Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation planned his summer tour months and months ago, with one major gig request: to play in the mountains. That wish was granted when Thievery Corporation headlined the Ride Festival over the weekend in Telluride. But just playing in the mountains wasn’t enough. He wanted to…
When he dropped out of school to start bands, Carl Sorensen didn’t imagine he’d be scrambling between gigs, juggling several bands at once. But he’s managed to make a career out of playing music – and then some. Isa Jones offers a profile of Sorensen in this week’s feature, breaking…
There is no trout at Trout Steak Revival’s band practice, but there are five musicians and a manager full of bratwurst and salad in a back yard in east Denver. “You can only eat so much trout,” banjo player Travis McNamara jokes. Fiddle player Bevin Foley hosts her bandmates on…
While the folks behind Riot Fest were recently denied a temporary-use permit to hold the event at May Farms in Byers the third week in September, organizers will reportedly have a new venue announced in the coming days. Sure, it’s a major pain in the ass for everyone involved to…
There’s been some discussion as to what to label Cloud Nothings. Punk, noise-rock, garage-rock, grunge and even emo have been tossed around when referring to the Ohio-based trio. But to put it into one of these labels would be a disservice. As the band proved at the Larimer Lounge last…
Real life stops at Ride festival . Sheer rock faces in the distance and a heavily forested backdrop for the small wooden stage make it easy to feel a sense of escape for a weekend. No wi-fi signal, no cell phones out, with the focus on music and the people…
Rockstar Energy’s Taste Of Mayhem Fest gave Denver’s metal community the chance to see the bulk of bands on tour at an indoor venue, separate from main stage headliners, which will play tonight at Red Rocks. The supposed undercard for this year’s fest nevertheless sold out as fans clamored to…
Despite the closure of Broadway south of Alameda, it wasn’t too difficult to find one’s way over to Syntax Physic Opera on opening weekend. Walking through the front door felt like exiting Broadway in Denver on a hot July evening and entering a ’50s jazz lounge or after-hours club, with…
See also: Rufus Baxter sleeps in his car…
It’s a particularly good week at Red Rocks, with something like half of our recommended shows taking place at the World’s Sexiest Natural Ampitheatre. There is a particularly appealing collection of Colorado talent taking that stage on Thursday, when DeVotchKa joins the symphony orchestra for what is becoming an annual…
UPDATE: Riot Fest’s organizers announced plans on July 18 to move the festival to the grounds of Sports Authority Field. In addition, organizers said they would offer any Byers residents interested in attending Riot Fest free admission, as well as free shuttle service to the venue. “Simply, we were duped,”…
The neighborhood surrounding Dryer Plug Studios, along a strip of current and former light industrial buildings on 43rd Avenue, isn’t exactly quiet. Freight trains run at semi-regular intervals less than two blocks away. Next door is a church, and across the street are some houses. The entrance is on the…
Another several-night stand at Red Rocks this weekend: The Avett Brothers play three shows at the World’s Only Natural Amphitheater. Elsewhere, Ms. Lauryn Hill will confound you with a bunch of songs that sound absolutely nothing like the hits your remember. And Joan Baez goes from Denver to Fort Collins…
I love music. I really do. But I need to get something out in the air: I have been guilty of not giving all genres of music a chance. Because of that, I have never been to a serious metal show before. That all changed a few weeks ago when…
Terry Cole is the founder and owner of Colemine Records, an independent label headquartered in Ohio, began after he and a band mate wanted to release an album under a legitimate looking label, and has now left a wake of 30 different 45s and a twenty-track compilation CD of Motown…
A new music festival called Chive Fest is coming to Denver this August, and the lineup is no small affair. It features Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Cold War Kids, Talib Kweli and more. The full roster is below. The festival is a collaboration between photo website The Chive…
Every good Coloradan knows that everything is better in the mountains. Sports, views, air and even music festivals. One reason our state has been able to draw fans and bands from around the nation (and world) is the same reason we’re able to attract so many tourists. Telluride, Colorado, hosts…
Jonathan Bitz says the process of opening Syntax Physic Opera has been heavy, it’s been emotional and it’s been by far the hardest thing he’s ever done. He was hoping to have his music venue and eatery at 554 South Broadway (which most recently housed the Bar and the Atrium)…
All good bands must come to an end. And when they do, it can be rather bittersweet. It certainly is for Tyler Ludwick. On Tuesday, he announced via Facebook that his longtime experimental chamber pop project, Princess Music, will be breaking up after one last show on August 28 at…
Thirty years after the release of Prince’s most famous album, it can still only be heard in the original mastering, which sounds terrible. In this week’s music feature, now posted on the Backbeat blog, Alan Scherstuhl discusses what makes Purple Rain’s music so powerful and why it never got the…
On stage, the vocalist for local metal-core band As the Sky Darkens is the definition of intimidating. Jon Vela isn’t very tall and has an affinity for cuffed jeans and black TOMS that contrast with a stage presence resembling that of an angry, caged animal. Shoulders hunched, he stalks across…
When the Elk Meadow Lodge requested a reunion performance by the Elktones this summer, it was to reunite all four members of the Estes Park folk band. But when the band plays on Spur 66 next week, there will only be three members on stage. Dick Orleans, Elktones bandmember and…
