Music

When Kava Lounge opens at 1915 Broadway in Boulder near the end of April, it will be the first of its kind in Denver’s northwest neighbor. It will be open seven days per week and until 5 a.m. on Thursday through Saturday night (Sunday morning, really). Anyone over 18 years…

I love electronic music. I love the sound, the artists, the parties, the people, the scene — in fact, I’m into pretty much everything about this particular genre of music. But there’s one thing about electronica that I’m really, really not into. At all. It’s the term “EDM.” I hate…

So news is spreading quickly about this year’s Mad Decent Block Party, a fledgling festival tour heretofore specializing in the kinds of hip-hop and dance acts whose members were likely to be wearing floral print hats. It was mostly found in large clubs with outdoor spaces, that sort of thing…

Some of SnowBall’s best artists weren’t even on stage. Among the young and the variably sober in the crowd on Saturday was a small group of artists, busily painting murals. They were situated between the two main stages, putting the eight-by-twelve feet wooden canvases at maximum visibility. The goal was…

The shoe is black and has a four-inch heel. It entered Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom on Friday for the SnowBall After Party as a piece of clothing. Late in the night, it became a weapon. And soon, it will return to Cervantes’ covered in paint, thanks to Nerf gun artist and…

This isn’t the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The list of upcoming artists beaming on a nearby screen includes artists like Nothing But Saxes, billed as “a smooth jazz experience.” The menu includes items that feel more a propos to a Chili’s than a rock venue. You can nibble…

At music festivals, weird kind of comes with the territory. But there’s something a little extra wacky about EDM festivals. When I walked through the gates at Snowball 2014, the first thing I saw was a woman wearing Moon Boots with glow sticks stuffed in them. “Pretty rad,” I thought,…

Hoo, boy, it’s SnowBall weekend, here in Denver for the first time in the festival’s young history. The dance-heavy lineup features reliable names like Pretty Lights and Griz as well as some curveballs, like Earl Sweatshirt and Warpaint. There’s more: In the Whale will spend two nights celebrating its new…

Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival announced its lineup earlier this week, but there was some controversy about the truncated roster for the July 14 show at Red Rocks. Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria, Trivium and Body Count (Ice-T’s metal band) were announced for Denver, but those are the only bands…

Colorado’s musical legacy is about to find some permanence. Officials from the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and the Denver-based Blue Goose design firm have unveiled final plans for the permanent exhibition space set to open at Red Rocks Amphitheater later this year. Based at the current Trading Post gift…

Michal Menert’s path of success is a winding road of glorious sunrises and fraught sunsets. His third solo album, Elements, is set for official release on April 12, with a kick-off party in Detroit, Michigan, at the Shelter. Menert, as well as Denver’s Mikey Thunder and Mux Mool and Chris…

Sports Authority Field at Mile High is often filled with fans who provide unfaltering support for their home team, who come out in droves and weather malicious snowstorms, biting wind and blinding sun to be a part of something special. With the silhouette of the Rocky Mountains to the west…

Intentionally recorded in super-lo-fi mode, Already Dead’s I Want to See You Rot delivers the kind of sound that will never be fully appropriated by the mainstream. Though musically different from early black-metal efforts such as Mayhem’s Deathcrush EP, Already Dead’s project rivals that one in its rawness. On “Joke,”…