones.”

Each venue had a lineup that consisted of multiple musical styles along with their diverse group of fans, making the night special as a collective of music lovers regardless of their genre preference. 

“FoCoMX brings out the entire town to celebrate local music, and it’s legendary to be a part of,” band Rosebay wrote. “Every show we’ve ever played at the Aggie has been incredible, but it’ll be hard to beat the diverse and enormous crowd brought out at this year’s festival.”

While usually Aggie Theatre is the primary venue in Fort Collins for big shows, for this event, the whole town became a music venue almost overnight. No venue seems to stand alone, and all venues get their chance to show off what they bring to the table.

“Every venue has its own kind of charm,” said Will Ehrhart, lead drummer of Jesus Christ Taxi Driver. “It’s a blessing to play any slot at FoCoMX because there’s going to be people there regardless, and people are excited, and people want to see music and see something new.”