[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80’s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book YOUTH IS WASTED. • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST HITS • -…
Once again, we bring you a selection of live music events happening in or around Denver, selected not completely randomly from the many excellent choices. Go out and watch some bands. It’s good for the body and soul. See also: Denver’s Ten Best Small Venues…
Chimney Choir is in the middle of an indiegogo campaign to help fund the recording of its new album. But instead of posting Facebook statuses asking friends and strangers for a few bucks, the band, true to their experimental pop nature, decided to get creative. See also: Seven of Denver’s…
Shatterproof, a Fort Collins-based alternative rock band, has made waves over the last year in the Colorado scene. Not only did the young band win a coveted spot at the Warped Tour, and open for Switchfoot at the Budweiser Event Center, they were also accepted into the 2014 SpokesBUZZ class…
[jump] Water Liars plays tonight, November 7, at Lost Lake Lounge Follow @Westword_Music…
Denver is a music haven, there’s no debating it. The city is constantly referred to when people talk about vibrant music scenes and collaborative spirits, and is full of some damn good artists. It even has more venues than “live music capital of the world” Austin, TX. The benefit of…
The Misfits may not have Glen Danzig anymore, but Jerry Only manages alright with a re-formed version of the band, which brought out a wide array of horror-movie punk fans to Summit Music Hall last night. Photographer Eric Gruneisen was there to capture smiles and scowls alike. See also: Ten…
The Loudwire Music Festival, named for the rock site of the same name, will launch next June in Grand Junction. Linkin Park will headline, and promoter Townsquare Media, which also owns Loudwire, promises a lineup featuring “all genres of rock — hard, classic, alternative, metal and indie.” See also: 25…
Woody GuthrieLike it or not, Pharell Williams’ “Happy” is likely to be the top-selling single of 2014. And, yes, its buoyant ’60s soul vibe and simple, positive message is modern pop perfection. But scanning the rest of this year’s biggest hits, one is struck by a consistent theme: All of…
Last week we brought you the news that a bust of John Denver, on loan to the Colorado Music Hall of Fame by the legendary singer’s estate, had been stolen from the 1STBANK Center. When security at the venue realized the bust was missing, they filed a report with the…
While traveling from Denver to Texas a few weeks ago, I could not stop listening to Mutiny on the Bay, the searing collection of ’80s Dead Kennedys performances released in 2001; East Bay Ray, it occurred to me, is one of the most underrated guitarists in the history of rock…
For the past few months, we’ve been working on a comic strip story here and in the pages of Westword titled “Rufus Baxter: The Oldest Unknown Rock Star.” The story took a leap forward with the full-page installment found in this week’s issue of the newspaper, and when it is…
As Banshee Tree, Kalyn Pembridge and Thomas LaFond make a surprisingly original and enticing mix of gypsy jazz, folk pop and swing. They moved to Colorado from upstate New York four years ago, and can be seen seemingly every night of the week along the Front Range, playing a mix…
One of Boulder’s most promising new art spaces is Dead Leaf, founded by Tom Abraham and Colin Wilcox. Abraham is soft-spoken, every careful word seeming to come from an organized mind that, in the case of setting up events at Dead Leaf, is focused on smoothness and detail. In contrast,…
This weekend, the hi-dive is celebrating eleven years of existence, with two years under its current ownership. When the club opened for business in the old location of 7 South and Quixote’s True Blue, it represented a sea change in places where one could see original, underground music. In its…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an ’80s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book YOUTH IS WASTED. Last Week’s Episode Of Rufus Baxter…
As part of the 25th anniversary of his Keepin’ It Country Tour, Alan Jackson headlines Red Rocks on Sunday, May 17 with Jon Pardi and Brandy Clark opening the show. Tickets ($25-$79.50) go on sale on Friday, November 7 at 10 a.m. OK Go, who just released another insanely inventive…
Colorado is a pretty great place to be a music fan. Denver has more music venues than Austin, and several of them are among the busiest in the world. People living here spend twice as much as the national average on music. The local scene is experiencing unprecedented success. All…
The tone for DeVotchKa’s annual Halloween celebration was set as soon as I walked into the Boulder Theater behind a tall man with a tall, faux-bug-light apparatus attached to his head. The Boulder Theater has a capacity of 850, a far cry from the 9,500 that can fit into Red…
Taylor Swift is in the midst of the best album sales week of any artist since, well, Taylor Swift the last time she released an album. 1989 is currently blowing past one million copies sold, which would be incredible even if album sales weren’t completely in shambles. And today, our…
Before Adrian Belew, who’s due at the Boulder Theater on Tuesday, November 4, performed and recorded with King Crimson, David Bowie and the Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails and a slew of other artists, the adventurous guitarist spent a year working with Frank Zappa. Belew sees that year between 1977…
On Halloween night, Lucinda Williams cut into the core of her songs, performing a bare-bones acoustic set at Twist and Shout and offering a preview of her appearance tonight at the Ogden Theatre. Upon entering, fans were given the option of purchasing her excellent new album, Down Where The Spirit…
