The Pretty Reckless stopped by The Fillmore this weekend, and things got a little wild. For those who rarely go to hard rock shows, or have just forgotten the proper etiquette, a concert like this can pose a lot of questions: What should I wear? Will there be a mosh…
In 2010, just days after the earthquake in Haiti, Wheelchair Sports Camp’s Kalyn Heffernan and fellow local musician Greg Cronin decided to do something. The two hastily set up a benefit show and raised close to a thousand dollars; the funds went directly to supporting medical assistance in Haiti, and…
There are bigger concerts, sure, but for our money there is no better way to see Red Rocks than during Film on the Rocks. The series, which features Colorado bands opening for beloved movies, starts Tuesday with Ark Life, Covenhoven and Caddyshack. You can also see some masterful old-timey updates…
It’s the most wonderful time of the week. There are some excellent concerts in town on this final weekend of May, including John Prine with Emmylou Harris and Bootsy Collins in Civic Center Park for the The Kinfolks Soul Food Festival. There are some fresher faces too, like Bassnectar at…
In the early hours of Thursday, March 13, 2014, a drunk driver injured 23 people and killed two at SXSW. There has been an outpouring of national support for the victims of the incident, and today it comes from Colorado. A benefit show called SXSW Cares is being held at…
With his virtuosic playing and two-handed approach, Victor Wooten has long been a pacesetter on the electric bass. From his work with Béla Fleck & the Flecktones to a vibrant solo career launched with his outstanding 1996 debut, A Show of Hands, Wooten has proven the broad potential of the…
When Luis Etscheid and Caleb Henning launched their boutique effects-pedal company, Mantic Conceptual, in spring 2013, they had a great deal more curiosity than experience. Fortunately, the Denver-based musicians are pretty good at experimentation, and in their first year, they found an impressive list of clients. Etscheid sent Adrian Belew,…
Let’s keep it simple for a moment: Science Partner and In the Whale are playing a show next Friday, June 6 at Stoney’s, and it’s free. Doors open at 7 p.m. and it’ll be over by 10. “Science Partner all is about the bounce and the sigh” wrote Jason Heller…
The first time I saw tUnE-yArDs, the avant-pop project of Merrill Garbus, was in 2011 at Fun Fun Fun Fest. She was dressed as if she had fallen in a trunk of costumes with a painted face and was pounding on a taped-up ukulele while creating intricate loops on top…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his sunny outlook with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work and even buy it on his website. • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST HITS • – The fifty best rap lyrics of all time – The ten…
There is a generally agreed-upon set of rules among young and hungry music fans: You show up early, you stay late, you find new things, you stand in the front. That’s how Amber Taufen learned to love music. It’s how she met her husband, in fact. But in this week’s…
By Sarah Stanley-Ayre Electronic music’s recent surge in popularity comes with serious side effects for underground-party aficionados. Suddenly, Daft Punk is winning Grammys, and drunk girls (and guys) are ruining life at 4 a.m. in a warehouse somewhere. Take this recent incident: Under a haunting pink hue Dustin Zahn tended…
Natalie Tate is well-known for her role as the lead guitarist in Ark Life. She was recruited into that band by Jesse Elliott when he saw her perform at Leon Gallery. At the time, Tate had recently returned to writing and performing music, and she quickly proved capable of writing…
Like many who call Denver home, Jayce “FL” Cabell of hip-hop collective the Foodchain enjoys weed. But the reason his most recent album, Young Amsterdam, includes plenty of marijuana imagery and was released on 4/20 has more to do with the interest in Colorado’s weed culture than it does with…
The first time I met with my doula, she asked me about all of my feelings and fears about going into labor, about what was important to me. Much to her surprise, I told her one of those things was music. But she was supportive. She told me I should…
Mutiny Information Café may be ground zero for the next generation of Denver’s music scene. The shop sits on the southeast corner of Broadway and Ellsworth. Its modest but inviting exterior hasn’t changed too much since Matt Megyesi, Joe Ramirez and 3 Kings Tavern co-partner Jim Norris took over operations…
The outdoor summer concert series keep rolling in. Today, we have the full lineup for (of all places) a fancy steakhouse. But Elways Cherry Creek is no tourist in music. This year marks the steakhouse’s tenth Live From Elway’s Backyard series, and it will feature some impressive local talent. The…
A group of firefighters with yellow walkie talkies swaying at their chests were examining the new on-site structures at the first show at a renovated Fiddler’s Green Ampitheatre. They wanted to ensure that they were familiar with the new facilities in case they were called to the scene in the…
We hope your long weekend was as full of smoked meats and assorted outdoor activities as ours was. And now we’re back and ready to talk about Denver concerts some more. Obviously the selections are a little lighter in this week’s show round-up given that we lost a day. But…
Mixing business with pleasure is a dirty game, isn’t it? While necessary, practice spaces exemplify the tension that comes with sharing a small area with a number of personal friends and acquaintances. It’s like living in a tiny house with eight other unbalanced roommates. Between paying rent, keeping the space…
Sean Lennon could have coasted on his name alone — he’s a child of privilege, with two of the most famous people in the history of pop culture for parents. And sure, some doors were open to him that wouldn’t be to just any other teenager. He collaborated with Lenny…
I can’t help but think about last night’s mash up of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the marijuana industry as a giant piece of performance art, though I know that wasn’t anyone’s intent. On the surface, the idea behind the “Classically Cannabis” series — of which this was the first…
