9NEWS had a nice little segment earlier this week on how to overcome Fear, the classic LA hardcore band. Psychologist Dr. Max Wachtel stopped by the morning show to talk to Corey Rose about how they hate spiders and whether Lee Ving was being offensive or simply antagonistic in his…
The Disco Biscuits will play in Denver next weekend. That much isn’t news, but late last night, the band announced a venue change — again. Originally, the shows were going to take place at Sculpture Park. They were moved to Ruby Hill Park when that didn’t work out, and the…
Swallow Hill Music, a Denver-based nonprofit that runs music education programs and organizes many concerts in the area, has just announced the resignation of its CEO. Tom Scharf, who also served as Executive Director, has served in the top role at Swallow Hill for seven years — his last day…
If there is a strange request that a concert promoter can make of a musician, it’s a safe bet that Scott McCaughey has heard it. He co-founded the Young Fresh Fellows in 1983 and played with R.E.M. for close to twenty years. Lately, he’s been on tour with the Baseball…
There was a moment on Friday night when, in the general vicinity of an IKEA, all six feet, three inches of Waka Flocka was jumping into a crowd of teenagers, waving a Flosstradamus flag. Flosstradamus, meanwhile was sending a cacophony of drums and drum-like electronics and rapid-fire laser noises and…
Our annual celebration of the Denver dining scene, Dish, will be Sunday, September 7 in Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Over 40 area restaurants will bring samples, and drink samples are included with the price of the ticket as well. We’re telling you about all this food…
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Planet Bluegrass is nothing if not durable. That durability became a widely-disseminated story as the ranch and music festival operation in Lyons rebuilt when a historic flood utterly wrecked it last September But this weekend’s Rocky Mountain Folks Festival proved another kind of resilience, one that relates not to backhoes…
Governor John Hickenlooper has always been a supporter of Colorado’s music scene in both words and action. His passion meets his willingness to laugh at himself in a new video created by his campaign wherein OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder (a Colorado native and resident) tries to teach him “Counting Stars.” It…
Ed. Open Music Sessions is an ongoing collaboration between Open Media Foundation, Greater Than Collective and Westword to create videos based on regular live tapings of exceptional bands from Colorado and beyond. In our debut Open Music Session, blues-rock band Dragondeer played a sinewy set in the Denver Open Media…
I first heard Weird Al when I was around ten years old. I was in it for the fart noises and puns at first. Today, I admire him for other reasons; he has set an example for anyone who comments on music. His devotion to pop doesn’t prevent him from…
Swallow Hill started as a little folk school in 1979. It has grown exponentially in recent years — we have appraised you of a recent expansion to a second location in Lowry; a new, ambitious music school director and even an RV it plans to turn into a mobile school…
Goldrush Music Festival returns for its fourth installment on September 13 and 14 at the Larimer Lounge and Meadowlark. As we told you last week, the initial lineup announcement was greeted with the largest response in the ambitious young festival’s history. It’s a safe bet that trajectory will continue with…
1. The first time she heard Sara Bareilles’s breakout hit “Love Song,” a young swimmer named Hannah Bradford immediately won her race, setting a personal record in the process. That was in 2007, when the song was ubiquitous, particularly among suburban families driving to swim meets. So the girl who…
Tomorrow, Westword, Open Media Foundation and Greater Than Collective will co-hosting a live performance by Denver’s Kitty Crimes at the Denver Open Media studios at 7th and Kalamath. It’s a continuation of our Open Music Sessions, where we will create several videos based on regular live tapings of exceptional bands…
Nine months ago, the worst flood in Colorado’s history had a particularly devastating impact on Lyons and its surprisingly robust music scene. The town owes its artistic revolution in part to Planet Bluegrass, which hosts two of the state’s three major music festivals on a twenty-acre ranch in Lyons. In…
This week’s cover story is about how Lyons developed a music community and how that community has been impacted by the flooding last fall. Much of the story focuses on Planet Bluegrass, an organization that three music festivals, including two at its ranch in Lyons. This weekend, it will be…
Last fall, the largest flood (by total rainfall) in Colorado’s history led the federal government to declare a state of emergency in fourteen counties. None were hit harder than Boulder County, where the two swollen branches of St. Vrain Creek decimated Lyons, driving thousands of people from their homes and…
Thick sheets of rain started falling in Lyons on the night of September 11, 2013. Most people didn’t think much of it until a few hours in, when sirens wailed through the deluge and a flat voice came over the town’s public-address system: Floodwater warning. Move to higher ground immediately…
After being denied special-use permits required by Arapahoe County, Riot Fest has moved its 2014 festival from May Farms outside Byers to Sports Authority Field at Mile High in downtown Denver. The dates (September 19 to 21) and schedule (see below) are unchanged. Previously purchased tickets will be honored as-is,…
Word is getting around now about Governor John Hickenlooper’s surprise guest appearance last night during Old Crow Medicine’s show at Red Rocks. He played banjo, sang some harmonies and even took the lead for a brief verse on an old blues classic, “CC Rider.” The Governor posted a message on…
A new music festival called Chive Fest is coming to Denver this August, and the lineup is no small affair. It features Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Cold War Kids, Talib Kweli and more. The full roster is below. The festival is a collaboration between photo website The Chive…
