Bruce Springsteen

Win a pair of tickets to see Lucero on Thursday

This Thursday evening, Lucero kicks off a three-night stand at the Bluebird. We've got a pair of tickets to the show, and we'd absolutely love for you and a guest to be our guests. If you haven't seen the band live, you should really make it a point to do so. Outside of perhaps the Hold Steady -- wh ... More >>

The ten best music books of 2012

This year, ambitious new books tackled the lives of music legends from Neil Young to Pete Townshend -- and many of these 2012 releases managed to burst through genres to offer significantly more than the average biography. We at Backbeat explored memoirs, historical surveys, ruminations on philosoph ... More >>

The thirty best concerts of 2012

While 2012 will be remembered as they year that Red Rocks hosted the most shows in its history, it's also going to go down as one of the best years for concerts in Colorado in general. As we reflected on all the incredible shows we took in this past year, there were an astounding number of what we'd ... More >>

The music fan's guide to voting

The defining narrative of American politics since the turn of the millennium seems to be that 'We the people' are screwed no matter who gets elected. Elect a Republican: We engage in pre-emptive war, the national deficit skyrockets, and we sacrifice education and infrastructure investment. Elect a D ... More >>

Reader: Benefit of a breakup -- might have Book of Mormon tickets for sale

It's been one hot summer -- and that includes an incendiary atmosphere surrounding some events, whose tickets have been moving faster than a wildfire. The Great American Beer Festival tickets disappeared in under an hour, and you can expect Bruce Springsteen to go just about as fast on Monday. Meanw ... More >>

When it comes to Bruce, David Brooks misses the point

Review: Drive-By Truckers at the Ogden Theatre, 3/9/12

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS @ OGDEN THEATRE | 03.09.12 The last time the Drive-By Truckers came through town they wrapped up a leg of a tour with a two-night stand at the Ogden Theatre a year ago. This time around, the guys kicked off a West Coast run at the same venue. Maybe it was having some off the road, ... More >>

Chartbreaker: Adele on top once again for the 23rd week

Watch out, Prince. Adele is about to set fire to your "Purple Rain." One more week, and Adele's 21 will boast the same chart record Purple Rain did in 1984 and 1985: reigning at the top of the Billboard 200 for 24 whole weeks.

Proposed $16 million dollar settlement in Ticketmaster class action suit pending approval

​In 2009, a class action lawsuit was filed against Ticketmaster by ticket buyers who were automatically redirected by Ticketmaster to TicketsNow.com, a reseller charging prices above face value. Between 2008 and 2009, ticket buyers across the country purchasing tickets for shows by acts like B ... More >>

Top 10 moments in 10 years of Invesco Field at Mile High -- soon to be Sports Authority Field

Big pics below.​It's official: Invesco Field at Mile High is about to become Sports Authority Field at Mile High. But before all the signs are changed, what were the top ten moments during the nearly ten years under the Invesco name? Here's the list and text from the history section of the Inv ... More >>

Cave Singers

Friday, April 15, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-0959.

Hey Ronnie! 10 best punk songs about Reagan

April 1983 issue of TIME. How could '80s lefties not kind of loathe and fear this guy?​Thirty years ago today, at 12:27 p.m. mountain time, John Hinckley, Jr., shot then-president Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan, of course, survived the shooting, ... More >>

Will Oldham narrating an audiobook? Here's 10 more musicians we'd like to see narrate classic books

​Audio books are all about finding the perfect actor with the perfect voice to read to you while you drive across the country. So, when we heard Will Oldham had taken on the narration of Rudolph Wurlitzer's Slow Fade, we started thinking about what other artists should venture into the same bu ... More >>

The National, Bassnectar, Sleigh Bells, the Slits filled our playlists this past week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Top ten most blatant and alleged song heists

Earlier this week, Nick Cave responded to accusations that he nicked the basis of the song "Palaces of Montezuma" from a tune by some guy named Frank Duffy called "Grey Man." It seems absurd someone as versatile as Cave would intentionally borrow a lick or two from another song. Any similarities ... More >>

Ten songs proven to make you cry -- if you're British

​Hey, ladies, think your male friends are resilient to emotion? Perhaps you've never seen them tear up, save for that lone teardrop that forms at the end of Rocky IV. Well, if you're looking to evoke a little emotion from a partner, a recent study suggests you can do it with a song. The stu ... More >>

Wyclef Jean: Haiti's next president? Here are five musicians we think should run in the U.S.

​Yesterday, CNN reported that Wyclef Jean has entered himself into the bid for president in Haiti. This doesn't mark the first time a celebrity has run for office, and while we wish him the best of luck, we have to wonder what qualifications he has other than being a member of the seminal '90s ... More >>

The Fray to release a covers album

​ It's been about a year and half since the Fray's last release, the self-titled follow-up to its double platinum debut, How to Save a Life. In between touring and writing songs for its next album, Denver's favorite power-ballad purveyors have been working on a cover album. We caught up with D ... More >>

The Muppets cover "Dust in the Wind." Here's five more songs we'd like to see 'em tackle.

You know the world is going to shit when the Muppets have to step up and offer commentary about something. In the case of this video, we have to admit, we agree with the underlying sentiments. In case you haven't seen yet: Beaker's delicate and inspirational attempt at Kansas' "Dust in the Wind," ... More >>

Rosanne Cash top seller at Twist and Shout

​Rosanne Cash's The List, which features cameos by Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Tweedy, grabbed the top spot at Twist & Shout for the week ending November 15. Bad Weather California's Young Punks came in second, Jerry Garcia's 1975 live recording Let it Rock nab ... More >>

When music meets movies: Ten Great Hollywood Decisions

​All right, a few weeks ago we offered up our take on the ten worst moments of crossover disaster, ill-advised efforts to mate movies with music. Now it's time to look at the flip side of the coin, the ten movies in which music and Hollywood made great bedfellows, outstanding cinematic turns that ... More >>

The Fray grabs top spot at Twist & Shout again

For the second week in the row, the Fray's new self-titled album grabbed the number one spot on Twist & Shout's top seller list. Elsewhere, it's not too surprising that Robert Plant & Alison Krauss's Raising Sand,which just won a Grammy for Album of the Year, claimed the second spot, followe ... More >>

Week in Review: 2/16/09 - 2/20/09

All right, so we've reached the end of another work week in the Mile High City. While we can no longer brag about having the best selling band in the country, from what we can tell, Denver music is still on the minds and in the ears of at least a few prominent folks in what's left of the industry. T ... More >>

The Westword.com blog shortcut, February 18 edition

Devandra Banhart. The blogsophere never stops, does it? Today in Backbeat Online: • Ten bands we'd watch on TV. • Reviews of new releases by Bruce Springsteen, Charlie Louvin, John Shannon. • See Slipknot free courtesy of FashioNation. • Rowboat, row me to my shore. • The Fray covers... ... More >>

Shockingly, the Fray captures top spot at Twist & Shout

The Fray dominates Twist & ShoutOkay, clearly we're being sarcastic with that headline, for it comes as very little surprise that the Fray captured the top spot at Twist & Shout this week. We're not privy to the actual SoundScan numbers yet, but suffice it to say, we're eager to see if inter ... More >>

Springsteen, Modest Mouse, Conor Oberst shows announced

Modest Mouse visits CU's Balch Fieldhouse February 28. As we reported earlier today, Bruce Springsteen's April 10 Pepsi Center show was announced today, but it's also been a busy week for other concert announcements, including Modest Mouse's February 28 gig at CU's Balch Fieldhouse, Conor Oberst's A ... More >>

Give me Liberty Boots or give me death

Jeff Finlin

Ballad of a Plain Man
Bent Wheel Records

The Soundtrack to Your Future Unemployment: Five More Songs

Q&A With the Jonas Brothers

Critics' Picks for 2007

Backbeat scribes sound off on their favorite releases of the past year.

Jeff Finlin

Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret

Beyond Playlist: Charles Mingus and More

Excitable Book

Crystal Zevon tells the story of her late ex-husband with a little help from his friends.

Nationalistic

Our music writers pick the year’s national bests.

The Killers

Sam¹s Town (Island)

Red Cloud West

Monkey Mania

The Boss Martians

Saturday, April 15, Bender's Tavern, 303-861-7070.

Critic's Choice

Manalive!

The Planet The

Tuesday, May 4, 15th Street Tavern, 303-629-9621.

Hit Pick

Risk

Comic Correction

Maher keeps on joking

Hammer of the Gods

With a handful of artists, "classic rock" is not a pejorative.

Various artists

Now That's What I Call Music! 6 (Epic)

And the Emmy Goes to...

Many important musicians won't be on stage in Boulder with Emmylou Harris -- but they'll be with her.

Growing Up in Public

Mike Ness makes an album without so much Social Distortion.

Culture: It's a Good Thing

Quiz Show

Before you declare yourself a Grammy expert, let Backbeat test your skills.

Off Limits

MIX AND MATCH

HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT SUMMER CONCERT FOR YOU.