Folk Music

You've never heard 'zombie death polka' quite like the Widow's Bane does it

The Head and the Heart at CU Boulder, 11/1/12

THE HEAD AND THE HEART @ COORS EVENT CENTER | 11/1/12 President Obama's speech last night at the University of Colorado's Coors Event Center marked the umpteenth time the Commander in Chief has stopped in the Centennial State this campaign season -- just last week, he was touting his record in Denv ... More >>

R.I.P. Levon Helm, 5/26/40 - 4/19/12

See Also: At the Helm - A throat cancer survivor, the Band's Levon Helm can't sing anymore -- but the beat goes on Levon Helm, iconic drummer and singer extraordinaire of the Band, died yesterday at the age of 71, after a long and strenuous battle with throat cancer. Helm's imaginative drumming and ... More >>

David Bowie's Hunky Dory turns forty

David Bowie's Hunky Dory was originally released on December 17, 1971​No matter how hard he tried, David Bowie just couldn't fit into the '60s. From having to abandon his birth-name (Davy Jones) to the pop-darling Monkees singer, to staring in Ice Cream commercials in order to finance his tank ... More >>

Brian Blade on the history of the Fellowship Band and working with Daniel Lanois

​Having established himself as an in-demand drummer in both jazz and rock circles by working with everyone from Wayne Shorter and Bill Frisell to Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, Brian Blade is also a strong leader in his own right -- namely, with his Fellowship Band, which will be at Dazzle tonig ... More >>

Top five Pulitzer-worthy music memoirs

Nothing, to our way of thinking, is more captivating than the true story of very real struggle. We all have these little musical fantasies, strumming our Fenders in the dark of our apartments, listening to a little Miles Davis or Johnny Cash.

Justin Townes Earle carves out his own legacy

Last Night: Steve Earle at Boulder Theater

Steve Earle, Hayes Carll Tuesday, February 2 Boulder Theater Steve Earle (photo by Kiernan Maletsky)​ Steve Earle is going to pretend he's playing a Tom Waits cover, but we all know he's doing the theme from The Wire. That out-of-his mind guy in the back with the shockingly loud voice tells h ... More >>

Susan Boyle on top again at Twist and Shout

​Susan Boyle continues to dominate the charts at Twist & Shout and once again grabbed the top spot with her debut, I Dreamed a Dream. Tom Waits is still putting up a fight with Glitter and Doom Live and came in second while Christmas records from Sting and Bob Dylan came in third and fourth fo ... More >>

Bob Dylan top seller at Wax Trax

​Bob Dylan's first Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart, grabbed the top spot at Wax Trax for the week ending December 13. Shrinebuilder's self-titled debut continues to be a strong seller and came in at number two, while Slayer's World Painted Blood came in at number three. Them Crooked Vultur ... More >>

Norah Jones top seller at Bart's CD Cellar again

​Norah Jones' latest effort, The Fall, nabbed the top spot at Bart's CD Cellar for the second week in a row. Tom Petty's four-disc Live Anthology, released last week on Reprise, came in second while Them Crooked Vultures' self-titled debut came in third for the week ending November 29. Bob Dylan's ... More >>

Flaming Lips top sellar at Bart's CD Cellar

​The Flaming Lips new album, Embryonic, was the top seller at Bart's CD Cellar for the week ending October 25, while Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 and Roseanne Cash's The List grabbed the second and third spots. Bob Dylan's new Christmas album and Kevon Edwards' Who Knew rounded out the top five. See th ... More >>

Flaming Lips grab top spot at Bart's CD Cellar

​The Flaming Lips latest effort, Embryonic, debuted at the number one spot at Bart's CD Cellar for the week ending October 18. Bob Dylan's Christmas in the Heart, released last week on Columbia, came in second and Built to Spill's There Is No Enemy came in third, while the Avett Brothers' I and Lo ... More >>

Flaming Lips top seller at Twist and Shout

​The Flaming Lips' two-disc Embryonic, released last week on Warner Brothers, debuted at the top spot at Twist & Shout for the week ending October 18 while the Monsters of Folk's self-titled debut and Emmitt-Nershi Band's New Country Blues grabbed the second and third slots. Bob Dylan's Christ ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 12, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Q&A with Frank Turner

​There is a long tradition of ex-punk rockers trading in their power chords and electric guitars for the idyllic green pastures of folk music. Frank Turner of Winchester, England made that very leap a few years ago after the breakup of his progressive hardcore band Million Dead had reached its ... More >>

Grizzly Bear top seller at Twist and Shout

Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest, released last week on the Warp imprint, knocked Green Day down to the second slot at Twist & Shout for the week ending May31. Phoenix's new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, grabbed the third slot while Steve Earle and Bob Dylan rounded out the top five. See the full b ... More >>

Q&A with Kevin Devine

Photo by Denny DoesKevin Devine. Singer-songwriter Kevin Devine, the subject of a profile in this week's Westword advancing his Sunday, May 24 gig at the Marquis Theatre with Miniature Tigers, The Rouge and Brian Bonz, is the rarest of interview subjects: a guy who listeners carefully to every ques ... More >>

Bob Dylan grabs top spot at Twist and Shout

Bob Dylan's latest disc, Together Through Life, was the top seller for the second week in a row at Twist and Shout, while new releases from Ben Harper, Isis, Peaches and St. Vincent rounded out the list for the week ending May 10. See the full breakdown after the jump.

Pleistocene top seller at Wax Trax

For the week ending May 10, local glacial rockers Pleistocene topped Wax Trax's best seller list with their new album, The Mammoth and the Microchip. New releases by Bob Dylan, Metric, Cursive and Isis also earned spots in the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

Bob Dylan top seller at Twist & Shout

Bob Dylan's Together Through Life, released last week on Columbia, grabbed the top spot at Twist and Shout for the week ending May 3. Depeche Mode, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Neko Case rounded out the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

Queer Folk

The Fleet Foxes hit a soft spot with their pastoral brand of baroque pop

That's All Folk

The Swallow Hill HarvestFest redefines a musical genre.

Planetary Vibes

Swallow Hill celebrates world-fusion folk music.

For Pete's Sake

Cat Power

Jukebox
Matador

The Hidden Cameras

Awoo (Arts & Crafts)

Simply the Fest

Musicians strum for Swallow Hill.

Jolie Holland

Friday, June 23, Boulder Theater, Boulder, 303-786-7030; Saturday, June 24, Bluebird Theater, 1-866-468-7621.

The Love Letter Band

Fear Not My Brothers, Fear Not My Sisters, For I Have Seen the Future... (Happy Happy Birthday to Me)

Listen Up

Stories on Stage raises the political bunting.

In Black and White

Great photos by John Cohen at Singer, and quirky scratchboards by Jason Needham at Zip 37.

OCS

Monday, May 30, Monkey Mania, 303-292-4370.

Black History Speaks

Shadow Theatre's Paul Robeson restores an American giant.

Brown's in Town

Folksinger plays Swallow Hill

Critic's Choice

Ron Miles

Townes Van Zandt

Texas Rain: The Texas Hill Country Recordings, The Best of Townes Van Zandt (Tomato)
A Gentle Evening With Townes Van Zandt (Dualtone)

The Band

The Last Waltz (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Artbeat

Brief sketches of what's happening in the Denver art scene.

Best Uncategorizable Recording

Carnival Detournement
Hamster Theatre

Night & Day

April 15-21, 1999

Life in the Fest Lane

Lord Knows

Mary Lou Lord is smarter than the average busker.

Taking Music by the Throat

Playlist

Carving a Niche

From body bags to gang shootings, artist Bill Potts has seen the horror--and held on to the dream.

Native Tongues

On her new album, Tish Hinojosa speaks her languages.

THRILLS

THRILLS