Concerts

“The Other Black comes from the idea that music should help,” says Denver musician Wesley Watkins. “People are very afraid of the unknown. I’ve spent a lot of time as an outcast in my life, in the black community, specifically in Denver, but just in the community. I’ve had some very unconventional things happen to me in my life, and with all this election and everything I really want to encourage people to love themselves, so that they can start to love others.”

Few bands can point to one event or festival as a catalyst and jumping-off point for its success. For Massachusetts’s Darlingside, however, much of the group’s recent success can be traced back to the Westin Hotel in Kansas City, where last year’s Folk Alliance Festival was held.

Bruno Mars, who set to release his new album on Friday, brings his 24K Magic World tour to the Pepsi Center on Monday, October 30; tickets ($49.50-$150) go on sale on Monday, November 21, at 10 a.m. New Kids on the Block headline the Total Package tour at Pepsi Center on Saturday, June 10, with Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul; tickets ($29.95-$199.95) go on sale on Saturday, November 19, at 10 a.m. As we announced earlier this week, Sting will be at the Fillmore Auditorium on Tuesday, February 14, and Devendra Banhart is coming to the Boulder Theater on Friday, February 3.

Charleston, South Carolina duo Shovels & Rope, which plays the Ogden Theatre on Friday, November 18, and Saturday, November 19, know that some seeds are worth watering, allowing them to grow and bloom — while others are best left in the cold, dark ground.

Nearly a year ago, Pearl’s opened at 603 East 13th Avenue in the space that been the Beauty Bar for the last five years and a longtime home of the Snake Pit before that. Mike Barnhart, who was a co-owner of the Beauty Bar, and Tucker Schwab, a Beauty Bar bartender and manager, opened Pearl’s with a dance club in one room and a neighborhood bar in another room. But now they’re trying to keep the venue afloat with an Indiegogo campaign to raise $60,000 over the next twelve days.

As the line for the sold-out, highly anticipated “Evening with Morrissey” at the Boulder Theater snaked around the block, one could not help but notice an ambulance parked directly in front of the entrance.

Sting, who teamed up with Peter Gabriel at the Pepsi Center last July, returns to the area but at the much more intimate Fillmore Auditorium on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14. The tour is in support of the singer and bassist’s brand new album, 57th & 9th, and features his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller, drummer Josh Freese and guitarist Rufus Miller.

Monica Birkenes, known as Mr Little Jeans, came into musicianship in a way that many of us fantasize about: She ran into Beyoncé’s entourage, expressed her interest in making music, was taken gracefully into the studio where she laid down some poignant tracks and began her career as a musician. Her latest EP, Fevers, was released late September, and now Birkenese is making her way around the country with her latest tour. She spoke to Westword from the road somewhere in Nebraska to talk about touring, her upcoming full-length album and her creative process post-Beyoncé.

Morrissey, who once tried to start a band in Arvada, headlines the Boulder Theater on Monday, November 14, while Amanda Palmer is at the same venue on Thursday, November 17. Also tonight, there’s a conversation and Q&A with Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina (Masha) and Alexandra Bogino (Sasha) at the Oriental Theater, Lucius is at the Gothic Theatre and later in the week it’s the Lukas Graham at the Fillmore, the Sounds at the Summit Music Hall and Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman at the Paramount Theatre. See our full list of picks below.

Westword Music is keeping an eye on events that respond directly to the recent election, whether these are music-related protests or gatherings, benefit concerts or workshops. Please send tips and event info to editorial@westword.com.Below are a couple of events that involve local artists. We will be updating this post with more information as we receive it.

This Saturday at Cameron Church, avant-garde guitarist Neil Haverstick is holding Microstock 11 wherein he and Ned Evett, an associate of Joe Satriani, will demonstrate their own microtonal compositions in individual sets. Microtonality or microtonal music has been around since humans started making music. Generally speaking, a microtonal music is that which contains tiny intervals between notes, making it different from the twelve tone equal temperament scales we hear in a lot of popular or even classical music. Often the concept is associated with non-Western music, but it has long been a part of gospel, blues and jazz where the inflection and manipulation of standard use of the strings is often employed with bends and pulling on strings with one hand as they are struck with a pick in the other.

Kevin O’Brien never wanted to be in a band. But when the full-time comedian (and occasional Westword contributor) had the chance to start jamming with his friend, fellow comedian and musician Sam Tallent, he loved it. Now, the beer-drinking guitar-playing hangouts have turned into a serious band, Big City Drugs, which celebrates the release of its EP at 10 p.m. tonight at GLOB.

Rob Burleson is a familiar and friendly face to anyone who has been around the local music scene. After playing in dozens of bands — Hearts of Palm and Lion Sized, just to name a few — he found his way to the “vacation-rock” outfit SPELLS, which has quickly become…

Ben Folds teams up with the Colorado Symphony again for two nights at Boettcher Concert Hall this weekend while YouTube sensation Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox headlines 1STBANK Center tomorrow night. Also this weekend SPELLS celebrates the release of its first full-length album at 3 Kings, Colfax Speed Queen debuts its sophomore album at Lost Lake Lounge, Lane 8 is at the Bluebird Theater and rapper YG is at the Ogden Theatre. See the full list of our picks below.

The Motet is making its second annual pit stop in its home town to Denver to bring “dance your ass off” funk for two nights at the Ogden. The band’s Hometown Hustle show is even more of a homecoming for one of the newest members, vocalist Lyle Divinsky. Divinsky joined the Motet in January 2016 after frontman Jans Ingber left last year.

Bonobo, who’s set to release his new album Migration in January, and Nick Murphy (formerly known as Chet Faker) will be at Red Rocks on Friday, May 12. General admission tickets ($39.95) go on sale on Friday, November 11 at 10 a.m.  Bring Me the Horizon will release the DVD/CD package Live at the Royal Albert Hall next month and the band headlines the 1STBANK Center on Wednesday, March 29 with Underoath and Beartooth opening. General admission tickets ($39.95) and GA bowl tickets ($32.50) go on sale on Friday, November 11 at 10 a.m. DMX brings his A Very Special DMXmas Show to Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom on Friday, December 23; tickets ($33/$35) go on sale on Friday, November 11 at 10 a.m.

When Daniel Goldstein aka deep house artist Lane 8, released debut album Rise last year, heads turned. With tracks premiered by the New York Times, SPIN, and Billboard and topping the Hype Machine charts, Lane 8 went on tour ready to connect with an army of new fans. Goldstein, however, didn’t expect the reaction to his better-known songs to be so, well…uninspired.

Experimental pop band Holophrase has always existed on the fringes of Denver, whether with its difficult-to-qualify musical style or in its living arrangements. The band currently resides in Henderson, a community in Adams County. At the end of a dirt driveway, three-fourths of the band shares the basement of a house and a garage. Outside, you can see undeveloped fields, an increasingly rare sight in most of the metro area.

We’ve endured the seemingly endless death spiral of the 2016 presidential campaign, cast our votes and taken selfies of our flag stickers…now what? We’ll be obsessively watching tallies and forecasts, but once the polls close, we need safe havens, distraction, healing and maybe even celebration. We need music, people, sweet music. Here are seven concerts in Denver on election night 2016.

Chuck Coffey has more Denver music pedigree on his own than a lot of bands combined. Starting Not Bad Records in 1997, Coffey helped numerous Denver bands put out albums and gain much needed exposure, all while playing in notable Denver bands like Eyes and Ears, Big Timber, Contender and countless others. These days, Coffey continues to help out bands from all over the world on his Snappy Little Numbers imprint and is set to put out his first full-length with his current band SPELLS.