The shoe is black and has a four-inch heel. It entered Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom on Friday for the SnowBall After Party as a piece of clothing. Late in the night, it became a weapon. And soon, it will return to Cervantes’ covered in paint, thanks to Nerf gun artist and…
This isn’t the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The list of upcoming artists beaming on a nearby screen includes artists like Nothing But Saxes, billed as “a smooth jazz experience.” The menu includes items that feel more a propos to a Chili’s than a rock venue. You can nibble…
At music festivals, weird kind of comes with the territory. But there’s something a little extra wacky about EDM festivals. When I walked through the gates at Snowball 2014, the first thing I saw was a woman wearing Moon Boots with glow sticks stuffed in them. “Pretty rad,” I thought,…
Hoo, boy, it’s SnowBall weekend, here in Denver for the first time in the festival’s young history. The dance-heavy lineup features reliable names like Pretty Lights and Griz as well as some curveballs, like Earl Sweatshirt and Warpaint. There’s more: In the Whale will spend two nights celebrating its new…
Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival announced its lineup earlier this week, but there was some controversy about the truncated roster for the July 14 show at Red Rocks. Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Asking Alexandria, Trivium and Body Count (Ice-T’s metal band) were announced for Denver, but those are the only bands…
Colorado’s musical legacy is about to find some permanence. Officials from the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and the Denver-based Blue Goose design firm have unveiled final plans for the permanent exhibition space set to open at Red Rocks Amphitheater later this year. Based at the current Trading Post gift…
Michal Menert’s path of success is a winding road of glorious sunrises and fraught sunsets. His third solo album, Elements, is set for official release on April 12, with a kick-off party in Detroit, Michigan, at the Shelter. Menert, as well as Denver’s Mikey Thunder and Mux Mool and Chris…
Global Dance Festival, the recipient of “Best Dance Party of the Summer” in our Best Of Denver issue, has just announced the first acts that will be playing the event. Phase one of any lineup announcement is always the appetizer, and what better way to tease than by announcing some…
Sports Authority Field at Mile High is often filled with fans who provide unfaltering support for their home team, who come out in droves and weather malicious snowstorms, biting wind and blinding sun to be a part of something special. With the silhouette of the Rocky Mountains to the west…
Intentionally recorded in super-lo-fi mode, Already Dead’s I Want to See You Rot delivers the kind of sound that will never be fully appropriated by the mainstream. Though musically different from early black-metal efforts such as Mayhem’s Deathcrush EP, Already Dead’s project rivals that one in its rawness. On “Joke,”…
As guitarist and pedal-steel player for 4H Royalty, Jamie Mitchell undoubtedly knows his way around the alt-country. That fact is also in evidence early on his seven-song disc Love Songs of the Profane, which kicks off with “Hotel Room” and is similar to A.M.-era Wilco. Mitchell injects twangy guitar into…
The four tracks on the Friends From the Bar EP actually do sound like an attempt to capture a meeting at a bar somewhere — in Berlin, maybe. If there is an overarching style here, it seems to be one that synthesizes house, ambient and downtempo. Kaster Cordalis’s “Soul Romance”…
The weed-laced sagacity of Whygee’s delivery and Gypdahip’s crisp, deep-crate samples are a natural pairing. Don’t wander into their joint release, called Please Forgive Us, looking for Top 40. As WhyGyp, the duo juggles a sound that’s both progressive and classic: golden-era schooling by A Tribe Called Quest and De…
From the beginning of last night’s first Neutral Milk Hotel show in Denver in some twenty years, when Jeff Mangum stepped on stage with his guitar to play “King of Carrot Flowers Pt. I” it was immediately powerful, no nostalgia necessary. Then, the rest of the band joined him, and…
Sub.mission dubstep is arguably the most influential music authority in Denver. Consistently winning Westword’s Best Of Denver awards for various shows and events, Sub.mission has been bringing the underground dubstep sounds to Denver for seven years. Thanks to founder Nicole Cacciavillano, and a crew of street teamers, resident DJs, loyal…
When Annie Clark of St. Vincent took the stage with the rest of her band, it was with the same kind of choreographed ritual that informed the rest of the performance. Her hair these days seems to belong to a visitor from either outer space or the future, as are…
Denver Noise Fest just announced the line-up for its 2014 festival, running Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26. The annual festival is one of the largest and most eclectic of its type in the country. Both nights will feature an eclectic array of noise artists from across the country…
Maybe you saw Neutral Milk Hotel last night in Boulder; if not you have another shot at it tonight in Denver. If the line “putting fingers in the notches of her spine” sends ice through your veins as consistently as it does ours, we can strongly recommend finding your way…
Once ridiculed as the hilariously embarrassing accessory of choice for fat American tourists, the fanny pack is now a practical piece of party gear for hot, young EDM fanatics. At music fests such as Miami’s Ultra, it has become a ubiquitous carry-all for scantily clad ravers with no pockets. Easy,…
10. Believe and Be Found by Love Despite EDM fests being sweaty mob scenes, our new pal Stacey believes wholeheartedly in the chance to find love amid the uhntz-uhntz-ing masses. “One day, love will find me,” she swears. “I’m trying. It’s why I’m here.” Is Ultra, held last weekend in…
It is Texas time in Denver. All we’d need is the Geto Boys and Gary Clark Jr. to hit the spectrum of Lone Star exports: St. Vincent brings her shock of white hair to town tomorrow, the Toadies’ Rubberneck victory lap hits Englewood and songwriting genius Joy Ely makes the…
That’s the big takeaway from Billboard’s current cover story on Colorado-bred Ryan Tedder: He made $2.5 million in 2013 on royalties alone. The lion’s share of it came from songwriting credits on songs performed by Beyonce, Ellie Goulding, Maroon 5, Demi Lovato, The Fray (hey!) and his own band, OneRepublic…
