While Kamtin Mohager started performing under the moniker of Chain Gang of 1974 in Denver about five years ago, he’s been living in Los Angeles for close to a year now. As he tells David Dye in a recent interview with World Cafe, “I was just never a big fan…
After 35 years with Warner Bros., Van Halen signed a deal with Interscope last month, and rumors spread that the band — with David Lee Roth back on board — had a new album nearly in the can and a tour in the works. Now one of those rumors can…
Happy hip-hop holidays (try saying that three times fast)! As usual, we’re keeping our eye on all things new in the hip-hop streets, and for this week’s rap roundup, we’ve got everything you need: A Paul Junior-directed clip from Fresh Breath Committee’s Myke Charles; a Phil the Agony-assisted joint from…
There were a ton of albums released this year, and while we spent a great deal of time with the staggering number of outstanding local releases from the past twelve months (see last week’s annual Moovers and Shakers list), we also found time to devote to the imports. And while…
A number of new venues opened in 2011, while others changed hands. Here’s a look back through a year’s worth of club scouting: After a seven year-run at 2401 Blake Street, in June 2010, Blake Street Tavern moved a block south, to the former Club 303/Polly Esther’s space at 2301…
Communikey had a huge year in 2011; the annual music festival brought beats to the masses for the fourth year in a row this past spring. But you won’t have to wait until April to get another fix: On Saturday, December 31, head to A Very CMKY NYE, which will…
The Westword office is closed until Tuesday, December 27, and the blogs will be taking a break until then (although we’ll post some party/concert slide shows over the weekend). If you’re looking for fun over the holidays, our online calendar lists hundreds of entertaining options around town. And if you’re…
As with every year, the Mile High City had absolutely no shortage of compelling releases from across a wide variety of genres. There were so many, in fact, that, also like past years, we just didn’t have the room to fit all of them into the paper this week (a…
Going strong for nearly four decades, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival just announced that Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, John Prine, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Leftover Salmon, Bela Fleck & the Marcus Roberts Trio, Punch Brothers, Peter Rowan and the Del McCoury Band are among the preliminary…
Here are two quick lists to warm you up on this snow day; the ten best club shows and local shows (the two aren’t mutually exclusive, by any means) of 2011, as picked by Backbeat writers and ranked by music editor Dave Herrera. Find our ten best arena concerts of…
After selling out stadiums and arenas in South America and Europe over the past few months, Lenny Kravitz will kick off his first American tour in five years in January. That tour includes a stop at the Buell Theatre on Friday, February 10. Kravitz, who has been making appearances on…
An extensive user of Auto-Tune, T-Pain helped bring the pitch correction software to the masses with his iPhone app, I Am T-Pain. He doesn’t skimp on the Auto-Tone on his latest effort, Revolver, which was released on RCA earlier this month. In support of the disc, T-Pain stops at the…
As a follow-up to last year’s Joy EP, Oh, Starling, the husband-and-wife duo of singer-songwriters Jessica Sonner and Dan Craig, released another five-song holiday EP, Noel. The duo takes holiday standards like “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “O Come O Come Emmanuel” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and puts…
There were so many hip-hop shows and concerts this year, it was hard to keep count. The shows of note, though, were bangers and crowd pleasers and showcased dynamic artistry. With so many epic moments (?uestLove and Jazzy Jeff at Beta, anyone?), it was hard to narrow it down, but…
Michael Olsen, who also owns Wicked Garden (1403 Larimer Street), opened Cherry (231 Milwaukee Street) to the public last weekend in the former space that was once home to Bar Luxe, the Milwaukee Grill and the Bay Wolf. The new dance club, which offers bottle service and has a private…
Last week, after the Tebuzz reached a fever pitch across the country — with Jesus checking in with Timmy on Saturday Night Live — and then culminated in a devastating loss by the Broncos to Belichick’s boys here at home, we listened to the post-game analysis and the deflated reflections…
Another year is coming to a close, and it’s going to be remembered for some stellar concerts. All week, we’ll be running lists of our favorites from the past year, beginning with this one: Best arena concerts of 2011. Page down to see which shows made the cut. (Click on…
Every holiday season, almost as sure as you can count on Christmas falling on December 25, you can depend on some obsessive, Griswold-wannabe somewhere crafting a lighting display that makes all the previous standouts from past years seem like also-rans. You know the type — the kind that literally stops…
It’s that time again, when we reflect on all of our favorite local releases from the past twelve months — the ones that garnered the most time on our individual playlists. Once again, the Mile High City had absolutely no shortage of compelling releases from across a wide variety of…
Even though the economy continued to bump along this past year, people are still drinking more than ever — maybe because of the lousy economy. And a number of bars opened in 2011, giving them new places where they could drink. Here’s a rundown of some of the more promising…
J.Phlip (aka Jessica Phillippe) was first exposed to house music in Champaign, Illinois, two hours from house-music mecca Chicago. At nineteen, she obtained two belt-drive turntables and a mixer (which didn’t have any EQ knobs), and her career as a DJ was born. Phillippe’s sound encompasses house, tech house, deep…
So far, Jeff Weiss has proven to be BLKHRTS’ most ardent champion. After giving the crew dap in the LA Times earlier this year, Weiss, the L.A.-based music critic and esteemed Passion of the Weiss blogger, has seen fit to include BLKHRTS in a roundup of his favorite underrated rap…
