Summer Guide: Ten Best Summer Music Festivals

Colorado will host dozens of music festivals throughout the state over the next four months or so, many tailored to particular genres, whether it be bluegrass, folk, country, EDM or rock. Others run the gamut of styles. We’ve pared it down to ten must-see festivals (listed below in alphabetical order)…

How Nothing Left Something on a Bushwick Building

Domenic “Nicky” Palermo of Nothing has certainly paid his dues. Earlier in life he had been a rough-and-tumble punker who spent two years in jail for stabbing a guy during a fight. Once he got out of jail he spent some time discovering the meaning of his life and returned…

Announcing the 2016 Westword Music Showcase Schedule

Join us on Saturday, June 25, 2016, for the 22nd Westword Music Showcase, featuring Dillon Francis, Cold War Kids, Matt and Kim, HEALTH, New Politics and more, plus 100 local bands and artists. You can get amped for the big event at the Wednesday-night Denver Cruiser Rides on June 15…

Codename: Carter Makes High-Definition Retro-Futurist Spy Rock

Codename: Carter emerged from a recording project that guitarist and vocalist Steve Gray undertook in 2008. Though more known as a guitarist, Gray discovered sounds that inspired him on keyboard, and he shared demos with old friend and longtime musical collaborator, drummer Michael Behrenhausen. The two filled out the demo…

Modern Baseball Hits Harder, Talks Mental Illness, Makes Punk Shows Safer

The last track on emo-punk band Modern Baseball’s newest release, Holy Ghost, is about co-frontman   Brendan Lukens deciding to get help for his mental issues, which had culminated in suicidal ideations. “Just Another Face” ends the album, but it also welcomes a new era of Modern Baseball, one in which…

The Outfit Takes the Long Road to New LP

At a time when all things indie rock have been relegated to the dustbin of pop culture, Denver band the Outfit still stands out. The group’s soon-to-be-released self-titled album is representative of its current creative ambitions. The Outfit is the first twelve-inch vinyl record that the band has released; it…

Comic: The Many Faces of Stoney’s Bar and Grill

Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work.  Stoney’s Bar & Grill will host bands performing at the 2016 Westword Music Showcase on Saturday, June 25. …

Jazz Saxophonist Max Wagner Is All About Gratitude on Latest Album

Saxophonist and vocalist Max Wagner, a longtime local jazz fixture, named his latest album Gratitude for good reason. “The main thing I feel about my life in music and my experiences as a musician is just gratitude — just grateful,” he says. “All along, I have been so blessed that I’ve been…

Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop Collaborate on the Subject of Love

On an early tour through Colorado in 2003, Sam Beam, performing as Iron & Wine, was scheduled for a March show in Denver at the Climax Lounge, a then small rock club north of downtown. It was the night of the worst blizzard in recent memory. “I do remember the…

The Lumineers and the Best Concerts in Denver This Week

The Lumineers are at Red Rocks for pair of sold-out shows on Tuesday and Wednesday while Leon Russell is at the Oriental Theater tonight and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and Jesca Hoop will be at the Boulder Theater on Tuesday, June 7.  See the full list of our picks below. …

The Chromeo Electro-Funk Show Was a Magnet for Subcultures

The Chromeo concert with What So Not, Four Tet and Jamie xx had all the trappings of a large-scale EDM concert: the elaborate lighting rigs and sets of music aimed at the dance-music crowd. Opener What So Not and especially Four Tet should have had their set times pushed later…

Langhorne Slim Strengthens His Spirit Through Sobriety

As Langhorne Slim, who performs Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4, at the Bluebird Theater, walks around California’s Napa Valley before his set at Bottlerock Festival, he is thinking of a different time in his life.  “I used to live out here years ago, a lifetime ago,” he says…

The Best Shows in Denver This Weekend

Punk Rock Bowling, which kicked off on Thursday, continues this weekend with Millencolin, 88 Fingers Louie, Allout Helter and Wiredogs tonight, and FLAG, Anti-Nowhere League, Youth Brigade and Potato Pirates tomorrow at the Summit Music Hall. Robyn Hitchcock plays a solo set on Friday, June 3 at Swallow Hill and Grant-Lee Phillips…