Vic Mensa Saves His Flow for the Stage

Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, real name Victor Kwei Mensah, is one of the most respected new names on the circuit. From his beginnings with the group Kids These Days to his collaborations with Chance the Rapper in the collective Savemoney, right through to his recent team-up with Damon Albarn’s virtual…

LCD Soundsystem and the Best Concerts in Denver This Week

A reunited LCD Soundsystem headlines Red Rocks on Tuesday, August 2 and Wednesday, August 3, while Warren Haynes heads up the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration tonight at Red Rocks and Hard Red Rocks,  featuring RL Grime, Savoy, Keys N Krates and more, is at the venue on Thursday. Also this week…

Emi Night of Strawberry Runners Is Leaving Denver

Indie-pop band Strawberry Runners is scheduled to perform at the 2016 Underground Music Showcase tonight, Saturday, July 30, capping off a string of high-profile local dates. You might want to make sure you catch this set, however, as the Denver-based band is about to soon become less Denver-based. Primary songwriter, guitarist…

How to Survive the 2016 Underground Music Showcase

Music festivals can be cruel to first-timers. While you’re dealing with sunburns and stolen backpacks, there’s always a properly prepared individual nearby, looking effortlessly comfortable — and not sharing their secrets. Denver’s Underground Music Festival presents its own unique challenges, since it takes place over multiple days and an entire…

Yoni & Geti Perform the Final Set of Testarossa in Denver

Yoni Wolf and David Cohn have helped to shape and influence the sound of underground hip-hop as we know it. Under their respective creative monikers of Why? and Serengeti, the two artists have collaborated with several other artists on numerous projects. Yoni & Geti is their current joint effort with…

Warren Haynes Can’t Get Enough of Red Rocks

Having played with the likes of the Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule, and Grateful Dead spinoff band the Dead for many years now, guitarist Warren Haynes is like a figure from a jam-band fan’s wet dream. Naturally, the North Carolina native is also a bit of a favorite among Colorado…

Minnesota’s Poliça Address Police Brutality With “Wedding”

In 2016 the Minneapolis-based rock band Poliça released its latest album United Crushers. Recorded as with musicians and songwriters working together more closely and in real time than on the group’s previous records, United Crushers has a more organic feel. The songwriting also suggests a willingness to take greater risks both…

Emmylou Harris, RX Bandits and Every New Denver Concert Announcement

Martina McBride headlines Band Against Cancer: The Sarah Cannon Tour,  which stops at 1STBANK Center on Saturday, October 8 and also features Thompson Square, Cassadee Pope and Hudson Moore.  Tickets ($33.75-$125) go on sale on Friday, August 5 at 10 a.m.  Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees, which features, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller…

Roux Black Brings a Female Perspective to Final Friday

The creation of Final Friday — the monthly music walk and urban bazaar in Denver’s River North Arts (RiNo) District — was John McCaskill’s answer to a more “bar-based participating block party” that doesn’t involve blocking off the streets. For five years now, the owner of MegaFauna apparel, art and…

Whitney’s First Album Is a Reflection on Loss and Transitional Phases

The 2016 Underground Music Showcase kicks off this Wednesday, July 27 at 3 Kings Tavern, with a performance from indie-rock band Whitney. The Chicago outfit began as a duo consisting of drummer/singer Julian Ehrlich and guitarist Max Kakacek. Ehrlich was an early member of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, having known UMO bassist Jake…

Denver’s the Corner Girls Aim Pastel Punk Against the Patriarchy

It’s just before midnight on a Sunday, and I’m lying on the kitchen floor at the Corner Girls’ house. One room over, people are gathered in front of the TV to un-ironically watch Avril Lavigne music videos. Below me, Bourgeois Girl is finishing up recording for its upcoming EP in…

New York Buzz Band Sunflower Bean Talks DIY and Moshing

Every few years, a new band is declared the “New York band” of the moment. And yet, all rock bands who find themselves inextricably intertwined with New York are not necessarily linked to the same New York as those that came before. The Velvet Underground’s clique-y Warholian fantasyland was the not…

Saint Motel Answers Prayers for Pop Music That’s Cool

This weekend’s answer to the music lovers’ prayer for a full dance floor is a band that makes pop music that’s not just a guilty pleasure. Amen, it’s Saint Motel, performing at the inaugural Divide Music Festival in Winter Park. Saint Motel is among the bands that have recently taken…

Miike Snow Comeback: What’s Not to Liike?

After two successful albums, the self-titled debut Miike Snow and follow-up Happy To You, Miike Snow’s fans weren’t expecting the “break-up” of the band in 2012.  Recently the Swedish trio surprised and delighted fans with the unexpected release of third album iii, and the reunited group has been touring the U.S. The…