Game shows have been a crucial part of television programming since the big box first infiltrated living rooms many decades ago. But in 2014, talent-based tournaments like The Voice are more than just a game: This make-or-break challenge pits dozens of aspiring singers against each other to battle it out…
Romance is always in the air, but Colorado is especially enchanting in the summer, when you can have a lovely time outside — or inside, escaping the heat. With so much to do during the warmer months, we’ve narrowed down the options to this list of ten of the best…
For some of us, half the battle of being in a band is having the wherewithal to start one in the first place. Even if you’re not a musician, you probably have at least one musician friend who has a ton of fancy gear in his or her basement but…
More than just a spot to enjoy an inexpensive evening of roller-coaster rides and soft-serve ice cream, Lakeside Amusement Park is a place packed with living history. Built in 1908, the beautiful park has stood the test of time — and in some areas within its gates, time has actually…
When Marie-Juliette Bird made her way to London more than a decade ago, her original mission was work on music. But after unexpectedly crossing paths with celebrated jeweler David Courts, Bird’s course changed forever. She returned to the states a few years ago as a jewelry maker after having spent…
A makeup artist by day who performs as Drag Nation regular Ginger Douglas by night, Briceson Ducharme leads a fantastic double life. Both personalities come together tonight for Apocalyptic Ball 5: The Revolution, a signature fundraiser conceived a half-decade ago to raise money for AIDS Walk Colorado. The multi-faceted, high-energy…
When National Public Radio’s weekly news quiz, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, began, way back in 1998, host Peter Sagal and his sidekick, radio veteran Carl Kassell, weren’t even in the same room, let alone in front of a studio audience. The call-in show was recorded remotely from different studios. Now…
When National Public Radio’s weekly news quiz, “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!,” began, way back in 1998, host Peter Sagal and his sidekick, radio veteran Carl Kassell, weren’t even in the same room, let alone in front of a studio audience. The call-in show was recorded remotely from different studios. Now…
I went on vacation last weekend. By vacation, I mean that my boyfriend and I drove ninety minutes outside of Denver to spend the Fourth of July weekend in the beautiful mountain town of Estes Park because nature and the city are not far apart in Colorado, which is why…
Ever wonder what the plans are for a construction site that has popped up at the end of your block? Have you been curious about a new face being put on an old building downtown? For close to a decade, Ken Schroeppel has been answering these questions, documenting Denver’s development…
Today the Fourth of July is synonymous with top-of-the-line pyrotechnic displays and big BBQ cookouts with the latest gas-grill technology. But how did we celebrate America before we could Instagram the moment? Find out at the Old Fashioned July 4th Celebration at Four Mile Historic Park, which will be hosting…
People in Colorado love live music. That statement can apply anywhere in the country, of course, but in Colorado, the ability to see shows in amazing indoor and outdoor venues year-round seems like just as much of a reason that folks move here as our weed, our mountains and, well,…
For some reason, women who desire to take care of their bodies — especially through preventative measures — are terrifying to some large corporations. Yesterday, five of the nine Supreme Court justices decided that Hobby Lobby was human and that women were not, ruling that certain kinds of companies don’t…
With the Fourth of July holiday landing on a Friday this year, Colorado will be home to patriotic celebrations full of music, food, fun and fireworks (of course) all weekend long. We’ve rounded up twenty of the best family-friendly spots to celebrate, whether right here in the city, on the…
Adam Goldstein is the curator and a performer in this weekend’s Artistes Nouveaux.After spending time living and studying abroad, singer and musician Adam Goldstein returned to America with a newly acquired passion — performing Irish pub ballads. Unsure he would be able to find a venue in Denver for his…
Six years and hundreds of rides since its inception, Denver weekly bicycle meet-up, Loops, is bigger and better than ever. The free group ride meets every Tuesday rain or shine for a nighttime ride around the city, and organizer Broox Pulford says that as Denver’s population grows, so does the…
Reduce, recycle, reuse and get a taste of local art today at the Aurora Arts Festival. This growing celebration of music, theater, visual art and community collaboration takes over Fletcher Plaza and explores Aurora’s rich art scene through the eyes of reclaimed-materials artists. As part of the “Recycle and Upcycle…
It all began with Irish drinking songs. “I had learned all of these songs playing pubs in Europe,” explains musician Adam Goldstein. “When I came back from living abroad, I thought I would never find a place to do these songs in Denver, somehow I did.” Goldstein is the man…
When art collecting brothers Ron and Roger Pollard purchased a handful of paintings at an online auction in 2004, they had no idea what they were in for. The pieces, bought from a seller in Germany, were done in the style of an early-twentieth-century art movement known as Russian avant-garde,…
My home in North Denver is special. Not just because everyone who lives there pays a quarter of the rent that the average person in the city pays or because we make our own kombucha as a household. It’s because we live communally. But this isn’t an ordinary commune; we…
Editor’s note: Backbeat contributor Bree Davies was at Red Rocks last week when shots were fired at an SUV whose passengers included Schoolboy Q. This is her story. When I left the Flying Lotus/Nas/Schoolboy Q show last Thursday night at Red Rocks, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary. My…
Throughout its various incarnations in Colorado since the mid-’70s, Marilyn Megenity’s Mercury Cafe has been a model for clean energy. Since the Mercury settled into a permanent home at 2199 California two decades ago, Megenity has installed 36 solar panels on the building and also worked to change the city…
