The Fort Collins Musicians Association (or FoCoMA) announced the winners of its 8th Peer Awards, which are determined by a vote among musicians. The list is a worthy introduction to the incredibly robust scene going on north of Denver. Many of this year’s winners are also nominees in our own…
Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book SAINT COLE from Fantagraphics books. Last Week’s Episode Of Rufus…
Global Dub Festival brought Excision, Zomboy and plenty more to Red Rocks over the weekend. They did not manage to violate the venue’s new noise restrictions, but it was a party nevertheless. Photographer Miles Chrisinger was on hand to take pictures of happy teens, Colorado gear, weed gear and weed/Colorado…
There are few cultural events in Denver as well-run and enjoyable as Five Points Jazz. Evey year, the city’s Arts & Venues division organizes the fest, which features an impressive array of local and touring musicians along with food, shopping and a general block party feel. This year, photographer Brandon…
Tour de Fat — New Belgium’s comedy, music, art, pageantry, beer-drinking, and bike riding fest — will be celebrating its fifteenth year later this summer. For the first time, the tour will visit ten cities, with as many as 25,000 attendees at each stop. The musical lineup for the Denver…
British pop stars are a different caliber of performer than their American counterparts; there’s an authenticity to their onstage banter, like when they move from behind the shiny persona for a few moments between songs to talk with the audience, it feels like there’s an actual human person underneath the…
The video for “Making Breakfast” — Twin Peaks’ infectious, sarcastic mid-tempo Ween-meets-Pavement love song — is one of the most uplifting things the Internet has been blessed with in recent memory. Just try not smiling as young Clay Frankel sings lines like “I’m the one who loves you / don’t…
On Friday, May 15, Youth on Record will open its brand-new, state of art, Youth Media Studio in the La Alma neighborhood. The studio will give Youth on Record students a chance to record the songs they have been working on in the classroom as well as a chance to…
FaceMan is currently preparing for the two-day Journey to the Sun Festival, which is centered around a spaceship with a metaphorical message. The Denver band isn’t new to odd concepts; after all, this is the same trio that once played inside a giant shark installation at Lost Lake Lounge and,…
Bands performing classic albums in their entirety is hardly a new thing at this point. But it isn’t every band whose material has struck a chord across multiple decades. When the Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy was first released in 1985, it was a piece of music out of step…
William Elliott Whitmore, due May 15 at the Bluebird Theatre, is always finding ways to impart lessons that have been passed down to him. Many years ago, at a show at the Larimer Lounge, before he played “Lift My Jug,” he told the audience that a homeless man named Hub…
Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book SAINT COLE from Fantagraphics books. Last Week’s Episode Of Rufus…
Lipgloss is one of the longest-running, most successful dance nights in Denver. After several years in both La Rumba and Beauty Bar, the event recently moved to Syntax Physic Opera on South Broadway, where you’ll find it every Friday. Photographer Brandon Marshall was there last week to capture the lively…
Around fifteen years ago Jim Lanpheer approached Robert Rich about playing a house show, and that began a bit of a tradition for Rich, who has now played five of these types of living room/house shows in Colorado. The intimate environment and a truly appreciative audience kept Rich coming back…
The Downtown Artery, a large space in Old Town Fort Collins that host art shows and occasional GNU music shows is in the process of expanding — by creating a much-needed music venue. “The Downtown Artery is a space that caters to the revival of the working artist,” the space…
Primus brought its Willy Wonka-inspired tour to Red Rocks last night, with the oddballs of Beats Antique in tow. It was a strange night, to say the least, with the rain and the carnival gear and Les Claypool. Photographer Brandon Marshall was there to capture the scene — here are…
The Toad Tavern is located, as Formant’s Charles Ballas put it last night, at the corner of Federal and Federal: Boulevard and Circle. That fact alone made it seem perfect for a show that featured some of the most prominent acts/artists in local experimental music. Unfortunately, on a rainy night…
Back in October, John Denver’s bust was stolen from its perch in the 1STBANK Center in the aftermath of KBPI (106.7 FM)’s Saints and Sinners Halloween Ball, featuring Five Finger Death Punch. The Colorado Music Hall of Fame, which had the bust on load from the singer’s estate, issued a…
When Psychocandy came out in November 1985, it established the Jesus and Mary Chain as an important band of the era, with a sound that harked back to the raw quality of early rock and roll as well as the tunefulness of ’60s pop. The album also put the band…
John Moreland has a hard time telling lies. When you’re at one of the songwriter’s shows, what you see is what you get, and what he says is what he means. In his unabashed approach to writing, Moreland is steadfast in his commitment to the truth, regardless of whether or…
Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom has developed one of Denver’s best gathering places — on any given weekend night (and many weekdays) the place is a reliable mainstay for fans of jam bands, electronica and general goodwill. There was plenty of evidence at Friday’s Signal Path and Zoomga show; photographer Scott Lentz…
Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book SAINT COLE from Fantagraphics books. Last Week’s Episode Of Rufus…
