Townes Van Zandt

The ten best concerts in Denver this weekend

DEVOTCHKA & COLORADO SYMPHONY @ RED ROCKS | FRI, 6/14/13 Teaming up with an orchestra can sometimes be a thin attempt to disguise a creative lag, but in this case, the pairing has produced an inspired, brilliantly structured melding of two aesthetics that relies less on contrast than it does on simi ... More >>

The ten best concerts in Denver this weekend

ALABAMA SHAKES @ RED ROCKS | SUN, 6/2/13 Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes has a powerful and mesmerizing voice and she sings with an impassioned believability that sounds like she has experienced a fuller life than her young years could hope to contain. Her earthy vocals and the band's solid, vibra ... More >>

The ten best concerts to see in Denver this week

ZZ WARD @ GOTHIC THEATRE | WEDS, 5/29/13 While riding the bus to school as a child, Zsuzsanna Ward spent her time in headphones, thinking about just how much she wanted to become a singer. As an adult better known as ZZ Ward, she reached the crux of that dream long ago and is now well on her way to ... More >>

Rowboat's Sam McNitt and Danny White on how this band is different from Blue Million Miles

Rowboat started out as the more acoustic and folk-oriented solo project of Sam McNitt, then the singer and lyricist of Blue Million Miles. With that band, McNitt learned to transform acoustic songs into heady, often aggressive, space rock, but his words always seemed to come from a place of refined ... More >>

Rowboat

Of Disappearing
Self-released

New Denver shows: Bruno Mars, Foals, Purity Ring, Band of Horses, Drive-By Truckers

There are a number of excellent shows to let you know about this week, including Bruno Mars, Foals, Purity Ring, Band of Horses, Drive-By Truckers, all of which go on sale this week, plus dates from Leftover Salmon, Spiritualized, Bob Mould, Boris, the Rocket Summer and Peelander Z, which are on sal ... 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 >>

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 >>

Weekend's best live bets: Rick Ross, Big Head Todd, Danielle Ate the Sandwich and more

Welcome to the weekend! Whoo freaking hoo! Another stacked one on tap. Tons of options no matter your flavor. We've got Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, Tyga and more at KS 107.5's Summer Jam, Big Head Todd and the Monsters's annual sojourn to Red Rocks, a parade of imports, including Destroyer, Sarah Jaffe, ... More >>

Patrick Dethlefs plays at Swallow Hill, Friday, June 8

Jolie Holland at the Walnut Room, 5/26/12

JOLIE HOLLAND @ WALNUT ROOM | 5.26.12 After the applause died down following her final song last night, Jolie Holland offered to pay someone in the crowd for gas if they could drive her to her next gig in Colorado Springs. It's a shame that she was forced to ask, and also rather bittersweet for fan ... More >>

Dandy Warhols, Cake, Fiona Apple among new shows, Alabama Shakes, Nicki Minaj top sellers

Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows from the Dandy Warhols, Cake, Fiona Apple and more were announced; Musketeer Gripweed, Hot Robots, and Broken Tongues got spins on local radio; and recent albums from the Alabama Shakes, Nicki Minaj, the Shins a ... More >>

Jewel: "I've never held back because I'm a woman. I feel like I can accomplish anything a man can accomplish in my field.""

Since having her son, Kase Townes Murray, last summer, Jewel might have taken time off the road, but she's still busy at home with a number of things, including working on a new Christmas album. Her free solo acoustic show this Saturday night at the Colorado Convention Centeras part of the Women's ... More >>

Lykke Li, Tech N9Ne, Lucinda Williams, City and Colour and a slew of CD release shows

Catch Lykke Li tonight at the Ogden​There's an astounding number of great shows to pick from this weekend in the Mile High City: Lykke Li at the Ogden, Tech N9Ne kicks off his two-night Denver run with an intimate show tonight at the Summit Music Hall, followed by an appearance at the Fillmore ... 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 >>

Port Au Prince debuts, and surprisingly, the songs sound nothing like Astrophagus

​Astrophagus threw in the towel last year, with very little fanfare. So when we heard Jason and Josh Cain were going to be coming back with a new project called Port Au Prince, we were a little skeptical of what to expect. The time is finally here to listen to what they've been up to with the ... More >>

Tonight: Justin Townes Earle at the Bluebird

​There are too many easy, exterior angles to come at Justin Townes Earle's work -- he's the son of Steve Earle, he was named after Townes Van Zandt and he struggled with a serious drug addiction early in his life. There is truth in that history, which has undoubtedly contributed to his dark so ... More >>

Chef and Tell, part two: Snooze's Spencer Lomax dishes on lard-ridden pastries, Eric Ripert, Bourdain and Besh

Lori Midson​ Spencer Lomax Snooze, an A.M. Eatery Four locations in Colorado www.snoozeeatery.com This is part two of Lori Midson's Chef and Tell interview with Spencer Lomax, the culinary director of Snooze. In part one of that Q&A, Lomax dishes on swine, green chile and cheek meat. Favor ... More >>

Suburban Home puts out a free mix tape in time for its 15th anniversary

​We've got some good news and we've got some bad news. The good news is, Suburban Home Records just released a new mix tape, which the Denver-based label is calling Someone's Gonna Die. The bad news is, well, there isn't any. But there is more good news: It's free. All thirty tracks of it.

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 >>

Westword Music Showcase headliners: Meet Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights

Texas isn't big enough to contain Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights. After signing with Atlantic records in 2008, the Dallas-based quintet quickly started making a name for itself across the country, touring with high-caliber acts like ZZ Top and the Black Crowes before releasing Pardon Me, i ... More >>

Ten eleven albums for your summer road trip

With the passing of Memorial Day we can finally say summer is here. And with summer comes summer camp, vacations and tours -- and how do we get there? We drive. That's how. This is America, after all. In celebration of seemingly endless sunny days and left-arm tans, we've picked some of our favori ... More >>

Oblio's Arrow has changed its name, but not its sound

Ian Douglas-Moore of Oblio's Arrow on hot sauce and the distinction between Americana and alt-country

​ First known as Oblio Duo and then Oblio Duo the Archers, the newly christened Oblio's Arrow makes music as mercurial as its name. Over the past few years, the ever-shifting outfit -- which revolves around singer-songwriters William Duncan and Steven Lee Lawson -- has crafted a body of wor ... More >>

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 >>

This Just In: KS 107.5 Jingle Jam, Steve Earle, Brandi Carlile shows announced

​Fabolous, Twista and Mario, who have each recently dropped new albums, are among the noted hip-hop and R&B talent slated to appear at KS 107.5's Jingle Jam Friday, December 18 at the Fillmore Auditorium. Advance general admission tickets are $27/$30 day of show. Steve Earle, who's touring in ... More >>

Steve Earle grabs top spot at Twist and Shout

Steve Earle, who performed songs from his new Townes Van Zandt tribute album at Twist & Shout last Friday, beat out Green Day for the top spot on the store's best seller list for the week of May 17. Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Iron & Wine and Conor Oberst continue to hold down spots in the top te ... More >>

Today's featured event: Steve Earle takes the Townes by storm at Twist & Shout

There's just not anything better than a Steve Earle concert, except maybe a free Steve Earle concert. That'll be the ticket at Twist & Shout, when Earle arrives at 6 p.m. for a free performance promoting his new fifteen-song CD Townes, a musical tribute to the late singer/songwriter Townes Van Zan ... More >>

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Saturday, June 21, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, 303-830-8497.

Mini Reviews

The Soundtrack to Your Future Unemployment: Five More Songs

Justin Townes Earle

Tuesday, March 25, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

Propinquity

Propinquity
Asterisk

Mini Reviews

Brief reviews of recent releases

Our top DVD picks for the week of March 16, 2006.

Letters to the Editor

From the week of January 5, 2006

Greg Brown

Friday, December 16, and Saturday, December 17, Swallow Hill, 303-777-1003.

Outlaw Celebrations

Americana music gets its due from this duo.

Dolorean

Saturday, March 12, Climax Lounge, 303-292-5483.

Loudon Wainwright III

Friday, December 17, Lion's Lair, 303-320-9200.

David Dondero

Thursday, November 11, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-0959.

High Desert Cowboy

Mark Merryman keeps it real in the face of conspicuous Californication.

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

Put Here to Bleed (In Music We Trust)

That's a Wrap-Up

Backbeat writers sound off on a few of their favorite musical things from 2002.

So Happy Together

Getting back together was a snap for the Flatlanders -- because they've seldom been apart.

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)

And the Winners Are ...

Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.

SO FINE

THE MOST MEMORABLE ALBUMS OF 1994.

THRILLS