Celebrity culture is a bit twisted, so Ed Sheeran is, unfortunately, more famous for being Taylor Swift’s best friend then he is for his impressive singing voice. If you Google him, there will be more videos of him stumbling out of a London club then of him using his looping…
According to organizers, some 45,000 people converged in Michigan this past weekend for the jam-bands-meets-ravers annual festival known as Electric Forest. The weather was perfect, the denizens were impossibly friendly, but the logistics and other quirks sometimes wrecked the vibe. The Worst Getting in Big festivals are often a logistical…
The Seattle-based rock band Chastity Belt made its second Denver appearance at Dryer Plug Studios over the weekend. (The first was in 2013, when the group played with Pony Time at Rhinoceropolis.) This time, at least half the band members discarded their shoes while performing. The way the they interacted…
The annual Bohemian Nights concert series at New West Fest in Fort Collins is getting a loud, energetic and modern addition this August: Electronic artist Michal Menert, who will be playing his hometown. The Michal Menert trio will take the Linden Stage from 8:50 to 9:50 on Saturday, while a…
Since its founding in 2008, Electric Forest has split the difference between jam bands and EDM. On Friday night Skrillex, playing a guitar, joined String Cheese for a medley of Doors’ songs “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” and “L.A. Woman.” It wasn’t as bad as it sounds! Though…
At big music festivals like Electric Forest, totems are critical for meeting up with your friends — just stick ’em in the sky and your people will stop wandering in circles. These decorated placards-on-sticks have become tremendously popular in recent years, and Electric Forest attendees had some definite winners. For…
We all know kids die at raves. It happens all the time, including most recently at EDC last weekend in Las Vegas. Usually, the cause is drugs. But not everyone who takes drugs die; those who know what they’re actually taking, stay hydrated and take other precautions have a better…
The organizers of Electric Forest set their sights this year on breaking the record for the world’s largest group hug. This is a real thing, certified by Guinness: 10,554 folks in Ottawa, Ontario held each other in 2010, setting the standard. Since Electric Forest draws more than 30,000 attendees —…
If you’re headed to Electric Forest this weekend, you might not want to advertise it by decorating your car. Police are profiling the shit out of anyone driving in the greater Michigan area who looks like they might enjoy bass in their face. Police representing numerous small Michigan municipalities —…
The recent Soundscapes of Japan performance at Lone Tree Arts Center featured a rare performance by Kakizakai Kaoru, who is a master of the shakuhachi — a wooden flute that dates back to the seventh century. Back then, Zen priests used the instrument as a path to enlightenment. For the…
When Wesley Davis decided to reboot his Textures: Ambient Music Showcase in 2013, after its 2009 to 2012 run at Gypsy House Café, he wanted it to take place at a venue that might expose that music to people who weren’t necessarily seeking it out. He found the perfect venue…
Chastity Belt, due to perform this Friday, June 26, at Dryer Plug Studios, is now based in Seattle. But the band got started at Whitman College in Walla Walla. There, the fledgling group played impromptu street performances, before going on to play house shows. Without a music scene that the…
The massive music festivals throwing down in Colorado this summer need no introduction — big bashes like Riot Fest and the Underground Music Showcase are well-known, promising great line-ups and fun times. So what about the little guys? There’s a statewide network of smaller scale but equally vibrant and viable…
Electric Ladyland: Women In Electronic Music Night debuts this Thursday, June 25th, at the Walnut Street location of The Walnut Room. The event showcases the talents of some of the women in the local music world and beyond that produce and perform electronic music. Dream Council is a dream pop…
Last weekend’s Westword Music Showcase, along with the Westword Music Awards, serve as our annual celebration of our state’s vibrant music scene. Colorado is home to internationally renowned experimental bands, pioneering folk artists, Grammy winners and much, much more. On most nights in Denver, you can see just about any…
Niquasia Waddles (aka Koo Qua) is no rookie when it comes to the Westword Music Showcase. She started her career a decade ago, when she was in her early twenties, living in Aurora, and she made her first appearance at the June festival four years ago. On Vinyl’s rooftop over the…
The best concert Diane Rabson ever attended was held in her own living room. A Bosnian opera singer and an accordionist from St. Louis were performing. They took a request from Rabson’s mother, then brought her mother up on stage, singing the song she had requested — one she used…
Riot Fest will return for its third year in Colorado from August 28 to 30 at the National Western Complex. The Chicago-born punk rock carnival has quickly established itself as one of the largest music festivals here, drawing thousands for an array of bands best described as “loud.” The fest…
The party hadn’t gestated yet for MTHDS’ early set, and that was too bad: the band jounced through cheerful dance-rock tunes like it was playing for thousands, though it was more like tens, and the little crowd bobbed listlessly, sluggish and not yet primed. A dude in purple pants chugged…
Electric Daisy Carnival is such a massive assault on the senses that, after the dust has settled (mostly in one’s lungs), it can be hard to pick out the highlights and lowlights. We’re still processing everything we heard and saw out there on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but here…
It’s easy to make friends when you wear pasties at EDC. I would know. I did it over the weekend. I didn’t plan for this to happen. When I packed for the festival, I chose regular clothes—shorts, tank tops, a sundress. You see, I’m not a raver and I’d never…
Most artists performing at Red Rocks comment on the elevation, but not Ben Folds. Instead, he grumbled over the weekend about the unusual humidity and how it made his hair horrible. “I need to go back down and get some oxygen on it,” he added with a grin, earning quite…
