Being a music fan in Denver is kind of the best. There is no shortage of shows and talent, and there is some event or band news to bring a smile to a music-lover’s face every day of the week. However, if you fall into the main demographic of music-lovers…
When Queensryche’s third album Operation: Mindcrime was released in 1988, it drew immediate comparisons to concept albums like Pink Floyd’s The Wall and The Who’s Quadrophenia. The album is a thoughtful and incisive social and political commentary that told the story of a drug addict recruited into a world of…
Incite Productions is a relatively unknown collection of artists and theater technicians who leave their mark all over Denver in unique, creative and often bizarre ways. They’ve floated down Delaware Street in a makeshift boat dressed as George Washington. They’ve danced on the steps of the Anthem Blue Cross building…
In January, Denver pop-rock band One Flew West released its video for single “Had It All,” an increasingly absurd, dark parody on ’90s-sitcom credits inspired by the viral short film “Too Many Cooks.” For its next video, for the song “These Old Bones,” premiering right here, right now, the band…
Gazebos got off the ground in 2014 but its members have been around the Seattle scene for nearly two decades. As in any big city with an active music scene, people come together organically from going to shows and working at similar jobs. The members of Gazebos found in each…
Now well into 2016, we’ve reached a time where anyone with a microphone can host their own podcast. Denver has become a hub for podcasts, with subjects ranging from poop to beer and everything in between. Last month we introduced you to the Ten Essential Denver Podcasts of 2016, and…
Once upon a time, guitarist Nils Lofgren was the “new guy” in Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band — but no longer. It’s now been more than three decades since Lofgren stepped in for longtime E-Streeter Steven Van Zandt — Little Stevie split in 1984 — and he’s been a mainstay alongside Van Zandt…
It’s a big week for arena shows, including the Who at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday, Carrie Underwood is at the venue on Wednesday and Bruce Springsteen is there on Thursday. The Smashing Pumpkins, Chairlift and Murder By Death are also in the area this week. See the full list of our…
“The concept is just not there this time.” Travis Stever, lead guitarist for Coheed and Cambria, lets out an exhale over the phone as he begins to provide an answer to the question his band has been faced with over and over again since releasing its newest album, The Color…
Last night, as the lights dimmed, two back-up dancers took to the stage at the Ogden. Wearing oversized T-shirts and sporting some serious “What’s good?” stares, they took seats on giant bean bags. One had a bag of Cheetos, the other had Gatorade. Then Santi White aka Santigold appeared and launched…
Denverites’ dream of a winter mountain music festival have been once again buried — in late-season snow and disappointment — as the Minus Zero Festival has announced it will be postponed until “sometime during the 2016/2017 ski season.” The multi-day winter sports and electronic music festival, featuring Diplo and Kaskade,…
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…
I have been playing music for twenty years, and in that time have accumulated experiences, both good and bad, that I know would have never happened if I weren’t a musician. I have played shows in Europe, Alaska and Mexico, but none of those prepared me for the experience I…
Railroad Earth, who was originally slated to play the Fillmore Auditorium last month, play rescheduled shows at the venue this weekend while Rachel Platten is at the Ogden Theatre and CocoRosie is at the Gothic Theatre tonight. Excision, Hieroglyphics and Little Green Cars also perform this weekend. See the full list…
March 24 marks one year since Colorado rapper Rachel Aboytes was killed in a drive-by shooting in East Denver. In November 2015, Westword ran “Rhymes to Die For,” our cover story about Rachel’s life and music – and questions that have risen around her posthumous fame. Since the article ran, the family…
Oakland-based hip-hop legends Hieroglyphics, will be performing as a complete group this Saturday, March 26. All eight members (including those of auxiliary group, Souls of Mischief) began a short Colorado run this week. Husband-and-wife duo the ReMINDers will also perform, promising an energetic evening for Denver hip-hop fans. Hieroglyphics is one of the longest-running hip-hop…
NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest just finished its second year, and once again a Colorado band did not win. However, there were over a hundred entries from our talented state, and out of those, a single video caught the attention of Bob Boilen and compay: Rossonian’s “Love In A Wasteland.” “I…
In the world of heavy experimental music there’s nobody with as much clout as Aaron Turner. He founded the seminal record label HydraHead, fronted the post-metal goliath Isis for more than a decade, and has had his hand in so many groundbreaking side projects (Old Man Gloom, Mamiffer, Jodis, Split…
Not long after trumpeter Randy Brecker joined Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1967 and played on the jazz-rock group’s debut, Child is the Father of the Man, he left to join renowned jazz pianist Horace Silver’s quartet. Brecker says it was a logical choice but he had no idea that…
The Vans Warped Tour comes to the Pepsi Center arena lot on Sunday, July 31, with a lineup that includes New Found Glory, Tonight Alive, Sum 41, Falling In Reverse, Less Than Jake, The Story So Far, Yellowcard, Reel Big Fish, Pepper and more. Tickets, which start at $29, are on…
Editor’s Note: Kalyn Heffernan is a familiar voice to many regular readers of Westword Music. We’ve written about her band Wheelchair Sports Camp many times over the years, and she has sent us dispatches from previous trips to SXSW. This year, she shares this recap of the band’s fifth trip to…
The thing with Madrid quartet Hinds is that they’ll lull you into a false sense of security again and again, especially if you’re not massively familiar with them going in. Like the Pixies (there are other reference points but Frank Black’s band works perfectly here), they’ll start a song with…
