Pete Seeger

Demetri Martin on Woody Guthrie, prop-comedy and not being a hipster

Demetri Martin's polished micro-jokes, nervous stare and intense appreciation of aesthetics have made him a welcome antidote to the wave of loud and sloppy comedians who have dominated the scene over the last decade. In advance of Martin's visit to Comedy Works South this Sunday for two shows (one i ... More >>

Here's what we're all listening to right now. What's rocking your world this week?

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 >>

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 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 >>

Music legend David Amram on his creative process, why he loves the Colorado Symphony, and meeting Woody Guthrie

From collaborating with jazz legends to hanging out with Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, David Amram has accumulated quite an impressive resume. He's written multiple books as well as musical pieces, and he's in Denver this week performing at a variety of events to celebrate the hundredth birthday of ... More >>

Weekend's best live music bets: My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, Neil Young and more

See Also: - Q&A with Jim James of My Morning Jacket - Profile: Joy Subtraction, 8/2/12 - Q&A with Angry Hand of God Welcome to the weekend! Aren't you glad you hung in there? Your hard work grinding it out this week is about to rewarded handsomely by a pair of back-to-back shows from My Morning Jac ... More >>

Twenty fabled moments in Denver music: #11: Bob Dylan crashed in the Mile High City, 1960

Did you know Bob Dylan once spent a summer in Denver as a then-unknown teenager with a fake accent, sleeping on a floors and gigging at the Satire Lounge? He was nineteen at the time. It was just a year after the young Robert Zimmerman adopted his iconic stage moniker and around the time he'd discov ... More >>

Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe on Beck, living in Germany and Bright Channel

The Brian Jonestown Massacre (due tonight at the Bluebird Theater) has been through ups and downs since 1990. But through it all, singer and primary songwriter Anton Newcombe, has steered the band through releasing more great albums per decade than most bands have across entire career. For the unini ... More >>

Ten authentic Irish drinking songs

Finding an Irish soundtrack for a St. Patrick's Day celebration doesn't take a lot of exhaustive research. Generic "Best of Ireland" compilations abound in outlet stores, on iTunes and even on racks in gas stations, collections that feature anonymous artists playing generic versions of traditional C ... More >>

U2's The Joshua Tree turns 25

It's difficult to imagine, but U2 used to be cool. Not just cool, but one of the most innovative, inspiring and mysterious bands of their generation. The group challenged the sounds, look and emotional resonance of rock music, forever redirecting the cultural stream for good or ill. Today, while man ... More >>

Harry Tuft on being inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame

Harry Tuft, slated to be inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame this Sunday, February 12, opened the Denver Folklore Center in 1962 and started promoting concerts a few years later, bringing in Joan Baez to Denver for the first time in 1964 and later bringing her to Red Rocks. In the early ... More >>

Ani DiFranco at Boulder Theater March 3

​Singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco will visit the Boulder Theater on Friday, March 3 in support of ¿Which Side Are You On?, her first studio album in more than three years. The disc, which features Ivan & Cyril Neville, Anaïs Mitchell and Pete Seeger, hits stores on January 17 on her own Righte ... More >>

Rory Block on the struggles and triumphs that happen When a Woman Gets the Blues

​Rory Block (due April 21st at Rock and Soul Café in Boulder and on April 22nd at Swallow Hill in Denver) was fortunate to be at the epicenter of the roots music explosion of the late '50s and early '60s as a child in Greenwich Village. Block rubbed shoulders not just with Bob Dylan and Pete ... More >>

Woodrose

One In, One Out
Self-released

Ringing of Revolution

Swallow Hill burlesque holiday extravaganza with Ukulele Loki's Gadabout Orchestra

Photo courtesy Ukulele Loki​This time of year, some things are meant to go together: mint and chocolate, Rudolph and Santa, Swallow Hill and spangles. Catch the belles of bump 'n grind Orchid Mei, Violetta Volare, Tatianna TaTa, Fannie Spankings, and more at one of Denver's least expected burl ... More >>

Hot Rize was bluegrass before bluegrass was cool

Drag the River offers a sneak peek of its next album on 2010 Demons

​Ever wonder what a Drag the River album sounds like before it gets tracked with drums and amps? Wonder no more. The band has made almost half of the 24 tracks that are being recorded for a new studio album due out next year available for download on its Bandcamp page. The songs are from 201 ... More >>

Ani DiFranco and Buddy Wakefield raise consciousness -- and the roof of the Ogden -- on Earth Day

Ani DiFranco|Buddy Wakefield 04.22.10|Ogden Theatre It's appropriate that Ani DiFranco stopped at the Ogden on Earth Day; she revealed during the show that she has a friend in this locale who showed her some springtime joy. When she tours, she said, normally she walks from "bus to basement to sta ... More >>

Q&A with Pete Wernick, aka Dr. Banjo

While our profile on Pete Wernick in this week's issue primarily focused on the duality of his roles in his bluegrass/jazz group Flexigrass and with the traditional bluegrass act Long Road Home, Wernick also discussed a number of other things including: what good bluegrass is, his introduction and t ... More >>

Songs to shout at Yo La Tengo this Saturday night

Photo by Michael Lavine​Skinny boys in glasses, girls in knit jumpers, record collectors of all stripes, rejoice! This Saturday, October 10, college rock heroes Yo La Tengo are bringing the noise, the melody and the irony to Denver in the best indie-when-it-meant-something show this side of th ... More >>

Mile High Music Fest Live Reviews: Day One

Aaron Thackeray See photos of Day One's fans on the slideshow page. It's here: The second edition of the Mile High Music Fest is underway, and our gaggle of writers and photogs are shvitzing their way around the grounds to bring you ongoing, as-close-to-live-as-my-fingers-allow coverage of Denver ... More >>

Safe Boating Is No Accident at the Meadowlark

From anarchists to aging hippies, they're all part of protestation nation

Over the Weekend...Laura Veirs and Liam Finn @ The Walnut Room

For Pete's Sake

Doc Block

Non-fiction continues its ascent on the screen.

Like a Complete Unknown

I'm Not There and the changing face of Bob Dylan on film.

Pete Wernick

Bluegrass legend Dr. Banjo is still plucking after all these years.

Q&A With Pete Wernick of Flexigrass

Beyond Playlist: Charles Mingus and More

Action Packed Thrill Ride

Larimer Lounge

Denver Jewish Film Festival

Shwayder Theatre at the Mizel Center

Ramblin' Man

Human tumbleweed Ramblin' Jack Elliott keeps on rollin'.

Sing Out

Denver Gay Men's Chorus tunes up the First Amendment

See Dick, and Tom, Run

In comedy--and comebacks--it's all about the timing.

Perfect Pitch

Dan Zanes finds happiness in simpler, homemade music.

War on War Songs

Iraq and roll don't go together well when rockers protest

This Year's Model

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs get swept up in the rock-is-back movement.

Pledges of Allegiance

What does old-fashioned patriotic music mean in a newfangled war?

Turn, Turn, Turn

Former Byrd Roger McGuinn wants to keep folk aloft.

Trischka's Treat

The banjo champion makes music that's finger-pickin' good.

Lady, Sing the Blues

Odetta is happy to find trouble everywhere she goes.

Night & Day

April 15-21, 1999

Class Struggle

THRILLS

IS HE BLUE?

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE PLAY THE BLUES THE NEW-FASHIONED WAY.

THRILLS

INTO THE MYSTIC