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Dan England

85 stories

Two people with arms crossed stand in front of a "Cheers from Greeley" mural on a gray building.

FeaturesArmando Silva and Briana Harris Spark a Mural Revolution with WeldWalls Mural FestivalMany people, even fellow artists, told Armando Silva he’d have to leave Greeley to be successful.Dan England · Sep 18, 2024

A woman with dark shoulder-length hair, wearing a green shirt over a black top, stands by a brick wall outdoors.

FeaturesJulie Koenig From Jazz Standards to Songwriting AuthenticityJulie Koenig grew up wanting to be a jazz singer.Dan England · Apr 29, 2024

A man in a black leather jacket and red shirt plays a black electric guitar under smoky blue stage lights.

Aquiles: A Musical Journey Through Tears and TriumphsAquiles cried as he prepared to record the song “Burning It All,” so much so that the producer gave him a few minutes to let the tears flow.Dan England · Jan 8, 2024

Photo for “Violet Wild Digs Deep on “Steal My Body””

FeaturesViolet Wild Digs Deep on “Steal My Body”One Year to Live… A cancer scare provoked the kind of question from Joanna Branum that most of us ask at one point or another: What if I had one year to live?Dan England · Dec 12, 2023

Six people pose with guitars in a small room with exposed wooden beams and posters on the walls.

FeaturesSilver & Gold: Saving FaceThe band members in Silver & Gold don’t seem to believe it, but it was a decade ago when they were just a group of college kids crowded together in a music rehearsal room at the…Dan England · Jan 17, 2023

Treaty Oak Revival posing with guitars in a graffiti-covered, derelict building with debris on the floor.

FeaturesTreaty Oak Revival: An Alliance Between Punk and CountryTreaty Oak Revival didn’t really have a choice but to be a country band.Dan England · Dec 15, 2022

Bearded man in a tan hat and dark vest rests on a wooden chair with a black kitten against a painted backdrop.

FeaturesLanghorne Slim: A Semblance of StillnessLanghorne Slim’s “Strawberry Mansion” was the result of a burst of creativity that emerged from the pandemic and after winning a battle with clinical anxiety and prescription drug abuse. He’s still happy to talk about that time and his never-ending struggles, and he remains honored to share his experience with mental health organizations. But sometimes he has to remind people that those are things he’s dealt with his whole life. They do not necessarily define him. “I’m also having fun too,” Slim said with a laugh in a phone interview with BandWagon. “It’s not beating me every day. For the first time ever, I was finding some semblance of stillness. I wasn’t running from myself because I wasn’t able to.”Dan England · Nov 3, 2022

Black-and-white portrait of a man with tousled hair, palm-print shirt, and chain necklace, holding a hat by a wall.

FeaturesNothing to Hide Behind: Wheelwright’s Jared Kolesar After The Mill“I think there’s an element of a lonely cowboy out on the trail,” Jared Kolesar of Wheelwright tells BandWagon. “There’s many songs now with a story that is best told while I’m alone with my guitar.” The reworked songs give his Jared & The Mill fans a chance to preview his new sound, one he calls more sonically interesting, with more synth and more effects to his vocals to go with some new hip-hop vibes. He calls the sound Neo-Western and compares it to a mix of 80’s futurism and Americana. Or, in his own words, “like Blade Runner with more cowboy vibes.”Dan England · Oct 10, 2022

Bearded man in a mint green blazer and patterned shirt gestures with raised hands against a gray backdrop.

FeaturesPermission to Shine: Shinyribs’ Kevin Russell Goes BigKevin Russell was nearing age 40, and given the upheavals in his career, should have been facing the clichéd mid-life crisis.Dan England · Aug 24, 2022

A man in a green Greeley Stampede shirt and cap gestures on an empty concrete stage in a grandstand arena.

FeaturesA Century of Country – Greeley Stampede’s New Stage Set for Brad Paisley and MoreThe Greeley Stampede’s new stage was built with Brad Paisley in mind. The last time he played here, in 2007, Paisley had 10 semi-trailers full of equipment, said Justin Watada, executive director of the Stampede. Way back then, three “up and coming” acts performed with Paisley, including a young lady named Taylor Swift. The brand new stage is bigger and much better, with all the fixins you’d expect from a show at Red Rocks, including a platform that will allow the artists to walk 50 feet out into the crowd. And Paisley is back as the Stampede’s biggest act in a lineup that includes Stone Temple Pilots, Jon Pardi, Cole Swindell and Jordan Davis.Dan England · Jun 21, 2022

Bearded man in a black White Sox cap and dark shirt gazes sideways in a dimly lit, red-toned room with brick walls.

FeaturesOGT: To Re-Write a LegacyKodean IX doesn’t know where he would be without music, but he knows it wouldn’t be good.Dan England · Jun 15, 2022

Nine people in jackets and sunglasses pose in a sunlit autumn woodland with fallen leaves, no instruments visible.

FeaturesPolyrhythmics and the Definition of VibeWhen the Polyrhythmics first gathered in a Seattle recording studio a decade ago, they planned to make a vinyl record and then, perhaps, go their separate ways … “When we started, we wanted to perform the music we recorded,” Bloom said, “and now our live set is a living, breathing thing that we do every night. There is this ethos from the fans that they want to see something new, and that feedback has played into what we do live. We are still sort of trying to reach something every night. We are trying to leave room for magic.”Dan England · May 31, 2022

Goatwhore band members pose on a concrete walkway beside a weathered brick wall, a long-haired man screaming in the

FeaturesGoatwhore: With a VengeanceEven with a name like Goatwhore, there’s room for subtlety. Yes, there are Satanic overtones in Goatwhore’s lyrics — duh — and their music reflects it, with the kind of hardcore black metal crunch you’d expect in the drums, guitars and, of course, the vocals (also duh). But the last record’s lyrics come from a concept album, Vengeful Ascension, which portray Lucifer as an underdog slighted by a God who was equally oppressive. L. Ben Falgoust II, the band’s singer (and keeper of one of the best metal monikers in history), uses historical references to color the themes, but Zack Simmons, the drummer, likes to apply the lyrics to real life.Dan England · May 4, 2022

Cloud Catcher performing live: a bassist in a cap, a drummer in a bucket hat, and a guitarist with a black electric.

FeaturesCloud Catcher: Carry the Heavy TorchSome kids grow up listening to Barney, Elmo or Little Einsteins.Dan England · May 3, 2022

Silhouetted performer in a white wide-brim hat tips it against a glowing red stage backdrop.

FeaturesJoshua Ray Walker: King Of The Honky-Tonk MisfitsJoshua Ray Walker’s role model for his hit “Sexy After Dark” was not Tim McGraw, Billy Ray Cyrus or Keith Urban. It was Conway Twitty. Twitty, Walker said in a phone interview with BandWagon, was sort of a goofy guy who managed to sing some of the most romantic songs in country music. It’s not like Twitty belonged on the cast of Hee Haw, but he wasn’t Elvis. One of the intentions of “Sexy After Dark,” Walker said, was to pay a backhanded but lighthearted tribute to all the people like Twitty. “There’s a history of country crooners who aren’t sexy – putting out sexy songs,” Walker said. “‘Slow Hand’ is one of my favorites. Twitty is so goofy-looking, but he sold it. He really sold it.” The other intent, Walker said, was to poke fun at himself. He knows he’s also not Elvis.Dan England · Apr 8, 2022

A smiling man with his hair pulled back wears a black Denver Nuggets hoodie at a bar, with a candle flame in front.

FeaturesRight Back Into It: Ben Pu Stays TrueAt the end of most of his gigs, and in conversations with other musicians or friends, Ben Puchalski gets the question: “Dude, why aren’t you bigger?” Puchalski, these days,…Dan England · Mar 2, 2022

A man in sunglasses and a red t-shirt plays an acoustic guitar and harmonica under tall palm trees and a blue sky.

FeaturesStill Thirsty: G. Love & The Juice Stir it UpThe band still carries his name, but G. Love is taking a step back from the spotlight.Dan England · Feb 23, 2022

Four men in jackets and camouflage pants stand on a wet alley pavement beside a chain-link fence in black and white.

FeaturesYou Can’t Bullshit Metal Fans: Soulfly’s Max Cavalera“Little by little, my own tastes came through for Soulfly,” Max Calverra tells BandWagon. “As I get older, you’d think I’d get more mellow. But I like the heavier and heavier stuff. When you get older, you play what you like. You play what you feel.” “Riffs are my church,” he said. “That’s my paradise. I will spend hours riffing on the guitar and just chugging on the guitar. I call it Chug Life. When you finally find a killer riff, man, it’s like you’ve won the lottery.Dan England · Feb 18, 2022

Young person with tousled dark hair and layered chains wears an open navy shirt against a plain white backdrop.

FeaturesTX2: A Punk with Pull“There was a point where I was trying to end my whole life,” Evan Thomas – aka TX2 – tells BandWagon. “I felt worthless. And I had friends help me out. Once people feel like they’re alone, they need someone to talk to. I feel like that helps save lives.” In addition to putting on cathartic, high energy pop-punk shows, Thomas is the founder of The X Movement, an online safe space for his fans (and anyone struggling) after battling with his own mental health.Dan England · Jan 12, 2022

Five men in caps, jackets, and casual streetwear pose side by side in front of a corrugated metal wall outdoors.

FeaturesPecos & The Rooftops: More Than One Damn SongThe night Pecos & the Rooftops wrote the song that gave them their breakout success, they really weren’t even a working band yet – just a bunch of friends who liked to hang out and jam to cover songs. The quintet’s frontman, Pecos Hurley, had just begun writing songs, and he was playing the chords to one when magic struck: One of the other guys began singing a chorus to it. “Damn, that’s good,” Hurley recalled saying during a phone interview for BandWagon. “Do you care if I try to finish it?” Finish it he did, and the result, “This Damn Song,” was a smash hit.Dan England · Jan 3, 2022