It’s been five years since MC and activist Tim Holland, aka Sole, parted ways with the seminal hip-hop label Anticon, which he co-founded. In the interim, he moved to Denver and has been focusing on his own music. But now he’s back with a new imprint: Black Box Tapes. Holland…
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, who will reunite for the tour in seven years, will be at Red Rocks on Tuesday, September 15. Tickets ($45-$55) go on sale on Friday, February 27 at 10 a.m. Four-time Grammy winner Sam Smith, who headlined 1STBANK Center last month, will play at…
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 of Rufus Baxter!…
City Hall was packed this weekend for Westword’s Artopia, which featured highlights from the Denver art, fashion and music scene. On four stages throughout the venue, musicians ranging from the Reminders to members of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The event showcased the collaboration between artists, both within Denver and outside…
There may be a foot of snow on the ground, but spring is on it’s way, and with spring comes music festivals. This March many Colorado bands will be headed over to Idaho for Treefort and down to Texas for SXSW. But before our local musicians disappear to the streets…
Andy “Rok” Guerrero didn’t have a great high school prom experience. His girlfriend dumped him right before prom (before he even got to ask her to the dance with his elaborate secret scavenger hunt), the venue was lame, and the music was worse. But this year, Rok can’t wait for…
Artopia, Westword’s annual celebration of art, culture and fashion, returns to City Hall this Saturday, February 21. In addition to plenty of visual artists and the Whiteout fashion show, the event will feature some highlights from Colorado’s music scene — this year, over a dozen groups and artists will perform on four…
Denver’s nightlife scene is booming: On any given weekend, you can find bars and clubs of every possibly variety with lines out the door. Still, apparently only one of the city’s bars is among the 100 most lucrative in the country. Nightclub and Bar Magazine, a trade publication for the…
Now Playing, a multi-media collaboration between Denver Film Company, Black Shirt Brewing and several Denver musicians, premiers Saturday, Feb. 21 at 10 PM on CPTV 12. The debut show will be thirty minutes long and feature Denver band Covenhoven. Future episodes will feature Sawmill Joe, R.L. Cole, Haunted Wind Chimes, Glowing House, The Centennial, Strange Americans,…
We’re celebrating all that makes Denver’s art scene this weekend with Artopia. Other great shows this weekend include the second night of the Dirty Few’s release show at the hi-dive, Motion City Soundtrack at the Gothic and more. The rest of our picks follow. Nicholas Payton Trio When: Thu., Feb. 19…
When Jahna and Jason Eichel opened Fort Collin’s first rehearsal space, Higher Ground Rehearsal Studios, in November, they envisioned a collaboration with a production company to create “behind the scenes” videos from the music studio. And now, they’ve done just that. This weekend, the third episode of Live @ Higher Ground…
Some people tend to gravitate toward dick and fart jokes. But Greater Than Collective’s Virgil Dickerson has always had a passion for poop stories. The one he says he’s told more than any other in his life was about how an employee at Suburban Home Records (which Dickerson founded) once…
Set foot inside storied DIY space Rhinoceropolis and it is clear that whatever show or performance is about to be experienced is going to be a unique one. With nearly a decade under its belt as Denver’s premiere all ages gallery and music space, Rhinoceropolis is all about the unexpected…
Dr. Dog rolls into Denver to play the Ogden Theater on Thursday, February 19 in the thick of a three-month tour that began January 9 with “4×4,” an eight-show Brooklyn and Manhattan run. The energetic and soulful Philadelphia indie-rock stalwart, whose best tunes juxtapose the Beatles and the Band, is…
It makes no sense to me that I love Pitbull so much — he’s this lizard-like pop star, a dude who, over the last decade, has made a name for himself by throwing gnarly verses about not-very-consensual-sounding sex acts with women into the middle of mindless, often bland club-bangers. Yet…
The dumbest thing Stelth Ulvang ever did for his career as a musician was to quit the Lumineers in late 2011. In his defense, that was before “Ho Hey” started picking up a national audience, before the self-titled debut came out on Dualtone Records and went on to sell 1.3…
Jorma Kaukonen helped shape the sound of early West Coast psychedelic rock with his innovative guitar work. As a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, he brought a delicacy of feeling to the music that gave the songwriting greater depth. But he didn’t start out very confident in his abilities. “When…
Fort Collins bands will soon have a new place to practice. Cohere Bandwidth, at 265 Linden Street in Old Town, comprises 24/7 rent-by-the-hour rehearsal spaces that were inspired by the creativity and camaraderie found in music. They were also inspired by thieves. In December 2012, Shane Zweygardt of the Fort…
Artopia, Westword’s annual celebration of art, culture and fashion, returns to City Hall on February 21. In addition to plenty of visual artists and the Whiteout fashion show, the event will feature some highlights from Colorado’s music scene — this year, over a dozen groups and artists will perform on four stages…
Swallow Hill Music announced this month its expansion into the Highlands neighborhood in northwest Denver. With classes to be held in Highlands United Methodist Church at 3131 Osceola Street, starting March 2nd, Swallow Hill is holding an open house on Thursday, February 26th from 4 to 7 p.m.. The revered…
In all likelihood, Red Rocks will soon be a National Historic Landmark. That would be particularly gratifying for the group Friends of Red Rocks., which has been trying to get the designation for the park since 1999. “People thought it was a historic landmark already because it has been treated that way,”…
Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80’s 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 YOUTH IS WASTED. …
