Boogie T comes to Red Rocks Amphitheatre tonight, joined by Boulder-born and Denver-raised DJ SoDown. Also on tap for tonight: Jawbreaker plays the Fillmore once more after selling out its first night.
Minnesota rapper Brother Ali is making two stops in northern Colorado tonight and Saturday, April 9. Another option for Saturday is taking in some nerdcore rap with Schäffer the Darklord.
On Sunday, April 10, English rapper Slowthai brings his weird English post-punk hip-hop to Cervantes'. If you're in the mood for something heavier, Ministry swings by the Mission Ballroom, with grunge icons Melvins opening.
Boogie T
Friday, April 8, 6 p.m.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison
$29.99-$69
Louisiana-bred Boogie T brings his mix of dubstep, electro funk and riddim to Red Rocks. The concert is also a homecoming of sorts for Boulder's SoDown, who mixes electronic music with live saxophone during his performance. It's his first time at the venue in about five years. Minnesota, Boogie Trio, KHIVA and Bawldy also join the large bill.
Jawbreaker
Friday, April 8, 6 p.m.
Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 Clarkson Street
$44.75-$74.75
Apparently, '90s pop-punkers Jawbreaker swinging through Denver was a big deal. The first show sold out, so another one was added on Friday night. This year marks the belated 25th anniversary of 1995's Dear You. (Damn you, COVID.) The second show also gets you, once again, the Descendents and Face to Face. That's a solid lineup if you're looking for a night of punk rock. And here's a second chance.
Brother Ali
Friday, April 8, 8 p.m.
Aggie Theatre, 204 South College Road, Fort Collins
$23-$25
Saturday, April 9, 8 p.m.
Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom
$25.50-$79
Minnesota-based rapper Brother Ali, a longstanding member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment galaxy of hip-hop acts, love or hate it, is swinging through Fort Collins and Denver this weekend. Last year, he released his EP Brother Minutester, Vol. 1. With this show, you get MC Supernatural, a master of freestyle and battle raps. He's really better to catch live. DJ Last Word is also performing.
Schäffer the Darklord
Saturday, April 9, 8 p.m.
Moe's Original BBQ and Bowl, 3295 South Broadway, Englewood
$13
The nerdcore genre probably peaked in about 2006 when MC Lars let us know that Hot Topic is not punk rock. If you are pining for the days of white guys like MC Frontalot wearing Malcolm X glasses and pocket protectors while they do a pastiche of hip-hop music, Schäffer the Darklord is coming to town on Saturday. LEX the Lexicon Artist and Damn Selene are also on the bill.
Ministry
Sunday, April 10, 8 p.m.
Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street
$44.75-$48
Ministry released Moral Hygiene, its fifteenth studio album, last year. The industrial-metal legends are making this tour a belated fortieth anniversary, and it's also the somewhat late thirtieth anniversary of The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, one of its best-known albums and definitely a contender for best album title ever. With this bill, you also get the sludge of not only Melvins but also Corrosion of Conformity. We recommend ear plugs. Things will get loud.
Slowthai
Sunday, April 10, 8 p.m.
Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, 2637 Welton Street
$23-$59.50
A genre of hip-hop exists in the U.K. in which rappers speak in highly regional and unapologetically English accents over beats that evoke the post-punk bands of the late 1970s and 1980s. The accents and lingo can be laid on thick enough to make an average American listener pose the question, "Seriously? You guys invented English?" Northhampton's Slowthai is one of these rappers. Enjoy, but don't try too hard to understand what he's saying. You might hurt yourself.
Patrick Dethlefs and Friends
Sunday, April 10, 8 p.m.
Skylark Lounge, 140 South Broadway
$10
Singer-songwriter Patrick Dethlefs released eleven folk rock-inspired songs on If You Listen last year. The songs evoke a feeling of a story where the protagonists are all about two-thirds of the way through their journey, tired with the knowledge that they still have miles to go, but resolute that they will finish. Dethlefs used a more collaborative approach on the record and incorporated more synthesizer and keyboard sounds.
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