Profiles of both national acts and local talent that reveal the personality and motivations behind the art; recognized by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for Music Writing in 2018, 2019 and 2021
The humanity in Of Monsters and Men
Images of mythological creatures and fanciful creations move through a sea of clouds in the music video for “Little Talks,” the chart-topping single that catapulted the Icelandic indie-pop band Of Monsters and Men into the U.S. mainstream in 2011. But with the release of their second album earlier this summer, the band draws more from…
Tradition and progress collide in Charley Crockett’s country blues
As Charley Crockett drove out of the depths of Death Valley into a field of Joshua trees, the snow began to swirl. He had just finished a tour in Arizona, sent his bus back to Texas, and rented a car, taking the back roads as he headed West. Moving into the high desert, the storm…
The best of both worlds
The Flaming Lips to play ‘The Soft Bulletin’ with Colorado Symphony, again In 1969, thousands of people crammed into the Royal Albert Hall in London to watch Deep Purple perform their Concerto for Group and Orchestra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The band’s long hair and unbuttoned shirts were juxtaposed with the tux-wearing and neatly groomed orchestra…
The welcome unpredictability of Shakey Graves
“I don’t really wear a lot of suspenders anymore,” Alejandro Rose-Garcia, aka Shakey Graves, tells me from a small town in British Columbia with “a pretty dramatic landscape.” While out touring with his latest release, the self-described “gentleman from Texas” admits his musical moniker is a character he’s built, an image he’s projected out into the…
The work lies ahead
The last time J.S. Ondara was in Colorado, he opened for Lindsey Buckingham, of Fleetwood Mac fame, finding himself not only in the middle of a country he had always dreamed about, but performing alongside someone he never fathomed meeting. “It was very surreal and bizarre, but in some way,” says the 26-year-old Kenyan-born American…
Tayla Parx competes with only herself
Taylor Parks, who goes by the stage name Tayla Parx, has one message: “Come as you are because, whatever that is, is acceptable.” It’s a message that comes through all Parks’ work, whether that’s as a songwriter of chart-topping hits for a variety of musicians or through her own work on her debut LP We Need…
Apropos, at least for the moment
Andrew Bird’s world is changing and so is he Andrew Bird has his own reality TV show. Which seems uncharacteristic for the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his whimsical lyrics and perfectly pitched whistling. But nevertheless it’s true, at least in a certain sense. “It’s your world, I’m just living in it,” says recent…
Trombone Shorty: keeping tradition alive
Troy Andrews was handed a trombone at the age of 4, and he’s never looked back. “I think at that time that was one of the only other instruments that wasn’t occupied and that actually worked in the house,” he says. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I was able to get…
Let the world hear
John Paul White can’t keep his music to himself “To be honest, there’s probably a lot of people who would see my name and say, ‘Who is that? That sounds familiar,’” says singer/songwriter John Paul White, aware that his former fame as one-half of the Grammy-winning duo The Civil Wars still dwarfs his solo career.…
Two captains, one ship
The egalitarian marriage that makes Tennis’ new album pertinent On the morning of the Women’s March in January, Tennis lead singer Alaina Moore was at the airport on her way to rehearsal. Slightly frustrated she couldn’t attend the demonstration with her sisters, brother and thousands of other Coloradans in her hometown of Denver, she marched…
