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Boulder

BandWagon Magazine has covered Boulder in 80 stories since 2013, including 38 features, 16 reviews and 7 photo galleries.

80 stories · Page 2 of 4

Two long-haired men in sunglasses sit on a rooftop under a blue sky, one holding white gerbera daisies.

ReviewsAlbum Review: Augustus – Ragtime WorldRagtime World, the new album from Boulder, CO’s Augustus mixes their psychedelic rock sound with classic rock vibes and folk, giving listeners no expectation of what will come next.Valerie Vampola · Oct 6, 2021

A bearded man in a navy cap and green work shirt over a yellow telephone-graphic tee stands on a farm.

MusicAlbum Review: Jackson Maloney – Dharma FarmJackson Maloney: singer, songwriter, folk musician, and Colorado transplant via Northern California. The coarse-voiced busker has found himself a home in unincorporated Boulder County, at a place called Dharma Farm – a small hippie commune near Hygiene, CO. The location, in fact, where Maloney recorded his latest EP – a six track EP that encapsulates the simplicity of a working farm, which, after having been recorded in a ruined grain silo, ‘checks out.’ It’s a bare-boned, extended play that is completely comfortable with skimping on the pleasantries.Cole Peterson · Sep 5, 2021

Photo for “Album Review: Southern Avenue – Be The Love You Want”

MusicAlbum Review: Southern Avenue – Be The Love You WantAt their best live, Southern Avenue finds enough soul, R&B and pop to please middling blues fans while maintaining enough roots and respect for the genre to satisfy hardcore blues veterans.Dan England · Aug 11, 2021

Four people sit in tall grass at sunset, with an upright bass beside a man in a dark t-shirt.

MusicAlbum Review: Banshee Tree – Banshee TreeFor the past few years, Banshee Tree has played in barrooms, theaters and music festivals all over Colorado and Wyoming. Although the band’s music showcases each member’s impressive chops, the recurring theme is vibrant energy. Dancefloor denizens will sway to neo soul for one song and spin their partner to gypsy jazz for the next.Gabe Allen · Aug 9, 2021

Two DJs in caps mix at a decks setup, one wearing large headphones, under a bright, colorful projected screen and haze.

MusicAlbum Review: Desert Dwellers – Night Visions 3From the Playa at Burning Man to the mountains, deserts, and jungles of world’s most iconic festivals, the seminal duo Desert Dwellers are known across the globe for their ability…Diego Felix · Jul 7, 2021

105.5 The Colorado Sound's Featured ArtistsThe Colorado Sound’s My5 – June 2021[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] ((( Don’t forget: each My5 title is a link. Click on, NoCo! ))) 2. Under The Volcano – Like what Jim Guercio did with Caribou Ranch here in Colorado, Sir George Martin built the world-class AIR Studios on Montserrat Island in the Caribbean. This doc tells its story. 3. Tom Petty, Somewhere You FeelBandWagon Magazine · Jun 14, 2021

Photo for “The Colorado Sound’s My5 – May 2021”

105.5 The Colorado Sound's Featured ArtistsThe Colorado Sound’s My5 – May 202150 years of NPR, the history behind Goth, the 36th Godzilla movie, the return of Red Rocks Shows, your influence on Colorado radio and so much more in this month’s My5 from the Colorado Sound.BandWagon Magazine · May 8, 2021

A woman in a white dress sits on a wooden chair in a vast, glowing yellow room with a reflective wooden floor.

FeaturesHome Team For The Win: The Burroughs’ “Zero Sum Game”After a year, The Burroughs have re-emerged with a new video and single, “Zero Sum Game,” a first time songwriting collaboration between drummer Mary Claxton and frontman Johnny Burroughs.Valerie Vampola · May 7, 2021

Overlapping grant scoring sheets and stacks of U.S. dollar bills fill a faded collage about arts funding criteria.

CommunityJust Wanna Have Funds: Did the Colorado Arts Relief Grant Support the Organizations it Intended?Over 63 days, Colorado Creative Industries (CCI), created a set of criteria, launched an application, administered the selection process and allocated just under $6 million to organizations and businesses state-wide including music venues. “We were given the charge to distribute the funding as quickly as possible,” a CCI spokesperson told BandWagon. This hasty allocation of public funds was met with cynical speculation from independent venue owners who were not awarded money. Until now, the controversy over the grant has remained purely speculative. No one has pointed to specific evidence of nepotism or neglect on CCI’s part. But, thanks to the Colorado Open Records Act, BandWagon was able to obtain a copy of the scoring rubric used to evaluate grant applicants.Gabe Allen · Apr 5, 2021

Empty red picnic tables face a large outdoor movie screen under a dramatic storm sky at sunset.

FeaturesInto The Great Wide Open: NoCo & WY Venues Hopeful for a Full-Capacity FallPresident Joe Biden believes we’ll have smaller gatherings with family and close friends by the Fourth of July.Dan England · Mar 31, 2021

105.5 The Colorado Sound's Featured ArtistsThe Colorado Sound’s My5 – March 2021[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] ((( Don’t forget: each My5 title is a link. Click on, NoCo! ))) 2. Rock Hall Nominees – The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame has announced the 16 noms for 2021. From Foo Fighters to Fela Kuti to Kate Bush, YOU can help vote them in! 3. Today In Music History – LateBandWagon Magazine · Mar 9, 2021

Black-and-white overhead view of a person in headphones at a home studio with monitors, keyboard, and speakers.

FeaturesDIY Kick: Colorado’s Recording Industry Takes It HomeIndependent artists made more music online and at home during lockdown, and recording studios have adapted. Mike Davis was uniquely prepared for this shift, founding Koncept Jewel Studios, an itinerant collection of recording equipment and instruments that operates wherever Davis happens to be living at the time. “It’s kind of an amorphous thing. I’ve moved around since I started it and plan to continue moving around,” he said. This can-do, remote DIY sentiment is echoed by Ben Behrens of Wright Studios: “It doesn’t matter how cheap or weird your gear is. If it works, we can make something cool with it.” Stone Cottage studios in Boulder has even turned its space into a stage for live-streaming artist performances online.Gabe Allen · Jan 6, 2021

Musicians play guitars on a lit outdoor stage at night while a crowd watches from behind metal barricades.

FeaturesThe Thin Black Line: Venues Fight To Survive“It’s nowhere near the money I need to sustain, but I was lucky,” says Travis Ragan. Ragan was a partner in the Roxy Theater in Denver and the Mesa Theater in Grand Junction, booking shows in 15 different markets. Now he hauls equipment for his brother, a construction manager out of Colorado Springs. “I know venues are closing down, and yet, we have no leadership backing us and supporting us. We have no one telling us what we should do as opposed to what we shouldn’t do,” Ragan says. “The place is not made to be at a 250 person capacity,” Renee Jelenik says of The Lincoln Theater in Cheyenne, “and even then, it’s not like we sold out those shows. People just aren’t coming out.” “We’ve been asked to shut down, or told to shut down, for months now,” says Ely Corliss of The Moxi Theater in Greeley. “We’ve done that, and where are we now?”Dan England · Dec 3, 2020

Two people sit on concrete before a weathered metal wall, one in sunglasses and denim, one in leopard boots.

FeaturesEverybody Loves An Outlaw: Break on Through to the Other SideBefore “I See Red” went viral, Longmont-based soul rock duo Everybody Loves An Outlaw were just DIY, writing the songs, producing the records, and managing the band themselves. Then, they got signed to Columbia records and “I See Red’ got featured in the Polish soft-core film ‘365 Days.’ This thrusted them into a new world, but they remember every little step along the way.Valerie Vampola · Nov 5, 2020

Smiling woman in a purple beanie and paint-speckled sweatshirt poses before a colorful mural with a horse and bird.

FeaturesWalking The Walk: New Greeley Murals Celebrate and Beautify the way DowntownFor her new mural on the Maddie Apartments in Downtown Greeley, Betony Coons found herself challenged with how to include Union Colony’s most famous principle: temperance. Not only is “the active moderation of libation intake” hard to paint, but ironically, one of the reasons downtown Greeley continues to thrive is the world class breweries and distilleries it inspired.Dan England · Oct 14, 2020

Three men pose from below under a white domed structure with metal trusses, looking toward the camera.

FeaturesThe Long Haul: Sunsquabi Funks Through the Covid EraSunsquabi sit in a very unique spot in the music industry. With the career they’ve had so far and the following they’ve built, they were able to step into isolation somewhat comfortably until things return to normal. If and when things do, they’ll be hitting the scene with a lot of great momentum built on the dedication to their craft and their love of the music. “Obviously we want to play shows in [traditional] venues again but we’re grateful to the drive-in thing because we’ve been having a lot of fun with it,” says guitar / synth player Kevin Donahue.Laura Giagos · Oct 7, 2020

Two men outdoors by trees: one in a black tee and turquoise necklace, the other in goggles and a floral bandana.

MusicAlbum Review: Augustus – Color TV and Tall TalesFounders Colin Kelly and Jim Herlihy of the Boulder-based band Augustus have delivered a technicolor whopper.Kevin Johnston · Oct 5, 2020

Man in a yellow cap and black graphic tee leans on a rooftop ledge beside a white French bulldog in a red shirt.

FeaturesSomething To Vibe To: Black Pegasus Is On A Whole Different Frequency‘Pandemic Proof’ by Black Pegasus obviously speaks to the current times. The world has been drowning in the COVID-19 pandemic since March, subsequently bringing the music industry to its knees. “I’m doing my best to adapt,” says Black Pegasus. “It’s pretty tricky, but I’ve always been a hustler and an innovator so I’m not worried.” He’s also vocal about important socio-political issues and is wary, yet hopeful for the future. “I really believe in the current movement for social justice and equality,” he says. “I also believe that the movement has been infiltrated by corporations and political agendas.”Kyle Eustice · Oct 2, 2020

Man in a blazer and glasses playing a vibraphone with mallets against a yellow-tinted backdrop.

FeaturesIf You’re Listening: Greg Carroll on the Black American Art Form with an Inherent Sense of DemocracyEven though it was the music that got Greg Carroll into his jazz career, he became a champion of the art form, teaching, preserving and protecting the history of it, because it is the music of his fellow black Americans. “It excites me to see everyone play it, but jazz was created by African Americans, born out of the experiences of people forced on this land as a way to honor their culture – the only thing that couldn’t be ripped away from them. It’s a gift to the world, and it’s welcome to everyone. But it’s historically black, and the more I got into it and learned the history of it, the more I appreciated that. It made me proud.”Dan England · Jul 2, 2020

A young boy with glasses plays a black drum kit while watching a tablet on a stand in a blue-lit room.

FeaturesIn My Room: Music Teachers Turn To Online Methods, Keeping Musical Communities TogetherWith stay-at-home orders in place, students still want to make music with their teachers and with their peers. Fairview High School students in Boulder decided to try a “virtual choir.” Virtual ensembles, including choirs, are a huge trend worldwide, allowing musicians to collaborate with their friends, bandmates, or favorite artists from home. But putting together a collaboration of 15-plus people requires a lot of time, a hefty budget, and in this case, a supportive community.Valerie Vampola · Jun 4, 2020