After long period away, the last twelve months have been busy for hip-hop duo Blackalicious, with Chief Xcel and Gift of the Gab finally following up on The Craft and putting out their first new album in ten years, Imani Vol. 1. This is where things get wacky though. Harry Potter himself,…
After a busy week of New Year’s shows, things ramp up again this week shows by MartyParty, the Wailers and Blackalicious. See more picks below. MONDAY, JANUARY 4 Chris Robinson Brotherhood $65, 9 p.m. Belly Up Aspen TUESDAY, JANUARY 5 Electronic Tuesday free-$15, 8 p.m. Cervantes’ Other Side WEDNESDAY, JANUARY…
Though Denver’s world musicians may fly under the radar, the city is home to a wealth of artists who offer a vivid listening experience apart from the usual banjos at a bluegrass festival or the late-night raves on the effervescent EDM scene. Below is a small sample of Colorado world…
Local avant-garde marching band Itchy-O rang in the New Year at 3 Kings Tavern on South Broadway Street on December 31, 2015. The 32-piece masked drum corps is in the midst of a three-night stand at 3 Kings Tavern with opening support from Church Fire. You can catch the remaining…
Thankfully, New Year’s resolutions are like most rising EDM producer’s beats: Shortly after being revealed to the world they are forgotten about and never again talked about. That’s not a jab at rising producers (we support you and your efforts – take a joke, sheesh) but more a stab at…
Decadence New Year’s Eve returned to the Colorado Convention Center for two over-the-top nights featuring premier names in EDM. The first night, December 30, featured the Floozies, Jack U and many more. See all of the photos from Night One here…
This week, Westword music contributors took a moment to call out and shout out the standouts of their year in music, whether their concerns skewed local or national, niche or general, personal or quantifiable. In this week’s print edition and on the web, you can find reflections on jazz and…
Afrika Bambaataa is one of the architects of hip-hop culture as we know it. He was there when DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Dee were throwing the parties that were the foundation stone of hip-hop in New York City in the 1970s. The term hip-hop was coined by Cowboy…
Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work…
While there are some high-priced New Year’s Eve events happening next week, we put together a number of concerts and club events priced under $40, including local acts like DeVotchKa, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club and the Knew as well as national bands like BoomBox, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Face to…
In 2015, Westword Music covered a vast range of Denver music, from blockbuster national tours to homegrown superstars. We celebrated growth and successes, debated development and its effect on local artists, and mourned the too-frequent losses of beloved figures in the music community. Here are the ten stories you loved the…
Editor’s Note: Westword’s resident jazz expert, Clubs Editor Jon Solomon, picks his favorite jazz albums of the year. ADVENTURES IN JAZZ While there were a number of great straight-ahead jazz albums released this year, some of my favorites (the top ten are listed below) were more on the adventurous side,…
New Year’s Eve: the night when the number of drunk drivers shoots through the roof, and DJs seem to be spinning in the crevice of every club, bar, theater and convention center in the city. If you want to spend the last night and first morning of the year losing your…
Decadence New Year’s Eve has put together another stacked lineup of artists for this holiday’s festivities including Bassnectar, Excision, Deadmau5, Jack Ü, Big Gigantic and many more. The Colorado Convention Center will once again host the fifth year of the event, which features two nights on December 30 and 31. Decadence promises…
DENVER DIY NEVER DIESAs the city’s older, less attractive face crumbled under the facade of a new, youthful and pricey cardboard cut-out of what is now being sold to the world as “neo-Denver,” our DIY music scene scurried under the rubble like a cockroach. But like that sturdy cockroach, it…
2015: The Year of the Call-Out This week, Westword music contributors took a moment to call out and shout out the standouts of their year in music, whether their concerns skewed local or national, niche or general, personal or quantifiable. In this week’s print edition and on the web, you…
Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, bassist and singer with Motörhead, died on December 28, 2015, after a short battle with an aggressive form of cancer that sources say he had only learned about on December 26, though fans and observers had begun to worry earlier. He had just turned 70, and he will be…
Odesza, the Washington-based duo comprised of Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills, doesn’t seem to be concerned with state of EDM. Instead, they seem to focus on their music—and then they just work. Work at producing new sounds. Work at incorporating new musicians. Work at their craft. And Odesza’s craft has…
We here at Westword are stoked for the year! Originally, this piece was to focus on five 2016 releases by local bands that we were excited for. But as we compiled the list, that number quickly jumped to ten, then 15, then 20…you see a pattern here. While we know that…
Although there’s not a lot happening around the area early in the week, things ramp up on Wednesday with the first night of many multi-night New Year’s Eve stands, including Decadence at the Colorado Convention Center, Umphrey’s McGee, the Black Angels at the Gothic, Yonder Mountain String Band at the…
Subscriber-based geek-culture box-senders Loot Crate are no strangers to a gimmicky Youtube video. Damn, over 150,000 people regularly tune in just to watch somebody open one of their boxes and reveal a pair of Star Wars socks or a Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pin. Meanwhile, Arizona-based Cody Strong (Youtube handle AngryPicnic) loves a musical…
Nathaniel Rateliff will sing the national anthem on Monday, December 28, before the Broncos and Bengals play during Monday Night Football. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Rateliff and his band the Night Sweats have had, we would say, a decent year. From late-night TV appearances to an international tour to fans…
