Last Saturday, June 25, marked the biggest festival in the 22-year history of the Westword Music Showcase, which spanned more than a dozen stages around Denver’s Golden Triangle and featured nearly 100 local bands and artists across many genres. This lineup was drawn from the finalist nominees for the 2016…
Ryan Chrys has long been a fixture of Denver’s music scene. His past bands include Spiv and Demon Funkies. But with his new gig, Ryan Chrys & The Rough Cuts, he’s returning to his country roots. Sort of. “My mom plays guitar and sings,” Chrys offers. “Growing up, she’d sing…
If there ever was a weekend to embrace your inner hippie, this Fourth of July weekend is it. While there’s big shows like Dead & Company and Umphrey’s McGee (each in town for two-night stands), there’s also Dead tribute acts Dark Star Orchestra and Shakedown Street as well as Blues Traveler’s…
After the final open-mic comedy night at the Squire Lounge this past Tuesday, June 28, Big City Drugs hit the stage and played frayed punk rock with a shambolic energy worthy of The Exploding Hearts. Add to that a mutant rock hybrid sound suggests influences like Reatards, Dead Boys and…
English Two-Tone ska band The Selecter will be at the Gothic Theatre on Saturday, October 8. Tickets ($25-$40) go on sale Friday, July 1, at 10 a.m. The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band and Supersuckers co-headline the Gothic Theatre on Friday, October 8. Tickets ($20-$22) go on sale Thursday, June…
Though Swedish pop group Peter, Björn and John took a five-year hiatus from making music, only to return with the new Breakin’ Point, they were still hard at work during their break. In those five years they created a collective art space called INGRID, formerly home to a studio where one…
Son Little, aka Aaron Livingston, has created a sound that many have called “genre-bending.” It canvases notes of old soul, and Livingston’s vintage vocals breathe life into a style reminiscent of Otis Redding. He steps into the political sphere of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Four Dead in Ohio” on songs…
This Friday, July 1, the Open Media Foundation hosts its monthly free Open Music Session event, which will feature musical guest The Take, as well as comedian Zac Maas. Last month, the Open Music Session was once again a two-for-one night, as hip-hop acts Sole and Mikrofone Rob joined forces…
If there are two major growth industries in Colorado right now, they are marijuana and music festivals. The scene has exploded, and many small towns are following the long-ago lead of places such as Telluride, Vail and Aspen by creating a calendar of events to draw visitors and boost their…
The 22nd Westword Music Showcase, on Saturday, June 25, was one for the ages, featuring for the first time two main stages, as well as nearly 100 local bands who played hard through power outages and a short rain in the Golden Triangle. With so much to hear, see and…
Lita Ford, the Babys and the Sweet — the three sets of musicians that made up Sunday night’s killer bill at the Hudson Gardens, the fourth show in this year’s summer concert series, have stories coming out of their collective wazoos. From splits and reunions to abusive relationships to the…
On Tuesday, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals return to Red Rocks, while Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band (featuring Todd Rundgren, Steve Lukather, Richard Page, Gregg Rolie, Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonnette) play at the Paramount. Brand New and Modest Mouse co-headline Red Rocks on Wednesday, and Zeds Dead…
Heads up! The 2016 Westword Music Showcase is tomorrow, Saturday, June 25! If you want to buy a ticket the day of the show, prices increase to $55 for General Admission and $125 for VIP. Now here’s how to survive the day of fun and exhausted eardrums: We’ve all been…
Lita Ford first came to prominence in 1975 as the guitarist for the Runaways. Ford was born in England but grew up in Long Beach, California where she was exposed to late ’60s and early ’70s rock and roll, inspiring her to learn to play electric guitar. Though Ford was…
Bar Standard, located at 1037 Broadway, will host a range of local Denver musicians at the 2016 Westword Music Showcase. This modern-day speakeasy is known as a popular spot to hear some of Denver’s best DJs on the weekends while enjoying the view of Denver’s skyline from its two patios…
With close to a hundred local bands performing at the Westword Music Showcase this weekend, it’s easy to sample a broad base of the music happening in Denver today. Perhaps you’ll see a band for the first time and that performance will inspire you to vote for that band in…
Club Vinyl, one of Denver’s hottest nightclubs, will be featuring music on both its main stage as well as its rooftop patio for this year’s Westword Music Showcase. The club is known for its four levels, each of which present its own vibe and style of music. The rooftop area…
Twelve years, in the life cycle of band, is practically an eternity. This summer, the Epilogues’ celebration of their twelfth year as a band will be a bittersweet one, as singer/guitarist Chris Heckman, recently announced on his facebook page, that he will be leaving the group to attend Berklee College of…
Denver natives and indie-alternative darlings Ivory Circle are scheduled to perform at the 2016 Westword Music Showcase on the City Hall Main Stage. They’re currently working on a new EP, the third and final in a series that started with the release of Equilateral in 2014. With the second, Isosceles,…
Westword Music Showcase, featuring Dillon Francis, Matt and Kim, Cold War Kids, New Politics, HEALTH and more, is tomorrow at venues around the Golden Triangle. Widespread Panic makes its annual trip to Red Rocks with a three-night stand that kicks off tonight while Boston is at Fiddler’s Green tonight and…
South African rap act Die Antwoord, who played the Ogden Theatre in 2012, returns to the venue on Monday, September 26. Tickets ($36.50) go on sale on Friday, June 24 at 10 a.m. Phantogram is set to release its third album, Three, in September and headlines the Fillmore Auditorium on Wednesday,…
With new Backbeat editor Katie Moulton now at the helm of Westword’s music coverage, we asked a few of her predecessors for their memories of the Westword Music Showcase. At the end of the post, check out your chance to win two VIP tickets to the 2016 Westword Music Showcase…
