Concerts

Update, 5/16: We’ve added a couple dozen bands to the lineup, bringing the running total to 121 Colorado bands in addition to the five touring ones — the full list as of today is below! The Westword Music Showcase is less than two months away. On June 21, 130-ish Colorado…

In a world where you can buy a Dead Kennedys T-shirt at Urban Outfitters, the “punk” label has lost some of its ability to describe anything at all. We spent the past couple of months going to the shows that still embody the genre’s original spirit, the ones that now…

Last week, we held the first of three Westword Music Showcase social hours. Times were had. I’ve spent the week listening to new music I discovered there, and I hope to find a bunch more at round two, which we’ll hold tonight. You’re welcome to join us from 5 p.m…

After 28 years at 7699 West 88th Avenue, Hoffbrau Colorado moved to a new 15,000 square-foot space at 9110 Wadsworth Parkway. It’s about twice as big as the old location and features an expanded stage and more ambitious concert calendar. The grand opening is tonight, May 15 with live music…

For the past 25 years, Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre in Englewood has been owned by the Museum of Outdoor Arts and operated under a single lease, most recently controlled by Live Nation. Last year, that lease expired, and AEG Live signed on to operate the venue for the next fifteen years…

Jordan Leone just turned nineteen, but she’s already a veteran of the behind-the-scenes world of music. She was so adept as an intern for a record label in Australia that they offered her a job, but she returned to Denver to pursue a degree and a burgeoning career as DJ…

Now rolling out the sixth edition of its local music and comedy compilation, ZetaKaye House’s This Ain’t No Cowtown is more than just a labor of love — it’s like a second job. Sorting through hundreds of submissions for the 2014 edition of the compilation, ZetaKaye House’s John Baxter says…

Riot Fest has just announced its 2014 lineup, and it features Slayer, The Cure, Wu Tang Clan, Die Antwoord and more. The festival will make its second appearance in Denver (well, technically Byers, where the host May Farms is located) from September 19 to 21. A limited number of early…

As the mercury drops and a light drizzle starts to fall at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the emcee of the Spark Run can’t stop reminding us of how much fun we’re about to have. “This is not your ordinary night!” he shouts from the top of the scaffolding that overlooks…

These days, shows are pretty easy to find out about if you want to and relatively easy to get to. There is rarely true mystique surrounding a concert anymore. But over the weekend, Thug Entrancer played a show at a secret location, and it felt like something from the ’90s,…

The throngs of metal-heads at Slayer’s sold-out Fillmore appearance may have been more excited for the show than Slayer’s own front man Tom Araya. It was Slayer’s first Denver stop since the death of guitarist Jeff Hanneman and the well-publicized split with drummer Dave Lombardo, both in the last year…

It’s close to midnight on Friday night, and the crowd at the Bluebird is enraptured by the singer on stage. There’s something of Buddy Holly in him, and he’s tearing through a cover of “Valerie” that would make Amy Winehouse proud. The singer is Brent Cowles, here for the CD-release…

Planet Bluegrass is a place that holds special significance, not just to fans — who line up days ahead of time for the ranch’s annual RockyGrass festival — but to the artists who play there. Partly that’s because of its setting: Tucked beside a cliff wall and the St. Vrain…

You know gamelan music?” asks Michael Stein. “The instruments are tuned slightly differently, so that’s how they get it to shimmer. They play slightly out of time, so it has an organic delay to it. [Canadian musician] Mac DeMarco’s guitar is shitty and the neck’s really loose, so when he…

Pan Astral has been on the rise in the Denver music scene, partly thanks to their commitment to incorporating visual art with their musical talents. They have found the RiNo District to be the perfect home base for that combination. “The RiNo District is blowing up for sure, and the…

Editor: Robin Edwards is a frequent Westword contributor who has played in several Denver bands. Her solo project is called Lisa Prank. Sometimes I wonder what it was like before bands had Internet presences. Did creepy dudes just send their vaguely threatening messages to female musicians through the mail with…

We’ve had some good times, Chris Carrabba. It wasn’t pretty, but I fell pretty hard for Dashboard Confessional. But that was a long time ago. This is where I say I’ve had enough, Chris. It’s over. I hoped it wouldn’t be. But after that show last night at the Bluebird,…

This week’s cover story, “Rocks and Roll,” is about four concertgoers who were injured by falling rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in September 2011. They’re now suing the city of Denver, which owns Red Rocks. They allege that the city was lax in its efforts to prevent such an incident…

Andrea Petrucelli is standing on the street in Austin during SXSW, handing out cards printed with directions for downloading a song by the Denver band You, Me and Apollo. She is committed to her task, yelling to the hordes of music fans walking by that the song is a must-have…

The original spirit of punk rock lives on in Denver’s vibrant DIY music scene, where shows are open to all comers and the surroundings are as likely to include books as they are beer. We talked to a handful of fans about the scene and about the stories behind their…

Four people who were injured by falling rocks at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in September 2011 are suing the City of Denver, which owns Red Rocks. In all, seven people were hit by rocks during the encore of a Sound Tribe Sector 9 show, but only four have filed lawsuits. They…