Editorial Note: This is a guest column by Jonny 5 of Denver-based hip-hop group Flobots. In an election year, it is easy to lose sight of where the power lies. With public conversation fixated on who will be our next President, it’s tempting to assume that leadership flows from the…
Although Denver is often cited as a center for Gothic Americana, EDM and jam bands, it has also long been a hub for another rich and diverse tradition: Chicano music. Through his work with the Chicano Music Festival and the Chicano Music Hall of Fame, Su Teatro executive artistic director…
“Kick them off the stage!” “Just get them out of here!” Those were the directives that Tim Sadler, a college student who interns as a sound engineer at the Seventh Circle Music Collective, received over the phone from his boss. Sadler didn’t have to be told twice. The band he…
Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work…
Classic-rock band Kiss may be playing “secondary markets” on its current tour, but the iconic showmen made last night’s concert in Colorado Springs a memorable one with an excess of spectacle and gratitude. Growing up in the 1970s, Kiss was the one band whose marketing schemes also infiltrated the lives…
The latest trend in mainstream country music seems to be Gen X cowboy crooners teaming up with the pop-star likes of Demi Lovato, Elle King and Pink for duets that might endear them to younger audiences. These crossover pairings actually sound pretty good, but the dynamic is creepily Richard Gere-ian,…
The success of Glass Animals’ 2014 debut album Zaba is, in the words of fellow British rocker Nigel Tufnel, a mystery that’s “best to leave it…unsolved.” Through a curious blend of tribal percussion, casually psychedelic lyrics and a transverse connection to both modern rock and electronica, Glass Animals achieves an impressive sonic iconography. Their style…
Back in March, we wrote a feature about Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse, who was about to play a solo show in town. We interviewed J, and, as is the way with the man, he wasn’t short on a thing or two to say. As we noted at…
Denver has been home to many musical acts that perform in costume or under an alias, personas that inform the aesthetic of the songwriting and performance. Sometimes the disguises are meant to take the emphasis off of a specific identity. Sometimes they’re used to create a sense of something special…
After a much-needed two-year hiatus from the madness that is Insane Clown Posse’s annual Gathering of the Juggalos festival, we’re happy to report that this year, we’re going back. L.A. Weekly is off to Thornville, Ohio, for the Gathering, which runs July 20-23, and will be reporting throughout the week on…
Sufjan Stevens headlines Red Rocks tonight while KISS is in Colorado Springs. On Tuesday it’s Korn and Rob Zombie at Fiddler’s Green, Joe Bonamassa at Red Rocks, and Eagles of Death Metal at the Ogden Theatre. Also this week, there’s They Might Be Giants, Portugal. The Man, Woods and Lil Durk. See our…
Twenty thousand people filled Denver’s Pepsi Center last night, the first of two instantly sold-out nights at the arena, yet British singer-songwriter Adele made the room feel as intimate as a barroom cabaret. The gifted vocalist built her performance not on showcasing elaborate set-pieces or her soaring ballads, but on…
Mitski keeps no secrets. At least that what you would be led to believe had you listened to Puberty 2, her much-hyped (and deservedly so) fourth record replete with personal histories of heartbreak, despair, fear and longing. Though restrained, it’s impossible to miss the self-consciously confessional edge within her songwriting,…
The wheels will stop turning for Fort Collins-based music nonprofit SpokesBUZZ. Since 2010, the organization has championed local artists and sought to foster a thriving music community in the region. Its board of directors announced today that it would cease operations on September 1, 2016. “We simply don’t have the…
The String Cheese Incident kicks off a three-night stand at Red Rocks tonight, with Tauk opening tonight, Kamasi Washington tomorrow and Hot Rize on Sunday. Adele plays two nights at the Pepsi Center, while Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris team up at Fiddler’s Green. Guster is at the Denver Botanic…
If you put together all of the contributing members of Denver’s newest bar, you would have a pretty amazing band. Matty Clark and Josh Terry, owners of the hi-dive, as well as talent buyer Curtis Wallach are collaborating with fellow musicians Nathaniel Rateliff, Pat Meese and Luke Mossman of Nathaniel…
In June, John Hetlinger gained national notoriety for his performance on America’s Got Talent, when he delivered a spine-raking rendition of hard-rock band Drowning Pool’s hit “Bodies.” The 82-year-old Colorado man’s surprising audition featured his growling the lyrics “Let the bodies hit the floor” before breaking into a roar. Hetlinger…
Korn’s new album — its twelfth full-length in a 23-year career — is recorded and mixed and set for release later in 2016. While no details are available ahead of the release it’s certain that the record will be informed by the band’s diverse musical roots and the thoughtful sensibilities…
The decision to start a record label in 2016 may not be a sound financial one. For most labels, especially at the grassroots level, even breaking even may be an impossible goal. However, if your bottom line has more to do with passion, ethics and a profound love for the…
Party hard and listen up! Andrew W.K. is spreading his message, “The Power of Partying,” through more than music this fall; today he announced a fifty-state speaking tour. Take a look at our “day in the life” of the rock star at 2010’s Warped Tour. The Infamous Stringdusters: Big Top…
Early in Sting and Peter Gabriel’s Pepsi Center show, which was part of their “Rock Paper Scissors” tour, Gabriel told the audience that the set would be “a little like karaoke night in Denver.” Gabriel’s band, dressed in black with red stripes on parts of their clothing, was the red…
In spring 2015, the career of Denver-based hard rock band Space in Time nearly came to a screeching halt. Long-time singer Mike Atencio had stepped down and the rest of Space in Time didn’t know if they could continue without him. Yet all along, one of the band’s early fans…
