Music

The vastness, loneliness and stark beauty of the American Southwest provided ample inspiration for Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens (aka Morriconez) in his previous bands, including George & Caplin and Wentworth Kersey. On Cloud of Dust, Cry of Death, he’s refined and crystallized his love affair with the high desert and the…

The Blue Rider, which formed nearly a year ago, was initially the brainchild of Mark Shusterman, Rett Rogers and Scott Beck before they brought in Alex Eschen to add his guitar wizardry to the mix. Shusterman is probably best known for his tenure in Constellations and Widowers. With the Blue…

DB (also known as DJ DB) is a drum-and-bass DJ, as might be expected from his moniker. Also known as DB Burkeman, he moved to New York City from London in 1989, well before the current explosion of electronic music hit the masses. DB was behind the hardcore breaks club…

Update 8/22/12: Info and lineup for Karen Aid benefit at Bender’s Tavern next Thursday added below. Original item 8/13/12: Karen Cuda, one of the most badass bassists this town has ever seen, needs our help. The talented four-string assassin (aka Karen Exley), who has held down the low-end for Nashville…

Thoughts and well wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Michael “Cactus” Moser. Over the weekend, the 55-year-old drummer, a Montrose native with deep Colorado roots, was involved in a motorcycle crash in South Dakota that resulted in him losing one of his legs. Moser, who had most recently…

Modular Cowboy, a Boulder-based electronic-music label, is getting set to launch later this month. Jay Ahern, who moved to Colorado from Berlin in 2010, is the man behind the new imprint. You may know Ahern from his aliases Cheap and Deep or Add Noise; he’s also collaborated with To Rococo…

Over the weekend, Colorado’s favorite flat-billed electronica maestro played a two-night run at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. We came across scores of Pretty Lights fans sporting Smith’s signature style. Continue reading to see the twenty prettiest kids rocking the twenty prettiest lids at Pretty Lights. (All photos by Britt Chester) See…

See also: – Break Dancing! Animated GIFS will pop and lock your day – Rusko’s Dubstep Workout Routine from Red Rocks – Ten Coachella dance-move GIFs to make you feel good about yourself – Ten awkward Electric Daisy Carnival dance moves from this past weekend in Las Vegas – Enjoy…

See also: – Harry Tuft and Barry Fey officially inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame – John Denver Colorado Hall of Fame induction at 1STBANK Center, 4/21/11 – Colorado Music Hall of Fame inaugural induction The Colorado Music Hall of Fame is prepping for its next induction, set…

311 @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 8/19/12 When 311 made its long-awaited entrance, frontman Nick Hexum told the crowd, “We’re going to start this off like sex: nice and slow, so it lasts long” — and slow and mellow it was. As undoubtedly devoted as the fans were, the first…

There’s some stellar music on tap this week to look forward to no matter your flavor. The week kicks off with an absolute bang this afternoon at the Summit Music Hall with Cannibal Corpse, which headlines the Summer Slaughter tour with Between the Buried & Me, Job for a Cowboy,…

DEAD CAN DANCE @ TEMPLE BUELL THEATRE | 8/19/12 See also: Dead Can Dance’s Brendan Perry on the trance-inducing powers of making music in 6/8 time After a mesmerizing set, Dead Can Dance came back on stage for the first encore of the night to the sounds of an organic-industrial…

Before Ozomatli rocked the Ogden on Saturday night, the genre-bending L.A.-based act stopped by the Spot at Urban Peak, which offers services to homeless and runaway youth in Denver, where it played a free one-hour acoustic show. Instead of just playing a couple songs and leaving, the band interacted with…

PRETTY LIGHTS @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 8/17/12 See also: Q&A with Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights Similar to the unprecedented Skrillex show at Red Rocks last week, the Pretty Lights show started with a five-minute countdown and Trentemoller’s “Take Me Into Your Skin” playing over the speakers. A…

ANDREW BIRD @ OGDEN THEATRE | 8/17/12 See also: Q&A with Andrew Bird on his songwriting process and his approach to improvising using loops Last night at the Ogden Theatre, singer/violinist/Olympic-grade whistler Andrew Bird performed in front of the most attentive, respectful, rapt crowd the Chicago wunderkind could have possibly…

Update 9/7/12: The b-boy battle has been canceled, and the schedule has been amended to accommodate. See most up-to-date lineup below. See also: The third annual Spirit of Hip-Hop celebrates the four elements and keeps the culture alive Original item 8/9/12: Colorado Crush is upon us. The giant summer graffiti…

See also: – Deadmau5 disses Playboy model for her tweet joking about Batman shooting – Dark Knight Rises composer Hans Zimmer honors Aurora shooting victims – Tim McGraw and other musicians pay tribute to the Aurora shooting victims – Neil Diamond donates proceeds from merch sales to Aurora Victim Relief…

See also: – Brennen Bryarly goes Into the Night as option4 – Parting words: A Sauna Q&A before its farewell show – Sharon Van Etten Q&A: “I get nervous sometimes that my songs are too personal” – Q&A with Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance – Q&A with Derek Vincent…