The eight best concerts in Denver this week

There’s plenty to keep you busy this week. James Taylor brings his musical featherbed to Red Rocks for a couple nights, and Nas and Flying Lotus will headline Feed the Rocks right after that. The outdoor activities continue with the kickoff of both Sonic Bloom and Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Note…

Premiere: The new “Culture” video from hip-hop collective Planes!

Denverites Adrian Garcia (A-Trax), Lennard Daniels (Lennyx Dublyn) and Jeremy Barnes (JT) make up the core of the hip-hop collective Planes! The three have all been rapping since they were young, in the last few years started working together. “It just kind of came together,” Garcia said. “Everybody compliments each…

The eleven best shows in Denver this weekend

Summer was underway. It was. But just in case you were waiting to roll down the windows and put away your sweaters, the Ink Monstr pool party series kicks off on Sunday. There are shows for those of us no interested in thigh exposure as well — Reckless Kelly is…

No one is topping Lionel Richie at Red Rocks

Lionel Richie is real, there’s no question. His star was born decades ago and solidified through so many hits that I had even forgotten some of them were his (and the Commodores’, of course.) It was refreshing to see someone so real perform; the last time I was at Red…

The ten rules of the mosh pit

By Jack Spencer In my years attending punk and metal shows, often as the only one with a pen and pad in the middle, I’ve noticed that there are a few unwritten rules when participating in a mosh pit. The seemingly amorphous fits of aggression that explode from the center…

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival celebrates forty years

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. To commemorate the occasion, organizer Planet Bluegrass is releasingTelluride Bluegrass Festival: 40 Years of Festivation, a book full of photos and essays by various artists who’ve performed there. We’ve reprinted the introduction, written by Telluride’s longtime master of ceremonies,…

Take one guess what happens on a 420 EDM Tour of Denver

Travel agencies may be dying off, but 420 EDM Tours has found a niche that even websites like Orbitz and Priceline just aren’t privy to yet: raging. The company has planned a series of bus-based tours that include stops at Colorado landmarks, tickets to concerts and, of course, a very…

Comic: In defense of country music

[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his sunny outlook with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work and even buy it on his website. • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST HITS • – The fifty best rap lyrics of all time – The ten…

Why Pujol is the perfect voice for our time

Daniel Pujol is a rock-and-roll songwriter from Nashville playing tonight at the Larimer Lounge, and he would like to communicate with you. He’s at several disadvantages there, especially if he sticks to the methods we mostly rely on these days. He could send you a text message, but they are…

Seven mostly ill-advised pre-show rituals by Denver bands

Performers in all spheres often discuss the importance of ritual — but especially in music, where a pre-concert ordinance may be more significant to the band than we ever know as observers. One might think that rituals are reserved for witches and baseball players, but we have evidence that musicians…