Isaiah “Ikey” Owens would have turned forty on December 1, but heart failure on October 14, 2014 took him from us before that could happen. Those who knew him best have already offered their memories and condolences. He was a great mentor and friend to various musicians around the country,…
Thanksgiving. A holiday full of food, football, family fights about politics and awkward run-ins with high-school exes. It’s a wonderful American tradition. But this year, instead of waiting until midday Thursday to bond and drink and eventually argue with your relatives, take your great aunt, step-uncle and second cousin to…
Kevie Durham (aka KL Tha General) was making strides in Denver’s hip-hop scene. This week, in fact, he was headed to Atlanta to work with some artists and industry people there. But that’s a trip he’ll never take: Durham’s life was cut short Saturday night in a shooting outsideThe Beach…
A few hours after the Broncos barely beat the Dolphins, The Beach Nightclub just a stone’s throw from Mile High Stadium is mostly empty. The tailgaters and fans and revelers have all departed, leaving just under a dozen Manning jersey-clad people all huddled in one part of the spacious club…
When bands take to the road to tour in support of a new album, they play a lot of shows in a lot of different venues –some small, some cavernous, all of them unique. The trick is to adapt to the room, so that the songs connect with the audience…
This year’s Global Dub Festival, which features Excision, Zomboy and other acts to be announced, is at Red Rocks on Friday, May 15, and tickets ($39.95) are on sale now. 420 in the Streets, which will be held on Welton Street outside of Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, will features Method Man…
[jump] 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 YOUTH IS WASTED. Last Week’s episode! • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST…
Tyler Jacobson is best known for his involvement in some of the most popular parties in Denver in the 21st century with Lipgloss, Casual and Mile High Soul Club. Today, Jacobson is offering a free download of the first song he was involved in writing in more than twenty years:…
Higher Ground Rehearsal Studios opened its doors for the first time last week to the public. The company is the first rehearsal studio space in Fort Collins, yet two more are planned to open within the next few months, including CohereBandwith and a Bohemian Foundation-sponsored space. See Also: Fort Collins…
You may remember the shirt-disappearing epidemic we reported on toward the end of the summer. We have, of course, been monitoring the situation, but it appeared to be contained in Morrison. Canadian “ClubStep” duo Adventure Club made a stop at the 1STBANK Center over the weekend. AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED?…
Solid weekend of shows here in town, with legends like Death From Above 1979 playing in Boulder and Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis playing a pair of nights at Larmier Lounge. The rest of our picks follow. See also: 50 Photos That Prove Red Rocks Is the Most Beautiful Venue on…
Illegal Pete’s has always been passionate about the Colorado music industry. It runs a label, Greater Than Collective, the Starving Artist program and hosts free shows at all of their restaurants. So it makes sense that the restaurant would open a proper music venue. That will happen this spring in…
After Toad the Wet Sprocket (due at the Ogden Theatre on Saturday, November 22) started 25 years ago, the guys in the band eventually became reluctant rock stars, partly thanks to 1991’s Fear, which included the singles “Walk on the Water” and “All I Want.” But front man Glen Phillips…
Marc Gaertner via Recess RecordsBen Weasel, not punching any women at the moment.I’ve never had an interest in Screeching Weasel, as I don’t listen to punk music that comes off like it was meant to be the soundtrack of a straight-to-video film about kids rollerblading in a shopping-mall parking garage…
Goosetown Tavern has a new owner: Chris Swank, who has a long history in Denver music. He’s taking over the bar from the Wynkoop Brewing Company, and he did a “low-key remodel,” adding a stage and sound system installed by Event Production Services in the back room where local bands…
Amanda Palmer is known for her crazy antics as the leader of the Dresden Dolls and the Grand Theft Orchestra. But Palmer started her career doing something a little more stationary. She worked as a living statue, painted all in white, wearing a wedding dress and giving people flowers. In…
The negative temperatures and piles of snow last week were a pretty solid indication that winter has arrived in Denver. While every day of winter here doesn’t involve bone-chilling cold, plenty do, and it gets old, fast. Suddenly, concert calendars look a little bare and the idea of leaving your…
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 soundtrack is officially out in anticipation of the film release Friday. As is increasingly common practice for these types of blockbusters, it features a ridiculous array of music talent — Lorde, Stromae, Pusha T, Q-Tip and HAIM are all on the first track. But…
JJ Grey, Anders Osborne, Marc Broussard and Luther Dickinson are currently touring as Southern Soul Assembly — but Dickinson notes that the emphasis should be on the “soul” rather than the “Southern” part of the name. The reason, he explains, is because everyone in the group draws from their wide-ranging…
Gangsta rap, where have you gone? About 20 years ago at this time, we were in the middle of an unprecedented run of gangsta rap greatness, with Death Row, Bad Boy, Ruthless, Rap-A-Lot and others all functioning at high levels. And while the songs and albums from this era continue…
Coyote Poets of the Universe has cultivated a unique songwriting style over the years in order to accommodate the disparate voices of its nine-piece membership — the results will be on display during a show this Saturday at the Oriental Theater. But the band did not have ambitious beginnings; in…
After work one frozen night last week, I put on my bike helmet, ski mask and warmest gloves and rode in the snow up 17th Street in Boulder to Beat Cycle, a new music-centered cycling studio on the Hill. “Sorry, I’m early,” I said to the four young female employees…
