CJ Boyd Celebrated His Vasectomy With a Show at Mutiny

CJ Boyd has basically been on tour since 2008 with some lengthy stays in various cities around the United States including Denver. Despite his nomadic lifestyle he has also been a prolific songwriter and musical collaborator with an impressive discography. But the affable musician recently made a decision about one…

Ben DeSoto Is The New Label Manager at Greater Than Collective

Ben DeSoto became the label manager at Greater Than Collective on February 2. Greater Than Collective is a record label/music organization backed by Illegal Pete’s. DeSoto had originally talked to the operation’s co-founder Virgil Dickerson in 2014 about the label, as one of his bands, Ark Life, signed to the…

SXSW 2015: You May Play for Nobody, or Not Play At All

Editor’s Note: Denver rock band In the Whale is in Austin this week for SXSW. The duo of Nate Valdez (vocals and guitar) and Eric Riley (drums and backing vocals) will be documenting their exploits and observations for Westword Music.  For more shenanigans, follow In the Whale on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram. For the most shenanigans, head to…

The Nine Best Concerts in Denver This Weekend

Tycho $25/$30 9:00 PM, Friday, Ogden Theatre The Blues Hall of Fame Tour $24.50-$35 7:00 PM, Friday, Boulder Theater Snake Rattle Rattle Snake $10 9:30 PM, Friday, hi-dive The Congress $12/$15 8:00 PM, Saturday, Bluebird Theate Sylvan Esso $15 9:00 PM, Saturday, Gothic Theatre Sam Hunt $14.99 8:00 PM, Saturday, Ogden Theatre Hatebreed $20 8:00…

Remembering The Last Night at the Great Monkey Mania

Although the warehouse venue at 2126 Arapahoe Street continued to be called Monkey Mania well into 2006, and fondly continued to be referred to by the name even as it was re-named Kingdom of Doom, the last show when it was run by the Josh Taylor, Amy Fantastic and their…

SPELLS’ New Single “Bustin’ Out” To Benefit Judi’s House

Judi’s House is a non-profit that provides programs for grief support for children and young adults ages 3 to 25. On March 2nd, the good people in the Denver band SPELLS released “Bustin’ Out” as a single on their Bandcamp page on a pay-what-you-like basis with all proceeds to benefit…

CSO Announces Collaboration With Local Bands

The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, who have built a reputation on being supportive and collaborative with Denver’s contemporary musicians, have further solidified this reputation with the announcement of their newest program, “Turn Over the Keys.”  The program, which will take place on May 28th at Boettcher Concert Hall, will feature Denver…

This Year’s Communikey Festival to Be Its Last

The people behind Communikey Festival just announced that the 8th edition of the experimental music and art festival in Boulder will be its last. Team CMKY asked itself what it can do that goes beyond the traditional festival format and to challenge itself to consider the possibilities of what can…

Can A SXSW Party Help Keep a Mom and Pop Store Alive?

Editor’s Note: Denver rock band In the Whale is in Austin this week for SXSW. The duo of Nate Valdez (vocals and guitar) and Eric Riley (drums and backing vocals) will be documenting their exploits and observations for Westword Music.  For more shenanigans, follow In the Whale on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram. For the most shenanigans, head to…

An Exit Interview With Denver Music Linchpin James Irvine

Longtime Larimer Lounge booking manager James Irvine moved to New York City on March 1st to take up his new position as a booker at The Bowery Electric. Irvine grew up in Evergreen, Colorado, a small city that has produced more than its fair share of artists and figures in…

Leftover Salmon Celebrates Anniversary with New Beer

“You can make a beer out of salmon, can’t you?” “Sure, we can just put the salmon in the blender, like a Bass-o-matic.” The members of bluegrass band Leftover Salmon laugh, looking up at the tanks of beer towering above them in the back of Breckenridge Brewery. They’re making their…

Want to Fall in Love With Music Again? Go to a Stevie Wonder Show

There is an expected magic that comes along with seeing a performer like Stevie Wonder live — he’s a seminal pop star, a genre-less marvel. And most of all, he’s a musician’s musician, able to play a multitude of instruments alongside anyone brave enough for the challenge. There were plenty…

SXSW 2015: Where Bundt Cakes Outnumber Music Fans

We are one of a dozen or so Colorado Artists who were officially accepted to SXSW 2015. What does that mean? I guess it affords us the opportunity to wait in lengthy lines for shows we’ll never get into, go to a trade show and look at stuff we can’t…

When the Flood Destroyed Their House, Taarka Turned to Music

David Tiller and Enion Pelta-Tiller, the husband-and-wife team who make up the core of the Lyons-based group Taarka, lost their house when the St. Vrain River flooded in 2013. “Whether it was bad or good wasn’t really the perspective; it was more just, ‘Wow!,’” Tiller says. “Definitely through the process…

The Genius of Radical Dad Garth Brooks

Huey Lewis is a dick. It’s not hip to be square — it’s square to be square, the thing that the hip will always fight against. Garth Brooks could never be hip, because he’s a master of the square. And since as a music-loving society we’re ready to admit in…

Deep Club Hopes to Change Dance-Music Culture in Denver

While Ryan Scannura was getting his degree in biology in Springfield, Illinois, he started making house music. For a while, he was involved in a club night called Bit Crushed. When he graduated, in 2010, the job market was not encouraging. So Scannura, like many students, decided to pursue an…

The Banana Fans of Dada Life Discover Rocky Mountain Oysters

DJs and producers increasingly have to find a way to stand out that goes beyond their music. Dillion Francis is all about cats and tacos. Bassnectar’s logo has become a world-wide emblem. Pretty Light’s cats have 48,100 followers on Instagram, Deadmau5 wears a giant mickey-mouse like head. For the swedish duo Dada Life, bananas…

Speedwolf’s Reed Bruemmer, T-Shirt Genius, Strikes Again

Reed Bruemmer isn’t against weed or “marijuana refugees.” But his shirts are. Following the popularity of his “Hail Peyton” T-shirts, the Speedwolf singer designed two new shirts poking fun at stoner culture — you know, to balance out all those dumb shirts with the leaf inside the “C” of the…

Every New Denver Concert Announcement

When Zac Brown Band performs Coors Field on Friday, July 3 it will be the first major concert at the stadium since it opened two decades ago. Brown will be touring in support of his forthcoming album, Jekyll + Hyde, which hit stores on April 28. Tickets ($29.50-$105) go on sale…