“I’ve reset my expectations with everything we do in the music business,” said Adam Aijala. “The best attitude is to just roll with it.” The last time his group Yonder Mountain String Band played was March 12, 2020. Then coronavirus hit. With band members scattered across different time zones in the lower 48, they made video collaborations. But then, their agent called. They had a gig. A live one. Blue Pig Presents in Cheyenne took a chance and installed a drive-in theater set-up at Terry Bison Ranch, booking Yonder Mountain live.
The idea of drive-in concerts spread almost as fast as the virus itself, with The Holiday Twin Drive-In Movie Theater in Fort Collins collaborating with FoCoMX to fill the festival void with their Drive & Jive concert series.
The Mishawaka Amphitheatre’s second live show during the pandemic happens at the night before Independence Day – and it’s not for the money. For independent music venues and clubs across Colorado, July 1 is perhaps as important as the day we celebrate our independence as a nation. Governor Polis’ new guidelines take effect that day, allowing the assembly of crowds which make live music possible, if not exactly feasible.
Even during the pandemic, Fort Collins-based dream pop band VIVIAN pushed forward the release of their debut full length album The Warped Glimmer, and according to the band, are already well into producing a full length follow-up. Spacy in all the right ways and saturated in the tell tale signs of art-rock gone pop, The Warped Glimmer is VIVIAN turning on cruise control and putting the seat back for you. It’s a warm envelope to rest in but exciting enough not to put you to sleep.
‘Wicked Dreams’ – the title track of Andy Sydow’s most recent EP, is an alt-country story about nation-wide travel and going through the motions, while deep down the storyteller longs for true purpose. Reminiscent in style of early Wilco and Ryan Adams, it’s highlighted with a slide guitar solo that might appear in one of Derek Trucks’ dreams. After rambling through several states, the protagonist lands in Colorado which he “calls home,” full of “beauty, adventure, and a different kind of tone.”
With their (yes) fifteenth release Careless Laughter, A.M. Pleasure Assassins remind us there’s a whole scene of bands in Northern Colorado who refuse to care what you migh think. They remind us that making music is supposed to be fun; it’s about putting yourself out there.
The subtle tug-of-war between the power of youth and the perspective of experience usually comes when young artists break the mold put in place by seasoned veterans from the former generation. It’s how new art ... Continue reading
Honoring the legacy of musicians who passed away due to COVID19, your role in controlling content on the airwaves, the best music made during Quarantine, and a legendary punk band’s first record in 35 years … what could it be but The Colorado Sound’s My5? Find some gems, learn some stuff and be a part of the scene every month.
Even right after she was the sickest she’d been in her life, Alison Hamling still cried after she essentially canceled Friday Fest in Downtown Greeley. Live music “pales in comparison” to the need to avoid a second wave, Hamling said, even as she hated her decision.
Concert producer Colin Bricker says “I find it hard to imagine pulling off any live music this summer. There’s just no way to do that.”
But WAIT! If you don’t mind sitting by your computer, part of Greeley’s summer festival season may in fact, still be on.
