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Denver

BandWagon Magazine has covered Denver in 426 stories since 2012, including 152 features, 140 reviews and 79 photo galleries.

426 stories · Page 11 of 22

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

Photo for “Album Review: VYNYL – The World Is On Fire, and I’m Lonely”

MusicAlbum Review: VYNYL – The World Is On Fire, and I’m LonelyIn Denver, a hyperactive, fashion-forward group is making music that could just be the cutting edge of this pop punk resurgence. Though VYNYL strayed into synth-pop territory with their first EP, Pink, 2021’s aptly titled The World Is On Fire, and I’m Lonely is full of grit without losing any of the hookiness of the band’s earlier work. Catchy melodies are paired with crisp production and colossal energy, making it a good case as the perfect bittersweet summer soundtrack into the final stretch of the pandemic.Gabe Allen · May 6, 2021

Photo for “Single Review: OptycNerd – “Realistic””

MusicSingle Review: OptycNerd – “Realistic”When it comes to writing and recording modern dance music in Colorado, OptycNerd are in a class of their own and “Realistic” is their latest.Laura Giagos · May 5, 2021

Singer with eyes closed sings into a mic as bandmates play guitar, keys, and bass in blue stage light.

MusicAlbum Review: Mlady – Maladaptive DaydreamingDenver-based Mlady’s full length album Maladaptive Daydreaming feels like its title: an atmosphere of vivid dreams told by lead singer Hannah Beeghly, accompanied by washy, pop orchestration. The record favors reversed reverb and atmospheric textures to fill out the sound of Beeghly’s forlorn, direct delivery. Songs such as “Sadder Days” and “When Do You Know”Valerie Vampola · May 4, 2021

A woman with short auburn hair in a black plunging top holds sheer fabric over her head against an orange backdrop.

MusicAlbum Review: Ellsworth – EllsworthDenver’s Ellsworth has struck a vein with her eponymous 11-song LP, traversing anxiety, self-doubt and lost love in gorgeously graceful strides. Soft but with immense conviction, her quiet tone conveys intimacy, like an earnest conversation meant for one person’s ears in a crowded room. “When we push away our feelings of sadness or anxiety, we are in fact pushing away a part of ourselves,” says Ellsworth. In just a handful of masterfully crafted folk songs, she taps into the shared trauma of a generation.Gabe Allen · Apr 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

Tom Amend, smiling in glasses and a blue shirt, holds a mug while seated at a wooden organ beneath a wall clock.

FeaturesTom Amend: Ditching the Band Scene for an Improvised Life~ It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing ~Valerie Vampola · Apr 3, 2021

A man in a neon yellow high-visibility jacket and dark beanie stands on dirt as a plane flies overhead.

MusicVideo Premiere: Devin Tremell – Lord KnowsDevin Tremell gives us glimpses of his dual lives as the artist and as the worker in the “Lord Knows” video which premieres today, exclusively via BandWagon.Valerie Vampola · Mar 18, 2021

Shwarma performs on a dark stage, with musicians playing drums, guitar, and keyboard under green and amber lights.

MusicAlbum Review: Shwarma – Loveworthy LiveOn (yes) Valentine’s Day, Colorado’s funky genre-hopping Shwarma continued their saga of madness with the Loveworthy Live EP, debuted as a live stream. In the video, the overtly-silly mix of tightly-arranged funk jams and melodramatic ballads is accompanied by a revolving door of meticulous costumes, sets and effects.Gabe Allen · Mar 5, 2021

A small figure in red stands on a grey mound under a large white ghostly shape against a crimson backdrop.

MusicVideo Premiere: Isadora Eden – GhostsDenver singer/songwriter/shoegazer Isadora Eden’s history includes living in New Orleans and New York City where underground music scenes the likes of the late, great Sidewalk Cafe shaped her talent for forlorn, connectable music. The soft elocution in her young, muted alto reflects her well-traveled soul; one who’s stories we believe regardless of how few wordsKevin Johnston · Feb 25, 2021

FeaturesBattle Profile: Graham Good & The PaintersGraham Good is relentlessly upbeat. Not only is that really his last name, it’s his nature, and it’s the band’s aesthetic. Even the band’s website greets you with “I believe good things are coming.” He wants people to be happy. So after a year-long delay between the semi-finals and the finals of our Battle Of The Bands, he’s ready to rock.Dan England · Feb 12, 2021

Photo for “Single Review: Plume Varia – Hold On To Me”

MusicSingle Review: Plume Varia – Hold On To MeA haunting tune, “Hold On To Me” is like a nighttime journey through the southwest, channelling the late night cold of the desert.Laura Giagos · Feb 9, 2021

A mixing console with rows of faders and glowing lights, overlaid with a dark, jagged graphic shape.

MusicAlbum Review: Yung Lurch – B ALL INDenver based multi-instrumentalist Brent Somermeyer, under the name Yung Lurch, is not an artist tied down by conventions.Laura Giagos · Feb 8, 2021

Photo for “Album Review: Isadora Eden – All Night”

MusicAlbum Review: Isadora Eden – All NightIsadora Eden’s second EP, the vulnerable ‘All Night,’ opens like a dark, reverberated flower in your headphones. Eden’s young, muted alto offers sad solidarity to those who will listen, while she and bandmates Sumner Erhard and Corey Coffman carry her shy messages on the shoulders of stately guitars, dignified drums and echoey atmosphere.Kevin Johnston · Feb 6, 2021

Photo for “Single Review: Retrofette – Photogenic”

MusicSingle Review: Retrofette – Photogenic2021 is going to see Denver’s best synth pop outfit Retrofette become one of the biggest bands in Colorado.Laura Giagos · Feb 4, 2021

Multiple exposure of a woman in flowing teal robes posing among snowy red rock ridges under a bright blue sky.

MusicAlbum Review: Jess Parsons – Hear Me CallingStop sifting for obscure ‘70s soft-pop on Spotify playlists like “candle-lit living room slow dance” and buy Jess Parsons’ “Hear Me Calling.” Denver’s Parsons knows well that charm and honesty go a long way.Kevin Johnston · Feb 3, 2021

A man in a black cap and graphic tee points at the camera while rapping into a mic on a dark, blue-lit stage.

FeaturesJoy as Resistance: Wayne Watts Raps Decompression for RevolutionariesWayne Watts is a man of letters, but he is also an educator and activist. “I wanted to make music for revolutionaries to decompress to. While you’re fighting these things it’s really essential to remember to breathe.” The power of his dedication to words lies in the myriad of ways in which he employs them. “They’re filled up with a lot of manifestations and affirmations,” he said. “I treat my mantras like songs.” As an educator, Watts co-founded the Dream Create Inspire Tour. “The intention has always been to create an incubator to give disenfranchised creators a platform.”Gabe Allen · Feb 2, 2021

Photo for “A Brother’s Bond: Holdfast. Stays, Fights and Reflects”

FeaturesA Brother’s Bond: Holdfast. Stays, Fights and Reflects“We are three brothers” is the first sentence Holdfast. wrote in their Facebook bio and they’re not really wrong about that. Brothers Tom and Mikey Maddocks and their cousin Charlie Maddocks grew up right next door to each other in Windsor, CO. They did everything together, including signing a sync licence with Audio Network in 2020 and releasing their first full length Stay And Fight on January 8, 2021.Valerie Vampola · Jan 11, 2021

Photo for “Album Review: Fresh Fruit! – Independently”

MusicAlbum Review: Fresh Fruit! – IndependentlyThe groovy, Denver-based soul band Fresh Fruit!Valerie Vampola · Jan 8, 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