Pabst Announces New Music Festival in Denver for May 2016

We have a feeling you’re going to like this: Pabst Blue Ribbon announced that an iteration of its music festival Project Pabst is coming to Denver on May 20, 2016, and will feature hometown heroes Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats as the headliner.  The one-day festival, promoted by AEG,…

How to Make Perfect Pop Songs: Getting Real With Carly Rae Jepsen

Lately, friends on Facebook and In Real Life have been asking me to name songs I consider to be “perfect.” Not favorite or critically-lauded or guilty-pleasure songs, but perfect songs. This is a tough question, changing at the whim of an ear, but many responses included pop songs, gilded by…

Basia Bulat Stretches Her Wings on Good Advice

Canadian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Basia Bulat has spent the last nine years garnering attention for her thoughtful songwriting and passionate live performances. Much of her recorded output could loosely be called folk but Bulat’s brand of that music transcends preconceptions. So much so that she was tapped by Denver gypsy…

The Best Concerts in Denver This Weekend

The Hawaiian Punch Winter Tour, featuring Iration and Pepper, is at the Fillmore Auditorium tonight while the Revivalists headlines the Ogden Theatre, Tom Paxton plays at Swallow Hill and Vince Staples is at the Bluebird Theater. See the full list of our picks below.  FRIDAY, MARCH 4 Iration and Pepper $25.25,…

The Ten Best Denver Goth Bands — 2016 Edition

We firmly believe that Denver is a match for anybody when it comes to quality music in any genre, and the dark world of Goth is no different, even when it’s branching out into industrial and horror-punk. With Captain Blood opening for the Other at the 3 Kings Tavern on…

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…