Rocky Mountain Low Brought the Best of DIY in Denver

Over this past extended weekend, Rocky Mountain Low didn't just showcase a slice of the real underground rock scene in Denver. It could have been just all straight ahead rock or punk or metal or a combination thereof. But what it did though, without overtly stating this as a purpose,...

By Tom Murphy

August 15, 2016

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Rocky Mountain Low didn't just showcase a slice of the real underground rock scene in Denver. The festival, held from Thursday, August 11, to Sunday, August 14, brought bands that rarely play a commercial venue together with bands that often do.

Bands like Sin Cave, Barbed Wire and Cadaver Dog rarely, if ever, play outside the DIY-venue circuit, which can be an intimidating one. But the organizers of Low brought those bands into a more mainstream space like the Meadowlark. The organizers also made Low's shows more accessible to different age groups, as the age restriction was 16+.

Each night of the festival focused on a different musical genre. Post-punk bands played the first night, punk band the second night, experimental music and metal the third night and skate punk the fourth. But none of the lineups felt predictable, which was a testament to the careful curation that went into selecting the bands.

Evidently, Low's organizers, Brian Castillo of Heavy Dose Records and Reed Bruemmer of Poison Rites, have the second Rocky Mountain Low in the works for next year. Continue on for photos from the weekend.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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