- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free.
A Denverite by way of Vermont, singer- songwriter Bourgault, who appears at the Lion's Lair on Friday, April 18, with Local 33, could easily have placed his best handful of tunes on a full-length disc alongside a dozen or so lesser ones and left listeners to find the good stuff on their own. Instead, he takes a thriftier approach on Fall, an alt-country EP whose four songs are each worth hearing. "Smile," the opener, sets Bourgault's search for "the next wrong thing to say" against rootsy pop with just enough brawn; "Never Got Tired" uses an anthemic chorus to boost its tale of love and loyalty; "Spark" echoes with melancholy, thanks to the violin and viola playing of Kelly O'Dea; and although "Back to Virginia" nods to Steve Earle a bit more often than is strictly advisable, there are far worse performers to evoke. In other words, Fall is filler free. It's too soon to predict if Bourgault can repeat this feat for an entire album, but on this project, at least, he's put his money on the right tracks. (See www.brianthomasbourgault.com.)
Keep Westword Free... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls.
