Wolf Eyes Brimmed With the Spirit of Detroit Rock and Roll

The Audio Social Dissent tour was, in essence, a traveling label showcase, since all three bands on the bill released their latest full-lengths with Third Man Records. Headliner Wolf Eyes couldn’t seem to be more different from the rock bands Timmy’s Organism and Video. Local opening acts Echo Beds, an…

The Tank Is Saved: What’s Next for the Acoustic Wonder?

It went from nearly being sold for scrap to becoming a new destination on the world’s music map. Thanks to the efforts and cooperation of musicians worldwide and the small town of Rangely, 275 miles northeast of Denver and a short hop from the Utah border, an empty storage tank…

New Recording Studio Turns the Lights On

Making an album can be a daunting and expensive process for musicians — especially if they’re just starting out. Having spent a lot of time in the music trenches themselves, friends and longtime members of Denver’s music scene Tyler Glasgow (known for his work in pop-soul-rock band PLACES) and Jack…

DJ Michael Brun on Community-Building in Haiti

Miami-based DJ Michael Brun comes to Denver this Thursday, March 3, for a night at Beta. Brun has made a name for himself blending progressive house with musical styles from his native Haiti, including RaRa and Konpa, and his latest release, Wherever I Go, was in fact recorded in Haiti…

Anti-Flag Won’t Shut Up (and We Like It)

Since 1988, Pittsburgh’s outspoken punk band Anti-Flag has made it its business to draw awareness to the issues it feels are important, whether that be income inequality, or bigotry in the form of racism, sexism and homophobia, human rights or animal welfare. Anti-Flag have beaten those drums loud and proud for over twenty years,…

Sage Cook, Ex-Elephant Revival, Heads West With New Band and EP

Sage Cook took a moment out of an always-busy morning on his farm to talk with the Westword about his upcoming Colorado shows with the band We Dream Dawn. Cook left Nederland, Colorado-based gypsy folk band Elephant Revival in early 2015 after eight years to pursue a dream and a passion of his: farming…

Sound of Ceres Lands With Interplanetary Debut LP

Sound of Ceres, the new project from ex-Candy Claws duo Karen and Ryan Hover, is unsettling. It’s dreamy and David Lynchian. Drone-y and majestic. It’s supposedly about space and existential dread. It’s everything except what the band cites as a main influence: Brazilian bossanova. “We were really into bossanova,” says…

Eight Colorado Bands Playing SXSW

South by Southwest is coming up fast, March 11-20, in Austin, Texas, and as ever there are hundreds of bands on the bill for industry peeps to sink their teeth into. Representing Colorado, we have the wonderful Judy Collins (look out for an interview with her soon), and these eight…

The Thirteen Best Concerts in Denver This Week

This week’s best concerts include Cannibal Corpse at the Summit Music Hall, Animal Collective at the Ogden Theatre, Steel Panther at the Fillmore Auditorium and the Eddie Gomez Trio at Nocturne. See the full list of our picks below.  MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29 Cannibal Corpse $25/$28, 6:30 p.m. Summit Music Hall Alison…

Best Coast and Wavves Finally Grew Up

The first “Summer Is Forever” tour, featuring Best Coast and Wavves, was in 2011. I saw them in Boulder on Valentine’s Day. At the time Bethany Cosentino (Best Coast) and Nathan Williams (Wavves) were the “It Couple” of the Urban Outfitters generation, writing songs about their relationship, Instagramming photos of…

Com Truise Shines in Boulder

When did people stop dancing at electronic music shows? Because surely if there’s a pairing that warrants some major league writhing, pulling out all the moves — it’s Com Truise and STRFKR. But no; with a few notable exceptions, Thursday’s crowd just swayed a little and nodded their heads, and that was all. They…

The Best Concerts in Denver This Weekend

Hot Buttered Rum and Tea Leaf Green co-headline two nights at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ball Room this weekend, Best Coast and Wavves play two nights at the Bluebird, Something Underground celebrates the release of its new album tonight and Rickie Lee Jones is at the Oriental Theater on Sunday. See the…

Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Announces 2016 Lineup

This morning Planet Bluegrass announced its preliminary lineup for the 26th annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, which takes place August 19-21, 2016 at the Planet Bluegrass Ranch in Lyons. The headliners include “not pretentious hipsters” the Decemberists, Lucinda Williams, Passenger and up-and-coming eclectic folk act Darlingside, which recently had a big…

Joe Strummer Is Eleanor Friedberger’s Spirit Animal

Eleanor Friedberger was once a member of experimental rock band Fiery Furnaces with her brother Matthew from 2000 until 2011, when it went on indefinite hiatus. In that band the Friedbergers seemed to try out any crazy, creative idea they pleased from record to record, establishing themselves as one of…

Kneebody Says Playing With Daedelus Is “Warm Chaos”

The members of Kneebody, an avant-garde jazz collective, have been playing gigs together for so long that they don’t even live in the same parts of the country; they simply fly from their respective locations in New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Reno and jump on stage together whenever they…

Westword Music Showcase 2016 Regular-Price Tickets on Sale Friday

The presale for Westword Music Showcase 2016 ends at 11:59 p.m. tonight, Thursday. Regular-price tickets go on sale tomorrow, Friday, February 26, at 10 a.m. Tickets are $39.75 for general admission, and $80 for VIP.  This year’s national headliners have been announced and include Dillon Francis, Cold War Kids, Matt…

Was It a Fetty Wap Show or a Commercial for Snapchat?

The Internet is life, and life is the Internet. It’s no longer about “being online”; it’s about blurring that line between being and not being — online. And apparently, no one is ever not online anymore. At last night’s Fetty Wap show at the Fillmore, there was not a single…

Cherry Glazerr Defines Today’s L.A. Sound

“I’m thinking I want to make a Tinder for a ham and cheese sandwich, but that requires making a new email and everything. But I’m ready to go through that whole rigmarole just so I can be sandwich on Tinder,” says Clementine Creevy, guitarist, singer and founder of Cherry Glazerr…

Every New Denver Concert Announcement

Paul Simon headlines the Bellco Theatre on Friday, May 20 as part of his 31-city North American tour. Tickets ($64.50-$154.50) go on sale on Friday, February 26 at 10 a.m.  Jackson Browne returns to Red Rocks on Monday, August 22 with longtime bandmates Val McCallum (guitar), Mauricio Lewak (Drums), Jeff…

Megadeth Did It Mustaine’s Way at the Fillmore

By the time Megadeth got to the end of a super-tight and extremely well-received set, the band took a bow to the sound of Sid Vicious’ cover of Sinatra’s “My Way.” Hearing snotty Sid wail, “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention” seemed on-the-nose appropriate. This is, after all,…