Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Progressive Country and Pot

Last weekend, troubadour Chris Stapleton was pandering to the crowd. “We should get some Colorado weed,” he said before the stage was blasted with green light and the band launched into “Might As Well Get Stoned.” He didn’t need to pander, considering that the new country heavyweight more than sold…

Good Vibrations: Denver’s Only Resonance Massage Table

It’s safe to say we all deal with varying levels of distraction in 2016. This is how distracted I was when I walked into my appointment at Infinite Space Bodywork and Resonance Therapy: After the owner/operator let me in the door, I fell down the stairs and skinned my knee…

Eight Jam Bands Playing Red Rocks This Summer

Jam bands. Historically, Coloradan music fans just can’t get enough of them. Whether it’s the groups who approach the genre from the past through the lenses of bluegrass or roots, or the contemporary and experimenting with electronica, there’s a good chance that their skills will find welcoming audiences here. Red…

Best Coast Will Replace Courtney Barnett at Project Pabst

Courtney Barnett has cancelled her scheduled appearance at the Project Pabst music festival, happening  Saturday, May 21, in the RiNo district. The Grammy- and Brit-Award-nominated Australian rock musician was one of the most anticipated acts on the announced lineup for the one-day festival, but Barnett recently received an offer she…

Denver Tool Library Launches Concert Series and Bazaar

Where you see lawnmower storage space, John Baxter sees a stage. The man behind ZetaKaye House and This Ain’t No Cowtown Compilation was in search of a home for his next event somewhere in the Arts District on Santa Fe — unsure at the time what it might become —…

Progressive Rock Legends Jon Anderson and Jean-Luc Ponty Join Forces

AndersonPonty Band is the musical partnership of two giants of progressive rock: Jon Anderson the former singer for Yes and Jean-Luc Ponty, the legendary violinist who played with Mahavishnu Orchestra and Frank Zappa. The two men met more than thirty years ago and discussed working together for years, but it…

The 1975 Proved Sexy, Wild and Poignant Pop Still Exists

Pop. That’s a word that seems to inadvertently water down the expected quality of music because it implies its entrance into the mainstream. I’m here to say, wild and poignant pop still exists, and the 1975 personifies it. These talented musicians from Wilmslow, Cheshire, England have accrued a cult fanbase…

Sunn O))) Show Was an Altered State of Consciousness and Force of Nature

Seattle doom band Hissing opened last night’s Sunn O))) show at the Gothic Theatre, and the band did its level best to create a menacing, atmospheric set. Montreal-based noise-rock band Big Brave reconciled Robin Wattie’s Björk-like warble with eruptive rhythms and slashing double guitars. And both acts were not short…

How Music Came Back to Boulder’s Folsom Field

Local rock scenes are thriving in Denver and Fort Collins. Earlier this month, the eighth-annual Ft. Collins Music eXperiment festival featured exciting Colorado bands in venues all over town, and Denver, which will soon host UMS and the Westword Music Showcase, has exciting local rock bands playing across the city…

Guided by Voices Never Pander

Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices is one of the most prolific songwriters of all time, registering over 1,900 songs in his career. On Saturday night, at the Summit Music Hall, Pollard dug deep into his massive catalogue, performing fifty of those songs with a new Guided by Voices lineup. …

Top Picks for This Summer’s Underground Music Showcase

The annual Underground Music Showcase (aka The UMS) takes place July 28-31, 2016. Featuring a wide variety of musical artists, The UMS dominates Broadway between Sixth and Alameda avenues and offers shows from hundreds of bands. The majority of the festival’s featured acts are based in Denver, but the UMS’s…

The Best Concerts in Denver This Week

The 1975 headlines Red Rocks tonight while tomorrow it’s Say Anything at the Summit Music Hall. It’s a good week for metal with Sunn O))), Behemoth and Deicide in town. Also on tap this week are Chris Stapleton, Anderson Ponty Band (featuring former Yes singer Jon Anderson and violinist Jean-Luc…

Magic Sword Fought Dragons at the hi-dive

Any band that wears masks on stage today is, sooner or later, going to be compared to Daft Punk. It’s a lazy comparison, yes, but one that no one is immune to. Deadmau5 got it, Danger got it. But Magic Sword, a Portland trio that performs wearing dark cowls and…

Chicago House Legend Traxx Makes Denver Debut

Renowned Chicago house style artist Traxx brings his internationally respected DJ skills to a Deep Club event at 1010 Workshop this Saturday, April 30. Born Melvin Oliphant III, Traxx came up in the Chicago electronic music world listening to WBMX and was impacted by the creative vision of Ron Hardy,…