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…

Robyn Hitchcock Lives in Nashville, but He Hasn’t Gone “Twangy”

Robyn Hitchcock spent a good chunk of his life in England, including his tenure with the psych-rock band Soft Boys and through his solo career with and without the Egyptians. These days, however, Hitchcock’s living in Nashville, where he’s working on a new album. He’s been living in Nashville since…

Pretty Lights Announces Two More Colorado Dates

Pretty Lights, who is set to play two nights in Telluride on August 26 and 27, also announced a two-night stand at Red Rocks on Friday, August 12 and Saturday, August 13.  Tickets ($49.75-$60), and a limited number of two-day GA passes, go on sale on Friday, June 3 at…

Metal Meltdown: Denver Metal Shows in June 2016

Every month in Denver, there are many metal shows and metal-centric events, but its can be hard to keep track of everything. Here’s a rundown of the best metal-riffic happenings in the area this June, with information on why these shows are worth dragging yourself away from the Judas Priest…

M83’s Triumphant Pop Music Tugged at Nostalgic Heartstrings

M83 is undoubtedly a band of its times, which, of course, means it takes as much from the past as it does from the future. At Red Rocks Tuesday the band took full advantage of its brilliant surroundings and presented its luminous, spacious and triumphant music the way it was intended…

The Eight Strangest Lineups at Red Rocks for Summer 2016

Most of the bills for Red Rocks concerts tend to make sense in both an artistic and commercial sense. Even when Soundgarden played the show there in the summer of 2014 with Nine Inch Nails and Oneohtrix Point Never, it felt like a good fit since Trent Reznor has had…

Joey Shithead on D.O.A.’s Musical and Political DIY Roots

D.O.A. from Vancouver is considered one of the foundational bands of hardcore punk. Its album Hardcore ’81 is generally believed to be the first time the term was used in connection with punk’s second wave. As with contemporaries like Black Flag, Bad Brains and Middle Class, D.O.A. drew inspiration from early…

Pete Pidgeon on Working With Levon Helm

Pete Pidgeon was just a toddler he heard Garth Hudson’s organ solo on “Chest Fever” from the Band’s 1968 debut, Music From the Big Pink. When his parents put the record on in their living room and he heard the organ, he says it was the first time he remembers…

The Broke Music Fan’s Guide to Denver: The Internet

While we would never recommend illegally downloading somebody’s art, the Internet is still a veritable garden of riches for the broke music fan. If you’re reading this, you’re online already. All you have to do is navigate. 1. Youtube. Youtube is a solid place to start to get your fix…

The Kills Held Nothing Back in a Flood of Rock-and-Roll Power

Blasting out the gates with “No Wow,” The Kills spent little time with preambles and set the stage for a ferocious energy that lasted for the rest of the show. The Kills aren’t really known for low-key shows, but this performance was especially generous. Even with the drummer, the keyboard…

Ten Great, Vanished Denver Music Venues — 2016 Edition

Denver has been home to many music venues that have had major impact on the local scene and, to some extent, the national music scene. A list of those noteworthy concert venues that are now gone could easily be five times as long. Below are ten clubs, studios and spaces…

Florence + the Machine Brought the Love to Denver

The Pepsi Center is a cavernous place to watch a concert. There are arenas like it all around the world. Basketball jerseys hang from the incredibly high ceiling, concrete stairs run top to bottom, and the sound can echo all around the joint. On Thursday evening, however, Florence Welch’s voice…