Colorado WebFest
Celebrating international audio creativity by showcasing web-based art in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.
Submissions open September 21st 2025 to April 30th! Our event takes place, June 13th 2026 in Boulder Colorado!
Calling New Audio Fiction and Actual Plays!
We are thrilled to announce a new scholarship program for the inaugural Colorado Webfest, specifically designed for new Audio Fiction and Actual Play creators, as well as those who have never won an award! In a fantastic partnership with Pinecast, we’re offering this opportunity to lower the barrier to entry and spotlight the incredible talent within our creative community.
To be considered for a free submission, simply fill out the form below with a link to your show and a brief explanation of why you qualify!
We are taking applications until March 15th so don’t miss your chance to be part of our first ever event!
About Colorado Webfest
Colorado Webfest 2026 is a premier event that celebrates web-based artistic media. In our first year we will be showcasing audio fiction, actual play audio, and video. Join us in June of 2026 for an inspiring festival experience here in the shadow of the Rockies.
Founded by Mike Atchley, as his way of giving back to the community that gave him so much support over the years.
Colorado WebFest will take place the 13th of June of 2026 and prizes will be awarded (Location TBA). Note this is the NIGHT BEFORE The Audio Fiction Convention (TAFCON) in Boulder Colorado and we are working to secure benefits for those wishing to make a weekend of it and attend both.
If we reach our submission goal this festival will have an in person screening and mixers to meet fellow producers of the best audio entertainment.
Colorado’s Audio History
Colorado has a rich history related to sound and music, both in its natural and cultural landscapes.
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre: This world-famous venue is renowned for its natural acoustics. The two main rock formations, Ship Rock and Creation Rock, combined with the geology of the area, create an ideal environment that projects sound outward to the audience without significant reverb. The venue’s acoustics were praised as early as 1911 by opera singer Mary Garden, who remarked that she had never heard more perfect acoustic properties anywhere.
- The TANK Center for Sonic Arts: Located in the rural town of Rangely, this 60-foot-tall, abandoned water tank is a unique acoustic space. It was discovered by sound artist Bruce Odland in 1976 and is now a non-profit center for sonic arts, known for its extraordinary and long-lasting reverberation.
- The “Denver Sound”: While some have debated the term, the “Denver Sound” is used to describe a unique genre of gothic country and Americana music that emerged from the city’s music scene in the late 1980s. Key bands like The Denver Gentlemen and 16 Horsepower are credited with pioneering this distinctive style.
- Music and Artists: Colorado has been home to and a source of inspiration for many notable musicians such as Glen Miller, John Denver, The Fray, Earth Wind and Fire, OneRepublic and Devotchka all have some roots here
- The Caribou Ranch recording studio, located in a remote barn near Nederland, was a famous recording location in the 1970s and 80s. Artists like Elton John, The Beach Boys, and Chicago recorded albums there.
- Acoustic Artifacts: Archaeological discoveries in the Great Sand Dunes National Park have uncovered “lithophones”—stones that produce musical tones when struck. These artifacts are believed to be thousands of years old, suggesting that musical expression has a long history in the region.
Photo by Elijah Merrell , Ryan Loughlin and Zane Persaud on Unsplash
About our Award’s Design
Our Award’s design is a tribute to one of the greatest microphones in audio history. The WE 168.
The 1938 radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds” stands as one of the most infamous moments in audio fiction history. Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air presented an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel as a series of realistic news bulletins, creating widespread panic among listeners who believed an actual Martian invasion was underway. This event highlighted the powerful influence of radio as a medium and the credulity of an audience accustomed to receiving urgent news updates via their home sets.
The broadcast’s impact was a combination of masterful storytelling, the realistic format of news reports, and the context of the pre-World War II anxieties. Despite disclaimers, many tuned in late and missed the introductory announcement, leading them to believe the unfolding events were real. The incident sparked public debate about media responsibility and the potential for mass hysteria, forever cementing “The War of the Worlds” broadcast as a landmark in both radio history and the study of mass communication.
Pictured above and in several other photos of the time is one of the greatest microphones of that age the Western Electric 168.
Introduced in 1931 by Western Electric, the WE 618 was a revolutionary achievement as the first professional dynamic microphone. Its portability was a key advantage, as it didn’t require the cumbersome external power supplies typical of carbon and condenser microphones of the era. Measuring just 3.5 inches in diameter, it quickly became popular due to its excellent sound quality and reliability, finding widespread use in both studios and on location by reporters. Notably, US President Roosevelt utilized them for his “fireside chats” on nationwide radio.
During World War II, American companies like American Co., Turner, and Webster also manufactured this type of microphone to support the war effort. Its British counterpart, the STC (Standard Telephone and Cables) 4017, released around 1933, was a BBC staple for over two decades, famously used by Churchill for his morale-boosting wartime speeches.
Beyond standard use, these microphones were also employed for long-distance sound capture when paired with parabolic reflector discs atop recording trucks, capable of picking up sound from at least 75 feet away. In the subsequent “ribbon era,” dynamic microphones like the WE 618 were often used as “spot microphones” for close-up sound recording. Paramount Film Studios in the US even modified the WE 618 by attaching a bundle of progressively longer tubes, earning it the nickname “the machine gun mic.”
Renowned for their near indestructibility, many WE 618s remain operational today!
About Us
Colorado WebFest is run by a team of Audio Creators and Professionals led by Mike Atchley.
Judging is done by a panel of peers in the realm of Audio Production following the rules of the Audio Fiction World Cup
Partners and Sponsors
