David Tiller and Enion Pelta-Tiller, the husband-and-wife team who make up the core of the Lyons-based group Taarka, lost their house when the St. Vrain River flooded in 2013. “Whether it was bad or good wasn’t really the perspective; it was more just, ‘Wow!,’” Tiller says. “Definitely through the process…
Huey Lewis is a dick. It’s not hip to be square — it’s square to be square, the thing that the hip will always fight against. Garth Brooks could never be hip, because he’s a master of the square. And since as a music-loving society we’re ready to admit in…
While Ryan Scannura was getting his degree in biology in Springfield, Illinois, he started making house music. For a while, he was involved in a club night called Bit Crushed. When he graduated, in 2010, the job market was not encouraging. So Scannura, like many students, decided to pursue an…
DJs and producers increasingly have to find a way to stand out that goes beyond their music. Dillion Francis is all about cats and tacos. Bassnectar’s logo has become a world-wide emblem. Pretty Light’s cats have 48,100 followers on Instagram, Deadmau5 wears a giant mickey-mouse like head. For the swedish duo Dada Life, bananas…
Reed Bruemmer isn’t against weed or “marijuana refugees.” But his shirts are. Following the popularity of his “Hail Peyton” T-shirts, the Speedwolf singer designed two new shirts poking fun at stoner culture — you know, to balance out all those dumb shirts with the leaf inside the “C” of the…
When Zac Brown Band performs Coors Field on Friday, July 3 it will be the first major concert at the stadium since it opened two decades ago. Brown will be touring in support of his forthcoming album, Jekyll + Hyde, which hit stores on April 28. Tickets ($29.50-$105) go on sale…
Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book SAINT COLE from Fantagraphics books. Last Week’s Episode…
Monday, March 16 Coal Chamber $25/$28 6:00PM Summit Music Hall New Found Glory $18.50 6:30PM The Black Sheep Tuesday, March 17 Stevie Wonder $39.50-$149.50 8:00PM Pepsi Center Kid Ink $39.50-$55 7:30PM Fillmore Auditorium Chick Corea $39.50-$100 7:30PM Boettcher Concert Hall Pete Rock $15/$20 9:00PM Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom Swahili $8 9:30PM…
By definition, “nocturne” is, “a short composition of a romantic or dreamy character suggestive of night, typically for piano.” The Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club epitomizes this definition. Located at 3130 27th Street, across the street from Meadowlark and diagonal from Cold Crush, Nocturne is the latest addition to Denver’s…
At 6:30 a.m., downtown Denver is still dark. The sun won’t rise for another 40 minutes, but a line of people already stretches around the block, waiting to get into Lodo’s Bar & Grill for this year’s Channel 93.3’s Keggs & Eggs. Nearly every other person has a beer in…
Last week, we found this Craigslist ad seeking talented rappers: Need Rappers for booty-centric rap. I have a song I’d like to see get out there. I’d like to make a video of it as well (I have equipment to effect this). I’ve taught writing and poetry for a living…
Friday, March 13 Dada Life$20-$508:00PM1STBANK Center Greensky Bluegrass$22.50-$25/3-DAY PASS $608:30PMBoulder Theater Five Iron Frenzy$19.998:00PMGothic Theatre St. Patrick’s Day Weekend CelebrationTBA2:00PMViewHouse Eatery Bar Inner Oceans$8-$109:00PMHi-dive TICK Keggs and EggsFREE7:00AMLodo’s Bar & Grill Saturday, March 14 Pink Hawks$107:00PMMarquis Theater DRKWAV$20/$259:00PMCervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom Sunday, March 15 Cobraconda$109:00PMHi-dive…
It’s nothing new in hip-hop at this point for a line-up to include the musical influences of multiple cultures as that style of music absorbs ideas from around the world more easily than most others. Nor is it unexpected to hear multiple languages in a hip-hop show. But from the…
We held the first Westword Music Awards 21 years ago, in 1995. There were 55 nominees on the ballot that year, including such enduring names as Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Ron Miles and Tim O’Brien. There was a lot of great music being made in Colorado then, just as there…
“This music is garbage. They aren’t even using real instruments,” my mom said. It was 1994, and I was happy that my favorite song at the time — “The Sign” by Ace of Base — was on the radio. She would try to expose me to the music that she…
In a few short days, over local 120 bands will take over part of Austin’s notorious sixth street to bring a taste of the Colorado music scene to the SXSW music festival. The five day showcase, known as the Colorado Music Party, features not only Denver bands like Rubedo, CRL CRRLL, Steele…
Swallow Hill Music — a Denver-based non-profit focused on music education and performance — has announced its new CEO: Paul M. Lhevine, who formerly served as executive director and director of external affairs for the Aurora Public Schools Foundation. “I am coming to Swallow Hill Music for the opportunity to build…
Welcome to the world of Plume Varia. The Denver dream pop duo, fresh off a performance at the Oriental Theatre with Sound of Ceres, is debuting a new video today on Westword Music. The clip, which features band members Cherie and Shon Cobbs performing a pair of songs, was directed and…
There was never a shortage of diversions at Punch Bowl Social on South Broadway — the restaurant and bar’s offerings include(deep breath) ping-pong, shuffle board, darts, billiards, arcade games, marbles and, of course, bowling. And, as of last month, a pair of private karaoke rooms upstairs. Denver is home to…
Although St. Patrick’s Day is next Wednesday, shamrock-centric festivities are kicking off this weekend. Here’s a guide to a number of local events in bars, clubs and music venues. Lodo’s Bar & Grill: 1946 Market St., Denver, 303-293-8555 Keggs and Eggs, featuring the Dirty Heads, 3OH!3, Brick+Mortar and One Flew…
The Fort Collins Music Experiment (or FoCoMX) has, for the past six years, served as the largest showcase for northern Colorado music. Featuring hundreds of bands throughout the city, FoCoMX continues to grow — the Fort Collins Musicians Association (which organizes the event) has just announced some key details about…
The R&B crooner Kitty Crimes is not to be missed. One moment, she’s getting low to the ground, throwing one hand in the air as she cups the mike with the other; the next, she’s serenading every face in the crowd as she makes her way across the stage with…
