Morrissey’s new Denver date is April 26

It’s all Morrissey all the time on Backbeat, apparently. In what can only be explained as the universe being charter member of the Cult of Moz (or just seriously coincidental timing), we’ve just received word that the one and only Steven Patrick Morrissey has rescheduled his upcoming Denver date. Postponed…

The ten best concerts in Denver this week

TESTAMENT @ SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | MON, 2/25/13 In terms of thrash metal, Testament is one of the bands that you can make a strong case for expanding the Big 4 to the Big 5. The Bay Area act was part of the original thrash movement, which fused the precision…

Mouse on Mars at Summit Music Hall, 2/23/13

MOUSE ON MARS @ SUMMIT MUSIC HALL |2/23/13 As visuals flashed, streamed, scrolled, blinked, increased in luminosity and otherwise conspired to reflect the jittery, glitchy, sometimes manic and always dynamic flow of sounds being produced by Mouse on Mars, Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner stood behind a bank of…

Umphrey’s McGee back at Red Rocks in June

Umphrey’s McGee, due for a pair of sold-out dates at the Belly Up in Aspen on Wednesday, March 6 and Thursday, March 7, will be making its way back to Colorado this summer for a pair of dates, one for certain a show at Red Rocks on Friday, June 7,…

The best EDM in Denver this weekend

TINI @ NORAD | SAT, 2/23/13 tINI holds down residencies in Ibiza, London and other high-profile cities all over the world as well as in her native Germany; despite her name, she’s clearly a force to be reckoned with. Then again, her moniker is just as likely a nod to…

The best concerts in Denver this weekend

YO GABBA GABBA! @ PARAMOUNT THEATRE | SUN, 2/24/13 Sesame Street couldn’t handle mixing kids’ programming with Katy Perry cleavage, but Yo Gabba Gabba! gets it right every time. Perhaps it’s because one of the show’s creators, Christian Jacobs, is MC Bat Commander of the Aquabats. After becoming a father,…

Drive-By Trucker Mike Cooley takes the solo road

Mike Cooley has never had a problem playing in front of huge crowds with the Drive-By Truckers. Playing solo, however, has been a different experience entirely. “Sitting down in a room of people right in front of me and playing a song on an acoustic guitar by myself, I would…

The Blackouts make bluesy hard rock exciting again

Many yawn-worthy bands have been inspired over the years by hard rock and metal from the ’70s and ’80s. But rest assured, there’s nothing boring about The Blackouts (due on Friday, February 22, at Jugg’z Saloon). Oh, sure, the group dishes out plenty of covers. But that’s what you do…

Toro Y Moi

With the recent release of the latest Toro Y Moi album, Anything in Return, Chaz Bundick should be able to transcend the chillwave label that’s been assigned to him by countless critics. Like his friend and mutual mentor Ernest Green of Washed Out, Bundick started his project as an entirely…

Rudresh Mahanthappa

Growing up in Boulder, Rudresh Mahanthappa got an early start on the saxophone and studied with Mark Harris — who exposed him to a wide variety of music — before heading to Berklee and DePaul University to study music. Since moving to New York in 1997, the innovative Mahanthappa has…

G-Eazy

Ladies love G-Eazy. They absolutely adore him. Whether it’s his lazy-smooth flow or Dapper Dan look, we don’t know, but the last time he was in Denver, warming up for Hoodie Allen on the Excellent Adventure Tour at Summit Music Hall, bras were flying on stage like roses at the…

XXYYXX

Marcel Everett (aka XXYYXX) may have just turned seventeen this past October, but his most recent effort, a self-titled album he released last year, is already his second. Often when we hear about teenage artists, it’s related to some kind of manufactured pop or punk. In the current era, though,…

Myke Charles

Even though it’s far from the best cut on this mixtape, the song most emblematic of Myke Charles on Flight Plan is “Angels & Demons.” As Charles says, he’s “tryin’ to keep it real, but also tryin’ to make a million.” And he could do it. He’s already doing half…

The Blue Canyon Boys

As on their previous album, 2010’s Mountain Bound, the Blue Canyon Boys mix some first-rate originals with a number of covers on their fifth release, Next Go ‘Round. Early on, the guys stay with lively, foot-stomping bluegrass, then jazz it up on swinging numbers like “Heartaches Welcome” before slowing it…

Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks kicks off the new year with a five-track EP that weaves pop, prog, no-wave and grunge into a tapestry that tells a tale of the group’s creativity and technical proficiency. On “Noir Echoes,” which clocks in at a hearty seven and a half minutes, the hard-rocking refrain plunges…

Confluence

The ebullient melodies that informed the music of Ian Gassman’s old band Night Owl can be heard throughout Confluence’s new EP. But instead of reflecting that group’s more upbeat Elvis Costello vibe, these songs have an expansiveness of spirit reminiscent of recent pop bands such as Surfer Blood and the…

Despite her name, tINI has big talent

tINI holds down residencies in Ibiza, London and other high-profile cities all over the world as well as in her native Germany; despite her name, she’s clearly a force to be reckoned with. Then again, her moniker is just as likely a nod to her minimalist techno vibe as it is…