A new music festival called Chive Fest is coming to Denver this August, and the lineup is no small affair. It features Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Cold War Kids, Talib Kweli and more. The full roster is below. The festival is a collaboration between photo website The Chive…
Every good Coloradan knows that everything is better in the mountains. Sports, views, air and even music festivals. One reason our state has been able to draw fans and bands from around the nation (and world) is the same reason we’re able to attract so many tourists. Telluride, Colorado, hosts…
Jonathan Bitz says the process of opening Syntax Physic Opera has been heavy, it’s been emotional and it’s been by far the hardest thing he’s ever done. He was hoping to have his music venue and eatery at 554 South Broadway (which most recently housed the Bar and the Atrium)…
All good bands must come to an end. And when they do, it can be rather bittersweet. It certainly is for Tyler Ludwick. On Tuesday, he announced via Facebook that his longtime experimental chamber pop project, Princess Music, will be breaking up after one last show on August 28 at…
Thirty years after the release of Prince’s most famous album, it can still only be heard in the original mastering, which sounds terrible. In this week’s music feature, now posted on the Backbeat blog, Alan Scherstuhl discusses what makes Purple Rain’s music so powerful and why it never got the…
On stage, the vocalist for local metal-core band As the Sky Darkens is the definition of intimidating. Jon Vela isn’t very tall and has an affinity for cuffed jeans and black TOMS that contrast with a stage presence resembling that of an angry, caged animal. Shoulders hunched, he stalks across…
When the Elk Meadow Lodge requested a reunion performance by the Elktones this summer, it was to reunite all four members of the Estes Park folk band. But when the band plays on Spur 66 next week, there will only be three members on stage. Dick Orleans, Elktones bandmember and…
Before he moved to Colorado in the late ’90s to help open the Whole Foods store on Pearl Street in Boulder, Louis Karp opened Waterloo Records in Austin, a spot that went on to become one of the most successful independent record stores in the nation. Karp also had a…
Shaley Scott’s performance was the one of the last on the Road 34 stage, and she didn’t even know it. The Fort Collins singer-songwriter played for the first time at the venue on June 6, and at the time it didn’t seem like it would be the last. “The door…
This summer’s Vans Warped Tour will boast some impressive and eclectic artists to draw fans of punk, hip-hop and hardcore right alongside the inevitable Hot Topic zombies. The venerable festival, hasn’t always evolved smoothly, but this year’s Denver lineup — the last stop on the tour — is particularly impressive…
OK, so there has been somewhat more weed smoked in the vicinity of Red Rocks this season. Not inside, mind you. That would still be illegal and no one’s breaking that law — never have. But the parking lot is a different story. And we have seen some impressive displays…
The Rock and Roll Marathon series returns to Denver for the fifth time this October. Today, organizers announced a new route with a much larger footprint and a few new neighborhoods. Instead of a quick loop through downtown before a tangle out by City Park, this year’s race will head…
Welcome back, Americans. We ardently hope you return to us full of leftover barbecue and slightly sunburned. There are a few good shows this week, starting with legendary jazz drummer Tootie Heath with his new backing band (two-thirds of the Bad Plus). They’ll play Dazzle a couple nights this week…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his sunny outlook with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work and even buy it on his website. • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST HITS • – The fifty best rap lyrics of all time – The ten…
The Fourth of July might mean fireworks, hot dogs and apple pie to some folks, around the parts music will be a big part of that. If you’re down with a 90-minute drive, there’s the South Park Music Festival, which kicks off today and runs through Saturday while Umphrey’s McGee…
It’s summer in Colorado which means it’s time to enjoy the outdoors before winter arrives again and the beautiful green fades to a snowy white. Summer also means the Denver-area concert calendar is packed, and thankfully, you can enjoy both mother nature and music in the same place this summer…
Now that we’ve wrapped up the 2014 Westword Music Showcase and awards ceremony, we’re looking forward to spending the next twelve months getting our hands – and ears – on as much Colorado music as possible. We asked a number of local artists to talk about the peers they admire…
People in Colorado love live music. That statement can apply anywhere in the country, of course, but in Colorado, the ability to see shows in amazing indoor and outdoor venues year-round seems like just as much of a reason that folks move here as our weed, our mountains and, well,…
Jukeboxes are hard to come by in the digital age. But Devo founder Mark Mothersbaugh brought one with him when his band played in Denver last week. And it isn’t just any jukebox; it’s one made more than fifty years ago by AMI Music and filled with sixty vinyl records…
Thousands of people will descend on the tiny town(s) of South Park and Fairplay this patriotic weekend for the South Park Music Festival. Whether you’re a pro at camping music festivals or a newbie who only bought tickets because you didn’t realize South Park was a real town, there are…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his sunny outlook with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work and even buy it on his website. • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST HITS • – The fifty best rap lyrics of all time – The ten…
We’ve just received word that the Hundred, one of Denver’s most prominent event promoters and show producers, will be hosting a one-day festival called Cloak and Dagger at City Hall and Vinyl, on Saturday, September 20. The lineup looks promising, and given that it’s spread across four stages in the…
