Pioneers of what was once called “art rock” and “progressive rock,” Yes has cast a long shadow on development of any rock music that dares to incorporate literature, high art, futuristic ideas and unadulterated creativity unbound by everyday concerns. Along with contemporaries King Crimson, Curved Air, Emerson, Lake & Palmer,…
At this point in its career, Beach House has reached an axis where its songwriting carries great emotional intimacy, its stage show features elevated rock theater, and its fanbase is large enough to support the band making music full-time. Yet the band still plays intimate venues which highlight the best of these…
Samantha Crain’s rich voice and offbeat tone have earned her compliments as a unique singer, but it’s Crain’s heart-on-her-sleeve songwriting and her storytelling during live performances that make her truly special. Crain’s studio recordings are intimate, great for a quiet weekend afternoon or a long road trip — like, say,…
Exactly 365 days after Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats released their self-titled debut album, the band stands before a sold-out crowd at Red Rocks Amphitheater. They’ve just finished playing the final chords of their hit, “S.O.B,” and the resulting fever-pitch of adoration and roars of approval cascading down the…
Editor’s Note: Trawling the Small Print is a new feature wherein we squint hard at big festival lineups and spotlight a few gems that may have been hidden below the headliners. The three-day Nederland Music and Art Festival, aka NedFest, happening this weekend, August 26-28, is into its 18th year,…
Even though co-headliner Boris had to step out of the Denver date due to illness, it didn’t seem like many if any fans opted out of attending the Earth show on Friday night, August 19, at the Bluebird. One might credit the addition of local support with the bluesy hard…
On Wednesday, Yes brings The Album Series to the Paramount Theatre where the band will perform Drama, sides one and four of Tales From Topographic Oceans and a selection of greatest hits. This week’s lineup also includes Jackson Browne, Beach House, Eric Johnson and former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley. See our…
Andrea Davis, owner of Broken Shovels Farm, knows a thing or two about variety. She rescues animals, sells cheese that comes from her no-slaughter goat dairy, and hosts touring bands, which can take advantage of a stage she built on her farm inspired by the time she dated a traveling…
Beach House is winding down its touring cycle for its 2015 albums Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars. During the past year the band has made good on its impulse to have diverse performance experiences with elaborate props and a light show made especially for the tour. “We had…
The 26th annual Rocky Mountain Folks Festival is at Planet Bluegrass Ranch in Lyons this weekend and includes a stellar lineup including The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Conor Oberst, Lucinda Williams, Passenger and Mavis Staples. Also this weekend: Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats headline Red Rocks, Josh Groban is at the…
The first-ever Denver Keytar Fest, being held this Saturday, was organized by independent concert promoter Claudia Woodman, who has been booking shows for underground bands in Denver for several years. Known as “Claudzilla,” Woodman brings some verve and skill to playing the keytar, an instrument that some may see as silly…
Nathaniel Rateliff says he’s pretty worn out at this point. He says he’s visited a lot of doctors in the last year and gotten a bunch of intravenous vitamin injections along the way. The longest span of time that he and his band the Night Sweats have had off since…
“In this day and age, an artist should never go on stage without understanding their business,” says Jay Nazz, drummer with Austin country-rock band Reckless Kelly. Let’s let those words sink in for a minute, because not only are they potentially artistically apocalyptic when you think of the countless talented…
The story starts off something like this: One day, Reed Weimer’s dad came home with an old Army Jeep, maybe from the Korean War, that had been painted tomato red. Weimer’s dad told his son he could drive the clunker if he checked the oil regularly. Sure, Weimer said. But Weimer…
After several years as a weekly dance party, Lipgloss will become a monthly event at Pearl’s, with a monthly special event held at Bar Standard. The last weekly Lipgloss will be held at Bar Standard on Friday, September 2, says Lipgloss founder Michael Trundle. Zia of the Dandy Warhols will…
Electro-indie duo Cherub will headline Red Rocks on Saturday, October 29, with Gorgon City, Frenship and Boo Seeka opening. General admission ($39.95) and VIP tickets ($99.50) go on sale Friday, August 19, at 10 a.m. BoomBox will do a three-night New Year’s Eve run at the Gothic Theatre, from Thursday,…
Lake Street Dive is, well, classy. The band’s 2014 album, Bad Self Portraits, has received critical acclaim, and the band has been touring well-known venues in both domestic and international circuits. But as a classically trained group developing its signature sound from vintage jazz, soul, Southern rock and blues, Lake Street Dive…
The psychedelic, jazzy, swooned-out trio Digable Planets sailed onto the Gothic Theatre’s stage on Tuesday evening, one stop on their twenty-date reunion tour this summer. As fans will painfully remember, Planets broke up in 1995 after making two momentous albums: Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) and Blowout…
To many people, the word “Journey” inspires thoughts of everything that can go wrong with rock and roll: bland lyrics, bubblegum-pop melodies, chugging riffs and technical ability given priority over soul. To others, the band represents everything great about music: anthemic choruses, bubblegum-pop melodies, chugging riffs and technical ability given…
Those who remember the Denver screamo band Drop Dead, Gorgeous, which ceased to exist in 2011, might struggle to reconcile the intense punk noise that band created with the delicate synth-driven music that a few of the bandmembers make with their new project, 888. Sort of. Because if you explore…
Creative Adult’s early seven-inch singles were often presented as punk, but their relatively nondescript cover art gave little away about the music within. Certainly punk seemed to be at the root of it, but it was also noisier than that, more willing to color outside the lines of what punk…
From Kenny Rogers to Miranda Lambert, the Lone Star State has a proud history of producing top-selling country musicians. However, think about the edgier, outlaw side of the genre, and your mind might take you to places like Memphis and Nashville. But dig a little in Texas and you’ll find…
