Best Shows in Denver for Thanksgiving Week, November 21-27, 2016

The Fray, who released Through the Years: the Best of the Fray earlier this month, play an intimate show at the Fox Theatre on Friday, November 25 before headlining 1STBANK Center the following night. Leftover Salmon performs the music of Neil Young at Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox on Friday, November 25 and headlines the Fillmore Auditorium the following night with Los Lobos opening. This week’s lineup also includes FIDLAR, 12th Annual Last Waltz – Revisited, Paper Bird and Snow Tha Product.

Chimney Choir’s Kris Drickey on Guilty Pleasures

Multi-instrumentalist Kris Drickey is an eternally creative spirit. Her work in the Denver-based folk/americana/whatever-the-hell-you-wanna-call-it band Chimney Choir has always had a sense of collaboration and whimsy. The group’s latest effort Dream is a continuation of these sensibilities while creating a new world, which may be a dream after all. Growing up in the cassette-tape generation, Drickey’s love of tapes continues to this day, as well as her somewhat guilty love of Mariah Carey.

Fifteen Classic Protest Songs

They say the personal is political, and the political can be popular music. There’s a long history of mainstream music expressing discontent with government and society. But when we step away from our Facebook soapboxes to join a march, “Fortunate Son” isn’t exactly the most seamless rallying cry for the…

The Best Concerts in Denver This Weekend, November 18-20, 2016

Charleston, South Carolina’s Shovels & Rope is at the Ogden Theatre for two nights this weekend while Rufus du Sol and Faceman also have two-night stands. This weekend’s lineup also includes Life Aquatic’s Tribute to David Bowie featuring Seu Jorge at the Gothic, Darlingside at L2 Church,  Glen Phillips at Swallow Hill, the Posies at the Oriental Theatre, Andy McKee at the Soiled Dove Underground. See the full list of our picks below.

Faceman Is Throwing the Festival of the Century With 100 Bands in Two Days

“Everyone always thinks I’m the one that did this, but I’m not,” Steve “Faceman” says about his latest mastermind, “Faceman’s 100 Year Storm,” a two-day festival taking place this weekend at the Oriental Theatre during which 100 bands will perform twenty-minute sets. “Everyone can come up with an idea, but if other people don’t put their hearts in it as well, nothing comes of it. I’m always fearful that it’s a selfish endeavor.”

Wesley Watkins Is Back With the Other Black

“The Other Black comes from the idea that music should help,” says Denver musician Wesley Watkins. “People are very afraid of the unknown. I’ve spent a lot of time as an outcast in my life, in the black community, specifically in Denver, but just in the community. I’ve had some very unconventional things happen to me in my life, and with all this election and everything I really want to encourage people to love themselves, so that they can start to love others.”

Darlingside Got a Big Boost From Folk Alliance International

Few bands can point to one event or festival as a catalyst and jumping-off point for its success. For Massachusetts’s Darlingside, however, much of the group’s recent success can be traced back to the Westin Hotel in Kansas City, where last year’s Folk Alliance Festival was held.

Bruno Mars, New Kids on the Block and Every New Denver Concert Announcement

Bruno Mars, who set to release his new album on Friday, brings his 24K Magic World tour to the Pepsi Center on Monday, October 30; tickets ($49.50-$150) go on sale on Monday, November 21, at 10 a.m. New Kids on the Block headline the Total Package tour at Pepsi Center on Saturday, June 10, with Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul; tickets ($29.95-$199.95) go on sale on Saturday, November 19, at 10 a.m. As we announced earlier this week, Sting will be at the Fillmore Auditorium on Tuesday, February 14, and Devendra Banhart is coming to the Boulder Theater on Friday, February 3.

Shovels & Rope on Sowing Its Little Seeds

Charleston, South Carolina duo Shovels & Rope, which plays the Ogden Theatre on Friday, November 18, and Saturday, November 19, know that some seeds are worth watering, allowing them to grow and bloom — while others are best left in the cold, dark ground.

Walt Conley, “Grandfather of Denver Folk,” Celebrated at WaltFest

This weekend, Coloradans will celebrate the legacy of Walt Conley, Denver’s “grandfather of folk music,” at Waltfest, which takes place at Sheabeen Irish Pub, an unassuming Aurora bar that’s been hosting the event for the past thirteen years. But like the venue and Waltfest itself, Conley — and his role in developing the robust Colorado music scene we know today — might be under your radar.

Pearl’s Launches Indiegogo Campaign to Stay Open

Nearly a year ago, Pearl’s opened at 603 East 13th Avenue in the space that been the Beauty Bar for the last five years and a longtime home of the Snake Pit before that. Mike Barnhart, who was a co-owner of the Beauty Bar, and Tucker Schwab, a Beauty Bar bartender and manager, opened Pearl’s with a dance club in one room and a neighborhood bar in another room. But now they’re trying to keep the venue afloat with an Indiegogo campaign to raise $60,000 over the next twelve days.

Pussy Riot Showed Why Despair Is Not an Option When Facing Repression

Maria “Masha” Alyokhina and Alexandra “Sasha” Bogino, members of Pussy Riot, brought great humor, poise and warmth to the conversation and Q&A held at the Oriental Theater last night, Monday, November 14, 2016. Hosts Ru Johnson and Bree Davies (former and current Westword contributors) facilitated a lively and engaging presentation.

Lukas Graham’s Pop Confections Transcend Generations

When Lukas Graham released the single “7 Years” in the summer of 2015, it expected the song would hit big only among northern European audiences, the band’s main supporters. But by fall, the song had gone viral and made the Danish band international pop stars.

Sting Coming to the Fillmore, Devendra Banhart Headline Boulder Theater

Sting, who teamed up with Peter Gabriel at the Pepsi Center last July, returns to the area but at the much more intimate Fillmore Auditorium on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14. The tour is in support of the singer and bassist’s brand new album, 57th & 9th, and features his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller, drummer Josh Freese and guitarist Rufus Miller.

Mr Little Jeans on Creativity Post-Beyoncé

Monica Birkenes, known as Mr Little Jeans, came into musicianship in a way that many of us fantasize about: She ran into Beyoncé’s entourage, expressed her interest in making music, was taken gracefully into the studio where she laid down some poignant tracks and began her career as a musician. Her latest EP, Fevers, was released late September, and now Birkenese is making her way around the country with her latest tour. She spoke to Westword from the road somewhere in Nebraska to talk about touring, her upcoming full-length album and her creative process post-Beyoncé.

Tyler Marchant Despres: A Celebration of Life and Friendship

The memorial event for musician Tyler Marchant Despres, who died on November 1, 2016, was held Saturday afternoon at Larimer Lounge. It began with speakers who talked about Despres’s life and his impact on them and the world around him. Speakers included relatives and friends like Jonathan Bitz, who booked the Meadowlark during Despres’s tenure co-running the open-mic night with Maria Kohler and others. That open-mic night fostered a section of Denver’s underground music scene that allowed for a wide spectrum of musicians to have an accepting place to try out new material and develop their art.