José González, Heilung and the Best Concerts in Denver This Week

Sheer Mag will shake, rattle and roll the crowd at the hi-dive on Monday, April 22, and Heilung opens a portal to the Nordic netherworld at Red Rocks on Tuesday, April 23.

José González brings his infectious international folk tunes to the Paramount on Friday, April 26, and Denver's Broken Record hosts a music video release party at Seventh Circle on Saturday, April 27.

Keep reading for more of the best concerts in Denver this week:

Sheer Mag
Monday, April 22, 8 p.m.
hi-dive, 7 South Broadway
$18-$20
The Philly-based punk-rock outfit Sheer Mag didn't have to work hard at self-promotion to become well known; its music spoke for itself and loudly proclaimed everything we needed to know. The group has created a blend of 1970s glam rock, garage punk and proto-metal that will keep you moving all the way to the last note. All of the rowdy rock-and-roll energy is perfectly punctuated by the vocals of frontwoman Tina Halliday, whose chops have led her to earn the title of "the Etta James of the punk-rock resistance." The group is on tour promoting its new album, Playing Favorites, which was released just last month. Local rockers Cleaner, Flora de la Luna and DJ Glimmer of Nope open the show.

Heilung
Tuesday, April 23, 8 p.m.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison
$59-$1250
Hailing from Denmark, Heilung delivers an immersive performance that's a mesmerizing blend of Nordic folk, ritualistic chants and ethereal ambience, transporting listeners to a world shrouded in mystery and magic. The experimental pagan approach might seem scary at first glance, but the group's German name actually translates to "healing," and the members consider each audience member an active participant in a restorative ceremony. In honor of Earth Day, Heilung will donate money from every ticket sold to a reforestation initiative in Costa Rica, so that "the forest of people in front of the stage can become a forest in the real world,” as one member puts it.

Keddjra
Wednesday, April 24, 7 p.m.
Two Moons Music Hall, 2944 Larimer Street
Free
Head to RiNo this week to check out the area's newest venue while listening to one of the newest indie artists to make a name for herself in the Denver scene. RiNo is an already sprawling neighborhood filled with endless options, but Two Moons Music Hall aims to take a more intentional approach to the local music and cocktail scene here. The event calendar is filled with well-known local musicians, and Denver's Keddjra is a "bedroom pop artist that specializes in jazz-inspired vocals over minimalist accompaniment." Its menu is equally full of delicious craft beverages, too, and the staff mixologists are damn good at what they do.

Sessanta
Thursday, April 25, and Friday, April 26, 8 p.m.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison
$220-$2500
One decade ago, a couple legendary bands played together over two nights in Los Angeles to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of a mythical man who formed both of those acts. Those bands were Puscifer and A Perfect Circle, and that man is Maynard James Keenan (who is also responsible for the hugely popular band Tool). Now those two groups are repeating the process and will be joined by Les Claypool's Primus to honor Maynard's sixtieth revolution around the sun for a two-night celebration dubbed Sessanta (which is Italian for sixty). It's set to be quite a memorable gathering, as the minds behind the event have mentioned format changes throughout the night to give even the most die-hard fans something new to see.

José González
Friday, April 26, 8 p.m.
Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place
$29-$69
José González was born in Sweden to Argentinean parents who had fled their hostile home country, which had just begun a period of state violence known as the "Dirty War." With a melting pot of language around him, he was able to learn Spanish, Swedish and English simultaneously, and can be heard singing all three languages in his music. Growing up in a small Swedish town next to the ocean allowed González's creative side to flourish, and he began playing music at a young age. His first band was a hardcore punk group in Gothenburg, but he eventually found his folk-centric sound and dropped his debut album, Veneer, in 2003. He is currently on an exclusive fourteen-stop international tour celebrating the twentieth anniversary of that classic debut; Denver is only one of five U.S. cities on the list.

Broken Record
Saturday, April 27, 7 p.m.
Seventh Circle Music Collective, 2935 West Seventh Avenue
$5
The local emo crew of Broken Record has been hard at work making new music lately, and will be releasing a fresh video for one of those new songs ("Nothing Moves Me") this week. We chose these local rockers as the Best Stadium Emo Band of 2024, and their already high-energy emo sound has only grown bigger and louder. The percussion hits harder and the guitars soar higher as the vocals also continue to reach great heights.

The Crawnic (ft. Chris Karns & Jarv)
Sunday, April 28, 3 p.m.
Cervantes' Other Side, 2637 Welton Street
$30
This annual hip-hop-happening that pairs chronic vibes with crawfish has been hosted at a different venue almost every year, but the Crawnic found a fitting home for its 2024 incarnation at our readers' choice pick for Best Indoor-Outdoor Venue of 2024. Cervantes' is already well established as a hip-hop-friendly performance space, and the spacious back patio is perfectly suited for the crawfish boil party. World champion DJ Chris Karns and rapper Jarv are headlining the hootenanny as usual; they'll be joined by Hex Kitten, Azon Classic x Sugar Auntie and Wasabi Jackson x Mainland Poké. Several live painters and vendors will round out the dank shindig.

Know of shows you'd like to see on this list? Send the details to [email protected]. Looking for more to do? Visit the Westword calendar.