Red Rocks doubles both as an iconic symbol of Denver’s local music culture and as a go-to spot on the international music circuit. This summer, a several bands who got their start in Colorado are gracing the Red Rocks stage, blurring the local and international music scenes. Be sure to…
They Might Be Giants is one of the most well known bands from that pre-alternative rock era in the 1980s when there wasn’t an all-encompassing, vague umbrella term for music that wasn’t punk, wasn’t mainstream pop, not quite straight-ahead rock and yet accessible. The band’s self-titled 1986 debut album was…
Two bands have been added to the lineups for the main stages at the 2016 Westword Music Showcase on Saturday, June 25, 2016: Chef’Special and Denver’s own 888. Chef’Special, a Dutch alternative folk-pop band from Haarlem, Netherlands, will join Dillon Francis, Matt and Kim, Health, and Black Pistol Fire on…
Progressive rock started out as largely a British phenomenon in the late ’60s but quickly mutated when it spread to the European continent and beyond. The artists that pioneered the genre attempted to bring artistic credibility to rock music either by infusing it with elements of classical-musical structure and daring…
Gogol Bordello brings its super-charged gypsy punk to the Boulder Theater on Saturday night and to the Ogden Theater on Sunday night while the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus’ “The Show Music Go On: The Music of Queen” is at the Temple Buell Theatre for one show tonight as well as a…
For someone like me who comes from working within the DIY music world, $250,000 is a lot of money. Like, a shitload of money. But $250,000 was what was spent last year on the Colorado Music Party, a five-day, five-night unofficial showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Organized by the…
On the surface, it can seem like musicians are the most crucial people in a music scene. But behind every band, emcee and DJ lies the invaluable support of people who also help make things happen — people like Ciara Johnson. Johnson — who passed away in February at the…
When David Bowie passed away, anyone with a heart felt it break a little. He influenced fashion, music, culture and philanthropy in profound and important ways, and his passing left a massive hole in the universe that will never quite be filled. Longtime Bowie fan and artist Vincent Comparetto was…
Widespread Panic returns to Red Rocks for a three-night run from Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 25. Tickets ($59.50) go on sale on Friday, March 18 at 10 a.m. Darius Rucker brings his Good for a Good Time Tour to Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on Thursday, July 7. Dan +…
Santi White, who performs under the name Santigold, is exhausted — which makes perfect sense. When we spoke with her, she was overseeing the release of 99¢, her audacious, eclectic and audaciously clever new album, in addition to creating social media platforms such as a Tumblr that plays off the recording’s…
Bag Raiders, previously known as an electronica duo, might better now be described as a band. Since adding drummer Felix Bloxom (also BR’s in-house producer) to its lineup, the Australian group has taken on a new identity — comfortably defined more by live instrumentation and singing than by their previously…
“Denver has yet to solidify a place for hip-hop where these people are passing the mike and ripping the place apart,” says Jeff Campbell. “It will eventually happen, but it’s not happening right now.” Campbell, a longtime Denverite now decamping to Milan, Georgia, to take a job with the Genesis…
Earlier today we reported on the names of a few confirmed bands for the new music festival happening near Buena Vista this summer August 5-7, 2016. Organizers of Vertex Festival have now released the full initial lineup for the fest’s inaugural iteration, which features headliners ODESZA, Alabama Shakes and two…
A new 20,000-capacity summer music festival will take place August 4-7, 2016, on a ranch outside Buena Vista, put on by Madison House Presents and AEG Live. Organizers’ lips have been tight on details about the festival, for which the permit was approved by Chaffee County Board of Commissioners last…
Summer is almost here, and this season at Red Rocks Amphitheatre promises plenty of opportunities for emotional catharsis with its sunshine and good vibes. Here are the ten best indie rock and emotional (while spanning many rock genres) shows coming to Red Rocks in 2016. Pack your tissues and a poncho…
Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work…
It’s easy, if all you’re familiar with is the shtick, to form a negative opinion of Violent J, one half of the Insane Clown Posse. Rarely seen in public without his trademark makeup, the man plays up to the role in which he’s cast himself like the most committed of method actors. There are…
Turner Jackson has a theory about the often overlooked hip-hop scene in Denver. According to him, Denver isn’t the kind of town to accept genre restrictions. Denver wants multitudes, what Jackson calls “alloys.” “Denver is a kind of town where alloys win,” Jackson says. “What I mean by that is…
The music business is a cruel mistress. There’s rarely rhyme or reason as to who gets the few-and-far-between big-money deals — even among worthy artists who are more than ready for a bigger spotlight. If there were justice, then the following eight talented local bands would be as adored nationally…
By the time Melissa Aldana won the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition at the age of 24, she’d already logged nearly two decades of playing under her belt. This experience is thanks in part to her father, renowned saxophonist Marcos Aldana, who got her started on saxophone when…
August Burns Red and Between the Buried and Me co-headline the Summit Music Hall tonight and the Prettiots are at Lost Lake Lounge while Future is at the Fillmore Auditorium tomorrow night, John Hiatt is at the Oriental Theater on Wednesday and Jose Gonzalez performs with yMusic at the Paramount Theatre on…
For more than two decades, the Westword Music Showcase has celebrated Colorado’s dynamic music community — and this year’s festival promises to reflect the scene’s growth. The 2016 Showcase, on Saturday, June 25, will be bigger and better than ever, featuring national headliners and local favorites on two main stages,…
