MS Achille Lauro

New Denver shows: Kid Rock's $20 tour, Muse at Pepsi Center, 311/Blues Traveler at Red Rocks

Ever the equal opportunity rocker, Kid Rock is bringing his Best Night Ever tour to Fiddler's and every seat in the house is $20. "Everyone knows the economy is still hurting people across the country," he says, "but I didn't want that to be a reason why everyone couldn't get out and enjoy themselve ... More >>

Poet Ken Arkind on his new book, Denver, and the purpose of poetry in a music-driven world

When they met a few years ago, Ken Arkind and Charly Fasano became fast friends. Like Arkind -- an American National Poetry Slam Champion who tours the world performing and teaching poetry as executive director of the award-winning Minor Disturbance Youth Slam Team -- Fasano liked to perform poetry ... More >>

Denver in Verse

New Denver shows: P!NK, Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls, Barenaked Ladies, Guster

It's March 2013 -- at least according to the calendar. If you went by the concert calendar for the past few weeks, however, you'd swear it's the mid to late '90s. P!NK, Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls, Barenaked Ladies, Ben Folds Five and Guster, Darius Rucker. If you're already nostalgic for the ... More >>

10 things to do for $10 in Denver this weekend (7 free!), December 7-9

Money troubles? Forget your cares while enjoying some of the bargain entertainment in Denver this weekend. Friday thrugh Sunday are full of interesting events -- everything from watching classic Saturday morning cartoons and local comedy to gazing at dinosaur bones -- and we've found seven great eve ... More >>

Open Media Foundation celebrates sixth anniversary with party, awards Friday

On Friday, December 7, the Denver Open Media Foundation will celebrate six years of independent voices on Denver Open Media with a party from 7:30 to 10 p.m. - with music by Achille Lauro, pioneers in Denver's independent music scene; a silent auction to support independent businesses and OMF; and f ... More >>

Fat Jack's Supersubs expanding on Colfax, with local art...and seats!

Fat Jack's Supersubs, a local sandwich chain, is adding a few new things, including a fourth location in Stapleton, local art...and chairs. Until now, none of the Fat Jack's locations have had inside dining options -- they've been carryout and delivery only -- but the store at 1245 East Colfax Aven ... More >>

Open Air 1340 AM to celebrate its first anniversary with a pair of "super group" sessions

It's hard to believe that it's been a year already since Open Air 1340 launched, but it has been. This time last year -- on Halloween, to be specific -- the station aired its first broadcast, and to celebrate this momentous occasion, the station has enlisted some of the scene's most prominent player ... More >>

Backbeat's top five spins: This is what we're listening to this week. What's on your playlist?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it shouldn't be surprising to find that the most common (and mutually favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off ... More >>

New Colorado concerts: The Deftones at the Fillmore, Steve Winwood at the Paramount

This week, there's only been a handful of new shows announced, but they're all good ones, including the Deftones who are slated to hit the Fillmore in October just prior to the release of their new album, Steve Winwood, who's due at the Paramount in November, and Black Angels who will ring in the Ne ... More >>

New Denver Concerts: Alanis Morissette, State Radio, Adventure Club and more on sale Friday

See also: - Bruce Springsteen, Waka Flocka Flame, Chevelle and more - Gov't Mule two nights in September, Primus in November and more - The Who, New Order, the Script, Minus the Bear, Cursive lead this week's shows - Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Odd Future, Atmosphere and XX lead this week's shows ... More >>

New Denver Concerts: Bruce Springsteen, Waka Flocka Flame, Chevelle and more

See Also: - Gov't Mule two nights in September, Primus in November and more - The Who, New Order, the Script, Minus the Bear, Cursive lead this week's shows - Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Odd Future, Atmosphere and XX lead this week's shows - Afghan Whigs, Amanda Palmer, Aimee Mann and Seether lead t ... More >>

#WMS 2012 recap: Bar Standard

Every year, for the Westword Music Showcase, we enlist our army of Backbeat wordsmiths to host various stages, and in addition to their emcee obligations, we ask them to pull double duty (or triple-duty in some cases) and also write up the acts that appear on their individual stages. Tom Murphy host ... More >>

2012 Westword Music Showcase schedule

Alright, it's here! Finally! The waiting is over! The eighteenth annual Westword Music Showcase. You've probably already printed it out, cut it out, copied and highlighted the schedule, but just in case you haven't, here's the most up-to-date version of today's lineup for the Showcase. All of the TB ... More >>

Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Shinedown, Godsmack, Steve Vai and Kimbra lead this week's shows

A fresh batch of new shows announced this week, including Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller at Red Rocks, the Head and the Heart and Blitzen Trapper at the Boulder Theater, Kimbra at the Ogden Theatre, Shinedown and Godsmack at Comfort Dental and Steve Vai at the Ogden. Page down for a full rundown plus lo ... More >>

Rise Against, Peter Gabriel, Ben Harper, Passion Pit, Alabama Shakes lead this week's new shows

And it don't stop. Another batch of great shows announced this week, including Rise Against, who's due for a pair of back-to-back nights at the Fillmore in September, as well as Peter Gabriel, who will be performing his album So in its entirety a few nights later at Red Rocks. Wait, there's more: th ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring Wilco, 311, Slightly Stoopid, Dukes of September and more were announced; Overcasters, Lumineers, Churchill and the Jekylls got spins on local radio; and recent albums from the Shins, E-40, Fun. and th ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring Aerosmith and Cheap Trick, Pretty Lights, Tenacious D, Umphrey's Mcgee and more were announced; Overcasters, Lumineers, Churchill and the Jekylls got spins on local radio; and recent albums from the Sh ... More >>

2012 Westword Music Showcase Ballot

Update 3/14/12: The polls are officially open. Please feel free to make your way to the 2012 Westword Music Showcase ballot and register your vote! The 2012 Westword Music Showcase ballot is here -- no more waiting. Well, that's not entirely true: You will have to wait another day or so before the ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring the Beach Boys, Florence the Machine, the Walkmen, Passion Pit and Justice were announced; Coles Whalen, Caleb Slade, FaceMan and the Apples got spins on local radio; and recent albums from Adele, Te ... More >>

Weekend's best live bets: Ryan Adams, Lotus and more

Update: The Ryan Adams show originally slated for tonight the Temple Buell has been postponed until tomorrow night. The Dr. Dog show has also been postponed, but a new date has not been announced. What's a little snow? Blizzard schmizzard. There's too much great music this weekend to stay at home. ... More >>

FaceMan's Waltz: Listen to a track from the new record

This Friday, February 3, at the Bluebird Theater, FaceMan is celebrating the release of its new album, Feeding Time, with a full slate of guests, including members of Achille Lauro, the Knew, Flobots, Boulder Acoustic Society, Hindershot, Wheelchair Sports Camp and more. Feeding Time, the outfit's s ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's happening in music on the Front Range this week: On the concert front, shows from moe., the Bag Raiders and Jane's Addiction were announced; Monroe Monroe, Elway, Shel and Fierce Bad Rabbit got spins on local radio; and new releases from Florence and the Machine, Drake, Childish Gambin ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

​Here's what's happening in music on the Front Range this week: On the concert front, shows Tech N9ne, Lucinda Williams and Jimmy Buffet were announced. On local radio specialty shows, Monroe Monroe, Air Dubai, Spires and Popcult all got some spins. Meanwhile, at our local record stores, new a ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase 2011

The Westword Music Showcase celebrates seventeen years, a lifetime for some of 2011's performers

Mile Highlights: This week's concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's good in the Mile High City this week: In concert news, the Avett Brothers announced another Colorado date on July 8 at the Boulder Theater the night before their sold-out Red Rocks show, the FMQB Triple A Conference is returning to the Fox, Diana Ross is due at Wells Fargo in Septemb ... More >>

Jen Korte bidding farewell to the Mile High City next Friday at the Larimer Lounge

"Denver is a city made of heart, and those who are in our artistic community work every day to keep that heart pumping and alive," she says. "I am proud to say when I move on that I am now from Denver and I will speak of it with nothing more than love and reverence."

2011 Westword Music Showcase Ballot

​Seventeen years! It's hard to believe we've been doing the Westword Music Showcase for that long. I can still remember being at the first one in LoDo nearly two decades ago. And when I think back, it seems like that cold, rainy Sunday night was just a few years ago.

Mile Highlights: Shows announced/on sale this week, local radio playlists and top local sellers

​ Here's what's good in the Mile High City this week. On the concert front: Peter Gabriel and Widespread Panic are coming to Red Rocks in June, while Sade is due at the Pepsi Center in August. Meanwhile on local radio, My Body Sings Electric, Pacific Pride, the Sunshine House and String Chees ... More >>

Moovers and Shakers: Our favorite Denver music releases of 2010

Free Christmas music from Kissing Party

​What's more festive than giving away music? Nothing, as far as we're concerned, which is why we're raising our wassail to the Kissing Party and its dark new Christmas song, "Winter in the Pub." The Kissing Party is generally a summer sort of band. This year's The Hate Album is full of brillia ... More >>

Tonight: Hot Congress Residency at Meadowlark

John Botts​For this week's installment of the Hot Congress residency at Meadowlark, the group is bringing out the big guns, with Hindershot being joined by Vitamins, Kissing Party, and Luke Hunter James-Erickson. For the entire month of November, the collective and record label has handpicke ... More >>

Pretty Lights, Ween and Jay-Z filled our playlists this 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 >>

Beside Rick Ross and Big Boi, we're all listening to completely different stuff this 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?" So 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 ... More >>

Stream the new Candy Claws album for the next week

Matthew Sage/Ryan Hover​From being praised on Pitchfork to having all of their gear destroyed in a car fire, it's been a month of ups and downs for Candy Claws. Knock on wood, but things look to be back on the upswing: This weekend at the hi-dive in the company of Achille Lauro (this show doub ... More >>

UMS Night Two Travelogue: Pink Hawks at the Skylark, Achille Lauro at Club 404 and more

A.H. GoldsteinNon from Oklahoma City set up shop on the sidewalk​ UMS Travelogue, Night Two 7.23.10 | Baker District/South Broadway I started my tour of South Broadway relatively late in the evening, heading south from the 404 Lounge at around 9:45 p.m. Turns out I still had plenty of time t ... More >>

Erykah Badu, Brian Eno on our playlists this 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?" So 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 ... More >>

Presenting the 2010 Westword Music Showcase Schedule and Map

IMPORTANT SCHEDULING UPDATE: Due to circumstances beyond our control (and, more to the point, frontman Chris Fogal's) TAUNTAUN will not be performing in the 6:15 - 7 p.m. slot at Broadway's tomorrow. While Fogal is resting his aching back ("I would tough it out," he assures us, "but the problem is t ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase local lineup revealed

Gabriel Rovick And Ryan James (Focus 4 Design)​ The complete lineup for Showcase has been finalized, and all that's left to do now is countdown the days until the sixteenth annual Westword Music Showcase takes place on Saturday, June 19. Nearly a hundred local acts (well over a hundred if y ... More >>

Presenting the 2010 Westword Music Showcase Ballot

​ This past February, when we started putting together the 2010 Westword Music Showcase, we posted an item asking you how we could improve our annual music festival, this year set for Saturday, June 19, in the Golden Triangle (if you haven't already purchased your tickets, you can still buy d ... More >>

See which local acts got love on local radio this week

​Here what the area's local-centric specialty radio shows were spinning this week. We're currently tracking the playlists a number of different shows including, Radio 1190's Local Shakedown*, KTCL's Locals Only, The Colorado Sound, which originates at KRFC and is re-broadcast all over Colorado ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of April 5, 2010

​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?" So 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 ... More >>

Presenting a half-dozen acts worth keeping an eye on in 2010

Q&A with Crawford Phileo (Vitamins), Lucas Johannes (Action Packed Thrill Ride) and Jon Evans (Achille Lauro) of the Hot Congress collective

​Hot Congress came together when a few friends came up with the idea of putting out a compilation by every band that was a member. These friends figured they were better off working together rather than struggling alone, and thus a mini-community with ties outside its membership was formed around ... More >>

Dialed In: This week's local music radio playlists

​Here what the area's local-centric specialty radio shows were spinning this week. We're currently tracking the playlists a number of different shows, including Radio 1190's Local Shakedown, KTCL's Locals Only*, 99.5 the Mountain's Homegrown Show*, the Colorado Sound, which originates at KRFC and ... More >>

Fruit Bats

Saturday, August 29, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

Dialed In: This week's local music radio playlists

​Here what the area's local-centric specialty radio shows were spinning this week. We're currently tracking the playlists a number of different shows, including Radio 1190's long-running Local Shakedown, KTCL's Locals Only, the Colorado Sound, which originates at KRFC and is re-broadcast all over ... More >>

Update: Westword Music Showcase line-up

Update: As with year's past, before the ink's even dry on the schedule, we've had to make made some minor more changes. Among the recent ones: We've moved the metal showcase from Andrew's to Broadways (two doors down from Bar Standard, next to the pawnshop), and moved the punk line-up to Bannock Str ... More >>

Glorytellers

Saturday, March 15, hi-dive, 720-570-4500.

Hair Apparent