Westword Music Showcase
Gates at 11:30am
Saturday, June 21, 2014
12p.m. - 10 p.m.
Golden Triangle
Denver's Largest Music Festival!
Main Stage All Ages
Diplo
Known internationally as a curator amongst the world's most cutting edge DJs, producers, and musical movements Wesley Pentz (better known as DIPLO) has experienced a variety of successes. The last few years have been spent running through the club circuit and having chart-topping hits with refreshing irreverence. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1978, Pentz spent most his childhood in Florida working in his fathers bait shop and being turned onto music thru then new mediums like MTV. Drifting North thru the state came Miami Bass and from the West came the sounds of Southern Hip Hop artists. The musical influence and variety coalesced and at 18 Pentz moved to Philadelphia for college at Temple University to study Film & Music. While a student he took a job in the South Philadephia community as a social worker and created the influential Hollertronix club night, which was the beginning of his fledgling career as DIPLO. Read More >>
2 Chainz
When it comes to 2 Chainz's career, he possesses a Zen-like patience. After forming Playaz Circle in 1997, the rapper formerly known as Tity Boi scored success 10 years later when the duo's 2007 Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam debut, "Supply & Demand," reached No. 3 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on the strength of the No.15 single "Duffle Bag Boy," featuring Lil Wayne. Two years and seven solo mixtapes later — together with a new moniker — the rapper is nearing critical mass. 2 Chainz released his DJ Drama-hosted Gangsta Grillz mixtape "T.R.U. REALigion," in November 2011, with features appearances from T.I., Birdman, Young Jeezy and Big Sean, a testament to his relentless touring regimen, self-financing and persistence. "My whole campaign is believing that I got this far by being independent and, at the same time, being true to myself."
Cherub
Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber take their fun very, very seriously. The pair behind the ambitious and emphatic Nashville duo Cherub craft hooky electro-pop that lyrically captures the risque, pleasure-seeking impulses of their youth, while their studio expertise results in grooves so alluring, even your parents can dance to them. Which is their exact goal on Antipasto EP, the precursor to their highly anticipated Year of the Caprese debut LP.
Kelley explains, "it's just the coolest thing if you can have different generations dancing to the same song." Cherub doesn't just commingle age groups. Huber and Kelley's musicianship and imagination allows them to create their own ideas about style and music rather than abiding to genre. Featuring the viral hit "Doses and Mimosas," two new songs and a Knocks remix, the four-track set serves as the boldest alignment of their diverse musical interests yet, ranging from brash rock to playful pop to seductive R&B. Read More >>
Man Man
Man Man is a fearlessly unique band from Philadelphia. The group's fifth full length album On Oni Pond features an arresting reconstruction of the group's visionary sound — stripped to its core and rebuilt as something new and compelling yet still very much Man Man. This marked shift is a direct result of an intensive collaboration between the band's frontman, Honus Honus, and drummer Pow Pow, who has assumed a new-found prominence in the songwriting process, bringing an exhilarating array of new rhythmic ideas to the mix. "With this album we got to do something that very few bands or creative people get to do which is a reboot, and one that feels natural," comments Honus Honus. Read More >>
King Khan & The Shrines
It has been a lengthy hiatus, but we have finally finished our latest "masterpiece" and named it after an incredible indigenous-rights movement that is happening right now called Idle No More.
I was born and raised in Montreal and spent a lot of time on the Kahnawake Mohawk Indian reservation. Much of my juvenile delinquent training came from years of tripping out there with my best friends.
I began the Shrines in 1999 with the blessings from my brothers in The Spaceshits, right after we disbanded. The dream was to make something reminiscent of Sun Ra, James Brown, and Otis Redding with a hint of The Velvet Underground, Love, The Monks and about a million other influences that riddled my LSD-soaked brain at the tender age of 22.
The Shrines was my pirate ship and we sailed many a turbulent sea, spreading our music "like peanut butter" all over the world. We celebrated our cult "underground" status and became the kings we are through word of mouth and by making an "aural eyegasm" that has often been called the "wildest show on earth." Read More >>
Modern Suspects
Photo courtesy of Glenn Ross
Keeping no secrets, telling no lies. ~ Modern Suspects
Pink Hawks
This 12-piece afrobeat/latin ensemble delivers original horn-driven melodies and West African percussion that will allow you to escape your worries and dance like you've never danced before.
Reno Divorce
With equal parts of Orange County punk rock, honky tonk country, and rockabilly swagger, Reno Divorce strikes a unique chord of their own with their brand of "Punk Rock n' Roll." The band's longevity is positive proof that paying dues is the only way to the top.
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