The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, who have built a reputation on being supportive and collaborative with Denver’s contemporary musicians, have further solidified this reputation with the announcement of their newest program, “Turn Over the Keys.” The program, which will take place on May 28th at Boettcher Concert Hall, will feature Denver…
The people behind Communikey Festival just announced that the 8th edition of the experimental music and art festival in Boulder will be its last. Team CMKY asked itself what it can do that goes beyond the traditional festival format and to challenge itself to consider the possibilities of what can…
Editor’s Note: Denver rock band In the Whale is in Austin this week for SXSW. The duo of Nate Valdez (vocals and guitar) and Eric Riley (drums and backing vocals) will be documenting their exploits and observations for Westword Music. For more shenanigans, follow In the Whale on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram. For the most shenanigans, head to…
“You can make a beer out of salmon, can’t you?” “Sure, we can just put the salmon in the blender, like a Bass-o-matic.” The members of bluegrass band Leftover Salmon laugh, looking up at the tanks of beer towering above them in the back of Breckenridge Brewery. They’re making their…
Like most DJs and producers, “I have a huge list of artists and labels that I follow, and I try to keep up with all of the new releases that they are putting out,” says Mark Slee (who’ll play Denver this coming Saturday, March 21, at the Sidewinder Tavern; tickets…
There is an expected magic that comes along with seeing a performer like Stevie Wonder live — he’s a seminal pop star, a genre-less marvel. And most of all, he’s a musician’s musician, able to play a multitude of instruments alongside anyone brave enough for the challenge. There were plenty…
We are one of a dozen or so Colorado Artists who were officially accepted to SXSW 2015. What does that mean? I guess it affords us the opportunity to wait in lengthy lines for shows we’ll never get into, go to a trade show and look at stuff we can’t…
David Tiller and Enion Pelta-Tiller, the husband-and-wife team who make up the core of the Lyons-based group Taarka, lost their house when the St. Vrain River flooded in 2013. “Whether it was bad or good wasn’t really the perspective; it was more just, ‘Wow!,’” Tiller says. “Definitely through the process…
DJs and producers increasingly have to find a way to stand out that goes beyond their music. Dillion Francis is all about cats and tacos. Bassnectar’s logo has become a world-wide emblem. Pretty Light’s cats have 48,100 followers on Instagram, Deadmau5 wears a giant mickey-mouse like head. For the swedish duo Dada Life, bananas…
Reed Bruemmer isn’t against weed or “marijuana refugees.” But his shirts are. Following the popularity of his “Hail Peyton” T-shirts, the Speedwolf singer designed two new shirts poking fun at stoner culture — you know, to balance out all those dumb shirts with the leaf inside the “C” of the…
Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book SAINT COLE from Fantagraphics books. Last Week’s Episode…
Last week, we found this Craigslist ad seeking talented rappers: Need Rappers for booty-centric rap. I have a song I’d like to see get out there. I’d like to make a video of it as well (I have equipment to effect this). I’ve taught writing and poetry for a living…
It’s nothing new in hip-hop at this point for a line-up to include the musical influences of multiple cultures as that style of music absorbs ideas from around the world more easily than most others. Nor is it unexpected to hear multiple languages in a hip-hop show. But from the…
We held the first Westword Music Awards 21 years ago, in 1995. There were 55 nominees on the ballot that year, including such enduring names as Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Ron Miles and Tim O’Brien. There was a lot of great music being made in Colorado then, just as there…
In a few short days, over local 120 bands will take over part of Austin’s notorious sixth street to bring a taste of the Colorado music scene to the SXSW music festival. The five day showcase, known as the Colorado Music Party, features not only Denver bands like Rubedo, CRL CRRLL, Steele…
Swallow Hill Music — a Denver-based non-profit focused on music education and performance — has announced its new CEO: Paul M. Lhevine, who formerly served as executive director and director of external affairs for the Aurora Public Schools Foundation. “I am coming to Swallow Hill Music for the opportunity to build…
There was never a shortage of diversions at Punch Bowl Social on South Broadway — the restaurant and bar’s offerings include(deep breath) ping-pong, shuffle board, darts, billiards, arcade games, marbles and, of course, bowling. And, as of last month, a pair of private karaoke rooms upstairs. Denver is home to…
The Fort Collins Music Experiment (or FoCoMX) has, for the past six years, served as the largest showcase for northern Colorado music. Featuring hundreds of bands throughout the city, FoCoMX continues to grow — the Fort Collins Musicians Association (which organizes the event) has just announced some key details about…
Church Fire and Morlox, both from Denver, might seem like unusual collaborators on a split cassette release. The two acts don’t have much in common at first glance: Church Fire could be considered a synth-pop act, and Morlox is more in the realm of IDM. (Each side of the tape…
In 1969, Miles Davis started recording sessions for his landmark jazz-rock fusion album Bitches Brew, using close to twenty musicians over six months. Pianists Herbie Hancock, who spent five years in Davis’s second great quintet, and Chick Corea were both on that album, as well as Davis’s In a Silent…
The 42nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival will take place from June 18 to 21, 2015. As they often do, four day passes sold out before the lineup was even announced (it took ten minutes for fans from all 50 states and several foreign countries to snatch them all up). You can…
Doro Pesch is performing this Wednesday, March 11th at the Bluebird Theater. Pesch got her start as a rock and roll singer at the age of three when she started singing Little Richard’s “Lucille” around the house. It was a perfect start for a woman who would go on to…
