Concerts

If you’ve heard the considerably poignant “Same Love,” then you know exactly what Macklemore’s stance on same sex relationships is. But just in case there was even the slightest bit of ambiguity, the Seattle rapper (aka Ben Haggerty), who’s slated to make his debut on Saturday Night Live this weekend,…

The hip-hop, as you know, doesn’t stop. It’s a new month, which means there’s another fresh batch of dope shows for you. And trust: March has plenty of freshness on tap, from revered elder statesmen like De La Soul, Naughty By Nature and GZA to newer cats like Tech N9ne,…

PASSION PIT @ 1STBANK CENTER | FRI, 3/1/13 Passion Pit began in as a solo project of lead singer and keyboard player Michael Angelakos in 2007. The project quickly fleshed out into a full band that combined a keen sense for upbeat pop melodies with lyrics that didn’t exactly try…

GRIZ @ OGDEN THEATRE | FRI, 3/1/13 Grant Kwiecinski grew up in Detroit, the American breeding ground for finer electronic music, and home to the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. Having been mentored through classes with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Kwiecinski found his sound in the alto saxophone and has managed…

5. IMPROVISED ROOTS #4 @ DAZZLE | FRI & SAT, 3/15-3/16 While Greg Garrison plays bass for local bluegrass act Leftover Salmon, he also knows his way around jazz changes. With his Improvised Roots Series, he brings the two worlds together with roots music. The previous two shows in his…

Talking to the founding members of the Fox Street All Stars about the genesis of the band is tough. It takes patience. “Everything in this band has been a very gradual process of trickling down into the next thing,” explains drummer Eric Low. “It’s kind of gone from zero original…

Bart McCrorey is probably best known for his skate-punk outfit Frontside Five. Throttlebomb (due Saturday, March 2, at the hi-dive) isn’t a quantum leap from that, but it’s more a synthesis of speed metal and glam. It’s a bit like Motörhead, but with more of a focus on melody: A…

Okalahoma band Broncho — the name is a term used for a mustang that has yet to be broken — plays back-to-basics rock and roll with an unvarnished sound that bears no affectation or appropriation of style. Frontman Ryan Lindsey is also the keyboard player and guitarist for experimental indie-pop…

For the better part of the past fifteen years, this band from Kalamazoo, Michigan, has toured like it was a life mission. True to its name, its roots are in bluegrass — but there’s also an improvisational side to the music that recalls the more interesting guitar work of Jerry…

What can you say about Ras Kass? You either love him or hate him — or you have no idea who he is. His debut, Soul on Ice, is a certified classic in the West Coast hip-hop underground, anchored by the eight-minute revisionist epic “Nature of the Threat” and “Sonset,”…

The men of Israel Vibration — Lascelle “Wiss” Bulgin, Albert “Apple Gabriel” Craig, and Cecil “Skelly” Spence — met as kids at Kingston, Jamaica’s Mona Rehabilitation Clinic, where they were each being treated for polio. Around 1970, the three formed a group and released their first single, “Why Worry,” with…

The rapper formerly known as Rockie is now going by Trev Rich. And now, fresh off an appearance on Joe Budden’s recent, highly praised mixtape, A Loose Quarter, Rich has dropped Heights, his own mixtape. Don’t let the somber, introspective serenade to God that opens Heights fool you: This is…

After releasing a five-song EP, Balance, in 2011 and a live album last year with Kyle Zender, Steve Law returns with a self-titled release that doesn’t stray too far from the acoustic-guitar-driven folk rock of the EP. While Law sounds like he’s influenced by the likes of James Taylor and…

From its opening salvo — the crushing sub-bass-and-glitch monster “Diamonds” — Skyrider’s The Tower explores some deep, dark corners in the halls of electronic beatcraft. Seamlessly melding hip-hop, dubstep, industrial, glitch and various bass-heavy subgenres, the instrumental mixtape pairs a steadily throbbing low end with intricately layered samples and brighter…

With a diverse collection of sounds and styles, often within the same song, the Constant Tourists have captured a warm, organic vibe on Carry On, especially with regard to the recording itself, which feels like it was done live, in a room with great natural acoustics. You can hear small…

James Zabiela is no stranger to the planetary techno scene, and he’s rocked stages in Denver before — but his longevity and consistent relevance to the scene are part of what make him such a draw for party people looking for mind-melting tunes on the dance floor. His first love…

Once upon a time when imposing creatures like Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch roamed the earth, we used to get glossy black and white publicity photos sent to us by the truckload along with CDs (I know, right?). The discs are obviously long gone, but we crammed the pics…

The lineup for the 2013 edition of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival has been posted. Among the most noteworthy acts scheduled to perform at the annual four-day mountainside festival (taking place Thursday, June 20, through Sunday, June 23, in Telluride) are, most prominently, Grammy-winning perennial favorites Mumford & Sons, making another…