Denver’s City Park will host one of its first conventional music festivals this weekend. Chive Fest will bring two stages and eight artists, including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Talib Kweli, to the city’s largest park this Saturday, August 16. But the first-year festival hasn’t been welcomed by…
I first heard Weird Al when I was around ten years old. I was in it for the fart noises and puns at first. Today, I admire him for other reasons; he has set an example for anyone who comments on music. His devotion to pop doesn’t prevent him from…
Founded by Anna Smith, Megan Crooks, Cody Coffey and Derrick Bozich in the summer of 2013, Ancient Elk is actually only a little over a year old. Smith and Crooks had played together before in Birds of a Feather, a kind of avant-garde band with roots in bluegrass, folk and…
Headphone shopping can be a chore. The options (and price range) have no limit, and it can be hard to tell whether you’re paying for the brand or the quality. So we decided to ask an expert: Rick Ramirez, who works as a live-sound engineer, primarily at the Larimer Lounge…
Best known as the leader of the legendary ’80s alternative band the Dream Syndicate, Steve Wynn has found surprising success in channeling his love of baseball into his songwriting. A few years back, Wynn found another baseball junkie, Scott McCaughey (best known for his work with the Young Fresh Fellows),…
When it comes to launching a new weekly event, conventional wisdom would argue that choosing Wednesdays — a wasteland that is neither almost the weekend nor service industry reprieve — for a late-night showcase of electronic music would be a terrible mistake. But where many would fear to tread, Euphonic…
As part of his 27-date 2014 American fall tour, Skrillex headlines CU’s Balch Fieldhouse on Wednesday, October 15 with GTA, Nadastrom and Alesia on the bill as well. Early bird tickets ($40, available while supplies last) and general admission seats ($50) go on sale Friday, August 15 at 10 a.m…
It’s a well-known fact that in order to be a true Coloradan, a yearly prescription of outdoor adventure must be filled. This weekend, I went to Buena Vista to do just that: kayaking, rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, etc. But when I loaded the car and set off on the…
The largest and brightest moon of the year shone down on Earth this weekend. The phenomenon, called the Super Moon, occurs when the moon is full on the same day as its perigee — the point when its orbit is the closest to the our planet, resulting in a moon…
This week brings the surprising and powerful pop-punk revival to Englewood with a double-bill featuring Fall Out Boy and Paramore (whose leader recently skipped two dates on doctor’s orders). Elsewhere, guitar hero Eric Johnson stops through, Sheryl Crow finishes off the Chatfield portion of the Botanic Gardens concert series and…
Although Derek Vincent Smith, also known as Pretty Lights has played Red Rocks five times before, this weekend’s show was different. The unique set up, featuring not only live band but also thirteen members of the Colorado Symphony, was the first time Smith has included a full string section in…
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I’d bet money that Ryan Adams was on Ritalin as a kid. And I say this not only because he has that kind of manic genius about him that so many hyper kids have, but because for the entirety of last night’s show, he was grabbing spare attention any way…
This weekend’s best shows include rapper Redman releasing a new album poolside in RiNo, Xiu Xiu bringing its newest noise to Larimer Lounge and “Jessie’s Girl” to Fiddler’s Green. There are plenty of other good ones in the next couple days — the rest of our picks for the weekend…
When a music-geek favorite such as Jolie Holland comes to town, the Larimer Lounge on a summer Thursday is pure Denver: tattooed, homegrown punks hanging at the bar and (mostly) transplants — hippies, middle-aged alcoholics, young white-collar music lovers and everything in between — milling around on the back porch…
The Gaslamp Killer stands out, even when he’s part of a long night of wide-ranging modern electronic music. His DJ set spanned decades seamlessly and he has a constant, even hyperkinetic movement — an effort that makes many musicians not from Denver reel from the exhaustion. In fact, he scoffed…
Every week, there are hundreds of concerts in Denver. Most of them are at the places you’d expect — dive bars, clubs, amphitheaters, arenas…but the city’s love for live music goes beyond conventional settings. You can also hear great local and touring bands at art galleries, outdoor shopping areas and,…
If there is one thing Lady Gaga fans love to do, it’s throw shit at her. Last night at the Pepsi Center, I watched as jackets, vests, bras, bouquets of flowers, unicorn heads and letters of adoration littered the stage over the course of less than two hours. But here’s…
Editor: We’ve chosen to keep the author of this story anonymous to protect everyone involved from incrimination. The names below have also been changed. I struggled with Lacey’s pants. She didn’t know what was going on, and she did not want me to take them off — she resisted, clamping…
[The one and only Henry Rollins writes a weekly column for our sister paper, LA Weekly. You can find it every Thursday on their music blog, West Coast Sound. Last week, he wrote about his trip to Colorado to visit a hemp farm.] I am in the back of an…
Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world flock to Red Rocks every summer for music, movies and awe-inducing geology. In spite of the facility’s fame, confusion remains common about its operation. Here are the most important things to know about Colorado’s marquee venue. See also: 50 Photos That…
Former Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore has spent the past four summers teaching a course on William Burroughs at Naropa University in Boulder. In this week’s music feature, now posted on the Backbeat blog, Tom Murphy talks to the rock legend about how he got the job and how Patti…
