Best Reminder of Your Angsty Teen Years 2024 | Hellocentral | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Reminder of Your Angsty Teen Years

Hellocentral

Hellocentral's music can't help but make you feel like you're on the bus to school, in all black, with headphones over your ears. The indie band's lyrics are the perfect mix of rage and angst that take you right back to being sixteen and smoking cigarettes behind your high school. If you were an avid listener of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "American Idiot" back in the day, you'll be a fan of Hellocentral. This is your cue to grab a ticket to one of the band's next shows, and don't forget your black eyeliner and beanie.

hellocentral.live

Best "Stadium Emo" Band

Broken Record

Broken Record vocalist/guitarist Lauren Beecher told us that back when the band got started in 2017, its sound was "between genres." But it's safe to say that she and members Corey Fruin (bass), Nick Danes (drums) and Matt Dunne (guitar) have found their rhythm in the emotive, powerful "stadium emo" that's showcased on the band's August 2023 record, Nothing Moves Me. The ten tracks were recorded in Beecher and Fruin's basement studio, but the sound begs to be blasted in a stadium — and Broken Record achieved that when its song "See It Through" was played at an Avalanche game last December.

brokenrecordisaband.com

Best Band Deserving of a Hot Topic Deal

Bury Mia 

Bury Mia proves that pop-punk wasn't just a phase, Mom. Justin O'Neal (guitar/vocals), Devin Martinez (bass/vocals), Stevan Alt (guitar) and Marcus Allen-Hille (drums) have stayed true to their roots since 2015 and are now finally reaping the benefits of keeping the energetic genre alive. Since dropping the album Somewhere Between Where We Are and Where We've Been in 2022, the Bury Mia boys have been busy sharing several singles, including the most recent, the Zoolander-inspired "What Is This? (A Song for Ants)." In a parallel universe in which Hot Topic still featured the Gates of Hell entrance, Bury Mia merch would be proudly displayed on the T-shirt wall alongside that of Blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World.

burymia.com

Best Band That Should Play Sturgis

Pink Fuzz

Grip it and rip it. Full throttle. Boneshaker. These are all biker terms that also describe the rowdy rock and roll of power trio Pink Fuzz. Brother-and-sister duo John and Lulu Demitro, along with drummer Forrest Raup, embrace the free-spirited ethos perfectly, particularly on their 2018 debut album, Speed Demon. Pink Fuzz released the single "Decline" at the beginning of the year, and yep, it kicks ass. Even if you've never experienced life on two wheels, Lulu's psychedelic vocals and John's crunchy guitar work will have you feeling as cool as Peter Fonda on Captain America. After a brief tour run to kick off 2024, don't be surprised if Pink Fuzz lands a gig at the Full Throttle Saloon during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this summer.

pinkfuzz.bandcamp.com

Best Country Band

CW & Twenty Hands High

Pure Colorado country is found in CW & Twenty Hands High; the band even won Entertainer of the Year from the state's Country Music Hall of Fame last year. And it's all thanks to legendary local musician Hazel Miller, who encouraged Chad Wooten to start the band after hearing him sing at a karaoke night in 2016. Within seven months, Wooten had formed Twenty Hands High, which has gone on to win fans with its nostalgia-inducing country tunes and covers of songs by such artists as the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Grab your cowboy boots and two-step your way to a CW show!

twentyhandshigh.com

Best Alt-Country EP

40 Grit
Bison Bone

Country music meets folky Americana with a twist of grit in Courtney Whitehead's project, Bison Bone. On the outfit's new EP, 40 Grit, Whitehead (vocals/guitar), Tony Piscotti (bass), Adam Blake (drums) and Eric Tate (guitar) apply country's classic twangs to melodic vocals and rhythmic guitar over earnest lyrics on such songs as opening track "Blue Collar Hard." Each song paints a clear picture with sentimentality and romanticism, making it the perfect Sunday-morning album to soothe the blues. Bison Bone will open for Buffalo Nichols at Levitt Pavilion on June 13.

bisonbone.com

Best Neo-Soul Vocalist

Coy Lim of Jade Oracle

The musical stylings of neo-soul band Jade Oracle always captivate its audience, thanks in part to the dulcet voice of lead singer Coy Lim. Lim is a classically trained vocalist, pianist and composer who studied with several notable musicians at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Although her résumé is impressive, her voice speaks for itself — literally. She possesses an impressive range that exceeds four octaves, and her sweet, clear vocals add a mystical touch of siren song to Jade Oracle's bewitching, jazzy soundscape. Lim's debut EP, Mirror, Mirror, dropped on Spotify in August 2022.

jadeoraclemusic.com

Best Legendary Soul Singer

Hazel Miller

The city's musical history would have a gaping hole in it if Hazel Miller's U-Haul hadn't broken down in the Mile High on the way to California. The soul singer decided to stay, and cemented herself as an icon in the city. She was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame last year, after making her way up through open mics in Five Points to performing with her band, the Collective, and singing with Herbie Hancock in Japan. She's performed the national anthem at Broncos games and belted out songs in the White House for President Bill Clinton. Miller has big love for Denver, and will be singing with the Collective this summer at City Park Jazz. Bless her soul.

hazelmiller.biz

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