The Head and the Heart (due tonight at the Ogden Theatre) came together when its members met while playing open-mic nights at a pub in the Old Ballard section of Seattle and decided to join forces. The band writes earnest, hushed, folk-inflected pop songs that recall Déjà Vu-period Crosby, Stills,…
With Porn and Chicken, DJs Dom Brown and Orville Kline have created the wildest and easily the most unique dance party in the country. Birthed in Chicago, a city that’s home to some of best house music going, Porn and Chicken has become a household name from the Windy City…
If you’re a metal fan, clear your calendar, because Denver Black Sky is a must-see. A brutal “boutique” metal fest at the Gothic Theatre this Saturday, December 14, it’s made up of killer death metal, thrash and grindcore bands, easily one of the best lineups in recent memory. Easy to…
Prime Element and Black Mask are two local hip-hop outfits making compelling music, and now members of the two acts are making music together. How Cliché, a new EP featuring A.V.I.U.S. from Prime Element and the multi-talented AG Flux from Black Mask, dropped today. In advance of the release party…
Nearly a decade into his career, Armenian-born Tigran Mkhitaryan, aka Mimosa, is settling into his own style, one that pulls elements from multiple genres, from grimy bass lines to smoothed-out hip-hop beats. With his latest album, Future Trill, Mimosa is building a brand that defies categorization. In advance of his…
When Phish reunited in 2009, the 3.0 era of the band was born. While classics like “Tweezer” and “Carini” still reap fantastic rewards, newer songs have been given a chance to shine and grow, be it through psychedelic looping or rapid-fire staccato rhythms. Despite what some may say, Phish still…
We’re back with another fresh batch of Colorado hip-hop, all with stimulating videos to bring the tracks to life. First, the often controversial Kevin Pistol returns with a track about his superior mike control, while Jahni Denver drops an inspiration track with help from Krizz Kaliko. Catch Lungs, meanwhile, attempts…
Formed in 2003 as a side project of the more ska-punk-oriented Disasterbators, the Dendrites became a primary concern when the band’s members became more interested in the roots of ska, particularly in artists from the late ’50s and the ’60s. The all-instrumental band soon made a name for itself with…
EOTO (due this Saturday, December 7, at Fillmore Auditorium) started as a String Cheese Incident side project between Michael Travis and Jason Hann, a studio musician who also played with Dr. Dre and was a member of Isaac Hayes’s band. Out of the practicality of the living situations of both…
moe. returns to Denver this weekend for a two-night run at the Ogden Theatre, fresh from recording a brand-new album. These jam-band veterans will be celebrating their 25th anniversary next year, but they’re still creating interesting new stuff while refreshing old classics. Bassist Rob Derhak spoke with us recently and…
For someone who’s been shooting concerts since the ’70s, you’d think Jay Blakesberg would be burned out on music. Not so much, it turns out. On the heels of releasing his latest book, JAM, Blakesberg is still striving to capture the feverish energy that explodes from the stages when the…
The progression of music will always be weighed down by periods of stagnation. Although new rap acts are presented into the mainstream every year, the actual newness of the music is generally overstated. The prime exception to this rule is the so-called “golden ages,” pockets of time where innovation is…
A few years ago, while she was touring, Megan Burtt came up with her ‘In Good Company’ concept. The idea was pretty straightforward: With so many songwriting friends in various places, Burtt decided she’d get together with each one, write a song in a day, learn one of their songs…
After reading a book about prostitutes in the Old West and how they basically ran things in places like Colorado, Johnette Napolitano (due at the Soiled Dove Underground this Wednesday, November 27) began working on a project a few years ago with a friend from England. That particular collaboration resulted…
Big Freedia (due this Saturday, November 23, at the Bluebird Theater) is the stage name of Freddie Ross, who began performing in his home town of New Orleans as a backup dancer and singer for Katey Red, a local drag queen who performed bounce music. Nicknamed “Freedia” by a friend,…
David Bazan (due this Saturday, November 23, at the Denver Music Summit) is perhaps best known for his songwriting for Pedro the Lion. His skill in crafting delicate, gently evocative music with subtle but powerful emotional resonance earned him fans and critical accolades from early on. Although Pedro was ostensibly…
There was a lot of excitement leading up to Phish’s Fall tour, as indoor Phish is a whole different monster from the summer shed extravaganzas that leave you in the sunlight for the first set; these shows get dark and dirty from the get go. The band rehearsed and wrote…
Will Johnson (due this Saturday, November 23, at the Denver Music Summit) made a name for himself in the ’90s in Centro-Matic. A gifted songwriter, Johnson has a knack for penning elegant, emotionally rich and subtly powerful, folk-inflected songs. Over the years, he’s toured endlessly on his own and with…
The Devil Wear’s Prada (due this Sunday, November 24, at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom) first came together in 2005. Formed in Dayton, Ohio, by members who came up in the local hardcore scene, the act is a Christian band, but it has never traded on that aspect of the band with…
Back with another batch of fresh local hip-hop. This week, we’ve got a new clips from Spoke In Wordz featuring the 17th and Fokis, a cut from Slo Pain for hardcore fans, as well as fresh goodness from Rap League Manifest, assisted by Planet Asia, and Aires Jackson, who just…
Dr. Neptune (due this Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23, at 3 Kings Tavern) became one of the more popular punk bands in the scene before disbanding for good in 2006, after a couple of vans broke down as the band was making waves on the Warped Tour circuit…
Cat Power (due this Saturday, November 23, at the Gothic Theatre) is the sometimes solo, sometimes full-band, project of Chan Marshall. Although born in Atlanta, Marshall made her way to New York City in the early 1990s and became involved in the underground music scene in the Big Apple. In…
