Nick Drake

The ten most timid musicians

There's a long history of musicians who suffered from and overcame (or sometimes didn't overcome) crippling shyness, anxiety and stage fright to fulfill their dreams of standing in the spotlight. That spotlight, it's a cruel, uncaring light. So bright. So uncomfortably warm. Everyone's staring at yo ... More >>

Here's what we're all listening to right now: What's on your playlist this week?

Music is life. Or at least it is for us. When we're not writing about it, we're thinking about it, talking about it or listening to it. These are the things that were in heavy rotation for us this week. What are you listening to? What should we be listening to? C'mon now. Sharing is caring. Don't ho ... More >>

Gateway acts: How Beck opened up a whole new world to an evangelical boy from the Midwest

Gateway acts is a new ongoing series on Backbeat in which we examine the music that served as an entry point for our burgeoning musical obsessions, a gateway drug that tuned us in and turned us on. Today, Josiah Hesse gives up the goods on his Beck jones. There is no way to listen to the music of ... 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's not surprising that the most common (and 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 we go, on and on about t ... 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 >>

The five most listened-to songs and albums of the week, August 20 through August 27

Well, lookie here. What you do know? It's the return of Heavy Rotation. Longtime readers of Backbeat will remember this feature as one in which we shared our weekly listening habits in hopes of giving you some insight into our individual sensibilities. It's been dormant for a while, but starting tod ... More >>

Michael Kiwanuka

Tuesday, August 7, Bluebird Theater, 888-929-7849.

Jason Anderson: "Whether there are five people or fifty people... I just give everything I have"

See Also: - Tonight: Jason Anderson at the hi-dive - The members of Holophrase on working with Ikey Owens on Horizons of Expectation Jason Anderson's startlingly unvarnished yet well-crafted songs and his intimate and charismatic performance style evoke the sense of a compassionate and unpretentio ... More >>

Joe Sampson

Kill Our Friends
Fellow Creature Recordings

Patrick Dethlefs plays at Swallow Hill, Friday, June 8

Nick Drake's Pink Moon turns forty

In his best selling book Killing Yourself to Live, Chuck Klosterman asserts that "the best career move any musician can make is to stop breathing." When examining Kurt Cobain's post-mortem transformation from junkie dad to iconic voice of a generation, Klosterman notes that the suicide told everyone ... More >>

Senon Williams of Dengue Fever: "We did one gig at a time in the beginning."

Dengue Fever (due tonight at the Bluebird Theater) was born of Zac and Ethan Holtzman's fascination with the pop music that had come out of Cambodia prior to the Khmer Rouge takeover of that country in 1975. Pre-Khmer Rouge Cambodia had a thriving pop and rock scene that was influenced by Western po ... More >>

Rocky Votolato

Monday, March 28, hi-dive, 720-570-4500.

Earth, Deca, DeVotchKa, Mogwai, Hindershot, Warsaw and Adele top our weekly playlists

​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 >>

Critic's Choice: The May Kit, January 16 at the hi-dive

Tonight: Peter Wolf Crier at the Hi-Dive

​It's like mother nature wanted to set the perfect scene for Peter Wolf Crier's first date of it's 2011 tour. The epic snow dump Colorado has been waiting for finally came last night, effectively creating a wintery backdrop for the midwest duo's cuddle-by-the-fire-inducing songs of nostalgia a ... More >>

Horse Feathers

Saturday, December 11, hi-dive, 720-570-4500.

Richard Thompson on Fairport Convention, Nick Drake and Sufism

Pamela Littky​These days, the legendary folk-rock band Fairport Convention isn't as widely known as it once was, and yet Richard Thompson, the band's most storied guitarist, is often cited as an influence by a wide range of musicians and frequently included on the short list of the most talent ... More >>

Nathaniel Rateliff, Kinetix and Broken Social Scene top our weekly playlists

​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 >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of January 11, 2010

​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. F ... More >>

Gregory Alan Isakov

This Empty Northern Hemisphere
Self-released

Top Ten Americana Albums of 2008

Over the next couple of weeks, Backbeat will feature some Top Ten lists from around the Village Voice Media chain. Click here for previous year-in-review coverage from Backbeat and VVM. Picking the best folk and Americana records of the year isn't nearly as hard as discarding those great records t ... More >>

Gregory Alan Isakov

Patrick Porter

Maybe Waltz EP
The Time Is Now

Pro Choice

What does your jukebox selection say about you?

Mark Darling

Lion's Lair

This Weekend: The Goddamn Gallows, The Wheel, Widowers and Paleo @ 3 Kings Tavern

Swift Response

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Gregory Isakov Gets Back to the Land

A visit with the rustic troubador at his Niwot farm.

On the Record

Weighing in on ten of 2006’s most stellar releases.

Zach Attack

Whether he thinks so or not, Zach Braff is a tastemaker.

Alexi Murdoch

Monday, July 17, Walnut Room, 303-292-1700; Tuesday, July 18, Trilogy Wine Bar, Boulder, 303-473-9463.

Mike Andrews

Thursday, June 29, Bluebird Theater, 1-866-468-7621.

Jeff Hanson

Thursday, February 16, hi-dive, 720-570-4500.

Duncan Sheik

Saturday, January 28, Trilogy, Boulder, 303-473-9463; Monday, January 30, Aggie Theatre, Fort Collins, 970-482-8300; Tuesday, January 31, Bluebird Theater, 303-322-2308.

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Whirled Music

Devendra Banhart has plenty to Crow about.

Marrying the Mainstream

White men learned to dance, and the emoting was as thick as the eyeliner on the year's best pop-rock records.

Damien Jurado

Saturday, October 30, Climax Lounge, 303-292-5483.

Patrick Porter

Maybe Waltz (Evelyn)

Devendra Banhart

Tuesday, June 8, Revoluciones, 303-825-3845

Iron & Wine

Our Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop)

The Autumn Defense

Circles (Arena Rock Recording Company)

Mojave 3

Spoon and Rafter(4AD)

Best White-Trash Jukebox

The Lancer Lounge

Pedro the Lion

It's Hard to Find a Friend (Jade Tree)

Ulan Bator

Ego: Echo (Young God Records)

Born to Die

Knowing how Nick Drake expired helps bring his music to life.

Orton Hears a Who

Singer-songwriter Beth Orton has many sides, and she likes them all.