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Fort Collins Music Scene

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MusicAlbum Review: Logan Farmer – A Mold For The BellFollowing in the Soft-Croon tradition of fellow Colorado folkers Covenhoven and Gregory Alan Isakov, Fort Collins’ Farmer paints with a palette of little more than acoustic guitar and vocal. But a flutter of woodwind textures, flecks of orchestral harp and thoughtful string arrangements elevate the album’s eight songs to a 10. Fans of Bon Iver will love A Mold For The Bell, but expect a few unique brush strokes in this impressionist piece, namely, the pointed, trembling timbre of Farmer’s vocal: It’s hushed and rife with vibrato yet convinced with a determined grit.Kevin Johnston · Nov 9, 2022

MusicAlbum Review: Pathos & Logos – CultWhen you find yourself on the old familiar quest for heavy, ethereal, instrumental music that takes you on a sonic journey through space and time, look no further than the latest…Nate Wilde · Jul 13, 2022

FeaturesMichal Menert: Things Burn DownMichal Menert has been thinking about fire.Gabe Allen · Jul 12, 2022

FeaturesMath Rock and the Immigrant Experience: ZETA “Dances It All” – from Venezuela to Miami to Fort Collins“Every song is a different rhythm that represents a region in Latin America,” Zeta’s Juan Yilo Alvarado says of Todo Bailarlo, the Venezuelan punk orchestra’s upcoming LP. “It was really liberating and really challenging at the same time.” “Our communities dance through everything: sadness, happiness, the good, the bad,” Alvarado said. “We are always dancing through life, moving and adapting and looking for better opportunities in remote places.” But Zeta has not lost its frenetic exuberance by embracing its roots. This is calypso (and salsa, samba, latin jazz…) made for moshing. “It’s still rock and it’s still progressive,” Alvarado assures. While Zeta’s sound might be aggressive, the band’s ethos is the opposite. They are compassionate, inclusive and intent on fostering community wherever they go. Dani “Debuto” Hernandez, the band’s other guitarist/vocalist in addition to Alvarado, is notorious for feeding tour mates, fans and anyone else that walks by. In keeping with the band’s shared pacifistic and environmental ethics, his cooking is vegan (with a Venezuelan flair). “We’ve connected to, not only to latinos, but also to immigrant people from other countries and ethnicities,” Alvarado explained. “We all feel very identified with the immigrant struggle. In the band and orchestra we are all either immigrants or the kids of immigrants.”Gabe Allen · Mar 7, 2022

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

FeaturesBreak It To Make It: Okey Dokey Hits The CoastIt’s 1 am in San Antonio, Texas and Aaron Martin wants to give you a hug.Kevin Johnston · Dec 7, 2021

CommunityUPLIFT: FoCo – New Generation on the Rise“My thinking was, ‘Yeah, get me off this bus,’” Andy Whilden said. He decided to leave touring as a musician for a job at The Matthews House, a place for underserved youth. Starting the Uplift: FoCo festival two years ago gave Whilden more personal satisfaction than he expected. The benefit festival will feature acts that are acoustically driven. “They can play any genre,” Whilden said of the house band, though the 2021 installment will also deliver something different, and, well, a little less tenured.Dan England · Dec 2, 2021

CommunityBohemian Light Brings Heavy Hitters Back to Famed Fort Collins FestivalThe Bohemian Foundation will put on a music festival this summer in downtown Fort Collins, and though the headliners are big names, fans of Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest should temper their expectations somewhat. Dubbed the Bohemian Light Music Festival, free, live concerts will commence two nights instead of three, featuring psychedelic soul band Black Pumas and singer-songwriter Randy Newman, plus Shovels & Rope and dozens of Colorado’s top bands.Dan England · Aug 3, 2021

MusicAlbum Review: Ms. Nomer – TAOTUNUFusion and rock group Ms. Nomer are releasing their debut full-length album TAOTUNU (IE; “things are on the up n up”) July 16 at the Aggie.Valerie Vampola · Jul 9, 2021

CommunityStayin’ Alive: Unconventional Venues Save The SceneWhen Ben Mozer was 14, he took a trip to Spain with his family. Across from their hotel, a theater was playing the newly released hit Pulp Fiction, which he and his brother had been unable to see in the U.S. due to its R rating. But what stuck with him after the movie was over wasn’t Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic monologue. What stuck with him was the theater. Earlier this winter, Mozer’s Fort Collins movie theater the Lyric was one of the only venues in Northern Colorado that was still producing live music. And Mozer isn’t the only one finding a creative way to amplify local sounds. This winter, Dan Mladenik has tapped local talent for the Mishawaka-produced Live on the Lanes series at Chipper’s Lanes, converting a bowling alley into a cosmic live music experience.Gabe Allen · Mar 4, 2021

MusicSingle Premiere: Goth Club – Sweep Me Up“Sweep Me Up” premieres via BandWagon today, and it’s a black lipstick affair. Goth Club’s third release, it sinks to the half-spoken, sultry depths of Monster Magnet’s “Paradise” or even Ramstein with an added layer of synths and old-school drum machines akin to an early Depeche Mode. McFadden looks directly into the black mirror on “Sweep Me Up,” finding shadows, distortion and sludge within it.Kevin Johnston · Feb 18, 2021

FeaturesMarco Benevento: The Fourth Voice In A TrioAn instrumental jazz pianist at heart, Marco Benevento has always searched for new sounds, musical tools or ways of composing, though his newest discovery is that of his own voice, and that’s worth a champagne toast. Benevento calls his vocals a direct extension of his composing. “It’s just like another instrument,” he says. “It’s the fourth member of our trio, but it’s still the trio.” The Marco Benevento Trio play The Aggie Theater on Thursday, February 6.Kevin Johnston · Feb 2, 2020

MusicAlbum Review: The Great Salmon Famine – Kelp!The Great Salmon Famine’s newest release ‘Kelp!’ along with their recent, packed Aggie Theater CD release party are helping to solidify their place among the Burroughs, Silver & Gold and other stellar Northern Colorado bands of note. From breakneck speed funk to deep grooves, ‘Kelp!’ is a record no lover of good times can afford to miss.Daniel Thompson · Dec 8, 2019

FeaturesA Tempest Of Inspiration: Whippoorwill and The Nature Of StormsAlysia, Staci, and Tobias were in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma when the sky turned green.Valerie Vampola · Nov 8, 2019

105.5 The Colorado Sound's Featured ArtistsThe Colorado Sound’s My5 – October 2019Each month, The Colorado Sound’s My5 open your ears and eyes to the all the haps in Colorado music and beyond, from The Downtown Artery changing it’s tune to Sacha Baron Cohen’s new, serious role and the best music books to curl up with this fall. Don’t miss their music meeting in Loveland October 10th!BandWagon Magazine · Oct 8, 2019

MusicAlbum Review: Race To Neptune – Share My FrequencySince Race to Neptune’s inception in 2015, they’ve been delivering gritty yet fun, melodic alternative rock to Northern Colorado. Their upcoming EP Share My Frequency kicks off with the angsty “Unnatural Desires,” which delightfully reeks of flannel and Converse, though it doesn’t stay in one vein, drifting into pop-punk territory, employing spooky vibes and even cinematic, sentimental imagery. Catch them September 13 at Blast N’ Scrap and September 28 at The Downtown Artery with Valdez and Plasma Canvas.Nate Wilde · Sep 11, 2019