Many of you know my dear friend Piper Rose. She’s an active leader in the LGBTQ community here in Denver and far beyond, a larger-than-life, unconditionally loving person who works every day to create safer spaces for her fellow humans. A few months ago, she told me she was planning…
What makes a joke funny or a song sound good is subjective; in that respect, comedy and music are aligned. But what happens when comedians and musicians come together on the same bill to perform on the same stage? “A lot of times when it does happen, it doesn’t go…
When author (and former Westword associate editor) Amy Haimerl and her husband decided not to return to Brooklyn after a stint in Michigan and to take root in Detroit instead, they purchased a historic 1914 home for $35,000. Then the couple went to work on renovations – and found that…
Like most things that occur for the band, dance-noise duo Church Fire chalks up the connection made to its new record label, Black Box Tapes, to chance. “It was like everything that happens to us — luck and serendipity and unearned privilege,” says vocalist Shannon Webber. “Hard work is part…
The best set of last night’s sold-out show at Red Rocks Ampitheatre depends on who you ask. Though opener Anderson .Paak was able to lift the anxious crowd’s hands into the air before sunset, it was Bryson Tiller who received the deafening screams of admiration from several thousand fans. Both…
In the late 1800s, Colorado was a hub for people looking for a cure for tuberculosis; our dry air, high elevation and sunshine attracted hundreds of thousands of new residents coming from humid climates across the U.S. More than a century later, we’re still drawing newcomers looking for a healthier…
Whenever I travel to a different city, I can’t seem to get Denver out of my mind. It’s like clockwork: Since I began documenting the changes to my hometown over the last half-decade, I have become obsessed with how other cities operate and treat their citizens. Last week I visited…
“We went to a flea market today, and there was a sign that said ‘Tasers on Special’ next to a sign that said ‘Real Cool Knives’ or something. This place has, like, the worst humans,” says Alex Edgeworth with a laugh. Her phone is half-functioning, so she’s blasting this speakerphone…
The Denver Eye has closed. The popular Facebook page that brightened newsfeeds every day with fresh images of vintage Denver and the West has gone dark — at least for now. Tom Lundin — collector, curator and operator of the colorful page of Colorado ephemera — gave notice to thousands…
It’s a dreary, overcast Friday morning, and the windows of the Youth Media Studio are already gathering condensation. The hive of musical activity inside is contained within three storefronts occupied by Youth on Record, which officially opened in this new home last spring. In partnership with the Denver Housing Authority,…
I may not remember much of my first rave, but I do know it was complicated to get there. In Denver in 1995, getting to a rave was much more complicated than going to a concert, something I had mastered by the age of fifteen. Concerts were easy to find and…
It’s hard to remember how I felt about death before the Internet. Well, maybe how I — we, collectively — processed death prior to social media. Social media gives us a space to prove our love; it is a place to instantly create memorials and collages for those we have…
Denver is lucky to be home to a handful of vintage movie houses-turned-performance venues. For the city’s Northside, The Oriental Theater is the remaining shining star. And this weekend, the Oriental Theater’s exterior will reflect just how special this historic place is to the area with the unveiling of a…
It’s easy to be a man in rock and roll. The music world has always been more effortlessly navigated by men (straight-presenting, white men, mostly), but Prince never took that easy route. Throughout his storied career, the singer, songwriter, musician and producer took every opportunity to collaborate, mentor and work…
“An ornate and decorated building on the outside says the people who walk by matter, that the public space matters, right?” That’s what history professor Bryant Simon said during “Going for Broke: Atlantic City Falls On Hard Times,” a conversation broadcast on Fresh Air a few months ago. Though the piece revolved…
Over breakfast the other morning, my friend Keith Garcia and I were discussing the recent announcement that The Wrangler, a popular Denver gay bar, would be moving to 3090 Downing Street. The conversation was less about the real estate transaction and more about the language used to define Denver’s neighborhoods;…
It was an incredible all-ages scene: Teens, middle-schoolers, even babies being held by excited parents were lined up outside Seattle venue Chop Suey last week by 4:30 p.m. for the Tacocat album release party. Tacocat decided to put on two shows that day: a 21 and up concert in the…
Booking bands and musical acts with women/non-binary/genderqueer/trans folx in them seems like an abstract concept for most festival organizers. I say this because every year like clockwork, as major fest line-ups are announced, there is a continually — and at this point what seems like intentionally — devastating lack of…
Music festivals are often thought to be a strictly summer kind of thing, but luckily for Colorado, our three hundred days of sunshine lends to a whole extra season of live music outdoors. This spring, electronic acts like Diplo and Kaskade, local superstars like Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats…
Lauren Zwicky is all about aesthetics, something that’s evident in her work as a hair stylist as well as in her efforts as a DJ and event organizer. For her, music can influence the way we present ourselves to the world as much as the way we look can have…
Oh, Colfax. It’s hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to this avenue’s spotty history, but one thing is certain: This street is home to some of Denver’s best restaurants, bars, venues and retailers. To survive and thrive along the longest main street in the country takes not…
For someone like me who comes from working within the DIY music world, $250,000 is a lot of money. Like, a shitload of money. But $250,000 was what was spent last year on the Colorado Music Party, a five-day, five-night unofficial showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Organized by the…
