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FeaturesOrville Peck: Home On The Fringe“I don’t get blowback from traditional country fans,” Orville Peck said in an interview with BandWagon. “There’s always been something new introduced to that genre, whether it’s an instrument or Willie singing about weed or it’s me singing about men and wearing a mask. Everyone freaks out and says it’s not country, and then slowly it becomes part of it. I don’t mind that blowback. That means I’m doing it right. I take it as a challenge.”Dan England · Jul 19, 2021MusicSingle Premiere: Cody – “I’m Not Really Listening”After years of solely identifying as the co-front man of Colorado’s adored brother-band Slow Caves, Jakob Mueller steps away from those familiar indie guitar shoegaze shores.Kevin Johnston · Jul 15, 2021MusicSingle Review: Lady Denim – “Old & New”Bright, energetic and bursting with pop polish has been the name of the game for Fort Collins indie rockers Lady Denim and it’s paying off.Laura Giagos · Jul 8, 2021FeaturesYawper Goes West: Nate Cook Defies Death; Cycles Nation-Wide for Musicians’ Sweet Relief“I’m terrified. The scope of this is insane and it’s going to be heavily publicized,” The Yawpers’ front man Nate Cook tells BandWagon. The last time he attempted a feat a quarter as intense, he stated: “I was absolutely certain I was going to die.” This summer, Cook’s attempts a nation-wide, musicians charity bike ride stretching from Greeley Square in NYC, through Death Valley in August, to LA in September with live gigs along the way. With characteristic dark wit, he quips: “I’m concerned about failing, although, I feel like if I get hit by a car or something it will drive donations even more.”Gabe Allen · Jul 2, 2021CommunityMake More Everything: FoCo Film and Music Collide and Connect“A lot of people that are emotionally driven tend to gravitate towards the arts,” musician Maxwell Tretter tells BandWagon. “But, then they also hit this pivotal moment between the path of isolation or the path of connection. I’m sick of hearing about the tragic origin story. I want to hear about the well connected, like, ‘life went great for me and I made amazing shit’ story.” And thus sparked Make More Everything, a “game of telephone between writers, musicians and visual artists.” Tretter collaborated with film-slam organizer Jesse Nyander, culminating in a bonanza, multi-media event Friday, July 2nd at The Lyric in Fort Collins.Gabe Allen · Jun 30, 2021Concert PhotosCharlestheFirst at The Chinook – May 30, 2021CharlestheFirst live at the Chinook at Terry Bison Ranch in Cheyenne, Wyoming. All photos by Jordan Dean and Peary Schroeder.BandWagon Magazine · Jun 16, 2021FeaturesIan Munsick Finds His Own LaneWhen he’s reminded that he will open for Dwight Yoakam, who was country before country was hip the way it is now, Ian Munsick’s reflexive response is exactly what you’d expect…Dan England · Jun 15, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Tenth Mountain Division – Butte La RoseOn Butte La Rose, Colorado’s mountain-bred quintet Tenth Mountain Division find space between extremes: A party with a big band, booze, questionable substances and endless jams; and relatable, folk-influenced storytelling. They stamp a crisp modernity on top, incorporating styles as far reaching as the Rockies themselves.Kevin Johnston · Jun 10, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Lighthouse Sessions – D.C. Myers‘Lighthouse Sessions’ is the debut EP from Denver’s D.C. Myers, and while it’s a dark catalogue of a sad man alone in a room with his electronics, it’s also one of the most engaging, smart and fun records to come out of Colorado in months. Myers knows this well: stimulate the more sophisticated neurons of those goths and their black-leather-clad hips will follow.Kevin Johnston · Jun 8, 2021FeaturesFlobots: Our Patriotism Is Future-FacingAs footage of the capitol riots circulated online, James Laurie, aka Jonny 5, watched with a unique kind of discomfort.Gabe Allen · Jun 7, 2021CommunityFor Life: Emily Nelson on The DrumsEmily Nelson had a feeling the universe had something in mind for her. “The drums were just a fun way to get healthy again,” she said, “and a year later, Erica was there.” Erica, Brown, the Denver blues diva and Greeley favorite, brought Nelson in to her all-woman band the Cast Iron Queens after several life-changing events gave Nelson the strength not to be paralyzed by perfectionism.Dan England · Jun 3, 2021MusicSingle Review: Cous – “Turpentine”Smooth and understated, Denver’s Cous, continues to find ways to make writing simple and approachable music look easy. “Turpentine” is easy going yet packed with a loneliness just below the surface that gives some wonderful depth to its sentiments.Laura Giagos · May 13, 2021MusicSingle Review: NGHT WLVES – “C’est La Vie”“C’est La Vie,” the latest from NGHT WLVS, clearly shows them taking the things they’ve learned through 2020 and stepping up their game. Staying true to their synth-hop nature, crisp and pristine.Laura Giagos · May 12, 2021FeaturesHome 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, 2021MusicAlbum 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, 2021MusicAlbum 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, 2021FeaturesTom 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, 2021FeaturesInto 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, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Bones Muhroni – Boom Snap ClapBones Muhroni, aka Crew Rienstra has done a lot over the years to find ways of making interesting music. While folk rock was always at the center of the breadth of material Rienstra (along with many other talented musicians) released under the Bones Muhroni name, there was always something bizarre and out of place happening underneath. Packed with nuance and texture, Boom Snap Clap is Rienstra letting go in a lot of ways, creating something that bounces between electro, R&B, grunge rock, even a metal tune.Laura Giagos · Mar 11, 2021MusicAlbum Review: Wolf van Elfmand – All BlueColoradan songwriter Wolf van Elfmand’s music has always had a western flair. This remains true in his newest album All Blue released in February, but he also incorporates what the title suggests: the blues. Cool and steady like a long lost J.J. Cale gem, van Elfmand incorporates improvisation and musical playfulness between the melody and simple chord structures, leaving comfortable spaces for harmonica, pedal steel and lead guitar to add conversational nuances to the texture.Valerie Vampola · Mar 8, 2021