When we wrote on this week’s cover that local slammer Suzi Q. Smith is “poetry in motion,” we weren’t kidding. In addition to owning one of the boldest voices in Denver’s prolific poetry scene, Smith and her poet peers have also breached the world of music. In local tribute band…
It’s Mardi Gras week at Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge, and what better way to indulge in all your favorite past times than with a few drinks, some great food, a ton of jazz and a lot of celebrating.The party kicks off tonight and runs until Fat Tuesday, February 21 with…
This year, 4/20 is going to be even doper than usual. The folks at AEG have teamed up with Elm & Oak to present the second edition of Levitate Festival at the 1STBANK Center with DJ Shadow, Rusko, Paper Diamond and Pictureplane…
Gil Scot-Heron is the modern day god-father of rap, although he held the title with ambivalence while he was still alive, insisting he was rather, a “bluesologist,” someone who is concerned with the origin of the blues. Regardless, hip-hop, soul, funk and acid jazz were all influenced by the reality…
Earth, Wind & Fire singer Philip Bailey, who was born at Denver Health in 1951 and an East High School graduate, returns to his hometown with the band for Denver Health Foundation’s NightShine Gala on Saturday, April 28 at the National Western Events Center. Tickets and table sales to the…
The folks behind Beauty Bar and Derbyville roller-skate shop have teamed up for Down & Derby Roller Disco: Hair Metal Edition at Exdo Event Center (1399 35th Street). The skating party that brings back the glory days of ’70s roller disco is held on the third Friday of every month;…
Both Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj used their Grammy performances on Sunday to premiere new singles from their forthcoming albums, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, respectively. However, there was only one pop star that emerged the victor from the night’s new-music battle…
Parliament-Funkadelic gave birth to every single motley crew of funk and don’t-give-a-fuck all-stars we love so much. Funkadelic, of course, begat Public Enemy, which then begat the Wu-tang Clan, which then begat Odd Future, etc. Ask not what the funk can do for you, but what you can do for…
You know how that “dubstep” thing has been steadily gaining popularity for the past few years here in Denver? Well, not to blame anyone or point fingers, but Sub.mission Dubstep crew can pretty much take full responsibility for it, and with a fifth anniversary coming up in April, you can…
Happy Valentine’s Day! In this heart-shaped edition of That’s a Rap, we have a ton of local hip-hop goodness for you to fall in love with, including a DJ Chonz mixtape entirely dedicated to Valentine’s Day, new joints from Mane Rok, Iman S., Myke Charles, A. Fox and Boy Davey,…
Never trust a big butt and a smile. Ah, yes, these sage words of Bell Biv Devoe have served us well into adulthood. Those few nuggets of wisdom undoubtedly saved us from a world of heartache and subsequent therapy. And don’t even get us started on Teddy Riley of Blackstreet…
Global Dance Festival: The Movie is premiering at an “invite-only” event at Beta nightclub on February 23. We managed to score five pairs of tickets to this highly exclusive event, and we wanted to make sure the finest dance-music fans got ’em. Page down to find out how you and…
Party-obsessed rocker Andrew W.K. and bargain-obsessed actor William Shatner are both going to be in Denver on the same night, March 20. Let that soak into your cerebellum for a second. Do you drop acid and let James motherfucking Kirk expand your mind? Or do you soak your noggin in…
Molly Zackary’s Growler Record Distro is changing the way we talk about music in Denver. More than just another storefront box of commerce, Growler is actively engaging the music community with new events and programs. “I have an agenda,” says Zackary. “I think artistic movements and scenes are created because…
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (due tomorrow night at the Fox Theater in Boulder) formed after Malkmus’s influential band, Pavement, went on indefinite hiatus at the end of the ’90s. Initially, it was something of a solo project, but Malkmus ended up recruiting his friend John Moen, as well as…
Here’s what’s hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring the Avett Brothers, James Taylor, Blues Traveler and Gogol Bordello were announced; Gauntlet Hair, Hindershot and Fierce Bad Rabbit got spins on local radio; and recent albums from Van Halen, Dr…
The year 1972 saw the death of the hippies — or, at the very least, the decline of the movement from idealistic young go-getters playing with the fire of radical social change to an out-of-control inferno of hard drugs and failed dreams. Neil Young’s Harvest wasn’t the first to comment…
We were the band that our first show was sold out,” notes Patrick Riley about the live debut of his group, Tennis. “From the start, it was like being thrown into the fire.” Riley clearly has a firm grasp of how fortunate his band has been after getting early encouragement…
For the past three decades, the space at 2265 West 84th Avenue has held various incarnations of Babe’s: Babe’s on the Hill, Babe’s Country, House of Babes and, most recently, Babe’s Restaurant and Lounge. But the Babe’s brand — which drew a sometimes dicey clientele — was finally put to…
Nelson Echeverry may have cut his teeth on some strain of punk rock when he was a teenager, but when he connected with the merry band of indie-pop pranksters in The Haircut, his natural inclination for Fall-esque guitar experimentation jelled perfectly with Magee Headley’s spirited vocal delivery. Even with Doris…
In support of his most recent effort, X-Rated, Excision, one of the dubstep world’s latest kingpins, will show the Mile High City just how our neighbors to the north like to party. The DJ (known legally and to his mom as Jeff Abel) hails from British Columbia, and has found…
Wale has come a long way from the enthusiastic bounce-rap style that introduced him to the masses. A determined new signee to Maybach Music Group, the Washington, D.C., native sharpened his vernacular and defined his appeal with the release of his widely respected 2011 album, Ambition. He struck gold with…
