Mother Earth Sound System is not a typical promotional entity. MESS, as it is referred to, puts on one of the longest-running Colorado music festivals devoted entirely to dance music: Full Moon Festival. What started in April 1993 at a Berkeley Marina in San Francisco, with Scott Everett and Whitsitt…
Nederland’s Elephant Revival is a band beginning a new chapter. Coming off the release of a live album and DVD called Sands of Time, the band is working on a new studio album in Maine with sound engineer (and longtime Josh Ritter collaborator) Sam Kassirer. According to violinist Bridget Law,…
The Prodigy will headline Riot Fest on Sunday, August 30. Even before the 1996 hit “Firestarter” broke the band to U.S. audiences through heavy MTV rotation, the Prodigy was one of the biggest electronic acts of the decade. Though associated in the press with the big-beat movement, the group predated…
Two fans were climbing in a restricted area at Red Rocks Park after last Friday’s Yonder Mountain String Band when they fell. One, 29-year-old Spencer Cooke, died of his injuries, according to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office. The Denver Post reported the man’s name yesterday. The other fan, who has…
The hi-dive and Nathaniel Rateliff are both a little rough around the edges, so it’s fitting that, last night, he and the Night Sweats played an instantly sold-out show there. The crowd felt like a family as it welcomed the Night Sweats to the packed stage. Fans and lifelong friends clapped along…
The name Jake Smith may not ring any bells, but a lot of people are familiar with his music. For seven seasons, Smith, who performs as part of a trio under the moniker the White Buffalo, provided stark music for the FX original series Sons of Anarchy, which followed the…
The organizers of Goldrush Music Festival just announced the lineup for the 2015 installment of the event, which will be held at the Savoy Event Center on September 18 and 19. The annual festival — focused on experimental and forward-thinking artists — is in its fifth year, and will bring…
Even if he or she is in peak form — like country rocker Steve Earle surely is, as evidenced by his new blues album, Terraplane — a true musical legend always ends up putting on a show that’s about more than the music. That was a bad thing when egomaniac Bono…
The sound of thunderous rolling double bass drums, distorted guitars and guttural vocals roared though Red Rocks Amphitheater last night for a widely chaotic circus with Slipknot as the ringleader. Dubbed the “Summer last Stand Tour,” Slipknot, Lamb of God, Bullet for My Valentine and Motionless In White have been…
Summer Cannibals from Portland, Oregon returns to Denver for two dates this coming weekend. Saturday, August 22nd at Hi-Dive and Sunday, August 23rd at Dryer Plug Studios. Both shows have more than the average significance for Summer Cannibals, because the band’s drummer, Devon Shirley, cut his musical teeth in the…
For Jen Korte, getting an offer to play at Red Rocks Amphitheatre for an installment of Film on the Rocks sparked a chain reaction. “I get an offer to do a show like this, and in my head I’m already working on eight different other projects to go with it,”…
The ranch at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons is a unique place — something nearly every performer who takes its stage notes. This year’s Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (the second of two major events held at Planet Bluegrass each year) brought headliners Jason Isbell, Sufjan Stevens and Gillian Welch to the…
Nathaniel Rateliff has been living in the same house in Denver’s Baker neighborhood since 2003. “I wish we had decided to buy it a long time ago,” he says as he strolls through on his way to the back yard. “Now there’s no way we could afford it.” It was…
The Fillmore Auditorium played host to Chicago punk band Rise Against over the weekend. The group’s activist stance has made it particularly relevant in recent years, and fans packed the biggest theater in town. Check out a few highlights from photographer Aaron Thackeray — view the full slideshow here. …
This weekend brought one of the hottest days of the year, coupled with heavy evening rains. That seemed an apt environment for Synesthesia 2015 — the contrast in weather reflected much of the music on offer. The strange energy was compounded by an effort to shut down or curb the…
In 1999, I was working at a toy store in the mall called the Learningsmith. As it went in “education”-oriented mall retailers of the time, we sold “For Dummies” books, yo-yos, Hoberman Spheres, telescopes, Thomas the Tank Engine swag and basically anything that could be even mildly classified as a…
Saying that Peter Yarrow was influential in folk music would be a profound understatement. Yarrow, due at this weekend’s Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, might be one of the most important figures in the genre and his impact can be felt across music of all kinds. A founding member…
Miguel, the L.A,-based singer/songwriter, R&B crooner and hip-hop dabbler, has three albums, all of which have received critical acclaim. With his latest effort, Wildheart, it appears the singer is focused on himself as a human, a lover and an artist. It’s about your basest desires, your insecurities, your swagger and…
When Synesthesia debuted in Denver’s RiNo district a couple years ago, it was a Spartan affair at the Meadowlark and Larimer Lounge, attracting just 200 people. Now, the Larimer’s Bart Dahl says he’s happy to see what was formerly called Denver Psych Fest “flourish in our neighborhood” — this year’s…
“I’ve never understood the concept of writer’s block,” says Eric Bliss, lead guitarist for the Denver band Mako 1972. “When I sit down to write it’s easy. It’s not always good, but it’s easy. You’ve got this instrument in your hands that makes noise. Fuck around on it.” Bliss and…
Next weekend, Mumford & Sons will bring their small-town festival tour to Salida, where preparations have been underway for some time now. The Gentlemen of the Road Stopover also features performances from the Flaming Lips, Jenny Lewis, Dawes and many more, and now the full schedule has been released. The…
Synesthesia 2015 is upon us. The yearly festival dedicated to psychedelic music in its various manifestations takes place from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. across five venues near 27th and Larimer St. on Saturday, August 15. The line-up features local and underground national bands of some note including headliners Moon…
