Run the Jewels is one of the most exciting musical projects happening now. The collaboration between Killer Mike and El-P is having something of a heyday, raising an amount of money that surprised even them for a cat-related remix project called Meow The Jewels, getting featured everywhere from Rolling Stone…
When John Denver became the first inductee in the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, the legendary singer’s estate donated a bronze bust to the the Hall’s collection. It has been on display in the 1STBANK Center for the past three years, where it was at the start of Tuesday’s Saints…
Alt-J is among rare company as an internationally successful pop act that attracts mostly 20-somethings who danced elegantly on every spare piece of Fillmore floor – and stairway, to security’s dismay. Nowhere to be seen were the loud-mouthed bro-downers and screaming teenagers frequently populating the concerts of the band’s peers…
In 2009 and 2010, Yuzo Nieto of Pink Hawks and Adam Gildar put together a festival of a different stripe: The concept was that Denver bands covered songs by their own favorite Denver bands. The result was an eclectic and affectionate affair featuring obscure and more well-known artists. The covers…
I’m a 24-year-old One Direction fan. One day, years ago, a friend suggested I listen to the band while I was studying for finals in college. I had never heard of those five boys from the British X-Factor, but I gave their music a chance, one thing led to another,…
The Motet, a funk/jam outfit founded more than fifteen years ago in Boulder as the Dave Watts Motet, is well known around the country for its celebrated Halloween shows, when the band puts on a “musical costume” and plays songs from a classic artist, ranging from Prince to Michael Jackson…
Cut Copy has found plenty of success in Colorado. The Australian electronic band, which formed in Australia in 2001, fit right in with the burgeoning scene here in the genre. After sharing a co-headlining bill with Chromeo at a sold-out Red Rocks earlier this year, Cut Copy returns for a…
When David Obuchowski, of the hardcore band Goes Cube and Distant Correspondent, moved out to Colorado with his family a few years back, he had no idea he would end up starting a new band out here. But after some conversations over beers with fellow punk veterans Brett Bamberger of…
Steven “Steakhouse” Pampel and Jordan “Funny Biz” Polovina started Whiskey Blanket ten years ago, when they were still teenagers. Originally focused on beatboxing and keyboards, the two friends soon transitioned into rapping over live instruments. That change came about after they met Joe “Sloppy Joe” Lessard at a house party…
As part of its tour in support of Outlaw Gentleman & Shady Ladies, Volbeat will be at the 1STBANK Center on Friday, April 24 with Anthrax opening. Pre-sale tickets go live on Wednesday, October 29 while tickets for the general public go on sale on Friday, October 31 at 10…
Happy Halloween week, everyone! Time to figure out what pun costume you can accomplish with the clothes you already own. There are plenty of good shows before the actual weekend hits, though, including Avi Buffalo, a pair of Cut Copy dates and the 106.7 KBPI Saints & Sinners Halloween Ball…
In our continuing effort to spotlight the best venues in town for music fans of all types, we bring you our picks for the best rock bars in Denver (and, in this case, its suburbs). A rock bar, for our purposes, is a place you can reliably go to find…
It’s late at night, and Nick Cannon, playing the character Devon Miles, is the last to audition for the Atlanta A&T drumline. It’s been a rough road for the cocky freshman thus far, and Orlando Jones (the band director) looks more than ready to rip Cannon to shreds before he…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80’s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book YOUTH IS WASTED. Last Week’s episode of Rufus Baxter…
Screenshot from the video for that unlistenable piece of garbage song.Recently, in an interview with Hello! Magazine, that sappy dude with Ashton Kutcher hair, James Blunt, apologized for his double-platinum song “Beautiful.” Referring to it as “force-fed down people’s throats” and “annoying,” Blunt has openly admitted his grim misdeed in…
The outdoor concerts may be over, in spite of the summer weather going on in Denver right now, but there are plenty of shows to keep you busy. We can strongly, strongly advise seeing Flatbush Zombies, either in Fort Collins or Denver. Polica is wonderful. There are plenty more, observe:…
It’s not every day you get to brush feathers with rock and roll legends like Ace Frehley and Slash, but in Denver, all it takes is a visit to the zoo. Brittney Weaver started working at the Denver Zoo about six years ago. She also happens to be a big…
Pearl Jam’s 24th anniversary – which the band celebrated last night with a raucous, rarity-filled, tour-ending barnburner of a concert at the Pepsi Center – closed with lead guitarist Mike McCready playing “the Star Spangled Banner” Hendrix-style while the rest of the Seattle quartet sprayed champagne on the Denver crowd…
Anthony Kiedis, Point Break (1991).Not all cameos are equally coveted: A good cameo creates an undeniable rush (I know that person!) that widens the eyes and forces the viewer to blurt out the musician’s name when he or she appears on the big screen, like Anthony Kiedis in Point Break…
I had to go alone. I mean, it was partially by choice — I had an extra ticket, but I was too embarrassed to ask anyone if they wanted to go with me. Ultimately, I went to Summit Music Hall last night to see Metro Station by myself because I…
It’s been a busy month for the Department of Music at Metropolitan State University. Its accreditation was renewed by the National Association of Schools of Music, and it added a new Jazz and American Improvised Music Performance concentration (also accredited). We interviewed Peter Schimpf, associate professor and chair of the…
In the mid-2000s, guitarist Enrique Jimenez was playing outside the usual circuit of rock clubs and DIY spaces in town, on stages in northwest Aurora and southwest Denver. And that exploratory spirit has benefited his current band, Altas. Formerly known as Panal S.A. de C.V., Jimenez formed the band with…
