Concert Announcements – Queen City Sounds and Art

Best Shows in Denver and Beyond November 2026

dälek performs at the Hi-Dive on 11/5/26 photo by Jonny Scala

Sunday | 11.01
What: Everclear – Lucky 7 Tour w/American Hi-Fi
When: 7
Where: The Gothic Theatre
Why: Everclear’s career basically began at the dawn of the alternative rock era in 1992 with the a debut album World of Noise releasing in 1993. That record lived up to its name a bit and was more in line with the punk that lead singer and primary songwriter Art Alexakis came up with. For the follow up Sparkle and Fade (1995) and 1997’s So Much for the Afterglow, Alexakis’ songwriting shifted a little embracing melody and a different kind of hook that not only garnered major label attention but also led to mainstream success on alternative rock and Top 40 radio. What the songwriter didn’t modify so much was his searingly honest lyrics and unique vocal style and even the hit songs put raw emotions and sometimes harrowing stories into homes across the world. After the alternative music wave subsided with the end of the 90s Everclear wasn’t as commercially successful but Alexakis has continued to write honest and provocative music. For this tour the band will perform 7 of the most requested songs in each city as polled from the band’s website.

Thee Sinseers, photo courtesy the artists

Monday | 11.02
What: Thee Sinseers w/The Charities https://www.gothictheatre.com/events/detail/?event_id=1438082
When: 7
Where: The Gothic Theatre
Why: Led by multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Joseph Quiñones, East L.A.’s Thee Sinseers perform music in the Chicano soul style fusing soul, R&B and doo wop. But the group has a full brass section as well to infuse its songs with an orchestral pop grandeur. The band’s latest album Love Stories sounds like something that could have come out at the peak of 1960s R&B pre-classic rock era with songs that convey the various facets of love with poetic nuance and both vibrant declarations of such and honoring the more melancholic periods of any relationship that continues to evolve. Sure it’s a bit nostalgic and tapping into a previous era for style but songwriting and presentation matters and sets a band apart as the product of actual humans and Thee Sinseers embrace the analog human experience and haven’t skimped on the quality of what they offer.

Monday | 11.02
What: Periphery w/NE Obliviscaris, Greyhaven and Ando San
When: 5
Where: The Fillmore Auditorium
Why: Periphery is the progressive metal band from DC who are credited with being pioneers of djent. But don’t hold that against them if you’re into the more prog end of modern metal. A Pale White Dot, Periphery’s eighth studio album, was released in May 2026 and it is the first not to have a title that sounds overtly the name of the chapter of a nerdy science fiction series. The album itself isn’t a giant departure from its previous albums though it does in moments come across as more cinematic and atmospheric even amidst more aggressive passages. If the music sometimes also sounds heavier it’s because the group tuned its baritone six strings to F standard, something most bands wouldn’t write around.

Thursday | 11.05
What: dälek w/Moon Pussy and Shocker Mom
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: dälek is a hip-hop group that formed in Newark, New Jersey in 1998.When the project got going its broad and deep palette of sounds in the beats was outside the mainstream but well within the realm of hip hop production. The songs had a literary quality to its creative observations and on the debut record Negro Necro Nekros (1998), there was some use of Indian percussion and sitar as well other organic percussion samples that lent the music a hypnotic quality that felt like entering a different kind of reality than most other hip-hop acts were offering. Since then dälek has innovated in its use of samples and live performance while delivering lyrics of great depth and insight into not just personal psychology but the realm of the psychosocial landscape. Its most recent album is 2026’s Brilliance of a Falling Moon, it’s third to be released on Ipecac Recordings. The record continues themes of its recent albums as an exploration of the corrosive effects of corruption and authoritarianism on our everyday lives while bringing to the delivery a personal touch that gives the song an urgency and power. The new record exposes the failings of the culture to address the crumbling of civil society and its connections to underlying power structures used to oppress political and social minorities to benefit the power elite at home and globally. And yet the critique offered by dälek is rooted in a place of love and how that emotion drives us to make life better for ourselves and everyone else. Listening to the album expect passionate vocal delivery, haunted and harrowing atmospheres and bracing sounds that will get into your head and remind you you’re not alone in feeling an inner compulsion to resist fascism and to, perhaps take action on those impulses whether creatively and/or in community engagement.

Friday | 11.06
What: Institute w/The Consequence, Candy Apple, Supreme Joy and Glueman 23rd anniversary
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Austin’s anarcho punk legends Institute headlines this birthday celebration of the Hi-Dive’s 23rd anniversary. But it’s a show packed with punk adjacent greatness with noise punk/post-punk group Candy Apple, literary/subversive post-punk group Supreme Joy and grunge-garage ragers Glueman.

Friday | 11.06
What: L7 w/Nobro
When: 7
Where: The Summit Music Hall
Why: L7 is touring in the wake of the passing of longtime bassist Jennifer Finch and as a farewell to being a live band. You can bet that they’ll bring the same fury, irreverence and borderline scary intensity to the show as always and deliver the songs that eviscerate the terrible people and things of the world and purge the psychic darkness that is forced into your psyche by everyday living in a sexist, racist, imperialist society with Christian nationalists in too many places of power.

Cheap Wigs, photo courtesy Bob Rob Medina

Saturday | 11.07
What: Denvoid and the Cowtown Punks Re-Release
When and Where: 1-4PM at Wax Trax and 7-9:30PM at Mutiny Comics & Coffee
Why: The updated re-release of the 2015’s Denvoid and the Cowtown Punks the illustrated oral history and cultural catalog of Colorado’s underground music scene in the realm of punk and adjacent music including 28 new pages spanning the years 1982-1987. The comprehensive tome is a classic of Denver music American cultural history. The event will include live musical performances from Hex Cassette, The Disposable Icons and author Bob Rob Medina’s band Cheap Wigs at Wax Trax and in the evening Cheap Wigs will play again at Mutiny with The Legendary Union 706 and The Nervous.

Tank and the Bangas, photo by Jeremy Tauriac

Saturday | 11.07
What: Tank and the Bangas w/Ariel J. and Zeus
When: 7
Where: The Gothic Theatre
Why: Tank and the Bangas are touring in support of their new album The Last Balloon. The band from New Orleans offers a vibrant fusion of funk, soul, hip-hop, spoken word poetry and traces of reggae. Tarriona “Tank” Ball has one of the most versatile and commanding voices in the realm of modern hip-hop easily transitioning from singing to rapping to suit the mood and rhythm of the songs. With a legendarily charismatic live show the album’s new songs that are both fun and challenge prevailing power relations and interpersonal conflict with creativity and love will get their proper expression on stage.

Saturday | 11.07
What: Margaret Glaspy w/Olive Klug
When: 5:30
Where: Ophlia’s Electric Soapbox
Why: Margaret Glaspy’s new album I Am Both wastes no time getting right into the emotional resonance from the first track, “Michigan.” It showcases the singer-songwriter’s expressive and vivid vocals and her ability to weave a story of vivid resonance and unabashed vulnerability. Is it folk pop? Sure but Glaspy’s songwriting is so strong and her style so immediately engaging and fresh there’s no mistaking her for another artist. The record seems to take on social mores and conflicts in the current era that many of us had thought part of the past yet Glaspy makes those concerns part of her personal narrative thus rendering them more relatable and in the end harder hitting.

Saturday | 11.07
What: Loud Women Fest
When: 3pm doors, 4 show
Where: The Fox Theatre
Why: The London, UK-based feminist music festival comes to Boulder for the first time. Launched by Cassie Fox of the “mummycore” band I, Doris and friends the festival has become an international concern. For the Boulder edition you can see a variety of bands from Colorado and else where. The lineup consists of GUNK!, I, Doris, Tarah Who?, All Thicc, Bitchflower, Dressy Bessy, Fatal Femmes, Brokentear, The Dollheads and Blankslate.

To Be Continued…

Queen City Sounds Podcast S6E21: Craig Taborn

Craig Taborn, Tomeka Reid and Ches Smith, photo by Roberto Cifarelli

Craig Taborn is a pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer whose prolific body of work as a solo artist and in bands spans more than three decades. A high percentage of those releases and performances could probably be in the realm of jazz. As a band leader and as a side player Taborn has worked with the likes of McCoy Tyner, John Zorn, Ches Smith, Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, Tomeka Reid, Ikue Mori and Joëlle Léandre. His diverse compositions and playing style pushes boundaries and his compositions have built into them an improvisational component so that no two performances are inherently exactly alike. Taborn grew up in Minneapolis and as a teen had access to seeing underground rock and hardcore bands as well as avant-garde jazz ensembles like Last Exit and free jazz legend Sun Ra which inspired his future direction in music. In 2024 Taborn put together a trio with cellist/composer Tomeka Reid and percussionist/composer/producer Ches Smith and recorded the album Dream Archives which was released in January 2026. The record has great nuance and spontaneity and might strike the sensitive listener as have elements of free jazz and modern classical sensibilities. The ensemble’s masterful orchestration of tension, atonality and fluidity of rhythm sets it apart from a more conventional approach to jazz and improvisational composition.

Listen to our interview with Craig Taborn on Bandcamp and for more information on the musician/composer please visit craigtaborn.com. He will be performing a solo set at Classic Pianos in Denver on October 9, 2026, doors 7pm, show 7:30 pm. For tickets please visit the Creative Music Works website.

Best Shows in Denver and Beyond October 2026

Dinosaur Jr performs at The Ogden Theatre on October 29, 2026, photo by Jeff Fowler

Thursday | 10.01
What: Carín León
When: 7
Where: Ball Arena
Why: Carín León is a bonafide international star who built his career on performing various styles of regional Mexican music like Banda, mariachi, norteño and combined that more traditional and folk music with R&B, rock and country into a highly accessible form that is essentially modern pop music. He may not be so well known in English playlist formats but he’s playing at Ball Arena in Denver and at The Sphere in Las Vegas and other large venues throughout North America a testament to his status as a commercially popular artist who has garnered Latin Grammy Awards as well as an appearance at Austin City Limits. His energy as a performer on both recordings and live has an immediacy and authenticity with an instant appeal. In 2026 he collaborated with Jelly Roll on the single “Lighter” for the official album of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. His new album Muda released May 7, 2026.

Thursday | 10.01
What: Plastic Mystic, Church Fire, Watch Yourself Die and Clay K & The Vertebrates
When: 7/7:30
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Four of the front range’s best bands on one bill on a Thursday night beginning with art rock/prog/post-punk band Clay K & The Vertebrates from Fort Collins. Watch Yourself Die is like if a noise rock prog band put the focus on confrontational performance art that is so committed it crosses over into a psychedelic experience. Church Fire is the premier political industrial dance pop band from Denver. Plastic Mystic is a spirited fusion of garage rock, post-punk, hardcore and grunge.

Saturday | 10/03
What: Candy Chic album release w/The CDs and Lu Lagoon
When: 7 ($10)
Where: Matchbox
Why: Candy Chic is celebrating the release of its new album B-Side Movies. The quartet is in the realm of indie rock but with clear inspiration drawn from 1980s synth pop and the new album as the title suggests has a cinematic aspect in its production and songwriting but also with the kind of earnest emotional expression that seems like more something from another era, not the performative earnestness that plagued a certain segment of indie rock in the 2000s. Throughout one gets the sense that the songs were written as the soundtrack to a coming of age movie or a film about navigating early adulthood perhaps written by Brian K. Vaughan. Live the band performs with the appropriate enthusiasm appropriate to such possible inspirations.

Saturday | 10.03
What: Denver Porchfest
When: 12-7PM
Where: Baker District Porches
Why: This inaugural edition of the one day, short form festival runs throughout the Baker Neighborhood and features 193 local bands with donations to benefit East 7th Arts which provides art and music therapy for children with autism. There will be some of the best local acts across various porches and please consult the website linked for more details and possibly check the social media of bands listed for when and where they will be performing.

Monday | 10.05
What: Automatic w/Donzii
When: 7
Where: Meow Wolf Convergence Station Perplexiplex
Why: Automatic is a post-punk duo from Los Angeles comprised of Izzy Glaudini on synths and vocals and Halle Saxon on bass and vocals. Lola Dompé, daughter of Bauhaus/Love and Rockets drummer Kevin Haskins, is the group’s former drummer and vocalist. The 2025 album Is It Now? demonstrated the band was capable of creating evocative, atmospheric music with minimal elements. Opening the show is Donzii, an electro post-punk performance art No Wave-adjacent band originally from Miami. Jenna Balfe is a commanding and ritualistic singer whose dance moves are like something out of avant-garde dance theater, fun and pure rock and roll and bassist Dennis Fuller sounds like he studied heavily listening to John Taylor and Larry Graham before developing his own powerful style.

Monday | 10.05
What: Love Spells w/Orca
When: 7
Where: Globe Hall
Why: Love Spells aka Sir Taegen Harris released his debut full length album Love Is the Law on July 24, 2026 via RCA. The artist grew up in and around Houston (now based in Los Angeles) and found solace in fantasy fiction as a youth but eventually discovered poetry as a vehicle to crafting lyrics for his early musical endeavors as a rap artist. Later in his teens he switched musical gears some and fused hip-hop production and more dream pop and indie rock style songwriting and the new album with his impressive use of falsetto vocals is a bit like if Prince came up on later R&B and dream pop and wrote emotionally vibrant songs about, frankly, similar subject matter like love, soul searing heartbreak and struggles with mental health. Isn’t that what “Let’s Go Crazy” is about?

Monday | 10.05
What: Shiner w/Criteria and Replica City
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Shiner is one of the secretly influential rock bands out of the 90s from Kansas City, Missouri. Its evolving sound is in the realm of post-hardcore and math rock but with deep atmospheric elements that crosses over into what was called space rock before everything in that realm of sonics got lumped in with shoegaze. Originally running from 1992-2003 the band reconvened in 2012 and has been putting out fascinating records since including its latest epic The Y Section (2026) that has more than a passing resonance with what Failure has been up to of late. Opening is Denver’s great post-hardcore/post-punk trip Replica City and Criteria from Omaha, the noisy post-punk band including former Cursive member Steve Pedersen and A.J. Mogis who runs Presto! Recording Studios with his brother Mike Mogis, a musician whose studio engineering credits are a not insignificant portion of modern indie rock.

Tuesday | 10.06
What: Big Thief w/Iris DeMent
When: 6:30
Where: Red Rocks Amphitheater
Why: Big Thief has become one of the biggest and most influential indie rock bands since its 2015 inception with both Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek having noteworthy solo careers parallel with the band. Though its music is associated with Americana and indie folk there has been an ambitious songwriting instinct obvious from its early releases but all serving music that is brimming with raw emotions channeled into vulnerable, poetic expressiveness. With the release of Double Infinity (2025), Big Thief showed that it could work with many songs and hone a new kind of sound for the band that seemed to incorporate more of its electronic elements and a more edgy noisiness than was more obvious on earlier records. It also included extensive contributions from ambient/avant-garde legend Laraaji.

Buzzcocks in 2024, photo by Janette Beckman

Tuesday | 10.06
What: Buzzcocks w/Minds Eye and The Pitch Invasion
When: 7
Where: The Oriental Theater
Why: Foundational post-punk band Buzzcocks is celebrating its 50 years of existence with this tour. After it started in Manchester, UK in 1976 Buzzcocks were the first punk band with an independently released EP, Spiral Scratch (1977). Even that initial release was the sound for what was coming after punk with an knack for pop hooks and a different kind of sensibility that was solidified in subsequent albums so that it innovated one branch of post-punk and really early pop punk. Early singles like “Orgasm Addict,” “What Do I Get?” and “Every Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)” are still staples of punk and post-punk playlists and sound just as exciting as when they were first released because Buzzcocks were seemingly not writing just for the late 70s. These days only Steve Diggle from the classic lineup is still in the band but it’s one that has released music since the tragic death of former lead singer and guitarist Pete Shelley in 2018 including 2026 album Attitude Adjustment.

Friday | 10.09
What: MVTANT w/Pink Stiletto, babybaby4ever, Velocity Garden and Kill You Club DJs
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: MVTANT is an industrial darkwave artist from San Antonio whose version of EBM is more steeped in the realm of techno and earlier progenitors of the style like Front Line Assembly and Fad Gadget. But in the dystopian dance music of the artist’s output you can hear the impact of electronic Krautrock and horror cinema soundtracks thus perhaps the title and themes of the 2024 album Electronic Body Horror. Pink Stiletto’s own darkwave flavor is more in line with a fusion of disco and synthpop. And babybaby4ever is the best modern synthpop artist most people outside of Denver haven’t had the pleasure of witnessing and Lily Conrad’s command of rich synth tone and playful stage performance is top tier.

The Jungle Giants, photo courtesy the artists

Friday | 10.09
What: The Jungle Giants w/Morning Silk
When: 7
Where: Globe Hall
Why: The Jungle Giants are an indie rock quartet from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia who garnered a bit of international attention with the release of its 2013 album Learn to Exist noted for its irrepressible energy and creative hooks. In May 2026 the group released its first album in five years with Experiencing Feelings of Joy. The lead singles from the album showcased how The Jungle Giants aren’t just influenced by rock music and its vocal cadences have the hallmarks of hip-hop and R&B. All evident on previous releases but on the new album the songs have a richly developed atmospheric and production element that sounds geared for more mainstream appeal.

Saturday | 10.10
What: Pink Fuzz w/The Well and Tart
When: 7
Where: The Federal Theatre
Why: Pink Fuzz released its most recent single this week with “Don’t You Wanna Go To Heaven?” b/w “Manipulator” for digital download and streaming but also as a flexi disc. As usual the band lives up to its name with deeply hooky and melodic stoner rock. One of the opening acts The Well is from Austin and released its fourth full-length studio album …And Flames Ran Like Living Animals via Spaceflight Records on September 14, 2026. The trio’s burning, granular distortion puts into focus its heavy melodies and a knack for injecting pop hooks into metallic psychedelic rock. Fans of White Hills and the more urgent end of Black Mountain will appreciate the edge The Well brings to what feels like uplifting music. The band’s music video for “New Hallelujah for the Damned” was recorded at the SST warehouse and includes a cameo by Greg Ginn the founder of SST and, you know, Black Flag, Gone and several other bands over the years.

49 Winchester, photo by Daniel Pracopcyk

Saturday | 10.10
What: 49 Winchester w/Landon Smith
When: 7
Where: The Gothic Theatre
Why: 49 Winchester from Castlewood, Virginia has been growing its cachet as a country rock band since 2013. The sextet released its first three albums independently before being signed to New West Records in 2022. From its 2014 self-titled debut the band has show signs of the influence of music well beyond what one might assume like harder edged rock but the aesthetic and themes of the music is rooted in their background in Appalachia and the region’s genre eclectic musical traditions. The group’s new record Change of Plans is brimming with songs about transitional periods of life and how life events can drastically shift one’s outlook and give one perspective on priorities and the course of how you’re going through the world. The album includes a soulful rendition of one of the most bluesy of Black Sabbath song with “Changes.” It’s a song that seems totemic for where 49 Winchester is today and perhaps its own audience.

Saturday | 10.10
What: Die Spitz w/Farmer’s Wife
When: 7
Where: Boulder Theater
Why: Before its 2025 debut album Something to Consume even dropped, Die Spitz had major underground buzz for its spirited live show. Is Die Spitz punk or metal or just some hybrid of the two that isn’t beholden to either. The vocals on the song have the kind of thrillingly feral quality one heard in early Hole and any point in the Babes in Toyland catalog. They haven’t steered clear of guitar solos but use them creatively with a fiery flair that coupled with the urgent rhythms and the dual vocals bypasses expectations. Die Spitz also has wonderfully pointed yet thoughtful and heartfelt social commentary that fits well with how the music sears through any static of what the band is supposed to sound like and how some of the most exciting and edgy music now is supposed to be delivered other than with conviction and passion.

Monday | 10.12
What: Castle Rat w/Unto Others and Wrath Knight
When: 6:30
Where: The Ogden Theatre
Why: Castle Rat wisely leaned into the fantasy imagery on stage and its lyrics from the beginning. The musicianship and well-crafted songs speak for themselves. The outfits, aesthetic and subject matter of the songs just make it more fun for people that show up to witness the spectacle. Many bands have tried a similar thing and found lacking because it is just cheesy or inept. Castle Rat’s debut full length The Bestiary (2025) offered tales of adventure and peril set to music that isn’t just trapped in doom or retro metal or heavy psychedelic rock but a fusion of all of that into its own flavor. Just look at press photos of the band and live footage on the internet and if that doesn’t seem appealing for some reason maybe don’t go but you might be missing out on one of the best live acts in the realm of metal going now.

Tuesday | 10.13
What: Sawyer Hill
When: 6:30
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: Sawyer Hill got started playing in bars in Northwest Arkansas with a band of older kids before going solo and promoting his songs in social media where he garnered a wide fanbase. His song “Look At The Time” went viral and charted well with Spotify leading to signing to AWAL. His rich and charismatic baritone voice and passionate live performance can be heard fully utilized on Hill’s debut album Everybody’s Home, Nobody’s Happy (2026) where he somehow fuses some of his background in blues rock and perhaps gospel music and early Beck. But really Hill comes off like a singer from another era like a lost artist from the 60s or 70s who would have been sharing bills with honky tonk bands.

Wednesday | 10.14
What: zzzahara w/Faerybabyy and Bruha
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: zzzahara returns to Denver for a headlining show. They put out their album Distant Lands in June 2026 and its layered, bedroom pop style truly sounds like a dream-journey of self-discovery and healing. Inspired by a dream in which the songwriter spoke to their departed brother the record is steeped in embracing authentic feelings that we often keep buried as we hurtle through our lives. It is an album about reconnecting and perhaps growing from that process. It could be described as dream pop, shoegaze, psych and all the other atmospheric guitar genre tags you want but it also sounds like it’s informed by the possibilities of production and in some ways is like a pop cognate of They Are Gutting a Body of Water.

Thursday | 10.15
What: Raynes w/David Wimbish & The Collection
When: 7
Where: The Federal Theater
Why: The Los Angeles-based trio Raynes released its latest album Bloom in 2025 and further established its pop approach to songwriting. The group is often associated with folk due to its core of acoustic instruments and strong vocal arrangements. But Raynes has a backing of synths and a combination of live drums and electronic percussion. The result is what sounds like a fusion of chamber pop and bluegrass. Openers David Wimbish & The Collection released the album Heavy Love in 2026. Rooted in especially vulnerable and intimate songwriting style of folk pop, the new set of songs came about in the wake of Wimbish’s various life changes and challenges including dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in September 2024. And an often unspoken or explicitly dealt with in music directly aspect of being flooded with challenges is depression and the ways we employ to process those feelings. Whether through medication or various other approaches appropriate to given circumstances and nuances of what triggers the mind’s and body’s response to overwhelming, often prolonged, experiences. In delivering the music Wimbish and his bandmates involve the audience in putting together the set list and sharing stories from their lives for a kind of communal show and a way to bond with people that most artists wouldn’t attempt.

Friday | 10.16
What: REZN w/Lowheaven and BleakHeart
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Chicago’s REZN threads together doom and heavy rock with psychedelia and shoegaze into epic song cycles that explore transitional life phases and existential states reaching for an inner truth through honest experiences. Its latest album Cycles in the Infinite Dream isn’t as dark as previous albums but that’s like saying Kylesa’s later albums aren’t as heavy or as dark as the earlier records when that’s not so much true as the sound has evolved. Denver’s BleakHeart will open the show with its own radically vulnerable atmospheric heavy music somewhere in the meeting of dream pop, doom and post-punk.

Saturday | 10.17
What: The Wrecks w/Worry Club and Kid Sistr
When: 6
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: Earlier in its career The Wrecks were more in the realm of indie/alternative rock seemingly influenced heavily by pop punk and emo. But its newer releases have incorporated what might be described as dream pop with greater attention to the atmospheric element of the songs and not a shoegaze adjacent sound so much. The band has been releasing singles over the past two years hinting at a new album on the horizon as the successor to 2022’s Sonder. Kid Sistr started out in New York near NYC but have been based out of Los Angeles for half a decade and its own music brings together punk-adjacent grit akin to 90s alternative rock, the kind of melodic immediacy and emotional uplift of Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy and a celebration of queer identity. The trio’s new EP American Teenage Prophecy is a vulnerably yet exuberant set of songs that lay out the struggles and triumphs of wading fully into one’s identity rather than one imposed by culture.

Saturday | 10.17
What: Fruit Bats w/Matthew Logan Vasquez
When: 7
Where: Gothic Theatre
Why: Fruit Bats is the project of Eric D. Johnson who formed the band in 1997 in Chicago and enjoyed critical acclaim for a string of albums including a handful for Sub Pop before he dissolved the project in 2013 and performing as EDJ. But an offer to open for the 2015 My Morning Jacket inspired Johnson to reform the band. Since then the band has been prolific in its release schedule including 2026’s The Landfill. The record is like a companion to the 2025 album Baby Man which itself represented a shift in focus of Johnson’s songwriting to a more observational and stream-of-consciousness approach taking inspiration from his immediate environments with The Landfill seemingly drawing upon how landscapes in the midwest with hills such as they are more or less constructs of human civilization building upon the past and finding various uses for the land that change over the course of decades and centuries and the resonances we as individual humans have with that history and present in ways that aren’t always obvious but discernible if we take the time and develop the sensitivity to be aware. Musically it’s still in Johnson’s warmly folk style but coming across as even more like Bob Dylan than before.

Saturday | 10.17
What: A Strange Happening, Rowboat and The Picture Tour
When: 8 doors, 9 show, $10
Where: The Squire Lounge
Why: One of the best all local bills of the week with the indie, gritty dark American A Strange Happening whose songs are conceptual in terms of lyrics and as recording projects. The high concept approach isn’t obvious without a rewarding closer listen. Rowboat fuses folk based songwriting and deeply personal poetry infused with heartfelt social commentary. Yet also comes across like an intense, countrified shoegaze band. The Picture Tour makes no bones about being a dark post-punk band with elements of garage rock and shoegaze baked into its commanding and transporting songs.

Sunday | 10.18
What: Clejan’s “Strings of Valhalla” Tour
When: 1pm
Where: The Roxy Theater (2549 Welton St.)
Why: Clejan grew up in Atlanta and as with many kids he was urged into learning a classical instrument and for him that was the violin. But being in Atlanta as a kid in the 90s and 2000s he was exposed to the city’s hip-hop scene which was hitting the mainstream by the turn of the century and as a young person he was aware of the development of trap and as an artist himself he combined violin music with trap inspired in part by what he saw Lindsey Stirling blending her background in classical violin with pop, rock and EDM. Clejan released his new album Valhalla in 2026 and is currently touring in support of the album with this rare matinee show at The Roxy Theater near downtown Denver.

Monday | 10.19
What: Slow Pulp w/snuggle
When: 7
Where: The Ogden Theatre
Why: Madison, Wisconsin spawned, Chicago-based indie rock band Slow Pulp recently issued its new album Melodie on Anti- September 18. 2026. The record sounds like a unification of the more indie folk flavor of its full-length debut Moveys (2020) and the more shoegaze/psychedelic rock style that informed the 2023 album Yard. But with more attention given to dynamic shifts and the textural and evocative possibilities of contrasting acoustic instruments and electronics. The album has a melancholic and reflective cast with explorations of self identity and how we move through the world and impact others with our self-perception and how that may differ from how we’re perceived. The mix of tender and effusive means the album doesn’t get stuck in a mood and reflects a yearning for reaching for one’s own potential and possibilities.

Wednesday | 10.21
What: MUNA w/hemlocke springs
When: 7
Where: Red Rocks
Why: Los Angeles-based synth pop trio MUNA met while students at USC and originally started making music in a more left field mode but shortly found more fruitful collaboration on material based in songwriting. Early in the band’s career they were signed to a major label and then dropped due to inadequate commercial performance, surely the sign of where major labels have been for years. But MUNA were signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records (in partnership with Dead Oceans) in 2021 and subsequently released its two finest and commercially successful albums of MUNA’s career including 2026’s Dancing on the Wall. Commercial considerations aside because who cares about that if a band doesn’t have the goods. MUNA’s punchy songwriting, typically strong hooks, tonally rich vocal performances and infectiously upbeat songs on an album inspired by the immense challenges to democracy and civil society posed by the second Felon47 administration injects some joy into one of the darkest times in modern American history and fortifying a spirit of resistance thereby.

Praga Khan of Lords of Acid, photo courtesy the artist

Thursday | 10.22
What: Lords of Acid w/Princess Superstar, Tony and the Kiki and Mz Neon
When: 6:30
Where: The Oriental Theater
Why: Lords of Acid has been running since 1988 from Antwerp, Belgium with a sound that early combined industrial dance music with acid house and techno. The band’s aesthetic might be described as hedonistic camp with often cartoonish songs about sexuality and drugs with the 1991 debut album Lust becoming landmark in industrial music. Led by Praga Khan with an evolving cast of collaborators across the last few decades the live show is a spectacle befitting the bombastic and outrageous lyrics. And yet the music itself is well crafted and aimed for a sweaty dance floor.

Thursday | 10.22
What: Ceremony w/Destiny Bond and Pink Lady Monster
When: 7
Where: The Marquis Theater
Why: Since 2004 Ceremony has been evolving its sound from an early more hardcore-inspired style to the noisy garage rock/post-punk of 2012’s Zoo and then more post-punk for L-Shaped Man (2015) and In the Spirit World Now (2019). With the new album Tell Me Your Dream Ceremony turns back to a more expansively aggressive sound while maintaining experimental elements that prevent the songs from sounding regressive. You hear keyboards accenting the angular, driving guitar and the guitar otherwise embracing unconventional melodic structures and the album ends on a melancholic, brooding, resigned note so as much as the record feels like a reconciliation with earlier impulses it also embodies and points in new directions. Opening is the great Denver hardcore band Destiny bond and Neo-No Wave legends Pink Lady Monster.

Friday | 10.23
What: Cop Killer, Team Nonexistent, Mouthful, Legs. The Band and Thinkdeath
When: 6/7, $15
Where: Ante Up
Why:With a name like Cop Killer you had better at least try to live up to what that sounds like and the Denver-based hardcore band does with lyrics that aim at take out authoritarian impulses in society. Team Nonexistent is a powerful amalgamation of grunge and riot grrrl. Legs. The Band is like a blend of garage-y blues rock and punk.

Lesser Care in 2022, photo by Tom Murphy

Friday | 10.23
What: Lesser Care w/Moonpool and Gooey Cookie
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Lesser Care has more or less quietly become one of the bands of choice for discerning fans of the post-punk and shoegaze crossover with a sound that is both ferocious and transporting. Its guitar tones are vibrant and not in the spindly post-punk style too many bands have adopted partly because Lesser Care is aiming to create deep and often dense atmospheres in which to get lost and dissolve the worst feelings in life. All of its albums are different and worth a thorough listen and its 2026 EP Lincoln Leather is one of its most sonically realized offerings to date introducing a decided post-hardcore element that brings more drive and push into the music that wasn’t already lacking it.

Monday | 10.26
What: Visceral Cuts w/Moon Pussy and Probes
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Visceral Cuts is a noise rock/metal/punk duo from Denton, Texas whose entire output is a tribute to horror cinema with song titles from classic horror films sublime to schlock, slasher to body horror, cosmic to creature feature with music to transform and honor the spirit of the films. Moon Pussy isn’t horror themed though from the name that sounds like a science fiction horror film. Instead it’s a mutant noise rock trio that has been responsible for some of the most potent and boundary defying music for nearly a decade.

Monday | 10.26
What: Failure w/Quannic
When: 7
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: Failure is one of the most influential bands that emerged in the wake of the alternative rock era that isn’t as well known as some of its peers like Tool. But when Haley Williams cites your band as a direct influence your reach is far beyond the cult following Failure has garnered across more than three decades. Its expansive guitar sounds, its cinematic yet intensely emotional songwriting that spans space rock shoegaze is like a modern version of art rock utilizing newer sounds and technology in crafting the band’s deep moods. Pick up any of its records and prepare for an engulfing sonic journey from its classic 90s albums including Fantastic Planet (1996) to its even more ambitious albums since reuniting after a 17 year hiatus in 2014 including the new record Location Lost (2026). With members of the band having experience in sound design both the records and the live show hit with a full spectrum of evocative sound and concepts.

Tuesday | 10.27
What: Taylor Bickett w/Fairhazel
When: 7
Where: Goosetown Tavern
Why: Indiana born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Taylor Bickett released her debut album Nothing I Can’t Undo via If This Then Records. With minimal production on the record and Bickett’s expressively vulnerable and vivid vocals centered lends her stories an immediacy and intimacy that suits her songs that are a slices of life and daydreams that incorporate humor and personal and social insight. “Nothing I Can’t Undo” expresses the desire to backtrack on mistakes and aim for what you really wanted or intended set to a backdrop of transitional life moments. “Politician” gently but sharply draws the portrait of the kind of politician we’ve come to accept as a representative while knowing we can do better. Bickett’s offers instantly relatable observations with music that frames it with gentle dramatics that pull the listener in.

Tuesday | 10.27
What: Dummy, American Culture, Golomb and Precocious Neophyte
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Dummy has consistently evolved its sound from its early days in the late 2010s. Every one of its three albums and two EPs showcase a band that may get lumped in with indie pop but live the band comes across more as a shoegaze band that incorporated elements of IDM, Krautrock and a more experimental version of psychedelia. The latest record Do You Love the Color of the Sky? sounds like Dummy has taken the clear inspiration of Stereolab through a 90s big beat filter for a sound that fuses more pop musical ideas and electronic dance music with imaginative songwriting. If you were a fan of the left field pop of Mandatory Enjoyment (2021) and the psychedelic post-punk shoegaze of Free Energy (2024) the new album is the next step and more in that evolution in blurring the line between electronic and analog psychedelic dance pop. Also on this bill are Denver shoegaze punk/indie pop legends American Culture, heavy space rock pop group Precocious Neophyte and Columbus, Ohio’s post-punk/indie pop/experimental rock trio Golomb.

New Constellations, photo by Cameron Browne

Tuesday | 10.27
What: New Constellations w/Vox Rhea
When: 7
Where: Meow Wolf Convergence Station Perplexiplex
Why: Portland, Oregon synth pop duo New Constellations released its debut album It Comes In Waves on May 15, 2026. The record delves into the relationships gone sideways and the aftermath but articulates the emotions in the moment more vividly than so many songs about heartbreak as well as what it looks and feels like to recover from being headlong in melancholic moods and being open to connecting again and how that takes work as well. The band’s singles have certainly made the rounds of indie radio and playlists and hearing the music disconnected with immediate context is striking because the production end creates sonically rich melodies and rhythms that augment singer Harlee Case’s impassioned yet introspective vocals so even the often ethereal and synthwave pop sound hits a little harder. Fans of Phantogram and Metric will likely resonate strongly with wat New Constellations are putting out.

Thursday | 10.29
What: Dinosaur Jr w/Stef Chura
When: 7
Where: The Ogden Theatre
Why: In the history of rock since 1984 few bands have as much cache of influence as Dinosaur Jr. The members of the band came out of the hardcore scene and that sound and sensibility can be heard in its early music. But Dinosaur Jr also indulged its classic rock, speed metal and jangle rock influences in creating a signature sound that would go on to inspire other bands to experiment with sheer volume, unconventional pacing and fusing noise with melody completely. Before splitting in 1997 Dinosaur Jr all but blueprinted much of alternative rock with groups like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Built to Spill, Swervedriver, Uncle Tupelo and Kurt Vile have drawn their lineage to the Dinosaur’s granular guitar sound and willingness to go off a song’s established map without losing sight of the essence of its appeal. The first three albums are classics of pre-alternative era rock but subsequent records have all been worthwhile including its 2026 album There Near. Is it possible the trio upped its own game? The vocals sound more vivid and confident than ever and stylistically we hear some chances taken while not compromising the wild guitar gyration pyrotechnics and fluidly expressive rhythms that have yielded decades of memorable music.

Tassles in February 2026, photo by Tom Murphy

Thursday | 10.29
What: Julian St. Nightmare, Tassle, SFRM and Tickle Fight
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Julian St. Nightmare hasn’t played many shows since it reunited for live performance this past summer. The band was one of the best of the groups to emerge to local underground notoriety in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially fusing surf rock, darkwave and post-punk by the time the band went on hiatus in early 2024 it was one of the most compelling bands in Denver performing with an impassioned intensity that transcended supposed genre. Now a trio the emphasis is more on the electronic composition end augmented by moody yet fiery guitar and strong rhythms with live drums. SFRM (formerly Sellfarm) is somehow a powerful industrial darkwave/noise solo project. Tassels started as a bedroom dream pop/weirdo psych project but became a live band with the addition of bass. For a time the band had a live drummer but this show is going to be a return to drum machine loops. But the appeal of the live version of Tassles has always been the interplay from Nick Tassinari’s explosive, noisy yet tunefully dream-like guitar and Molly McGrath’s imaginative and confident bass lines coming off like a lo-fi Jesus and Mary Chain collaborating with Current Joys.

Diles Que No Me Maten in 2022, photo by Tom Murphy

Friday | 10.30
What: Diles Que No Me Maten w/Sunswept and Ardo
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Diles Que No Me Maten has for several years been crafting music that blurs the line between poetry and songwriting. Stylistically the group is often considered psychedelic rock or folk or jazz but is really a unique sound that contains multitudes including trickles of avant-garde electronic music. Its new album Escrito en Agua (2026) has a title that seems like a reference to the phrase inscribed on the grave of English Romantic poet John Keats, “Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water.” This is referenced without naming the poet on the Bandcamp page. But the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and the album in general sounds like a processional mourning for something we’ve collectively lost and trying to find one’s way back to vitality. It is also one of the least readily classifiable of the band’s offerings. One of the opening acts is Sunswept which is the ambient/pastoral folk flute and electronics project of Sarah Christensen whose songs also defy easy classification and also put the mind into a state of tranquility.

Friday | 10.30
What: King Buffalo w/L.A. Witch
When: 7
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: For over a decade King Buffalo has been one of the more interesting bands to emerge out of the synthesis of desert rock, heavy psychedelia and doom. It’s not just crushing, disorienting riffs which might be enough. King Buffalo has a keen ear for how the rhythms can be both hypnotic and carry a tasty hook while layering in fiery and transporting guitar solos that link directly back into the flow of the song. With six albums under its belt King Buffalo is set to release its new album Doomsayer on December 4, 2026. The first since 2022’s Regenerator the early music from Doomsayer promises something easily on par with any of the group’s previous releases and the track listing hints at a great story arc of a dark mystical journey through a mythical west reflecting the turmoil and tests of the current era. There’s a better than half chance you’ll get to experience a lot of the new album on this tour.

Friday | 10.30
What: Greg Freeman w/Trinity Ace
When: 7
Where: The Marquis Theater
Why: Calling Greg Freeman simply “alt-country” seems inadequate given his recorded output. In particularly the recently released All Set The Bone (2026). It’s like a psychedelic rock band had a folk phase and ditched that in favor of noise punk and then rediscovered a love of power pop hooks while still sounding borderline unhinged. Freeman sounds like he’s really letting loose some inner demons and purging accumulated angst throughout the record and yet we get moments of peace. It is a lot but doesn’t feel like too much. Like a fusion of The Replacements, Songs: Ohia and early John Dwyer projects.

Saturday | 10.31
What: Julia Jacklin w/Jordan Patterson
When: 8
Where: The Gothic Theatre
Why: Julia Jacklin’s journey to internationally touring artist from Australia seems unlikely. She grew up in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales and didn’t meet anyone that was a full time musician until after she moved to attend Sydney University and, according to 2017 interview with Knar Bedian for Sound of Boston, living in a garage and working in a factory after graduation. Jacklin became involved in the local scene playing in various bands before her debut album Don’t Let The Kids Win (2016) caught the attention of the press outside of Australia and she started touring. Jacklin has also taken an active role in co-directing her music videos. Over the past decade Jacklin has released four critically acclaimed albums including The Gem released on September 25, 2026, her first for 4AD. Some of the album seems to be about the uncertainties and shifting emotions of being in a relationship and navigating how life circumstances and one’s own tendency to analyze various situations and feelings. Jacklin’s sensitive, warmly ethereal and finely nuanced vocal performance is impressive and immediately affecting and her guitar work along with that of Jacob Diamond provides the perfect musical accompaniment to figure out and understand, yes, various facets of one’s life.

White Rose Motor Oil, photo courtesy the artists

Saturday | 10.31
What: White Rose Motor Oil album release of SPIDER! w/Black & White Motion Picture and Tensas and The Mourners
When: 7
Where: Bar404
Why: Denver’s White Rose Motor Oil is celebrating the release of its latest album SPIDER! The new record shows the band expanding its sound palette some with some moodier numbers but which still simmer with the fire that has helped render its rock Americana into something uniquely its own and not easily classifiable. Eryn DeSomer’s powerful vocals, always a centerpiece of the band’s sound, too ventures into different ranges of expression than expected. The guitars are more textural and edgy but expect the same sophisticated songwriting and insightful lyrics and raw power. It’s the kind of music one would hope Jim Jarmusch would include in his next film because it has enough classic rockabilly vibe with modern sensibilities to pair well with his aesthetic.

Day | Date
What: Halloween Cover Show: The B-52’s, Wire, Misfits, The Monks, Beat Happening, surprise set and Kill You Club DJs
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Some of Denver’s best rock/No Wave-adjacent/garage punk/post-punk/post-hardcore bands are coming together for tribute sets throughout the night and it’ll probably be pretty legit in terms of the versions of songs you’ll get to see. All night Kill You Club DJs will provide the proper soundtrack for a Halloween on Saturday.

To Be Continued…

Queen City Sounds Podcast S6E13: Ghost Canyon Fest

Ghost Canyon Fest organizers Brian Dooley, Sean Dove, Jeremy Brashaw, photo by Tom Murphy

Ghost Canyon Fest presents its fourth edition in 2026 from Thursday, August 26, 2026 through Sunday, August 30, 2026. The festival has from the beginning has showcased some of the most fascinating bands and artists operating in the broad realm of left field rock and experimental music. Noise rock, art punk, ambient, avant-folk, post-metal, art pop, psychedelic folk and more. It has been an extremely well curated festival and on a scale that intentionally makes it easy to catch all of the acts for festival goers if they have the fortitude to make it to all the performances as it isn’t multi-venue at the same time and the final night doesn’t run too late for work the next day. As usual the festival is a mix of acclaimed national acts and some of the most creatively daring bands from Colorado in the realms of music that is at the core of the festival’s curation. This year you can see Holy Sons, Kathryn Mohr
Ryan Wong & Sunswept, a Wax Trax Music Panel called DIY In the Age of Slop: A Discussion, Six Organs of Admittance, Prairiewolf, Steve Von Till, Silkworm, The Gotobeds, Dust Congress, Supreme Joy, claire rousay, Daniel Higgs, Shane Parish Plays Autechre Guitar, Nora Mal, Kowloon Walled City, Moor Mother, Water Damage, ABANDONS, Blacks’ Myths, Watch Yourself Die, Arson Charge, Circling Over, Burn Barrel, Midwife, Dead Rider, Great Falls, Violenteer, Infinite Ohm and Blööd Ôath. The festival takes place at HQ, Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar, Hi-Dive, The Bug Theatre and The Skylark Lounge. For more information and the full schedule please visit ghostcanyonfest.com.

Listen to our interview with Ghost Canyon Fest organizers Sean Dove, Brian Dooley and Jeremy Brashaw on Bandcamp.

Best Shows in Denver and Beyond August 2026

Pearl & The Oysters, image from Bandcamp

Saturday | 08.01
What: Pearl & The Oysters w/Green Typewriters and Pleasure Prince
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Pearl & The Oysters is based out of Los Angeles these days via the Gainesville, Florida scene but has its origins when the duo of Juliette Pearl Davis and Joachim Polack met in high school in Paris. Polack earned a master’s degree in muscology with a focus on Brazilian popular music. And you hear that flavor in this band’s output which sounds like a retrofuturist pop band with some jazz informing its compositions and Tropicália flavor but really its own thing with some obvious heavy influence by classic 60s and 70s pop and psychedelia. But its production is lush and from record to record it would be impossible to pigeonhole an exact style including its most recent record Monkey Mind (2026). So it’s only appropriate the art pop psychedelic prog weirdos Green Typewriters and virtuosos of soulful synth pop Pleasure Prince are sharing the bill and thus no downside.

Saturday | 08.01
What: babybaby4ever, Sonic Chick, Mon Cher and PEPPERSACK
When: 7:30
Where: Squirm Gallery
Why: babybaby4ever will bring her tonally immersive indie synth pop to places well beyond Denver following this tour kick-off show and win over audiences far and wide. For the occasion you’ll get to see lo-fi synth-infused dream pop project Mon Cher, darkwave dance duo PEPPERSACK and the lo-fi, Half-Japanese-esque emo band Sonic Chick—fans of K Records bands of the 90s will definitely find much to like about the latter and its new record All Star Hits.

Let the Dead Eat the Dead, photo by Tom Murphy

Saturday | 08.01
What: Let the Dead Eat the Dead, Part Weapon and The Picture Tour
When: 8
Where: The Skylark Lounge Bobcat Club
Why: Let the Dead Eat the Dead is the new project that rose up from the remnants of Bad Luck City. Similar dark Americana and poetry with wit, intensity and an unpretentious earnestness that one would come to expect from the musicians involved including ex-members of Random Victim, Red Cloud, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club and Snake Rattle Rattle Snake. Part Weapon will being its fusion of noisy post-punk and industrial sounds and The Picture Tour will fill the room with deeply atmospheric, melancholic moods and late night drive intensity circa early Nicolas Winding Refn cinema.

Monday | 08.03
What: TV Star w/Angel Band, Pink Lady Monster and Pulse
When: 7
Where: Seventh Circle Music Collective
Why: TV Star from Seattle recently released its new album Music For Heads which can have multiple meanings but for fans of the kind of crossover of shoegaze, C86 pop and pastoral Americana its exactly in your wheelhouse. Delicate and intricate guitar melodies and layered textural sounds with winsome vocals make the band’s new record and its Unrest-esque sound a repeat listen. Opening of course are purveyors of perfect indie pop Angel Band and Pink Lady Monster, the neo-No Wave art pop geniuses from Denver.

Monday | 08.03
What: Cat Power: Anniversary of The Greatest Tour
When: 6:30
Where: Chautauqua Auditorium
Why: Cat Power released her album The Greatest in 2006 to great acclaim. Recorded in Memphis, TN, the album included contributions from the late, great Mabon “Teenie” Hodges renowned for his contributions as guitarist and songwriter on several of Al Green’s hits as well as other notable artists in the realm of soul and R&B. And other greats of soul music including bassist Leroy Hodges. The record contains some of Chan Marshall’s most intimate songs in a career of intimate songwriting and there is a warmth and affection in much of the searching and heartbreak and at times resolution found across the album’s twelve tracks. This is a rare opportunity to catch these songs live in a venue as uniquely beautiful and rustic as the Chautauqua Auditorium.

Friday | 08.07
What: Tomahawk w/Melvins
When: 6:30
Where: Ogden Theatre
Why: Tomahawk is the experimental metal band comprised of Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Faith No More etc), Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard et. al.), John Stanier (Helmet) and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs among others). Considering the people in the band how metal is it and really more experimental, art rock noise rock with Patton’s versatile and powerful vocals. Opening is Melvins who reliably put on a powerful performance of heavy music of great nuance and imagination and with every tour they try to do something different and other than touring with Tomahawk in this format it would be worth showing up to find out what Melvins have in store.

Saturday | 08.08
What: The Jayhawks
When: 7
Where: Chautauqua Auditorium
Why: The Jayhawks are unarguably one of the most influential Americana bands of the past four decades plus since forming in Minneapolis in 1984. They were early pioneers of what came to be called alternative country. Its 1992 album Hollywood Town Hall is a landmark record for the style and refreshingly out of step with the trendy sounds to emerge from early alternative rock. The group went on hiatus in 2005 while its members pursued other creative endeavors. Briefly reuniting again from 2009-2012 The Jayhawks have once again been an active band since 2014 with a new album Sanctuary Park due out August 28, 2026 with the eclectic yet coherent sound that has marked the best of The Jayhawks’ later work integrating some deeper atmospheric melodies and uplifting rhythms into the songwriting. Of all the venues along the front range Chautauqua was basically built for experiencing this kind of music.

Tuesday | 08.11
What: Sugar w/J. Robbins
When: 7
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: After the collapse of punk legends Hüsker Dü, guitarist and singer Bob Mould released two acclaimed solo albums and came to recruit David Barbe (formerly of the great Athens, GA post-punk band Bar-B-Que Killers) and Malcolm Travis (who had been in early Boston New Wave band Human Sexual Response) to work with in the near future. The band they would dub Sugar became in its own right one of the more popular and influential of the early 90s alternativ rock bands. With a song pace that wasn’t as headlong as Mould’s previous band was known and more developed melodies the group’s debut album Copper Blue (1992) was instantly at hit with college and the nascent alternative rock radio. Mould had learned a lot from Nirvana who he influenced in terms of pop songcraft with spirited performances and he was finally able to somewhat capitalize on the sound his songwriting and guitar style had directly impacted. Sugar only released two albums and an EP before splitting in 1995 but all of those releases contain some of the finest music Mould has worked on to date. When the grop announced it was back together and playing live shows again it was arguably simultaneously one of the least expected and most anticipated reunions of recent years. And if you’ve seen Mould’s band recently you know it’s not going to be subpar.

Tuesday | 08.11
What: Shonen Knife – Osaka Ramones Set & Shonen Knife Favorites Set w/Bricheros and Flight Kamikaze
When: 7/7:30
Where: HQ
Why: Shonen Knife is the Osaka, Japan punk band that has been running since 1981. An influence on people like Nirvana the group was invited into the international alternative music scene in an opening slot for Sonic Youth in Shonen Knife’s hometown in 1987 and then later for their first North American gig in Los Angeles shortly after. And in 1991 Shonen Knife was asked to open for Nirvana for the European leg of their tour before Nevermind signaled the commercial ascendance of alterntive rock. But all along Shonen Knife has perfected the art of blending punk spirit and power pop with infectiously catchy melodies and songs with themes of simple joys in life. In 2026 the trio re-recorded and released its 1992 classic Let’s Knife as Let’s Knife Re-Cut. For this tour the group will perform a set of its favorite Ramones songs as well as selections from its own prolific catalog of great punkified pop.

Wednesday | 08.12
What: Widowspeak and Dead Gowns
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Since 2010 Widowspeak has created music that weaves together countrified slowcore and intimate dream pop like they came up inspired equally by Luna and Mazzy Star. The group early on was a four-piece but is now the core duo of guitarist/vocalist Molly Hamilton and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Robert Earl Thomas. The 2026 album Roses is about love in its various forms and often about the subtle kinds taken for granted and not pored over and examined and recognized as such.

Friday | August 14
What: Josaleigh Polett w/A Place For Owls, mlady and Vanna Blue
When: 6pm
Where: D3 Arts
Why: Josaleigh Pollett is a singer-songwriter based out of Salt Lake City that has been developing an eclectic and inventive body of work since 2012 that could loosely be called indie pop. But from record to record, Pollett has experimented with production, songwriting and a blend of organic and electronic elements. The 2026 album If I Let It Quiet is a lushly produced, deeply evocative listen that guides the listener on an existential journey through modern anxieties and uncertainties with a gentle touch and expansive rhythms, cloaked in soothing atmospheric textures. Now available on vinyl via Audio Antihero. A Place For Owls might be described as a slowcore emo band and based in Denver. The band has previously collaborated with Pollett who also contributed to the band’s forthcoming album All Thieves Vol. 1 due out September 25, 2026.

Saturday | 08.15
What: Parlour Magic w/Church Fire and Cruel Mourning
When: 7
Where: HQ
Why: Parlour Magic is a synthpop project from New York City that recently released its latest, and third, album The Embassy. The music is in the vein of 1980s sophistipop with hints of R&B in the vocal delivery and layers of moody melody and cinematic production that captures a sense of isolation and yearning. Opening is industrial synthpop powerhouse now quartet Church Fire whose vibe will be much more confrontational yet inviting like they challenging the audience to join in raging against oppressive forces of the world. Denver’s Cruel Mourning recently released its new album Modern Tension that sounds like it is informed by 2010s synthwave with the pulsing rhythms but also the more synthpop end of darkwave.

Saturday | 08.15
What: Primitive Ring, Cherry Spit and Blööd Ôath
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Primitive Ring is a heavy psych band from Los Angeles that includes Charles Moothart who some may known for playing in various other bands including with Ty Segall, Moonhearts, Fuzz and Mikal Cronin. The group released its debut, self-titled full-length on May 15, 2026 and it sounds like a fine evolution beyond stoner rock and garage psych fusion but retaining the tonal richness and knack for a solid hook. Opening are two Denver bands that burst genres. Blööd Ôath is like an intentionally primitive noise rock post-punk thrash band with genuine grooves and a weirdness worthy of the Cramps. Cherry Spit is a ferocious amalgam of post-punk, post-hardcore and arty noise rock and defies easy comparisons.

Saturday | 08.15
What: WILLIS w/zzzahara and The Flooks
When: 7
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: WILLIS based out of Nashville, TN that recently released its latest EP Locals 5. Stylistically it’s reminiscent of surf-inflected indie psych from around a decade ago which means it’s probably going to have a nice summertime mood and nostalgic appeal to a lot of people evoking memories of the before times when things likely felt less complicated and at least seemingly less fraught with pressing and constant peril and chaos. We all need a break from that reality sometimes. One of the opening acts, zzzahara, put out their album Distant Lands in June 2026 and its layered, bedroom pop style truly sounds like a dream-journey of self-discovery and healing. Inspired by a dream in which the songwriter spoke to their departed brother the record is steeped in embracing authentic feelings that we often keep buried as we hurtle through our lives. It is an album about reconnecting and perhaps growing from that process. It could be described as dream pop, shoegaze, psych and all the other atmospheric guitar genre tags you want but it also sounds like it’s informed by the possibilities of production and in some ways is like a pop cognate of They Are Gutting a Body of Water.

Paul Riola and band, photo courtesy the artist

Thursday | 08.20
What: Shadow and Light
When: 7/7:30
Where: The Fox Theater (Aurora)
Why: Paul Riola is a saxophonist and composer who has long been a fixture of the Denver improvisational music and ambient scene. His prolific collaborations have graced various stages throughout the city and beyond and his command of cinematic soundscaping is honed from years of working within the realm of experimental music for over 30 years. He grew up in the Denver Metro area before moving to Portland, Oregon in the early 90s for around a decade where he came into contact with Nels Cline and recorded with him as well as Jeff Parker of Tortoise. If you’ve been to a sufficient number of improvisational music shows in the Denver underground in the past 20 years and more it seems unlikely that you haven’t had a chance to witness Riola’s skill in blending in with various other instruments and specific styles to create something that while improvisational always sounds composed to strike a deep mood. His latest project is Shadow and Light, an immersive collaboration that involves music, installation art and video collage. Taking place at the Fox Theater in Aurora, Colorado on August 20, 2026 the event brings together Riola with guitarist Colin Bricker, guitarist Emmanuel Alexander, drummer Sam Kok, visual collage artist and videography Elicia James, set designer Brandon Case, Olivia Kirkpatrick for live VJ performance and video sampling along with Wesley Schwarz also with live VJ and video sampling and lighting. The unique concert experience will blur the line between various disciplines of visual art, overlapping aesthetics and methods of sound and composition to evoke an emotional resonance with all involved.

Courtney Barnett, photo by Lyndsey Byrnes

Friday | 08.21
What: Courtney Barnett w/Zoh Amba
When: 7
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: Courtney Barnett is one of those most acclaimed songwriters of the past decade and a half with a rich and vibrant body of work including her fourth full length album Creature of Habit which dropped March 27, 2026. Written after Barnett relocated from her Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles the record includes contributions from expert drummer and producer Stella Mozgawa who was part of Barnett’s previous two releases but also some vocals from Waxahatchee, bass from Flea and some synth from Floating Points. But the record is all Barnett’s signature clever and personally insightful lyrics and seemingly a record contemplating major changes in one’s life circumstances and reflecting on choices and embracing the change one has pursued in the end. The record feels a touch more introspective than prior albums but highlights Barnett’s ability to speak with sensitivity and poetic delicacy to the parts of our brains that are given to anxiety and insecurity and soothe that energy with emotional honesty.

Saturday | 08.22
What: Dillstradamus Tour: Dillon Francis and Flosstradamus
When: 8
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: Dillon Francis became one of the bigger names in 2010s EDM through not just his skill as a producer but also via his skillful use of social media and engaging with a fanbase in a way that has been entertaining for years. He has helped to popularize moombahton, the blend of house and reggaeton through high energy performances that has been part of keeping EDM a going concern in the live concert setting. For this tour Francis teams up with Flossatradamus, one of the pioneers of trap whose own career predates Francis’ by a few years. They 2010s massive heyday of EDM has died down some but Francis and Flosstradamus have been proving that the artform can still be valid and exciting in the large room format.

Saturday | 08.22
What: Only Echoes album release w/Creek, Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch and Lovesick for Mina
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Only Echoes is a heavy post-rock/instrumental metal band from Denver. For this show the quartet is releasing its latest, third, album of contemplative, existential journeys Born Adrift on CD, blue marble vinyl, cassette, digital download and streaming. Live the frequencies will get into your body and carry you along on the epic adventure of the music.

Wednesday | 08.26
What: Her New Knife, Blackberry Crush and The Red Scare
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Her New Knife blurs any boundaries between noise rock, shoegaze and electronic music in a way that is resonant with fellow Philadelphia band They Are Gutting a Body of Water and UK duo Jockstrap. Its 2024 album chrome is lullaby is haunted and gritty and in moments is reminiscent of Dry Cleaning. Blackberry Crush is a one of the best Denver-based shoegaze outfits who learned soundscaping beyond some bands that appear to have evolved one or two steps from garage psyche. The Red Scare from Fort Collins are like-minded in the milieu of noisy, post-punk-infused shoegaze.

Friday | 08.28
What: Tune-Yards
When: 7
Where: Meow Wolf Convergence Station Perplexiplex
Why: Tune-Yards is the Oakland-based duo that has exerted a not often obvious influence on the indue underground for production and songwriting technique by making the most of loops early on and evolved on later releases. Like a mix of R&B, live beat-making, psychedelic folk and non-Western pop. The project’s most recent EP Tell The Future With Your Body hits like an indie Grace Jones record in some ways with Merrill Garbus’s powerful vocals the usual soul standout.

Th-Su | 08.27-08.30
What: Ghost Canyon Fest
When: Varies
Where: HQ, Hi-Dive, The Bug Theater, The Skylark Lounge,
Why: Denver’s premiere experimental music fest returns with its fourth edition including some of the most riveting and innovative artists operating in the world today with four nights and three daytime showcases at multiple venues. See the schedule below. Our guide to the festival with brief descriptions of the artists coming soon.

Th 08.27 at HQ doors 7pm
Holy Sons
Kathryn Mohr
Ryan Wong & Sunswept
Wax Trax Music Panel: DIY In the Age of Slop: A Discussion Sponsored by Smashed Plastic

F 08.28 Free In Store at Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar 4pm
Six Organs of Admittance
Prairiewolf

F 08.28 Hi-Dive 7pm doors
Steve Von Till
Silkworm
The Gotobeds
Dust Congress
Supreme Joy

S 08.29 Bug Theate doors 12:30pm doors
claire rousay
Daniel Higgs
Shane Parish Plays Autechre Guitar
Nora Mal

S 08.29 Hi-Dive 6:30pm doors
Kowloon Walled City
Moor Mother
Water Damage
ABANDONS
Blacks’ Myths
Watch Yourself Die

Su 08.30 Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar free in-store, show 1:30pm
Arson Charge
Circling Over
Burn Barrel

Su 08.30 The Skylark Lounge 4pm
Midwife
Dead Rider
Great Falls
Violenteer
Infinite Ohm
Blööd Ôath

Best Shows in Denver and Beyond July 2026

Blucifer’s First Rodeo is Denver’s newest and most ambitious music festival. Buy tickets here.

Modern Leisure, photo courtesy Casey Banker

Thursday | 07.02
What: Modern Leisure, Angel Band and Caspar Milquetoast
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Modern Leisure makes its more high profile return to Denver stages after a bit of a hiatus. The group fronted by Casey Banker who has been a member of some of the better indie rock bands of the past several years including The Don’ts and Be Carefuls and Shady Elders. Banker’s talent for writing a memorable melodic hook with emotionally vibrant songs about heartbreak, heartache and everyday life in urban America with vivid storytelling that renders some of life’s downbeats seem like something you can pull yourself out of often by just really feeling those moments. Opening are two of the more noteworthy bands from Denver. Angel Band writes exquisite pop songs in the vein of vintage early Slumberland and Sarah Records groups with some actual grit and emotional weight. Caspar Milquetoast writes the kind of psychedelic country that sounds like what would happen if some great 90s lo-fi pop band discovered both Townes Van Zandt and the more cosmic end of The Byrds or The Flying Burrito Brothers while free associating experimental musical ideas and cultural references. Who names a song after Cy Twombly? Not many acts.

Friday | 07.03
What: Suicide Cages, Church Fire, Seam Ripper and f-ether
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Suicide Cages is the rare heavy band in its post-hardcore/noise rock mode that is intense and forceful in its performance style with incredibly precise musicianship and nearly unhinged in the outpouring of feelings while sensitive and giving expression to the rage, pain and sadness that comes from navigating the offenses against humanity that come from navigating late capitalism. Church Fire will pretty much debut it’s four-piece configuration and new light show with this performance, it’s first in months, which is a bit of a record for a band that has regularly performed live every year for more than a decade so if you’ve been seeing them it’s going to be noticeably different but likely still the gloriously energetic and emotionally charged catharsis of industrial dance pop. Seam Ripper from Greeley appear to have found the sweet spot between doom, Gothic rock and post-hardcore without feeling the need to fit in strictly in a genre. f-ether has often been one of the best electronic dance producers with a gift for inventive beat-making and tonally rich melodies. Skyler Heck aka f-ether has been delivering hard hitting yet fluid industrial hip-hop.

Saturday | 07.04
What: Ed Sheeran w/Myles Smith amd Aaron Rowe
When: 5:30
Where: Empower Field at Mile High
Why: Ed Sheeran is one of the most commercially successful pop artists of his generation and needs no introduction. But Sheerhan is someone who started writing songs in his very early teens and worked as a guitar tech in his late teens before being accepted at Academdy of Contemporary Music and then dropping out to focus on his budding career in music as a songwriter and musician but also as support for other artists. But by the time he was 19 he was garnering mainstream attention for his own work and he signed to a major label after self-releasing a few EPs. Since 2011 Sheerhan has become one of the most famous songwriters in the world for his particular style of folk pop with obvious influence from hip-hop in the production. He has also used his success to uplift other artists whether as a collaborator or with opening slots on his tours. One artist who was inspired by Sheeran is opener Myles Smith who grew up in a British Jamaican family near London. Smith himself has cultivated a wide fan base for his uplifting, expansive and soulful folk pop. With three EPs released between 2024 and 2025 Smith has grown as a songwriter and his 2026 debut full-length My Mess, My Heart, My Life is an especially vulnerable set of songs that are open about personal and interpersonal struggle, love and what makes life worth living. There’s a song called “Sertraline” which is another name for Zoloft signaling how open Miles is about real issues that one is willing to take necessary steps to help oneself get through some of life’s super downbeats.

Thursday | 07.09
What: Replica City album release, Total Cult, Glueman and Cleats
When: 7:30
Where: The Skylark Lounge Bobcat Room
Why: Replica City is releasing its new full-length album A Better You. The ten songs confirm that the trio has put together a narrative of the state of American society today with heartfelt songs about self-accountability, authoritarian paranoia and corruption and the multitude of ways our economic system and culture aim to keep us all distracted and powerless. Like a Millennial cognate of Zen Arcade but whose version of angular yet melodic post-hardcore is reminiscent of the likes of Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes and Pretty Girls Make Graves. Opening are post-garage punk group Total Cult from Colorado Springs, garage grunge stars Glueman and noisy post-hardcore band Cleats.

Friday | 07.10
What: BleakHeart, Spiritual Poison, Mournful Ruin and El Welk
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Denver-based doomy shoegaze group BleakHeart is celebrating the release of its latest album A Stone Thrown to Silence with this stacked lineup. The four-piece has undergone a bit of reinvention since the 2024 release of Silver Pulse with greater experiments in the use of space and now with just one vocalist in Kiki Ganun, The lead singles and song titles suggest the record leans into themes of impermanence and searching for hope or at least the will to move forward when there seems to be little to nothing to offer solace in a world that seems to be headed to annihilation. The album seems to most completely reflect the name of the band but in its dark drones and most crushing guitar work one hears resilience and a strength of personality that everyone has but often forgets until the time comes to draw on inner resources one didn’t know one had. Spiritual Poison is the “ambient” band of Ethan McCarthy of Primitive Man fame but don’t show up to the set expecting something like Brian Eno or Laraaji. Nothing as soothing as that but an cathartically unsettling flow of textural atmospheres and deep, layered tone. Mournful Ruin is a death/sludge quartet from Denver with more than a touch of Sabbath and black metal in its sound. El Welk is the great, dark garage Americana band fronted by George Cessna with Kim Baxter on drums.

Saturday | 07.11
What: The Church – The Singles: 1980-2025
When: 7
Where: The Summit Music Hall
Why: The Church is the legendary Australian post-punk and psychedelic rock band from Sydney who got off the ground in 1980 and has had a distinguished career of producing some of the most emotionally engaging and poetic rock music of the past few decades. They have classic material most people who have been aware of rock and pop music since the 80s but the group’s entire catalog of studio material is worth a listen and the band has managed to reinvent itself regularly without losing its gift for creative storytelling and heartfelt and insightful lyrics delivered with passion and grace. Truly one of the greats of modern music and they will play some of the finest material from throughout its career for this performance.

Tuesday | 07.14
What: PINKNOISE w/Edith
When: 7
Where: Globe Hall
Why: PINKNOISE aka Kacey Foxx released their sophomore EP FLESH AND BONE on April 17, 2026. The seven song offering is the singer/songwriter’s follow up to the 2025 EP HUMAN=KIND. Foxx makes a kind of music that perhaps fits in with industrial metalcore/screamo but the vulnerability doesn’t feel performative or like misplaced aggrievement. The songs invite the listener in for a shared experience where one can explore painful experiences, insecurities and resistance to a toxic culture of cruelty that seems to permeate channels of social and political power. Regardless of any specific styles that may have influenced Foxx as a developing artist, their ability to fuse emotional power with the ability to express truths of inner turmoil has a catharsis resonant with some of the better music of Nine Inch Nails.

The Head and the Heart, photo by Alex Currie

Wednesday and Thursday | 07.15 and 07.16
What: The Head and the Heart with The Colorado Symphony Orchestra w/Evan Honer 7/15 and w/Wilderado 7/16
When: 6:30 both nights
Where: Red Rocks Amphitheater
Why: Seattle’s The Head and the Heart emerged in 2009 around the time of a national upswing of indie folk in various corners of the country. Its members met through open mic nights at Conor Byrne pub in the Ballard neighborhood in northwestern Seattle and when the group put together a recording in 2010 they home made covers with denim to house the CDRs it was an organic hit locally with stores like Easy Street in West Seattle and Sonic Boom in the aforementioned Ballard not being able to keep up with demand. That fall the band signed to Sub Pop who remastered and reissued the self-titled debut on vinyl, CD and digital. The album went on to Platinum-selling status. The Head and the Heart has since gone on to much wider acclaim and fame playing large venues on national and even international tours but its core virtues as a band can be heard in that first record for which it is now touring behind a 15-year anniversary of the self-titled album. The band’s vocal harmonies feel intimate and powerful with the three vocalists complementing each other with an intuitive connection with each other accented with the prominent percussion and orchestral arrangements on guitar, bass and mandolin. On this two-night run of performances the group will be joined by The Colorado Symphony Orchestra itself acclaimed for syncing well with indie rock and other bands whose songs easily adapt to a larger and more expansive sound palette.

Friday | 07.17
What: The Body and Big|Brave w/Spiritual Poison and Fainting Dreams
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: The Body has for years been a reliable source of some of the heaviest, most crushing, dynamic experimental metal around. Freely mixing sludge, doom, noise rock, screamo and power electronics, the duo of Chip King and Lee Buford seem to collaborate with many of the more forward thinking heavy bands of the past three decades as well as offering up several albums of only their own material. Going to a show from The Body is like signing up for a flood of sounds and outpouring of emotion in a joyous yet bare bones display of maximalist guitar, drums, electronics and vocals creating more noise than a duo has any seeming right to doing. The music may seem monolithic to the uninitiated and fans alike but listen to their records and there is a great deal of nuance and concepts that the band has masterfully executed all along with influences ranging from the most extreme metal to mainstream pop and synth pop. Currently The Body is touring with Canadian experimental metal trio Big|Brave who have done a fascinating collaborative avant-folk album with The Body called Leaving None but Small Birds (2021). But the band recently released in grief or in hope, a record that pairs melody with processed noise, textural harmonics and drone for an effect that is both intimate and enigmatic in a deep exploration of living as a human in the current era when everything seems to be falling apart socio-politically and the climate crisis and widespread extinction event hovers on the nearby timeline but clinging on to faint possibilities.

Valley Fever, photo courtesy Johnny Lundock

Saturday | 07.18
What: Valley Fever, Rowboat and A Strange Happening
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Valley Fever from Tucson, Arizona is making a stop in Denver with its fiery blues rock. Think like a progression out of the boogie rock/classic rock throwback of a decade ago. If you go you can catch Johnny Lundock formerly of Futurebirds and Denver notables Houses, Rowboat and Blue Million Miles lend his considerable gifts behind the drum kit. Opening are Lundock’s old band Rowboat and its shoegaze adjacent, noisy indie rock with songwriting rooted in folk and literary lyrics that display Sam McNitt’s gift for sharp social commentary and emotional vulnerability. Also on the bill is A Strange Happening who somehow inject Americana indie rock with a cinematic conceptualization behind the songwriting that sets the trio apart from many of its peers.

Saturday | 07.18
What: Pink Hawks, Last Reel Hero and The Opalites
When: 8
Where: The Skylark Lounge Bobcat Room
Why: A full show of Afrobeat with Pink Hawks and the more rocking end of ska with Last Reel Hero’s punk spirit driving the songwriting as well as the rocksteady stylings of The Opalites. Don’t go expecting it to be a super mellow affair as Pink Hawks tend to being an intensity to the performance and a righteously politicized sensibility and Last Reel Hero includes former Fanatics frontman Geoff Anderson.

Saturday | 07.18
What: Dildox w/Hex Cassette, Watch Yourself Die and Insipidus
When: 8/8:30
Where: The Crypt
Why: Dildox is an electro-industrial post-punk duo from Los Angeles whose lyrics explore themes of trauma from living and surviving in the era of late capitalism and the inherent alienation therefrom society and ourselves. The band also delves into concepts of modern primitivism and the contrasts and contradictions of disconnecting ourselves from how humans have developed as animals through the process of civilization and reconnecting with our deep humanity. Definitely for fans of ADULT. and Youth Code. Opening are the “Satanic” shenanigans and brilliant darkwave beatmaking and performance art of Hex Cassette’s confrontational show. Watch Yourself Die takes that confrontational performance style to a different place with angular yet psychedelic noise rock and Ray Diess’ inspired breaking the fourth wall throughout the set. Insipidus is a great, progressive death metal band whose membership can be seen performing an entirely different (maybe not entirely) style of music in Pink Lady Monster.

Sunday | 07.19
What: Johnny Dynamite w/Tassles and Porcelain Horses
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Johnny Dynamite has been fusing decades and musical styles for several years and his most recent, self-titled, album from 2026 sounds like he’s absorbed chillwave nostalgia and mastery of atmospherics, 80s sophistipop and synthpop and channeled it into his own kind of melancholic post-punk with some clever turns of phrase and sly cultural references. Opening the show are Denver’s Tassles who started out as sort of a bedroom shoegaze project for singer Nick Tassinari but with the addition of bassist Molly McGrath and drummer Zach Johnson the music took on greater dimensions even though the songwriting preserved the core appeal of Tassinari’s introspective lyrics and unique guitar style. The current band has an unexpected power and gravity paired with transcendent melodies. Porcelain Horses is a darkwave/post-punk band that includes former Princess Dewclaw vocalist Amanda Gostomski.

Tuesday | 07.21
What: Trace Amount w/Lunacy and Modern Devotion
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Trace Amount is an industrial noise and abstract metal project from Brooklyn, NY. Its 2025 album FLAGRANT is a thrillingly caustic and savage set of sounds that fans of Author & Punisher will appreciate. Lunacy is a like-minded artist but his industrial sounds are more in the realm of ambient and blown out shoegaze whose own new album The Crisis of Existence has a title apt for the current time and whose songs are like a bleak projection of the prospects for our immediate future. Modern Devotion is Adam Rojo of post-punk band Voight exercising his gift for crafting masterful ambient industrial techno.

Corrosion of Conformity, photo by Danin Drahos

Tuesday | 07.21
What: Corrosion of Conformity w/Whores and Crobot
When: 6:30
Where: The Federal Theatre
Why: Probably the band’s most ardent fans knew that Corrosion of Conformity still had one of its best albums waiting to be released and so the group delivered Good God/Baad Man on April 3, 2026. It is a blunt yet heavy and rife with some of the group’s heaviest psychedelic grooves. COC of course started off as a hardcore band but by the end of the 80s it had shifted into more sludgy metal but always out of step with trendy sounds and with lyrics that more than hint at social commentary hearkening back to its punk roots. Whores is a sludgy noise rock band from Atlanta whose own experiments in volume and psychedelic heaviness has left a mark in recent years with its seething fusion of industrial metal era Ministry and Unsane.

Thursday | 07.23
What: Kim Gordon w/Sasami
When: 7
Where: Ogden Theatre
Why: Kim Gordon is of course a legend whose work in fine art, fashion, film and of course music is well-known. But in case someone reading this doesn’t know who she is, Gordon first came to the attention of a wide number of people was as the bassist/guitarist, singer and songwriter for influential alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Her calm presence, cool and raw emotional power and nuance and thought-provoking lyrics have influenced generations of musicians. And for that alone, Gordon would be an important figure. But her cultivation of younger and not-as-established artists along the way and has exerted a positive energy into the music and art worlds that might not have been there without her presence and advocacy. After Sonic Youth split Gordon continued to make genre bending and establishing work with Body/Head and under her own name pushing boundaries as she often did with Sonic Youth and other projects and her latest record Play Me proves that Gordon has been immersing herself in new musical ideas and incorporating some of those newer production methods and aesthetics into her own songwriting and soundcrafting imagination to produce one of the most fascinating records of 2026 with a set of songs deep in mood and inventive in beatmaking and might be considered industrial by some, trip hop by others but all Gordon’s own inimitable style. This is a rare chance to witness that music live in Denver.

Blucifer Fest, photo courtesy Gillian Pasley

Th-Su | 07.23-07.26
What: Blucifer Fest: Blucifer’s First Rodeo
When: Varies
Where: Denver DIY Spaces, Baker District, Baker House Shows
Why: This is the newest music festival in Denver and one that was initiated and run by musicians in DIY fashion with an eye for an inclusive booking and an awareness of the types of small venues, DIY spaces and house shows that have made the music scene in the Mile High City vibrant the past few years and going back decades. The first night of the festival will take place in various DIY spaces in Denver, the second and third nights will be at small venues and spots in and near the Baker neighborhood in the center of the city and the final day will be at houses in the Baker district as well. The festival will feature a wide spectrum of the music in Denver’s underground/indie scene. You could literally wander to any venue during the run of the event and catch something worthwhile that you’ve never heard of before or catch up with some of your local favorites. Below is a short list of my picks by day. For more information and full schedule please visit bluciferfest.com

Thursday July 23 2026
7PM
The Picture Tour at Ante Up!
Monkey Man at D3 Arts
Sun Swept at Squirm
Dead Boyfriend at 7th Circle Music Collective

7:15PM
head slug at D3 Arts 2

8PM
Gartener at Ante Up!

8:15PM
Soneffs at D3 Arts 2

9PM
“Horse Girl” at Squirm

10PM
Watch Yourself Die at D3 Arts
Sonic Chick at Squirm

11PM
Voight at Squirm

11:15PM
GUNK! At D3 Arts 2

Friday July 24 2026
6PM
White Rose Motor Oil at Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar
Chella & The Charm at Hi-Dive
Nina de Freitas at Bar404
Joshua Trinidad at HQ
The Milk Blossoms at Skylark

7PM
Modern Leisure at Adrift Tiki Bar
Silver West at Chaos Bloom
Jaguar Stevens at Li’l Devils
Pleasure Prince at Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar
Pink Hawks at HQ

8PM
Chroma Lips at Li’l Devils
Look at Fiona at Skylark
Bluebook at Hi-Dive
The Tammy Shine at The Saint Mary
The Savage Blush at HQ

9PM
Wheelchair Sports Camp at Hi-Dive
Munly J Munly at The Saint Mary
Circling Over at Import Mechanics
Summer Bedhead at Adrift Tiki Bar
Autumnal at Bar 404

10PM
Circling Girl at Bar 404
Patrick Dethlefs at Chaos Bloom
Dressy Bessy at Hi-Dive
Suicide Cages at Import Mechanics
Hex Cassette at The Saint Mary

11PM
Pink Lady Monster at Skylark
Los Mocochetes at HQ
babybaby4ever at The Saint Mary
SPELLS at Hi-Dive
blankslate at Bar 404

12AM
Cheap Perfume at Skylark
Sell Farm at The Saint Mary
Ritmo Cascabel at HQ
Bud Bronson & The Good Timers at Hi-Dive

1AM
DJ Kay Bay at The L

Saturday July 25 2026
6PM
Wave Decay at Adrift Tiki Bar
Fresh Fruit! At Hi-Dive
Moonlight Bloom at HQ
Bun Bun at Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar
[SALT] at Bar 404

7PM
Deth Rali at Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar
Mr. Shrimp at Li’l Devils
Shady Oaks at HQ
In Plain Air at Hi-Dive

8PM
Blood Oath at Hi-Dive
Datamen at Li’l Devils
Insipidus at Ritual Tattoo Gallery
Dollpile at The L
Cobranoid at Import Mechanics

9PM
Cherry Spit at Hi-Dive
Your Friend Nirantha at Chaos Bloom
Tassles at The L
Sour Magic at Adrift Tiki Bar
sunstoney at Skylark

10PM
Blackberry Crush at The L
Divingbell at The Saint Mary
Plastic Mystic at Bar 404
Bitchflower at HQ
Abrams at Import Mechanics
Mainland Break at Irish Rover

11PM
Julian Street Nightmare at Hi-Dive
Travel Kit at Adrift Tiki Bar
Tiny Tomboy at HQ
Night Fishing at Import Mechanics
Claruin at The Saint Mary
moonpool at The L

12AM
MF Ruckus at Bar 404
Team Nonexistent at Hi-Dive
Vegan Gore at The Saint Mary
Horse Bitch at HQ
Shadow Work at The Skylark

1AM
Neoma at HQ

Sunday July 26 2026

Baker House Shows
Big Dopes, Church Fire, Don Chicharron, Geno Beach, Mouth Cathedral, SeFa-LoCo, Totem Pocket – Venues to be announced to wristband holders

After Fest Shows at TrashHawk Tavern
Gion Davis & The Designated Strangers 9:30
Caspar Milquetoast 10:30
Clementine Was Right 11:30

Twin Shadow performs at the UMS 7:25PM at Showcase Stage, Saturday 7/25/26

F-Su | 07.24-07.26
What: Underground Music Showcase
When: Varies
Where: RINO District
Why: Underground Music Showcase reconstituted this year but now taking place in the RINO neighborhood. It will still feature some of the premiere Denver underground bands as well as out of town headliners across small venues and two outdoor stages this year along Larimer Street. A short list of the highlights of this year’s fest according to me below. Venues italicised.

Friday July 24 2026
Bierstadt Lagerhause
RAREBYRD$ 8PM

CAMPGROUND
Yugs 10PM

Finn’s Manor
Travel Kit 9PM

Improper City
Izcalli 9PM

Matchbox
Battle Pussy 8PM

Ratio Beerworks
Macheté Mouth 9PM
Animals in Exile 10PM
Cleaner 12AM

Two Moons
DNA Picaso 10PM

Saturday July 25 2026
Showcase Stage
Twin Shadow 7:25PM

Underground Stage
Rubedo 3:50PM
Snooper 6:10PM

CAMPGROUND
Legs. The Band

Finn’s Manor
Bad Boy Bug 4PM
Nina de Freitas 8PM

Larimer Lounge
NIIS 7PM

Matchbox
May Be Fern 9PM
Erin Stereo 10PM

Ratio Beerworks
Pleasure Prince 6PM
Colfax Speed Queen 8PM
The Photo Atlas 11PM

Two Moons
Venus Cruz & Super Distant Boyfriend 5PM
Covenhoven 7PM
Bluebook 9PM
Ritmo Cascabel 12AM

Sunday 7 26 26
Larimer Lounge
Madeline Hawthorne 7PM
The Milk Blossoms 9PM

Ratio Beerworks
Lost Relics 4PM
Rugburn 6PM
The Death Chat 8PM
Plastic Mystic 9PM

Black Moth Super Rainbow, photo courtesy the artist circa 2018

Friday | 07.24
What: Black Moth Super Rainbow w/Giant Day
When: 7
Where: Gothic Theatre
Why: Black Moth Super Rainbow has done an wide national tour in several years but with the release of its 2025 album Soft New Magic Dream, its first in seven years, the group delivers a more clear-toned set of songs with themes of being lost in coping with the multiple layers of late capitalism’s caustic effect on civilization and individual human life. The distractions, the dissociating behaviors and desperation for something more imaginative, fulfilling and vital in times when the most celebrated social and cultural rewards are a dullened, diminished, infuriating version of what one would hope it could be and how it’s all a big farce and rip-off compared to what’s possible if we had the collective will to create and sustain even an okay world. The album is an escape from that and a critique of the same and a declaration of a need to aim for something much more inspirational than what is widespread in the American and even international zeitgeist. But that aside it’ll be a strange show with beautiful and rich psychedelic sounds like something from another era and a better imagining of existence.

Tuesday | 07.28
What: Sarah McLachlan w/Allison Russell
When: 6
Where: Red Rocks Amphitheater
Why: Sarah McLachlan is an award winning, celebrated songwriter with a long career and the founder of touring festival Lilith Fair that from 1997-1999 brought some of the most prominent female artists in music of that time around the country in a well curated and successful series of events at large venues. But McLachlan’s own songwriting has been imbued with a striking honesty and deeply atmospheric production that takes nothing from the intimate quality of McLachlan’s performances. For this tour she brings with her another prominent Canadian artist, Allison Russell. The latter had distinguished herself as a member of acts like Birds of Chicago and Our Native Daughters. But her solo albums beginning with 2021’s Outside Child revealed Russell’s versatility as a songwriter and singer with her signature soulful melodious vocals that fit whatever specific style she chooses to delve into. Her latest record is In the Hour of Chaos out July 10, 2026. The album showcases Russell’s mastery of pop folk songcraft but also incorporates more experimental production and unconventional song structure without sacrificing the immediacy of the music. It’s a diverse record that finds a way to describe the current era and its perils and the importance of love and recognizing hope and goodness when they are presented to you.

MaryAnne Muglia, photo courtesy the artist

Friday | 07.31
What: MaryAnne Muglia w/Lonely Choir and Kat Goblin
When: 8
Where: The Skylark Lounge Bobcat Room
Why: MaryAnne Muglia is an Arizona-based composer, arranger, pianist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. For this tour she’s traveling with her husband and their children in an RV as an way for family and music to coexist rather than needing to choose between the two for something like a tour. Muglia released her latest EP Try Hard – Pt. 1 on March 18, 2026. Her bright and focused vocals are placed within fairly dreamlike retro pop music like something one imagines from a 2000s underground indie pop world before everyone discovered Laurel Canyon and retro synths and made imaginative music drawing on memories of summer nights and having the time and psychological space to stretch into pondering existential questions and the nature of one’s feelings for a beloved other and really both feel it all and thing it through with poetry and finding the right tones and paces to express it in song. That may not be the intention and certainly not the creative process of Muglia’s EP but its orchestral songwriting conveys so much and evokes another time much less compressed and desperate as things feel today and listening to music with that resonance is a gift. This show gives you the opportunity to experience it live.

Best Shows in Denver and Beyond June 2026

Low Cut Connie performs at The Aggie Theatre (6.26) and The Bluebird Theater (06.27), photo by Danny Clinch

Tuesday | 06.02
What: Lip Critic, Flatwounds, Public Opinion and Bejalvin
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Lip Critic is a digital hardcore/noise rock band from NYC that recently put out its new album Theft World. Its high energy, confrontational performance style and truly genre-bending music has already garnered it a bit of a cult following. Fans of Sleaford Mods, Gilla Band and Model/Actriz will appreciate the inventiveness, unusual and inspired sonic choices and overall energy of Lip Critic.

Wednesday | 06.03
What: Ladytron “Paradises”
When: 7
Where: The Oriental Theater
Why: UK experimental pop band Ladytron made a big splash early on helping to pioneer what came to be known as electroclash with inventive production incorporating retro sounds and aesthetics but with modern sensibilities and minimalism. As the band has evolved it is sometimes considered a shoegaze band for some of the guitar sounds it employed in the mid-to-late 2000s but all along the band had more in common with downtempo groups and dance music ideas. With its new album Paradises the group is well within more electronic dance territory but with rich, saturated synth tones and clear melodic lines and the usual, transporting, deeply atmospheric sounds. Like a science fiction soundtrack of a near future you’d want to live in rather than the dystopia we’re living with in the moment.

Friday | 06.05
What: Graveyard Choir, The Milk Blossoms, White Rose Motor Oil
When: 7
Where: The Skylark Lounge
Why: Before retiring In the Whale in 2025, Nate Valdez was already using Graveyard Choir as an outlet for his more Americana songwriting. But as a full-fledged band with In the Whale drummer Eric Riley joining in the new project Graveyard Choir began after their former band folded. The two musicians had taken that project about as far as one can touring regularly and garnering a regional and even national fanbase fairly independently and by word of mouth. The new band isn’t like a garage rock Melvins, more like a bluesy alt-country band with an ear for mood and atmosphere. The Milk Blossoms are an experimental pop band that has recently expanded its own sounds to including more electronic elements and processed sounds but with Harmony Rose’s emotionally rich vocals and poetic storytelling at the center. White Rose Motor Oil is a very underrated band that plays regionally throughout the front range delivering its own vibrant brand of rockabilly-inflected Americana and a touch of punk spirit.

Saturday | 06.06
What: Yot Club w/Renny Conti
When: 7
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: John Ryan Kaiser was perfecting his particular style of bedroom pop when he was writing music under the name Amateur Observer and releasing his songs via SoundCloud like many a truly underground songwriter of the 2010s (and even now). By 2019 he had taken on the moniker Yot Club perhaps as a play on the genre of yacht rock. His more recent music has the earnest charm and economic songwriting of the best bedroom pop but with higher end production so that his music has more tonal richness. His new album Simpleton (2026) is filled with song names as spare as the title track but each embodies a core concept of the confessional songwriting that runs through the record. Kaiser’s vocals are processed to the point of bordering on hyper pop but the production always feels just the right amount of mood and atmosphere so that Kaiser’s lyrics have maximum impact to offer catharsis for life’s melancholic moments and struggles. Opening the show is Renny Conti. The latter, according to a 2025 interview with WHUS, came up playing metalcore and punk as a teen but when he changed coasts for school from the Bay Area to New York his transformation as a musician was under way and his 2025 self-titled album sounded like he had spent more than a little time immersed in the likes of Elliott Smith, Nick Drake and maybe even the more folk end of Animal Collective. Fully blending organic folk pop with electronic production there is a pastoral gentleness to his music infused with a sense of wonder and emotional sensitivity and nuance that is sometimes reminiscent of a Phil Elverum project.

Saturday | 06.06
What: Red Tack, I’m a Band and Chef Andre
When: 9/9:30
Where: Lion’s Lair
Why: Red Tack is Ted Thacker who has been a prominent musician and songwriter in the Denver underground music scene first making waves perhaps as a member of experimental punk band Baldo Rex in the 90s. Also in the 90s through the 2000s he played as a member of power pop band Veronica. These days it’s more difficult to pin down any kind of style and that’s probably for the best because Thacker’s songwriting voice is unique. I’m a Band is the new incarnation of the band I’m a Boy with Jimmi Nasi as singer/guitarist. He appears to be inspired by the power of solid songwriting to inspire the musician and listener and though steeped in classic and alternative rock there is a fresh energy to Nasi’s performance and songwriting that has kept his projects worth witnessing and hearing. Chef Andre is a duo whose recent album Songs of Mehrhoff was inspired in part by the poetry of Charlie Merhoff but musically it’s more like a baroque pop and calypso fusion.

Sunday | 06.07
What: CD Ghost w/Carrellee and Hex Cassette
When: 7
Where: HQ
Why: CD Ghost is a dream pop band from Los Angeles whose forthcoming album When The Rain Stops has some of that chillwave flavor from a decade and a half ago. The title track is reminiscent of “Eyes Without a Face” by Billy Idol but with more delicate vocals yet a similar saturated atmospheric quality that renders both songs instantly relistenable. Hex Cassette from Denver will bring his own ear worm industrial dance music to the show with a live performance that is both confrontational and highly animated as well as wickedly charming. Carrellee is a darkwave artist from Madison, Wisconsin whose moody dream pop has an impressive depth of atmospheric emotional resonance. Her song “Stay” was a standout on the soundtrack to the quasi-found footage film Frogman (2023) and in some ways elevated the movie. Her 2022 album Scale of Dreams, from which the song was borrowed, is front to back a reflection on seeking clarity in one’s own mind adrift in mixed emotions. The 2025 self-titled album seems to have some more forward momentum in its rhythms but still reaching for meaning in a world that seems to be short on that for many if not most people. Fans of Madeline Goldstein need to check out Carrellee.

Tuesday | 06.09
What: TsuShiMaMiRe, The Tammy Shine and Autumnal
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: TsuShiMaMiRe started up in 1999 in Chiba Prefecture in Japan and have been fairly prolific since with its most recent album Bando wa Mizumono which celebrated its 25 years as a and in 2024. Trying to pigeonhole the band wouldn’t do justice to how it has a real knack for pop songcraft while being very much a punk band without being pop punk. Its core sounds have been eclectic yet distinctive in its exuberant performance style that also weaves in some introspective melodies. Opening is the incomparable The Tammy shine whose debut solo album OK Shine OK released in February 2026. Tammy Ealom was perhaps best previously known and rightfully still so as the frontwoman of indie pop legends Dressy Bessy. The solo album is distinct from the Dressy Bessy material but still with the exuberant charm and thoughtful lyrics for which Ealom is known. The band autumnal from Fort Collins tends to have more pastoral sounds while being well within the realm of a kind of cosmic indie pop.

Tuesday | 06.09
What: The Cab w/Carr
When: 6:30
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: The Cab from Las Vegas, Nevada came up during a big upsurge of emo and pop punk in the 2000s and enjoyed a good deal of cache from its first chapter 2004-2015 before going on hiatus for over a decade. The band always leaned more in the pop direction and since it has reunited the band has honed its instincts for crafting songs that are more in the realm of modern R&B and electronic pop but with some instrumental kick behind the music and its signature anthemic songwriting. The Cab finally released its new album Chasing Crowns in April 2026 and is now on its “Back From the Dead Tour” to showcase its new sound and more than likely perform more than a few fan favorites from its earlier years.

Wednesday | June 10
What: Worm w/Arkwave and Chamber Mage
When: 7/7:50
Where: The Marquis Theater
Why: Worm released its most recent album Necropalace in February 2026. Funeral doom, black metal, death doom, whatever genre tags you want to use the record includes spooky synths that wouldn’t be out of place in either an old Vincent Price movie or a Charles Band production. The spectral and caustic guitar work and sepulchral vocals create a unique sense of death metal theater delivered by the band’s stage presence and visual sense like one of those occult Hammer House films and the later seasons of Dark Shadows. Fantastical but inspired and clearly the product of idiosyncratic creativity.

Claire Rosinkranz, photo courtesy the artist

Wednesday | 06.10
What: Claire Rosinkranz w/Stevie Bill
When: 7
Where: Meow Wolf Convergence Station Persplexiplex
Why: Claire Rosinkranz started writing music from at a young age having helped her composer and mutli-instrumentalist father on songs he was writing for TV and advertisements. She had her breakthrough single of her own material with “Backyard Boy” in 2020 at age 16 which went viral through TikTok. Since then Rosinkranz has honed her songcraft and become a notable artist fusing pop, R&B and rock to give life to a body of work that tackles sometimes sensitive subject matter like chronic illness on her new record My Lover (2026). The songwriter’s melodiously expressive vocals and gift for perfectly blending her singing with vibrant arrangements that lend an orchestral quality to her economical compositions seem to make each song a unique and fresh listening experience without a wasted moment.

Kerosene Ensemble, photo courtesy the artists

Wednesday | 06.10
What: Kerosene Ensemble Plays the Music of John Zorn’s Masada
When: 6/7
Where: Dazzle
Why: Kerosene Ensemble is a Denver-based jazz quarter that began in 2001 including notable musicians David Thomas Bailey (guitar), Mike Brown (bass), Dean Hirschfield (drums) and Troy Thill (saxophone) who have made a name for themselves in the local avant-garde and experimental music scene. Masada is a band lead by John Zorn from the early 90s assembled to perform compositions by Zorn inspired by the Radical Jewish Culture scene in New York City. Mixing free jazz, punk and exploratory rock the music often sounds like something that could have come from the outer reaches of late 60s jazz with wild flourishes that push the boundaries of established forms of music. And this set of musicians with their collective skills and experiences seem like the only group in Denver capable of attempting to perform any of Zorn’s compositions in the group’s prolific releases.

Thursday | 06.11
What: Metric w/Broken Social Scene and Stars
When: 5:30/6:30
Where: The Fillmore Auditorium
Why: This All The Feelings Tour brings together three of Canada’s finest purveyors of experimental pop music whose projects have shared members over the years with Emily Haines of Metric having been a member of Broken Social Scene and Evan Cranley of Stars currently in that band (Amy Millan of Stars has been a contributor to the Scene as well). Metric released one of its best albums Romanticize the Dive in April with songs that seem to reflect on the early period of its existence. But it doesn’t feel nostalgic so much as tapping into some of the feelings and energy of being a band discovering its identity and striving for creative and professional fulfillment while holding onto personal and artistic integrity, a quality that can be lost or diluted once you’ve experienced any level of commercial success. It contains some of Haines’ most resonant vocal performances of the past several years as well as some of the band’s most focused songwriting. Broken Social Scene dropped its first record in some nine years with Remember the Humans reuniting the band with producer David Newfeld who worked on You Forgot It in People (2002) and Broken Social Scene (2005). The record feels like a deep and affectionate meditation on times past and its impact on one’s current life and the future. It revisits some of the energy of the band’s early records as well and uses that as a vehicle to help reinvent and recontextualize the band’s sound for the current era when things seem to be dissolving on the social and cultural level partly because people have forgotten about the things we took for granted for years and the album is a reminder of those personal and close connections that reverberate beyond.

Broken Social Scene, photo courtesy the artists

Cephalic Carnage circa 2009, photo by Tom Murphy

Saturday and Sunday | 06.13 and 06.14
What: Flatline Fest
When: 5pm start each night
Where: The Oriental Theater
Why: Flatline Audio is the renowned recording and production studio based in Denver out of which many of the more acclaimed records in the realm of extreme metal have come over the past twenty plus years. This debut festival showcases several of the bands with whom recording engineer and musician Dave Otero who runs Flatline Audio has worked meaning two whole evenings of some of the better metal bands operating today including local skate punk legends Clusterfux, blackened death metal outfit Glacial Tomb, deathgrind giants Cattle Decapitation, technical death metal band Archspire, Fort Collins-based melodic death metal group Allagaeon, doom metal trio In the Company of Serpents, Death-doom outfit Necropanther and jazz-death-metal greats Cephalic Carnage. For full lineup by date please visit the Flatine Fest site.

Quintron and Miss Pussycat in 2015, photo by Tom Murphy

Wednesday | 06.17
What: Quintron and Miss Pussycat w/Pink Lady Monster
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: It would be a disservice to call Quintron and Miss Pussycat merely a kind of psychedelic rockabilly garage rock band. It’s a full multi-media show but with practical effects including puppets and a stage set as well as the high octane live musical performance with costumes. If there is some gimmick to the show the band backs it up with high entertainment value and actually worthwhile songs that are best experienced in person with the concentrated, inspired strangeness of the duo in their element. Opening the show is one of Denver’s best bands who have experimented with camp with aspects of the live show which is also highly energetic without a theatrical and dramatic flourish but also with songs that stand on their own in the realm of No Wave post-punk jazz funk.

Thursday | 06.18
What: Midwife, Amulets and Devin Shaffer
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Three of the most important artists operating within the broad realm of ambient and existential folk music on one bill is a rare thing particularly when they’re based in disparate parts of the country. But Amulets has worked with Midwife and both have crossed paths with Devin Shaffer over the past several years. One thing all three have in common is the ability to channel emotional vulnerability and grace into songs of great delicacy and deep emotional resonance although each also has a different musical style. All have released transcendent records in the past year and a half and this is a rare opportunity to see them all together on the same bill.

Saturday | 06.20
What: Air Moons, Ripcords album release and Gila Teen
When: 7pm doors, 8pm show, $10
Where: East Fax Tap
Why: Air Moons is a psychedelic pop/indie rock quartet from Denver. Its membership includes current members of Salads and Sunbeams and A Strange Happening. The band hasn’t played many shows yet but the strong songwriting and performances including exquisite multi-part harmonies were there from the band’s first show last year. Gila Teen has long been one of the better bands from Denver with thoughtful and vulnerable lyrics deeply observant of personal psychology and social dynamics. Sort of a mix of dream pop, emo and post-punk with a charmingly raw quality that means the band avoids tropes ably. Ripcords are releasing their debut album You Should Not Continue In This Fashion in an official capacity with this release show. If you were fortunate enough to see recent shows you could pick up a CD as you’re likely able to for this performance. The trio is steeped in 90s grunge in a way that doesn’t feel like they borrowed some of the vibe. There is an intensity and a weaving in of thrash and heavy blues rock that gives one the impression of the same energy as early Alice in Chains but with more aggression.

Saturday | 06.20
What: Molly Tuttle w/Pixie & The Partygrass Boys and Mair
When: 7:30
Where: Arvada Center
Why: In a career that has yielded rightfully acclaimed albums in a bluegrass style, Molly Tuttle’s 2025 album So Long Little Miss Sunshine didn’t completely break with what has made Tuttle a notable artist but thoroughly leapt in new musical directions. Bits of country and pop sensibility were already part of Tuttles previous two records but the new album feels like something that doesn’t fit neatly into a box yet sounds like a natural next step forward as an artist. The title along is clever enough a nod to a shedding of a previous musical identity and the songs are like stories of that journey in short chapters as Tuttle delivers the sort of intimate yet lively songs that have garnered her an increasingly wider audience. There is even a contribution from Charli XCX on the song “I Love It” hinting at Tuttle’s embrace of pop songcraft beyond expected sources.

Sir Richard Bishop in 2013, photo by Tom Murphy

Monday | 06.22
What: Sir Richard Bishop w/Debaser, Eli Wendler and Flaming Tongues Above
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Sir Richard Bishop was a member of experimental rock band Sun City Girls from 1981-2026 and though part of the same punk scene that yielded Meat Puppets and JFA, brought together free improv, poetry, surf rock, tape collage and non-Western musical styles for a unique sound that has had an impact on American avant-garde underground music since. As a solo artist, Bishop has expanded upon that early foundation and threading together non-western folk styles with American primitive guitar aesthetics. He released the album Hillbilly Raga in 2025 and is on the verge of the more Middle Eastern sounding Hillbilly Erotica in 2026.

Tuesday | 06.23
What: Squid Pisser w/Victim of Fire and Cop Killer
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dice
Why: Squid Pisser is a mutant synthesis of grindcore, noise rock and No Wave with a gross-out aesthetic fitting considering its members include Tommy Mehan of GWAR and Cancer Christ, Michael Armendariz from Duck Duck Goose and Melted Bodies and Seth Carolina of Starcrawler. Live, it’s definitely something different like a more commited to the costume Slipknot with generally more interesting and confrontational music and performance style. Victim of Fire is a Denver-based hardcore band who don’t bother to not lean into thrash, death metal and grind influences and with superb musicianship and incisive lyrics. Cop Killer has a name bound to get it in trouble but its own version of early-hardcore-inspired punk definitely delivers the goods with a performance style that is fiery and intense the way you’d hope to witness.

Family Worship Center, photo by Sequoia Woods

Wednesday | 06.24
What: Family Worship Center w/Smoker Dad and Jesus Christ Taxi Driver
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Family Worship Center recently released its new album Only Visiting on June 12, 2026. The record is a vibrant psychedelic pop offering with a back story of a claim that the songs were recorded in 1974-1975 and recently unearthed. To be fair the songwriting is vivid with a recording attention to detail worthy of the finest songwriting of that decade like something that might have been recorded at Muscle Shoals sound studio if some kind of cult with a collective coherence had a faith band that was worth listening to steeped in R&B, funk, country, psychedelia and classic pop. This is not like Ya Ho Wha 13, the house commune band of The Source Family. Whatever the exact origins and motivations the new record is one of the best albums of its kind since the 1970s. Live, it’s a 10-member band and seeing that happen will be an event in itself especially at the Hi-Dive that actually hosted Sloppy Jane’s sprawling live band in 2022.

Friday | 06.26
What: Tiny Humans EP release w/Battle Pussy, Soy Celesté, Team Nonexistent
When: 6pm doors, 7 show
Where: Mutiny Information Cafe
Why: Tiny Humans is releasing its self-titled debut EP. The band is clearly coming from a place of the kind of punk that took the more punk end of 90s grunge more seriously in terms of its sound and spirit not to mention lyrics that don’t mince words about personal and social struggle. Battle Pussy is a politically-infused punk band that sounds like the next phase of what Riot Grrrl started with fiery vocals. Soy Celesté is similarly inspired by Riot Grrrl punk but weaves in Latin folk and a more expansive social critique with lyrics in Spanish as well as English paired with a spirited performance style from lead singer Celesté Martinez and back by Denver jazz and Latin music heavy hitters Joshua Trinidad (trumpet) and Yuzo Nieto (tenor saxophone, bass). And Team Nonexistent brings a queer punk sensibility to its own 90s-infused punk fury.

Friday and Saturday | 06.26 and 06.27
What: Low Cut Connie w/J. Roddy & The Automatic Band and The Patti Fiasco (06.26) and Queen Frog (06.27)
When: 7pm both nights
Where: The Aggie Theatre (06.26) and The Bluebird Theater (06.27)
Why: Low Cut Connie counts among its fans the likes of Barack Obama, Elton John, Springsteen and Nick Hornby. But that distinction means little if the music itself isn’t worth the attention and in this case Low Cut Connie has been making vital, insightful, socially aware rock and roll since the group emerged out of the solo performances of songwriter and lead vocalist Adam Weiner. The band really got off the ground in Philadelphia but Weiner paid his dues playing piano in dive bars, gay bars, karaoke joints, restaurants and honky tonks. He has performed in anarchist collectives often to people who were overtly not into what he was doing. But that taught the artist to really deliver in an engaging way. The band’s debut album Get Out the Lotion (2011) was a surprise hit with critics and audiences and the group’s spirited, soulful garage rock was a standout from the then nascent modern attempt at a classic rock sound because the music stood on its own apart from obvious musical reference points. As the group’s songwriting and live shows evolved you could hear in the music a through line of compassion for regular human existence expressed with a passion, compassion and poetry that felt missing from a lot of the music of bands trying to be a new version of Led Zeppelin or evoking a Laurel Canyon vibe. From then to now the songwriting has captivated a wide audience from all walks of life. On February 13, 2025 Low Cut Connie was the first act to announce it would not perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following President Trump’s takeover of the formerly non-partisan arts institution and, albeit temporarily as it turns out, adding his own name as well as politicizing its board of trustees and programming. In May 2025 Low Cut Connie released the single “Livin’ in the USA” which with a grace and intensity criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the tactics employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the CBP. The single garnered the band threats of violence and death threats. Coming from American fascists and their ilk the song, admittedly powerful, immediately became one of the most important protest songs of the current era and one of the most musically commanding. In 2026 Low Cut Connie releases the album from which the aforementioned became the title track and is currently touring ahead of that release. Go expecting the usual sense of rock theater and heartfelt performances.

Saturday | 06.27
What: Chroma Lips album release for chromaZone w/Wave Decay, Various Blonde and DJ Kleiman
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: For the past few years Chroma Lips have garnered a following locally for its signature fusion of krautrock, post-punk, shoegaze and garage rock. And for this show the band will release its debut full-length chromaZone which is five new songs and five reworked, remastered older songs for a coherent presentation of its catalog of songs up to now. The album has some trippy edge to its sonics yet undeniable pop hooks and vibrant synth work that mean it doesn’t get stuck in some psych jam or prog groove rut. The album released digitally on June 22 but should be available on vinyl for the show. Bonus, one of the opening bands is the fantastic krautrock shoegaze trio Wave Decay.

Sunday | 06.28
What: Blanket: Entrancer and Modern Devotion
When: 1pm
Where: City Park
Why: The new season of the Blanket mini-concert series kicks off with the inspired techno/ambient/analog synth compositions/dance music concoctions of Entrancer and the gabber-infused industrial techno of Modern Devotion. This isn’t just some half-baked presentation of the music and the sound system brought for these shows is impressive in its richness and clarity of sound rare for an outdoors gig in general much less something as low key as these events.

Ak’Chamel: The Giver of Illness, photo by Tom Murphy

Tuesday | 06.30
What: Ak’Chamel: The Giver of Illness w/Munly & The Lupercalians
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Ak’Chamel: The Giver of Illness might perhaps be best described as a ritual folk psychedelic performance art group that puts on a show with maybe costumes isn’t the right word but garb intended to put the audience into a different headspace and something from another time, a mystical frame outside the norms of industrial civilization. The music is created from organic and often self-made instrumentation and the live show is not going to be much like anything else you’re going to see in Denver this year unless you see Quintron and Miss Pussycat except this will be radically different from that and yet resonates in that the presentation is executed with a similarly masterful expression of craft. Munly & The Lupercalians too will bring a ritualistic, occult element to its own performance of dark, avant-garde folk.

Best Shows in Denver and Beyond May 2026

**Cabaret Voltaire performs at Summit Music Hall 5/10/26, photo from Bandcamp**

Friday | 05.01
What: TRAITRS w/Occvlts and Redwing Blackbird and KillYouClub DJs
When: 7
Where: HQ
Why: Toronto’s TRAITRS released their new, fourth, album Possessor on March 13, 2026. The record solidified the duo’s gift for combining icy synth melodies with emotionally-charged vocals to match lyrics that feel like they’re a declaration against a world that currently seems to pile tragedy upon oppression at an increasing pace with no seeming relief in sight. The songs come across like a resistance to a sense of inevitability and an embrace of life and humanity. Strident and melodic bass lines provide an anchoring quality along with the expertly crafted drum machine beats. Fans of Pornography period The Cure will hear plenty of resonance here. Redwing Blackbird from Denver opening also draws plenty of inspiration from The Cure in the guitar work but the electronics are a bit darker and the songwriting more pointed in its social critique.

Friday | 05.01
What: Disgustingest, Insipidus, Monkey Man and Tassles
When: 7
Where: D3
Why: Disgustingest is a brutal almost to the point of abstraction death metal band from Denver with song titles that seem to aim for the extremes of the music and to the brink of the absurd where humor meets authenticity. Insipidus is more a technical death metal band with passages of melody and feral vocals mixed in with the sonic brutality. More in the vein of Slayer and Possessed than Death but with a similar level of instrumental virtuosity. Monkey Man is also a band tha has plenty of technical ability on display in the performance but its music is more like sludge metal in the vein of a more blues-infused Melvins. Tassles won’t be metal. It’ll just have a similar level of intensity but its own music is rooted in bedroom dream pop but with robust guitar sounds and a rhythm section that elevates the already sophisticated songwriting to something raw and epic. But without sacrificing the introspective and vulnerable quality of the songs.

Friday | 05.01
What: Abrams, Colfax Speed Queen and Rugburn
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Abrams just put out its latest record Loon. The Denver band has often navigated the sonic territory of post-metal/stoner rock and grunge but this new album leans further into its atmospheric instincts almost to the point of the album being a heavy shoegaze album but with plenty of math-rock riffs and experiments in rhythm and creative time signatures. Fans of Cave In and Coalesce will find something to dig into with the new set of songs. Opening are bands on the more psychedelic end of the Denver scene with the great garage psych group Colfax Speed Queen and the more straight ahead psych rock band Rugburn.

Saturday | 05.02
What: NEPTUNE, Debaser and Nightshark
When: 8
Where: Glob
Why: NEPTUNE is the “PostPythagorean junk rock” band from Boston. Live it’s like seeing people who built their instruments out of non-musical components or modified pieces of instruments to create unique sounds and a combination of it all along with electronic components so that you will see a band unlike really anyone else out there now unless you get to see something of a vintage Einstürzende Neubauten set. Debaser is a mostly drums and also modified other instruments solo project comprised of Monkey Mania founder Josh Taylor. It comes off as something like lo-fi jazz and noise rock also unlike many other things. Nightshark is a wild free jazz punk trio that has been around for over 20 years but relatively recently got back together to occasionally play a show if it’s something that seems worth the time to bring together the elemental forces of its members.

Saturday | 05.02
What: Trauma Ray w/Glixen, Keep and Money
When: 6
Where: The Marquis Theater
Why: Trauma Ray is a shoegaze band from Forth Worth, Texas that put out its latest EP Carnival in February. While there is plenty of melancholic atmosphere across its five songs the EP showcases the heavier side of the band’s sound which seems to have always been a part of its songwriting particularly experienced live like the members of the band came up on Deftones and the more atmospheric emo. But it’s not a metal record and Trauma Ray gives us ample sonic introspection and gentle energies. Glixen from Phoenix is in a similar lane with the heavier shoegaze sound but its guitar style is more winding and warping like they have been inspired in part by both My Bloody Valentine and We Are Gutting a Body of Water. Keep from Virginia is also something of a shoegaze band but its guitar sonics lean post-punk and together with the vocals suggest some influence from The Chameleons and The Church. Money from Oklahoma City may be the least obviously shoegaze since its sound is more in the vein of a post-hardcore band that possibly discovered Failure and Hum in its journey of musical development.

Saturday | 05.02
What: Ritual Noize Fest: Hex Cassette (4), Whorticulture (4:40), Plack Blague (5:20), Julien-K (6:10), Aesthetic Perfection (7:15), Lords of Acid (8:45) and She Wants Revenge (10:25)
When: 3
Where: Reelworks
Why: This is a solid showcase of a certain vein of newer and classic artists in the realm of music popular in the Goth scene. Hex Cassette is an industrial dance project with a humorously confrontational performance style and genuinely well-crafted and heartfelt pop. Whorticulture is what might be described as an industrial dark pop duo from Denver in an EBM vein. Julien-K includes Ryan Shuck of Orgy fame in a different kind of industrial rock band with a touch of metal in its guitar sound. Aesthetic Perfection is more on the techno end of industrial pop with flourishes of post-punk style bass and guitar in the mix. Lords of Acid is of course the legendary band whose music has most often been, and rightfully so, associated with Goth-industrial music but is also rooted in acid house, Belgian techno and whose live shows are often the spectacle that the name suggests. The group’s influential, 1991 debut album Lust was recently repressed onto double pink vinyl. She Wants Revenge is one of the post-punk revival bands of the 2000s whose song “Tear You Apart” has become a perennial hit among Goth night DJs.

Sunday | 05.03
What: Bush w/Mammoth and James and the Cold Gun
When: 6
Where: Fillmore Auditorium
Why: When grunge and alternative rock was waning in popularity toward the mid-90s Bush released Sixteen Stone in 1994 in the wake of the death of Kurt Cobain and thus the breakup of Nirvana and helped boost alternative music into popular culture for at least a few more years. Comparisons were inevitably made with the melodic distorted guitar and vocal style. But one element that wasn’t seemingly compared was how Gavin Rossdale had songs critiquing what is now called toxic masculinity at a time when that wasn’t popular for rock bands except as made prominent earlier by Nirvana. Rossdale also had an anti-war and terrorism song in “Bomb” and he addressed issues of managing insecurity with honesty on “Little Things.” Shortly into the new century Bush split but reunited in 2010 and has been more prolific than it had been during its initial run including its 2025, and tenth, album I Beat Loneliness. The latter reflects how Bush has all along embraced sounds and styles of music outside of rock without sacrificing crafting a solid hook yet augmenting the emotional resonance of the music with production that enhances the group’s sonic palette rather than stay stuck in another time and trying to regain past glory.

Sunday | 05.03
What: Mac DeMarco and Mock Media
When: 6:30
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: Mock Media opens this show with its songs that sound like a fascinating mix of power pop and The Clash. A casual listen to the title track of its forthcoming album Rat Bastard (out July 17, 2026 via Mac’s Record Label) it sounds like something of a tale of life in a small town and its social dynamics but rendered in poetic terms and like a song from a musical about that milieu and its citizens. But listen to the band’s earlier work and its style of post-punk is equal parts No Wave funk and like they were keen listeners of the ways Wire switched up its rhythms in an instant throughout a song. Of course the headliner is Mac DeMarco who is a modern indie rock legend but one whose own body of work is underrated for the sensitivity of his lyrics and the inventiveness of his songwriting and guitar work.

Monday | 05.04
What: Joyce Manor w/Militarie Gun, Teen Mortgage and Combat
When: 5:30
Where: Fillmore Auditorium
Why: Joyce Manor released its seventh studio album I Used to Go to This Bar in January 2026. As the title suggests the album reflects on changes in life, one’s habits and how that intersects with the world around you. When the group emerged in the late 2000s it was part of an underground that was rediscovering pop punk and emo and creating a new version of music influenced by the essence of both but one that didn’t lose sight of the how that style of songwriting can fully explore everyday life in a deep way and with emotional openness. As the group has progressed it has just refined its songwriting without losing the exuberance of the performances and a willingness to embrace personal growth as part of the process of writing unpretentious songs with integrity and immediacy.

The New Pornographers, photo courtesy the artists

Tuesday | 05.05
What: The New Pornographers w/Will Sheff (of Okkervill River)
When: 7
Where: Gothic Theatre
Why: On March 27, 2026 The New Pornographers released the new album The Former Site Of. Reviews of the album have remarked upon how it’s a much more melancholic and reflective set of songs than much of the band’s previous material. Many of the songs are driven by synths almost as much by vocals so the whole thing comes off like something futuristic tapping into some 70s psychedelic art rock as a frame of reference. The songs seem to be a catalog of examining liminal periods in once’s life either looking back or in that moment when one way of being and living has been replaced by another in a definitive way that often occurs to us after we’ve already made that crossing over but coming to terms with how and why things changed. It still has the band’s signature orchestral sophistication and emotional warmth in the songwriting but it’s also the band stretching its songwriting wings in a way that works.

Wednesday | 05.06
What: Cut Worms w/Angela Autumn
When: 7
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: Max Clarke worked with producer Jeff Tweedy on his latest album Transmitter (Jagjaguwar, March 13, 2026) at Wilco’s Loft studio. Whether either fact, as with the involvement of any prominent musician/producer, improves one’s music can be of dubious virtue (although not here) but Clarke’s songwriting speaks for itself. For this album Clarke examines the liminal psychological states as a working musician and someone trying to make their way in a world that can often feel tentative and where finding secure footing can feel elusive. The warm vocals and introspective power pop guitar jangle suit well this existential navigation of one’s internal world as the lens through which to come to terms with the disjointed, often overwhelming and fraught period of history we’re currently tenuously surviving.

Thursday | 05.07
What: Faetooth w/Latter and Nightosphere
When: 7
Where: The Marquis Theater
Why: Faetooth is the “fairy doom metal” band from Los Angeles who completely meld modern classical sounds with heavy guitar moods and a touch of the ethereal. Their debut full-length Remnants of the Vessel (2022) revealed a band not stuck in neat genre category and its often delicate melodies transitioning to colossal, fiery passages has more in common with the likes of Kylesa and SubRosa than the average doom band. Its 2025 album Labyrinthine enhanced and more fully integrated the band’s musical instincts into a unified aesthetics that is expansively fiery and transporting. Nightosphere from Kansas City is like-minded but more in the slowcore and heavy shoegaze vein. Chicago’s Latter is pure catharsis as industrial noise rock with strands of cathartic emo and songs that take aim at the social and psychological forces that threaten to undermine our sense of self and our dignity.

MIke Watt and the Missing Men in 2011, photo by Tom Murphy

Thursday and Friday | 05.07 and 05.08
What: Mike Watt and the Missing Men w/Slim and María de Cessna (05.07) and Büddies (Jon Snodgrass, Bill Stevenson and Jeremy Bergo) (05.08)
When: 8
Where: HQ
Why: Mike Watt and the Missingmen has been going 20 years now formed by of course the legendary Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Stooges, Dos etc), Tom Watson (Slovenly, Red Krayola and others) and Raul Morales (FYP, Killer Dreamer, Leeches et. al.). Given the C.V. of the trio the punk rock cred is there but this band completely fuses that spirit with the sophistication and open-ended structure of free jazz and the live show is always more ferocious and impressive than you might expect walking in expecting something good to begin with. On the first night of this run is Slim and María de Cessna and yes Slim of the most recent Auto Club fame. The second night is a bit of a punk super group called Büddies that includes Jon Snodgrass of Armchair Martian and Drag the River and Bill Stevenson of Descendents and Black Flag.

Saturday | 05.09
What: King Tuff wGabriel Bernini
When: 7
Where: Globe Hall
Why: King Tuff released his seventh album MOO on March 27, 2026. In some ways it’s a return to the raw and exuberant garage rock that garnered him a bit of a cult following in his early days. It dispenses with the refinement of songwriting and sound that was perfectly suited to his 2023 album Smalltown Stardust on which he reflected on his past and the experiences that shaped him. The new album comes off more like something from the early 70s with the rough edges left intact and passages where the music sounds like its splintering apart and the meters in the red during the recording process. Think like Free at their wildest and James Gang at their best unhinged moments, mix in some nods to T. Rex and Big Star and you have an idea what you’re in for. Which also means that live King Tuff will be back to music in which he can be completely himself on stage.

Cabaret Voltaire in Birmingham 2025, photo by Tom Murphy

Sunday | 05.10
What: Cabaret Voltaire w/I Speak Machine
When: 7
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: Cabaret Voltaire is one of the most influential bands in post-punk and electronic music. From its early days as noise provocateurs and tape collage composers the band progressed into innovating as pioneers of industrial music and synth pop and by the mid-80s its production style and mastery of layering sounds influenced generations of bands, directly with industrial music and electronic pop as well as various strains of electronic dance music. Its songs from the early days have aged well because it was not beholden to styles of the time and the core original trio as aiming to do something that could inspire themselves. Tragically one of the band’s founding members Richard H. Kirk passed away in 2021 as the sole remaining member at that time. In 2025 Stephen Mallinder and Chris Ware announced they would perform again to honor the group’s 50 year legacy in music. The live shows in the UK were a revelation and it was assumed that would be it but a 2026 UK run was announced and perhaps unexpectedly US dates including this one in Denver. Ware won’t be along for the North American shows but the band on hand will not disappoint.

Bandits On the Run, photo courtesy the artists

Sunday | 05.10
What: Alan Doyle w/Bandits On the Run
When: 6
Where: Boulder Theater
Why: Alan Doyle was a member of well-known Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea. When the group split in 2013 after a 20-year run Doyle continued on with an acclaimed solo career and is currently touring behind his new album Already Dancing. Along for this tour is NYC-based folk pop trio Bandits On the Run who anticipate the release of their sophomore album Rough Magic due June 12, 2026. The group live and in the studio swaps instruments changing up the dynamic and the energ of the songs. But one of the great appeals of its music is the vibrant vocal harmonies that sync well with its warm string arrangements and delicate yet energetic instrumental arrangements. On the new record the band also seems to create a sense of wonder and space through creative production and imaginative use of field recordings as well.

José González, photo by Ellika Henriksson

Monday | 05.11
What: José González w/Abby Sage
When: 7
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: José González has gained a global audience for his unique, finger-picking style pastoral folk whether under his own name, with his band Junip or in various collaborations. There is something cosmic about the sound of his songs that have a depth of atmosphere as well as an intimate quality that has meant his music fits in well with the various electronic music producers and DJs with whom he has worked. His new album Against the Dying of the Light, a clear nod to Dylan Thomas’ famous poem, his first in five years is brimming with the delicate and introspective melodies but in employing those elements González has produced a set of songs against the flood of darkness in the current world’s political and too often cultural climate.

Monday | 05.11
What: Easy Honey w/Galentines and Brink
When: 7
Where: Lost Lake
Why: Easy Honey is a band from Charleston, South Carolina that has been touring regularly throughout the United States for at least the last few years. Its sound is like a collage of folk, psychedelic surf rock and indie pop in the classic southeastern USA mode. The group’s songs have a vibrant yet gentle quality that sets it apart from many of other bands aiming at a similar fusion of sounds. The latest EP Plaid (out April 30, 2026) was written and recorded over three days in remote Marble, Colorado between the rain forest climate of Grand Mesa and Aspen. Even though the location suggests a touch of rustic luxury the EP sounds focused and exuberant.

Tuesday | 05.12
What: Bright Eyes – 21 Years of Wide Awake & Digital Ash w/Ben Kweller (new date)
When: 5:30
Where: Red Rocks
Why: In the 2000s who knew that Bright Eyes would become one of those bands that can celebrate 21 years of albums its members wrote in their 20s. But I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005) and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (also 2005) proved that the group could break with expectation and write music in different directions and modes from records like Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002) and Fevers and Mirrors (2000) while not sacrificing the fragile and unvarnished sensitivity the band perfected for those records. Bright Eyes experimented more with what seemed like capturing off the cuff moments in the recording process and leaving in spoken word passages and on into more polished compositions while stiff offering the existential musings that seem to be improvisational free verse structures but have more in common with prose as lyrics which has been a hallmark of lead singer Connor Oberst’s style. Digital Ash in particular expands Bright Eyes’ sound palette by leaning more into the melancholic instincts of the songwriting and incorporating more ambient sounds like maybe the group had absorbed some of what The Microphones were doing. All in all, two underrated albums that will be on display for this show.

Mercury Rev in 2008, photo by Tom Murphy

Tuesday | 05.12
What: Afghan Whigs w/Mercury Rev
When: 6:30
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: Before alternative rock was a thing Afghan Whigs formed in 1986 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Combining shambolic garage rock with R&B and soul, Afghan Whigs fit in with the popular musical movements of the 90s and the group released most of its albums from 1990’s Up in It through 2017’s In Spades were released by Sub Pop. Frontman Greg Dulli was and is a charismatic figure with a commanding voice that centers the music with direct emotional connection and literary lyrics. Now the band is celebrating its 40 years as a band with a run with Mercury Rev. The latter formed in 1989 and includes former Flaming Lips member Jonathan Donohue who was in Mercury Rev before that stint and after but his sense of visionary psychedelic music shared with guitarist Grasshopper has evolved from the noisy, beautifully disorienting music of its early days through the cosmic and ambitious, conceptual psychedelic dream pop of its later records and as a live band absolutely hypnotic and otherworldly in a manner that invites the audience into a different psychological space than the one in which they entered the show.

Tuesday | 05.12
What: New Candys w/The Savage Blush and Moonpool
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Venetian psychedelic New Candys started out in fairly familiar territory with fuzzy, psychedelic rock but all along the band’s Krautrock inspirations have been an element that has elevated the outfit outside of the standard psych rock of the past 20 years. Its 2025 album The Uncanny Extravaganza in particular showcased an extensive and fully integrated use of synthesizers as a psychedelic sound.

Wednesday | 05.13
What: Dry Cleaning w/Hotline TNT
When: 7
Where: Meow Wolf Convergence Station Perplexiplex
Why: Dry Cleaning from South London is generally described as a post-punk band but ever since the 2021 release of its debut full-length New Long Leg the group has evolved its sound and songwriting with every album. Even singer Florence Shaw’s spoken word poetry/story style delivery has come to include more actual singing most fully present in the band’s new album Secret Love (2026). The unconventional subject matter and the creative social approach to social commentary has been a feature of the band’s output but on the new record those themes seem more direct without seeming didactic. The album was produced by Cate Le Bon and features Chicago music luminaries like Jeff Tweedy and Bruce Lamont and sounds like where No Wave might have gone had it embraced art rock like Roxy Music.

Wednesday | 05.13
What: Gelli Haha w/Big Sis at Lost Lake
When: 7
Where: Lost Lake
Why: Angel Abaya’s creative and visual transformation to Gelli Haha seems to have been complete by the time of the release of her 2025 album Switcheroo (we see what she did there, actually clever). Under her birth name the songwriting was strong though more in the realm of indie rock. As Gelli Haha we get a wonderfully surreal synth pop with the knack for pop hooks intact but rather than beautifully introspective music that gift for finding creative melodies is channeled into synth pop that sounds like something from an 80s dance club that took over from the disco era but as interpreted by a being from another part of the universe with a humorous curiosity about the absurdity of human pop culture. The Gelli Haha material is whimsical yet sincere and artistically playful but not quirky. For the live show expect a great sense of theater with costumes and colorful props fitting the album’s wonderfully unusual cover art.

Wednesday | 05.13
What: Chet Faker w/Ideas By Ab
When: 7
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: Nicholas James Murphy took up the stage name Chet Faker in homage to jazz great Chet Baker because fans showed up to his gigs expecting a different Nick Murphy. And Murphy tried to retire the moniker in 2016 but returned to using it during the first year or the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe initially it felt inauthentic to use a stage name but in some ways the “faker” part is an ironic contrast because Murphy’s songs feel so vulnerable and genuine. His 2026 album A Love For Strangers in particular seems to come from the perspective of someone who is coming back into themselves and assessing his own limitations and failings that can be swept aside when you’re headlong into a career or another endeavor when your focus is on doing what is immediately before you and you don’t have the time or perspective to really deep dive into who you are and what you’re about much less who you want to be and what you want your life to prioritize. On the new record it sounds like Murphy has grappled with those issues and put some of what he feels he’s learned into resonant pop songs.

Snail Mail, photo by Daria Kobayashi Ritch

Wednesday | 05.13
What: Snail Mail w/Sharp Pins and Armlock
When: 7
Where: Ogden Theatre
Why: Lindsey Jordan distinguished herself as a noteworthy and creative songwriter with her 2018 debut album Lush which released when she was 18 years old. Jordan’s personal insight on into her next album Valentine (2021) was expressed in dramatic and colorful fashion with her guitar work expanding into the realm of shoegaze without losing a knack for anthemic melodies and combining introspection with a scrappy energy. The new Snail Mail record Ricochet is a further development of Jordan’s songwriting. The nervy energy that informed the first two records is processed differently and you can hear Jordan taking the time to focus on the feelings that course through us and experience them as they are and not build them up as some kind of end all be all of life because you’re sure going to feel strongly and poignantly about something over the course of your life and part of the human experience as part of a greater continuum of existence. With help from Aron Kobayashi Ritch of Momma, Jordan gives the new songs a vibrant focus.

Thursday | 05.14
What: Broncho: A Decade of Double Vanity
When: 7
Where: Fox Theatre
Why: Broncho has come some distance since the exuberant, psychedelic garage rock of its debut album Can’t Get Past the Lips. It’s most recent album Natural Pleasure (2025) found the band leaning completely into a more experimental, almost ambient shoegaze pop sound and introspective moods. But for this tour the band revisits its edgy, fuzzed out 2016 album Double Vanity. That record and the more recent material reflect more fully the influence of 1960s girl groups and perhaps how those bands and the grittier garage rock of the 60s influenced Jesus and Mary Chain. But has its own flavor of those inspirations and fans of Jay Reatard will appreciate this era of Broncho.

Th | 05.14
What: Kevin Morby w/Liam Kazar
When: 7
Where: Ogden Theatre
Why: Kevin Morby will release his eighth album Little Wide Open the day after this Denver date so it’s safe to say you’ll hear plenty of material from the new record at this performance and may be able to pick up a copy at the merch booth as well. The advance tracks like “Die Young,” “Javelin” and “Badlands” are in the realm of the pastoral indie folk for which Morby has long established himself as a master practitioner of the craft of songwriting. But the production feels more open, more direct and with more forward momentum. There is plenty of introspection in terms of Morby’s ability to reflect on where he’s been been as a vehicle for the stories he tells that seem to look to a future worth looking forward to rather than be mired by the weight of the past. There is a little lighter feel to the new set of songs without sacrificing Morby’s poignant powers of observation.

Friday | 05.15
What: Wave Decay, Amlamas and Supreme Joy
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Wave Decay will be playing some new music at this performance. For those not in the know, Wave Decay combines the rhythms of Krautrock, deep atmospherics of a better shoegaze band and some warping psychedelic edges with supreme tone and enough weirdness to keep it interesting. Supreme Joy is always a surprisingly powerful live band and its music somewhere between high concept post-punk, arty garage rock and Beat poetry.

American Football, photo by Alexa Viscius

Friday | 05.15
What: American Football w/Mei Semones
When: 7
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: American Football came out of the 90s as one of the most influential of the then crop of emo math rock bands before splitting in 2000. Singer and bassist Mike Kinsella had already left his mark on music with the legendary early emo band Cap’n Jazz and later with Joan of Arc. But American Football’s sound bordered at times on slowcore but with more unconventional and precise rhythms to give the sometimes pastoral, post-rock-esque instrumental side of the music a more solid if informal framing. The music has an impressionistic quality that allows for its often weighty material to have a more emotionally gentle initial impact. The group’s 1999 debut album is a classic of its realm of music and when American Football returned in 2014 it has put out a few albums of a quietly incandescent beauty including the newly released LP4 (all the albums being essentially self-titled) which expands on the sound palette and ambition of soundscaping without losing the intimate quality of the band’s earlier releases.

Joshua Trinidad will perform as part of the Soundtrack Roulette performance

Friday | 05.15
What: Soundtrack Roulette, a live music fundraiser for Creative Music Works
When: 6:30
Where: Mighty Fine Productions
Why: This is a live music fundraiser for Creative Music Works. Some of Colorado’s stars of improvisational music will score soundtracks to film clips chosen by audience members spinning a wheel and the musicians won’t know what they’re in for. Performers include Sarah Christensen, Greg Harris, Mark Harris, Farrell Lowe, Kent McLagan, Eric Moon, Paul Riola, Matt Smiley, Glenn Nitta, Wade Sander, Joshua Trinidad and Gregory Walker. For more information click the link above. Suggested donation is $75 but any donation level is accepted for entry.

Saturday | 05.16
What: Primitive Man and Ukko’s Hammer
When: 8
Where: Drop to Pop Sidewalk
Why: Get there early before the authorities are called to shut down the sheer sonic assault of the heaviest band in the world Primitive Man unleashes its unique brand of noise doom. Ukko’s Hammer won’t exactly be low on volume but its frenetic hardcore will be in line with the shows Drop to Pop has been hosting on the sidewalk since 2025.

Saturday | 05.16
What: The Darts w/Service, Tuff Bluff and 5150
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Seattle’s The Darts released its latest album Halloween Love Songs on March 3, 2026. The record was in part inspired b the idea that the world needed more Halloween songs tan just “Monster Mash” and other songs decades old. The garage punk quartet injects some psychedelia into its sound with some appropriate spooky keyboard work but all building to the kind of spirited songs for which the group has established itself as a noteworthy band that fit in well with the Alternative Tentacles (the legendary imprint that released its previous album Boomerang in 2024) roster of bands that are decidedly different from any narrow genre considerations.

Saturday and Sunday | 05.16 and 05.17
What: Windy & Carl w/ Prymek & Sage and New Standards Men (5.16) and w/C. Ritger & Weathers (05.17) (both nights sold out)
When: 5/6 and 6/7
Where: The Hayloft in Longmont (5.16) and The Bug Theater (5.17)
Why: Since 1993 Windy & Carl have created a unique body of work in the broad spectrum of ambient music, space rock, drone and dream pop. Gently meditative, the guitar, bass, vocals and various other sound-making methods of the duo sounds like they’re tapping into the subconscious and dream states to make the kind of music that is instantly transporting with tones, abstract melodies and textures that facilitate the mind entering states conducive to expansive imagining. Pick up any of their records and you’ll hear music akin to the likes of Seefeel, Flying Saucer Attack and Jessamine and an obvious influence on later psychedelic ambient acts like Growing, The Sight Below and possibly even Yellow Swans.

Monday | 05.18
What: Telehealth w/Chroma Lips and Video Daze
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Seattle-based post-punk/New Wave band Telehealth just released their new album Green World Image and sure it sounds steeped in early 80s New Wave and the sort of synth punk The Epoxies were trading in a couple of dates ago but the ironic, current cultural references come off as both ironic and nihilistic. Can one fight the overwhelming overreach of technocratic oligarchs who have seemingly bought the arms of government or is needing the collapse to happen necessary and will it be in time to avert the complete and utter destruction of democracy and thus a means of reigning in and offering/instituting mitigating measures and solutions to climate disaster? Who can say, really, and Telehealth’s music seems to come out of that spirit with some fairly acerbic satire. Denver’s Chroma Lips will be one of the opening acts and bringing to the show no small measure of its own inspired garage krautrock synth psych. The band’s bombast is genuine but its satire if there is any is more a sendup of the need for narrow genres and its blurring the lines between the aforementioned and shoegaze means it transcends easy classification with its own sound.

Tuesday | 05.19
What: Just Mustard w/Miss Grit
When: 7
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: Just Mustard is a post-punk/dark shoegaze band from Ireland. From its 2018 debut Wednesday onward one could hear in its haunted and noisy soundscapes the influence of Cranes and electronic music in the breakbeats and the way the band almost writes soundtrack music in its songs. The group’s 2025 album We Were Just Here leans further into the sculpted noise in place of conventional guitar sound at times with the vocals carrying most of the melody. Miss Grit is an electronic/rock artist from New York who caught the ear of Mute Records which released her debut album Follow the Cyborn in 2023. Referencing the 1997 cult film Perfect Blue directed by Satoshi Kon the album is perfectly executed cinematic pop reminiscent of late 2000s St. Vincent and a artful evocation of modern alienation and our dependence on technocratic conveniences. Miss Grit’s new album Under My Umbrella (2026) is like both downtempo and noir in tone fitting a record that sounds like an extended inquiry into one’s own inner processes and coming to terms with sides of one’s personality that are easily avoided for their discomfort level if you have distractions to keep your mind focused on an immediate task at hand. More orchestral than the debut album it also shows how Margaret Sohn aka Miss Grit is masterful in her melding of traditional instruments and electronic composition.

Tuesday | 05.19
What: Ike Dweck w/Anna Hamilton
When: 7
Where: Globe Hll
Why: Ike Dweck has only really been active in releasing music for a few years but the Brooklyn-born and NYC based artist has garnered a sizable following on Spotify and TikTok, His earnest vocals and vulnerable lyrics imbue his folk and pop inflected songs with an immediacy and intimacy even in their most expansive moments. Dweck’s songs have from early on had orchestral arrangements with strings and piano to expand on songs that may have begun as written on acoustic guitar but which suggested a bigger sonic vision for their possibilities, an energy he brings to the performance of the music.

Thursday | 05.21
What: Ray Bull w/Babehoven
When: 7
Where: Bluebird Theater
Why: Aaron Graham and Tucker Elkins of Ray Bull met while students at Cooper Union both of visual art, Graham more on still images and Elkins on film. But both began leaning more toward making music though early on the duo made use of their art background as a vehicle for presenting the storytelling of their songs. On May 8, 2026 Ray Bull released its latest album Please Stop Laughing. It’s songs have a sonically rich sophistication like a modern day analog to Harry Nilsson (also born in Brooklyn) had he come up after the advent of The Strokes and MGMT. Graham and Elkins seem to have a similar attention to songwriting details that delicacy of execution that not nearly enough artists do and that lends their songwriting an unexpected depth.

Wheelchair Sports Camp, photo by Erik Ziemba

Saturday | 05.23
What: Wheelchair Sports Camp w/Jello Biafra, Dressy Bessy, BRÜHA and RAYANN!
When: 7
Where: Meow Wolf Convergence Station Perplexiplex
Why: Wheel Chair Sports Camp is celebrating the release of its first full album that isn’t a soundtrack since 2016. The record titled oh imperfecta is being issued by the legendary Alternative Tentacles imprint. The music this time around is vastly different from earlier releases in some key ways. It still has elements of jazz and Joshua Trinidad contributes a bit to the album, it still has fantastic production and of course Kalyn Heffernan’s wordplay and gift for incisive and emotionally electrifying rhetoric has never been stronger. It hits like a punk record while still very hip-hop. It’s both more stripped down and lean and larger in sound than before. It is simply one of the most on point releases out this year thus far in its social commentary and righteous sense of outrage tempered by compassion and a sense of humor. For this show you’ll also get to see A.T. head Jello Biafra himself and who can say what kind of performance that will be except interesting. Dressy Bessy will bring the indie pop fire to the proceedings, BRÜHA will offer a fusion of psychedelic jazz, surf rock and Latin rock amd RAYANN! opens the proceedings with tender, beat-driven bedroom dream pop.

Jaguar Stevens, photo by Hali Webb-Shafer

Saturday | 05.23
What: Jaguar Stevens album release w/Bitchflower and Chroma Lips
When: 8
Where: The Skylark Lounge Bobcat Room
Why: Jaguar Stevens is release its second album Dead Miner’s Daughter, its first since the 2021 album. The group started when two high school English teachers needed an outlet for the kinds of anxieties that come from being an educator in recent years, and ever really, and the resulting band has been a mix of indie rock and something a little darker with a little more bite. Caleb Wolhust’s crooning vocals on the recordings sounds like he grew up listening to Bowie and Nick Cave but live the band is a bit more combustible. The debut album is earnest if lo-fi but the new record sounds more polished and while still earnest it still has a raw edge like a punk band with some more songwriting refinement. Opening the show is psychedelic krautrock band Chroma Lips and the unhinged punk/psychedelic thrash group Bitchflower.

Tuesday | 05.26
What: Hemlocke Springs w/THE GIRL!
When: 7
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: Hemlocke Springs went viral on TikTok with her song “Girlfriend” in 2022. The bedroom pop song and its music video looked and sounded like something anyone could create with some creativity could make but of course a deeper listen reveals that the songwriter had a gift for crafting lo-fi pop songs with an eccentric quality that immediately set it apart from most other bedroom pop of that time and even now. Hemlock Springs aka Isimeme “Naomi” Udu has since released several singles revealing further dimensions of her imaginative and inventive songwriting and production. Then in February 2026 she released her debut full-length The Apple Tree Under the Sea and proved she has much more to offer with songs that are vulnerable but imbued with a scrappy confidence. The music videos showcase Udu’s sense of humor and charming self-deprecation and incredible diversity as a vocalist. Stylistically one can hear traces of the K-pop that influenced part of her sound but also classic synth pop and fans of glitch pop artists of the 2010s will find a great deal to appreciate about the way Hemlocke Springs melds dream-like melodicism with glitchy energy. And the songwriter’s attention to arrangement, pacing and mood is top notch. Plus her lyrics aren’t just surreal and playful, she puts plenty of meaningful and insightful sentiments into the words she puts out there.

Friday and Saturday | 05.29 and 05.30
What: Dengue Fever (05.29 w/Bluebook, 05.30 at Global Sounds w/The Wailers, Ritmo Cascabel, Tropical Kaoba, Los Mocochetes and Beasts of No Nation)
When: 7 (05.29) and 12-6 (05.30)
Where: Meow Wolf Convergence Station Perplexiplex (05.29) and Old Town Square in Fort Collins (05.30)
Why: Dengue Fever started out as sort of a cover band of artists out of the popular music era of Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s before the advent of the auto-genocidal Khmer Rouge regime during which many of those artists died or simply disappeared. The psychedelic pop and rock of that time and place, though, had and still has a unique appeal because it thoroughly merged western popular music with traditional Cambodian music in exciting ways full of energy and charm. The band formed in 2001 and early on recruited charismatic singer Chhom Nimol who was born in Cambodia and could sing in Khmer (a feature of much of the band’s repertoire). Since then the group has toured extensively throughout the US and internationally including in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and released several albums. The group is playing select shows this spring and summer including a free to the public appearance at Global Sound in Fort Collins and the night before at Meow Wolf.

Bigawatt at Titwrench in 2013, photo by Tom Murphy

Friday – Sunday | 05.29-05.31
What: Denver Noise Fest 2026
When: 6 (05.29-05.30) and 12-5 (05.31)
Where: The DMV
Why: Denver Noise Fest returns with an impressive lineup as follows. Vasectomy Party (FL), Anime Love Hotel, Bryan Day (CA), Coffin Corner, Instagon, (AZ) Zilmrah (NY), ihavetokeepwashingthisstupidbodytillidie, Dead Hawk, Isaac Linder, Male Model (FL), CUT (CA), Bigawatt (NM). Joltthrower (AZ), Bob Bellerue (NY), Fail (FL), Disturbing Taxidermy, Filidh. Most of this stuff you have to witness in person for the full impact of the artistry, appeal and sheer diversity of these artists as curated for this event. The best thing about a noise festival and most noise shows is that the artists and the style are conducive to short sets and focused concept. Bob Bellerue is a legendary artist in the international noise scene whose range as a sound artist, visual and sound curator, educator, composer and event organizer is vast across decades. Bigawatt is Marisa Demarco from New Mexico and her work bridges the gap between experimental post-punk and noise and she has also been a force for creative works in the American Southwest and beyond as an artist, a broadcaster and educator. Isaac Linder has long been a part of the Denver and Colorado experimental music scene in noise, ambient, experimental electronic dance music and the avant-garde and his show for this event will have him performing his interpretation of Robert Ashley’s 1964 composition “The Wolfman.” This entry will be updated with set times when and if available.

Saturday | 05.30
What: Deth Rali album release at The Crypt w/babybaby4ever, Sell Farm, Papersack and DJ Lisafrank666
When: 8
Where: The Crypt
Why: Denver darkwave synthpop band Deth Rali will celebrate the release of its new album The Fall of Neon at this show. The group, now a trio, is the vehicle for the songwriting of Jay Maike who some may remember for his pre-COVID psych pop group King Eddie. Deth Rali is different. Maike seems to have taken on the challenge of writing conceptual albums with deep storytelling and a strong visual aesthetic around each of the three Deth Rali records. The 2024 album Ruby’s Castle Island was like a commentary on authoritarianism written as a glam synth pop album set in a fantastical setting with intentional or otherwise creative nods to the Gormenghast Trilogy with a science fiction flavor and nostalgic portraits of collective cultural memories that Americans who have been alive since maybe even the 1950s can access with ease. It sounded like something from another era and reminiscent of the better of Montreal records. The new album is still imbued with a sense of play but it is decidedly darker yet with a hopeful melodic sensibility like a dream pop band that came up through the chillwave era. The themes are personal while also sharp observations on the times we’re living through but written as entrancing songs rich in tone and hazy atmospheres as a vehicle for getting through challenging times. Opening the show are some Denver notables including the IDM/industrial punk artist Sell Farm and visionary synth pop performance artist babybaby4ever.

Saturday and Sunday | 05.30 and 05.31
What: Playground Ensemble: Sculpting Sound
When: 3 and 6 pm (05.30) and 2pm (05.31)
Where: Leon Gallery
Why: Playground Ensemble puts on unique musical events throughout the year combining pedagogy, craft and creativity. This one features sonic artworks by local visual and installation artists paired with an orchestra for a series of new musical compositions made in part by homemade and modified instruments.

Sunday | 05.31
What: Animals in Exile w/Pale Sun, The Picture Tour and Owosso
When: 4pm doors, 5pm show
Where: Globe Hall
Why: Animals in Exile started as a project of Redding Bacon in 2015 writing and recording songs in his basement in a mode somewhere between shoegaze and psychedelic rock with a leg in more experimental rock of past decades. But the current band solidified as a four-piece live band in 2025 ahead of the release of the self-titled full-length in August of that year. The newer songs have a weightiness and grit hinted at on earlier releases. Maybe part of that comes out of how its members weathered some serious struggles to be there. Guitarist Jim McTurnan had been a veteran of the Denver music scene in bands Cat-A-Tac and Soft Skulls where he honed his skills as a creator of atmospheric yet robust guitar sounds but found himself afflicted with multiple sclerosis and a rare neurological condition called Stiff Person Syndrome (and fortunate enough to live near a hospital where one of the country’s premier doctors treating that condition practices), bassist Colby Rogers finds himself able to play after a life-threatening injury left him without feeling in his right hand and drummer Eric Marshall was ready to quit music completely. But the new record is definitely one for fans of the Jonestown Massacre and the more rock end of Catherine Wheel. But then on this same bill you can catch other Denver heavy hitters in the broad realm of shoegaze. Pale Sun includes former members of Bright Channel (arguably Denver’s best ever shoegaze band), Space Team Electra (an argument could be made for that group being the greatest shoegaze group from the Mile High City) and Pinkku (one of the great space rock bands from the city) and few can match them for tone and mood. The Picture Tour creates the perfect fusion of spooky garage rock and shoegaze-adjacent post-punk. Owosso is like a melding of noise rock and shoegaze sonics for a sound that comes off like a DC post-punk band of the 80s mixed with Sonic Youth. Sometimes an all local band bill can be a mixed bag in a negative way but this is the opposite of that.

Sunday | 05.31
What: Daisy the Great
When: 7
Where: Lost Lake
Why: Daisy the Great is folk-adjacent indie pop band from Brooklyn led by Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker. Their debut single “The Record Player Song” (2017) garnered a wider than expected following for a new band. The vocal harmonies and unconventional percussion with the intro before getting into the song proper set Daisy the Great apart from a lot of the music in the broad indie music world of that time when garage rock and “psych” rock was in vogue. It had more in common with the likes of Tune Yards. The outfit’s latest album is 2025’s The Rubber Teeth Talk and the fantastic vocals harmonies are still in place and somehow both refined and raw. But the music benefits from an expanded lineup allowing for Dugan and Walker to cut loose a little more so that the songs seem to veer off center at the perfect moments without losing momentum and melody.

Queen City Sounds Podcast S5E43: Conrad Kehn of The Playground Ensemble

The Playground Ensemble, Eight Songs For a Mad King, March 8, 2019, Mercury Cafe

The Playground Ensemble is a new music group based in Denver formed in 2006. Composed of professional musicians, composers, educators and members of the local community dedicated to presenting modern chamber music not purely as a vehicle for performing classical music of centuries past. The group cultivates local composers new, up-and-coming and more established as a means of showing how music based in classical modes can be a valid and vibrant mode of expression. Operating in a multi-disciplinary fashion often collaborating with dancers, poets, spoken word artists, visual/multi-media artists The Playground Ensemble has also brought noteworthy artists to town that might not otherwise find an avenue for live performance in Colorado. From the beginning one of the leading figures of the group has been Conrad Kehn who came to more classical composition as a regular thing later in life than some other musicians. From Gehring, Nebraska, Kehn had a bit of a background in classical music but like any young person in the late 80s and early 90s he got into alternative music and by late summer 1992 he had moved to Denver and attended Denver University.

As happens when you have an interest in music you end up meeting people and he moved in with a member of a band called Pieces of Lucy. He and the bass player moved on from the project and formed Skull Flux. The band was too Goth for the metal scene, too hard rock for the Goth scene but anyone listening in retrospect would recognize the band as death rock band ahead of its time. The group played shows with the likes of Twice Wilted, Body of Souls and 40th Day, noteworthy acts in the broad realm of alternative music. Guitarist Greg Stretton would go on to a stint in industrial dream pop downtempo band The Siren Project and bassist Steve Millin in progressive folk group The Reals. Kehn formed the short-lived more industrial group Kallisti before shifting more into avant-garde and modern classical music as an academic, a place he has contributed to greatly locally and connected to globally.

The Playground Ensemble is celebrating its 20 year anniversary with a 20 hour marathon on Saturday, March 21, 2026. In ambitious yet accessible fashion with community outreach and goals in mind the event will include a morning yoga session with music, afternoon and evening concerts feature new music (in the modern classical sense) as well as a later night experimental music event with after hours improv. Sprawling from MSU’s Kalamath Building to Stanley Marketplace to the Holiday Theater and Glob it is an event aimed at highlighting various aspects of The Playground Ensemble’s legacy and ongoing goals.

Full schedule and details below. For more information please visit www.playgroundensemble.org. Listen to our conversation with Conrad Kehn on Bandcamp.

Spontaneous Team Composition Workshop (all ages and levels welcome)
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Kalamath Building
800 Kalamath St, Denver, CO 80204

Join Denver’s The Playground Ensemble as we celebrate our 20th season with a 20-hour MARATHON of new music.

The day opens at 7:00 AM with a yoga session and gong bath, followed by the Sound Bites breakfast meet-and-greet.

After breakfast, participants will be divided into small groups and given 90 minutes to collaboratively create a new work to be shared at the end of the session. Each group will be facilitated by Playground Ensemble teaching artists who will guide participants through the music creation process using hand gesture composition, graphic notation, structured improvisation, digital audio workstations, and musical story-telling to name a few.

Bring your own instrument and we will also provide a variety of electronic and found sound instruments to help ‘orchestrate’ and inspire creativity. The teaching artists will demonstrate how these approaches are adaptable to a wide range of educational contexts and are accessible to learners of all ability levels and musical backgrounds. The session will conclude with a performance of each group’s composition.

Afternoon at The Stanley Marketplace
2501 N. Dallas St. Aurora, Colorado 80010

Join Denver’s The Playground Ensemble as we partner with Friends of Chamber Music to celebrate our 20th season with an afternoon of music creation and community at The Stanley Marketplace. Each session highlights a different part of what makes Playground Ensemble the innovative organization that it is.

Family/Community Music-Making 1-2:30 PM: We invite families (grown-ups too!) to create their own instruments and compositions. Create your own compositions using colors and shapes and hear them played on the spot! Record your own beats at our electronic music station. Make tongue depressor kazoos, and play our collection of strange found sound instruments.

At 2 PM, Sing With Us! Meet us in the Stanley commons for a community singing of Pauline Oliveros’ Tuning Meditation. Using any vowel sound, sing a tone that you hear in your imagination. Listen for someone else’s tone and tune to its pitch as exactly as possible. Introduce new tones at will and tune to as many different voices as are present. Sing warmly.

String Quartet Concert 2:30 PM: In keeping with the spirit of Stanley Marketplace, the Playground String Quartet provides an eclectic sample of works by Latino, Indigenous, and women composers. Including works by Gabriela Ortiz, Raven Chacon, and Caroline Shaw, this program contains the breadth of both Playground’s style and their mission.

Playground at 20!
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater
2644 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211

Hosted by MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater, this series of concerts is the heart of MARATHON.

The evening starts with Shane Courville (trumpet, electronics, composer) and Nathan Hall (piano, electronics, composer) presenting solo, duo, and improvised works on themes of freedom: freedom of nations and sovereignty, freedom to express our own identities, and the freedom of creative collaboration.

Up next join Leah and Josh for a 30-minute program of (mostly) contemporary art songs that recall childhood and gently remind us never to stop playing, even amidst the gloom and doom of life today. When you look through the kaleidoscope of your childhood, what do you see? Do the bright spots of hope, nature, and laughter stand out, or does darkness prevail?

After these two duo sets we gather for a celebratory toast to all that has been accomplished in the previous two decades while looking forward to the future.

At 8PM is the main event, The Playground @ 20!

This chamber concert features the first work we ever played, a new commission by Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez for bass flute and ‘ghost’ string quartet, and a new work by Playground Director Conrad Kehn for the entire ensemble.

The evening will also feature the Colorado premiere of Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s Ithánali, about a Chickasaw woman astronaut who is designated to be the first human to set foot on Mars, aware of the irony of her own action – colonizing Mars – and how it compares/contrasts to the historic colonization of her own tribe.

We will also highlight one of our favorite works commissioned with I’m Waiting for Your Crip Cadence, a collaborative composition by Nathan Hall and performance artist MG Bernard that creates an auditory and visual experience of what it is like to exist in a chronically sick bodymind exploring ideas of the disabled experience of non-linear time, and the doctor-patient relationship through a visceral display of how she is bound to the medical industrial complex, dependent on uncomfortable relationships of care, and indentured to pain.

Late Night GLOB

Close out MARATHON at Denver’s DIY citadel, GLOB.

This underground atmosphere set will intersperse avant DJ sets by former Playground board member DJ i.lind before our Music of The Shining, a show based on music from the Stanley Kubrick (and Stephen King) classic.

At midnight Playground composer and board member Silen Wellington will lead us in Haunting, a ritual performance. This is followed by Loretta Notareschi performing How All’s to One Thing Wrought! an improvisational work for a custom-designed virtual instrument that uses the electronic transformation of a single cello low C to express the spiritual idea of an interdependent web of all existence. Luke Wachter will perform …and we are a collection of memory for solo vibraphone and still photography which juxtaposes the impermanence of improvisation with the immutability of static images, examining how identity is constructed in the mind by collecting and reinterpreting memories and shared experiences. Ryan Fiegl winds us down with an electronic music set with reactive video as his musical alter ego Severed Shadow.

The evening closes with an open invite community-improvised drone session carrying us into the early morning.

For more information visit www.playgroundensemble.org.

This program is supported by Denver Arts & Venues through the DENVER CREATES Fund.

Best Shows in Denver and Beyond March 2026

**mclusky performs at The Marquis Theater on 3/24/26, photo by Damien Sayell**

Monday | 03.02
What: Nuovo Testamento and Dark Chisme
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Nuovo Testamento is a Los Angeles-based band that has made a reputation for itself as crafters of fine synthpop songs with some dark Italodisco flavor. Charismatic singer Chelsey Crowley’s rich vocals are reminiscent of peak 1980s Madonna. Dark Chisme from Seattle is musically adjacent but its sound more in the vein of darkwave with a touch of house in the production.

Wednesday | 03.04
What: Final Gasp w/Victim of Fire, Ukko’s Hammer and writheinfear
When: 7
Where: Bar 404
Why: Boston’s Final Gasp released its new album New Day Symptoms on Relapse on February 27, 2026. The record continues the development of the band’s sound fusing death rock and metallic hardcore. Live the group comes across as something from another era when subgenres didn’t matter so much in navigating the appeal of the music and sounds like the missing link between Christian Death and American Nightmare. Opening are some of Denver’s great hardoce bands in Victim of Fire, Ukko’s Hammer and writheinfear.

Friday | 03.06
What: American Culture w/Candy Apple, Spin Move and Blackberry Crush
When: 7/8
Where: Seventh Circle Music Collective
Why: American Culture kicks off its latest tour with this show of its own current fusion of shoegaze indie pop with punk attitude. The group’s most recent album, and arguably its best, Hey Brother, It’s Been a While, bears the hallmarks of the influence/impact of 90s Britpop psychedelia and its 2020’s echo in the modern underground/indie scene and electronic production. Opening are local shoegaze acts Spin Move and Blackberry Crush and atmospheric hardcore group Candy Apple.

Blackwater Holylight, photo by Magalena Wosinska

Friday and Saturday | 03.06 and 03.07
What: Blackwater Holylight w/Som and Dreadnought (03.06) and Cronos Compulsion (03.07)
When: 8
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Blackwater Holylight released its new a.lbum Not Here Not Gone in January and its blend of doom and ethereal shoegaze this time out seems to chart the group’s relocation from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles and embracing uncertainty and establishing new connections, roots and creative and personal evolution. Though heavy in a vein that fans of Slow Crush will appreciate there is a sensitive energy to the music that gives it an intimate feel throughout the album even as many of its songs soar into epic, exhilarating passages. Opening the tour is shoegaze-adjacent post-metal band Som and on the Friday show is Denver psychedelic doom group Dreadnought, on Saturday it’s experimental death metal band Cronos Compulsion.

Polly Urethane in 2022, photo by Tom Murphy

Saturday | 03.07
What: The Liberation Series Presents: Polly Urethane, Melodies Never Lie, Entrancer and Luke Leavitt & Eden Figueroa
When: 7/8
Where: Squirm Gallery
Why: This is a show series where the proceeds go toward benefiting an organization or person currently being persecuted by corrupt American institutions and imperialism. This night you can see performance artist, songwriter and composer Polly Urethane whose shows are all different from one another but always impressive. Also ambient indie pop shoegaze solo act Melodies Never Lie, techno/ambient artist Entrancer and post-jazz/classical duo Luke Leavitt and Eden Figueroa.

Tuesday | 03.10
What: Peaches w/Cortisa Star
When: 7
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: Peaches has been releasing provocative music that challenges norms of a sexually repressive and misogynistic societies and cultures since the turn of the century. Her production has been an influence on various artists over that time as well and sure overtly her songs trade in immediate terms that challenge the bases of norms of subject matter and creative use of language. She hadn’t released a record since 2015’s Rub until this year’s issuing of No Lube So Rude. Peaches’ production may have been updated to reflect the evolving nature of electronic music and methods of composition but her wonderfully vibrant and colorful use of words to challenge vested authority and power structures is still just as vital as ever.

Friday | 03.13
What: Lala Lala w/Lots of Hands
When: 7/8
Where: Lost Lake
Why: Lala Lala aka Lillie West was one of the leading lights of the Chicago indie rock scene in the late 2010s and with her 2021 album I Want the Door to Open she deconstructed her own sound palette and songwriting style to include more electronic aesthetics. Subsequently the musician/songwriter underwent a kind of personal journey to Taos, New Mexico where she more or less lived off the grid and drew inspiration from the pastoral beauty and unique energy of that town. Then she found her way to Iceland and a residency at LunGa school as well as some time in the capital city of Reykjavik. Out of that leg of her journey West crafted what is essentially an ambient/instrumental album including beautifully arranged field recordings called if i were a real man i would be able to break the neck of a suffering bird (as Lillie West). Lala Lala ultimately landed back in the USA in Los Angeles and on February 27, 2026 she released her new record Heaven 2 via Sub Pop. You can hear traces of West’s creative journey and development informing the record’s evocative soundscapes and existential sentiments. The almost sound design approach to the composition of the songs with West like a figure in her own cinematic creation draws the listener directly into the moments she builds as she catalogs life in the current era of being swarmed with distractions that inspire only overstimulation and yearning for nuggets of the authentic.

Friday | 03.13
What: Witch Cat Records Anniversary: Tassles, babybaby4ever, Watch Yourself Die, The Tammy Shine and Hotel WiFi
When: 7
Where: Squirm Gallery
Why: Witch Cat Records is celebrating its five year anniversary with this show including artists both on the label and adjacent to its aesthetic embracing the uniquely creative and finely honed experimental music whether pop or otherwise. Tassles is a band that shows how lo-fi shoegaze can have a maximalist emotional resonance, babybaby4ever is like a rebirth of tonally rich synthpop in an inspired idiosyncratic vein, Watch Yourself Die is a confrontational performance art band, The Tammy Shine is the iconic lead singer of Dressy Bessy doing her own version of spirited punk-edged pop and Hotel WiFi somehow reconciles country, emo and lo-fi indie rock.

Friday | 03.13
What: Moon Pussy, Cleaner and Team Nonexistent
When: 7
Where: The Crypt
Why: Moon Pussy makes the kind of noise rock that makes you wonder why other bands don’t adopt a fully eccentric approach to lyrics and performance because they’re so compelling and unique that it’s difficult to really compare them to anyone else except to clumsily slap a genre term on them. Team Nonexistent started out as more of a Riot Grrrl-esque grunge band but now is more a raw punk thing with stirring hooks and pointed lyrics. Cleaner is a punk band with some threads of fuzzy, psychedelic 2010s garage rock.

Jeff Tweedy and band, photo by Rachel Bartz

Friday | 03.13
What: Jeff Tweedy w/Liam Kazar
When: 6:30
Where: The Ogden Theatre
Why: Jeff Tweedy released a thirty song opus of an album called Twilight Override in September 2025. The record showcases the songwriter’s typically thoughtful and personally insightful lyrics as well as his knack for writing paradoxically spare songs with orchestral arrangements. The gentle energy of the song reflects the guiding principle, as it were, of the release and that is how creativity is the antithesis of the pervasive destruction and darkness that is part of everyday life in America and so much of the world in this moment and if one is honest for years. The record is an attempt to stay above being overcoming by this tidal wave and show at least a little common human solidarity in songs that sound like an attempt to being drowned by personal anxieties and the ambient terribleness around us daily as they intermingle to reinforce each other in sinking every single one of us. Tweedy addresses all of this with warmth and humor and live he’ll likely have more than a handful of stories to enhance the intention of the album.

Saturday | 03.14
What: Bison Bone and Chella Negro
When: 8
Where: The Skylark Lounge
Why: Courtney Whitehead will be moving out of Denver soon and this is a farewell show for his long-running project Bison Bone. Whitehead’s style of Americana is deeply personal with vivid portraits of life that illuminate universal human experiences of working class life and its often undersung and undercelebrated joys that aren’t often the subject of the myths of the wealth-obsessed end of our culture. Joining Bison Bone for the bill is another of Denver’s Americana greats with folk-inflected, alternative country acts Chella Negro whose own lyrics aren’t short on deeply insightful and affectionate depictions of a life we all known and relate to directly but maybe don’t examine with as much clarity as Chella reveals in her lyrics.

Saturday | 03.14
What: Glueman, Rugburn and Fossil Blood
When: 8
Where: Hi=Dive
Why: Glueman is going on tour and taking its potent brand of classic hardcore-infused garage rock to various corners of the blighted American landscape. It’s most recent album III is a bit like an amalgam of 90s and 2000s Memphis garage rock and Black Flag. Rugburn is a psychedelic fuzzy punk band from Denver, not to be confused with with the funk band from elsewhere. Fossil Blood sounds like they grew up on all Black Sabbath all the time and then embraced what Ronnie James Dio did before joining that band including his time in Rainbow and his early solo career with the epic riffs and the fantastical imagery.

Saturday | 03.14
What: Max Styler w/Discip B2B Roddy Lima, Dan Molinari and GS
When: 7
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: Max Styler got a boost up in his career when, at 18 years old, he was signed to Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records. Since then he’s had his music out via Mad Decent, Ultra Music and other prestigious imprints in the EDM universe. His blend of tech house, bass music, trap and dubstep often seems to land in a place of almost pop accessibility in the composition. Currently he is touring ahead of his headlining spot at Coachella on April 10, 2026 and this is a chance to catch him at a mid-sized venue with the best sound in Denver especially for this style of music.

Sunday | 03.15
What: Fire in the Mountains Pop-Up: George Cessna, SHADOWROUGHT, PROGMISTRESS and Corpsewhale
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Fire in the Mountains is a festival happening in East Glacier, MT from July 23-26 that includes some of the best bands in the broader heavy music world (an exclusive reunion of the great, cosmic, tribal doom band SubRosa is part of the proceedings) but this edition includes representation of artists out of the spectrum of Gothic Americana including the reunited Sixteen Horsepower, Tarantella, Midwife and El Welk. For this show you can see George Cessna of El Welk perform a solo set as well as PROGMISTRESS of Dreadnought who will perform at the event as well.

Advance Base in 2018, photo by Tom Murphy

Sunday | 03.15
What: Advance Base w/Moontype and Pyramyd
When: 7
Where: Glob
Why: Owen Ashworth has for decades given us tender, heartfelt, emotionally unvarnished and honest pop songs in the lo-fi indie vein and his now long-running project Advance Base occasionally tours including this performance in Denver where he played in 2025. The authenticity and openness of Ashworth’s songs gives them an immediacy and relatability that is rare in a world that puts a premium on the flashy and overproduced.

Testament, photo from testamentlegions.com

Wednesday | 03.18
What: Testament w/Overkill and Destruction
When: 6
Where: Summit Music Hall
Why: Testament is one of the most influential and enduring of the Bay Area thrash bands from that second wave of the music. From early on the group’s storytelling and often socially aware lyrics set it apart from a lot of heavy metal of the day. While it didn’t become as famous as the likes of Metallica and Megadeth it has reliably put out worthwhile records including 2025’s Para Bellum which is the band’s first in five years. But apparently the members of Testament took it upon themselves to push their own songwriting boundaries as a band as well as that of thrash and metal generally with songs that fuse black metal, death metal, thrash and progressive chops. It’s one of their best records in a career not short on fine material. Also on the bill are thrash legends Overkill from New Jersey and German thrash luminaries Destruction.

Bill Frisell, photo from billfrisell.com

Thursday | 03.19
What: An Evening with Bill Frisell
When: 7
Where: The Federal Theatre
Why: Bill Frisell is an influential guitarist mostly known for his contributions to jazz and new music. A graduate of Denver’s East High School, Frisell made a name for himself in the NYC Downtown Scene and has worked with the likes of John Zorn. Across his career his has contributed to albums by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Earth while living in Seattle. In his long career Frisell has collaborated with artists too numerous to cite here as a band leader, a curator and a creative co-conspirator and his work has been nominated for a Grammy. But his creative approach to technical music is what has set him apart from many of his peers and there is an accessibility to even his headiest music that has garnered him a cult following.

Jesus Christ Taxi Driver, photo by Hailey Jane

Thursday | 03.19
What: Jesus Christ Taxi Driver album release w/The Thing and Honey Blazer
When: 7
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: Jesus Christ Taxi Driver has been establishing itself as a kinetic live act from the Front Range of Colorado since founding in 2022. Plenty of acts have done the blues rock with power pop flair and punk energy but JCTD seems to be on a mission with ambitious songwriting to match its outsized stage presence. This year the group releases its new album, a follow up to 2023’s Like My Soul, titled Taxi the Rich. The record will see a vinyl release for this show a month ahead of its release on streaming platforms. If the previous album was an audacious and raucous affair the new record has a more focused clarity without losing the raw energy that has made the band so appealing like they’re channeling a bit of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Ty Segall simultaneously.

Thursday | 03.19
What: 2charm w/Abrii and Vyblossom
When: 7
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: Australian electronic duo 2charm has been on its debut headlining tour of the USA including stops at SXSW in support of its new album star scum city. The record is like a fusion of club style EDM, hyperpop and more mellow glitchcore. In many ways the mood of the music is reminiscent of a more dance music manifestation of chillwave that fans of Charli XCX and Sextile may appreciate for the tonal richness and playfulness of the music.

Friday | 03.20
What: hlao, SixFM, Sun Swept and Polly Urethane
When: 7
Where: Pablo’s East Colfax
Why: A stacked lineup of local underground ambient and avant-garde electronic music including a more beat-based approach with hlao, progressive folk psychedelia ambient with Sun Swept and performance art/classical art pop/noise collage with Polly Urethane’s often confrontational performances.

The Playground Ensemble in 2019 performing Eight Songs For a Mad King, photo by Tom Murphy

Saturday | 03.21
What: The Playground Ensemble at 20
When: 7am – 3am
Where: Various (see program below)
Why: The Playground Ensemble is celebrating its 20 years of existence with a series of events this day as outlined below. For more information click here to read our recent piece on the event and our interview with founder Conrad Kehn.

Spontaneous Team Composition Workshop (all ages and levels welcome)
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Kalamath Building
800 Kalamath St, Denver, CO 80204

Join Denver’s The Playground Ensemble as we celebrate our 20th season with a 20-hour MARATHON of new music.

The day opens at 7:00 AM with a yoga session and gong bath, followed by the Sound Bites breakfast meet-and-greet.

Afternoon at The Stanley Marketplace
2501 N. Dallas St. Aurora, Colorado 80010

Playground at 20!
MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater
2644 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211

Hosted by MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater, this series of concerts is the heart of MARATHON.

After these two duo sets we gather for a celebratory toast to all that has been accomplished in the previous two decades while looking forward to the future.

At 8PM is the main event, The Playground @ 20!

Late Night GLOB

Close out MARATHON at Denver’s DIY citadel, GLOB.

The evening closes with an open invite community-improvised drone session carrying us into the early morning.

For more information visit http://www.playgroundensemble.org.

This program is supported by Denver Arts & Venues through the DENVER CREATES Fund.

Monday | 03.23
What: Quarters w/Porch Light and Telescreens
When: 6
Where: The Bluebird Theater
Why: Telescreens from New York occupies a musical territory balanced between early 2000s post-punk and power pop live energy and modern electronic production. You can hear roots in the music in 90s alternative rock and maybe a touch of Walkmen and The Strokes but Telescreens aren’t going for the image of either. Its new singles “Nothing” and “Preacher” are pure expressions of breaking out of self-imposed repression and the ambient despair that is the normal reaction to modern life. Headlining the show are fellow New York City alternative rock band Quarters whose own sound on its more recent music incorporates an R&B aesthetic into its rhythm and vocals.

Tuesday | 03.24
What: mclusky w/Cherry Spit
When: 7
Where: The Marquis Theater
Why: mclusky established itself as one of the more unhinged post-hardcore acts out of the UK in the 90s and early 2000s with records that were partly surreal humor and partly oblique social commentary often taking the piss out of more obvious sanctimonious approaches to having something to say. The band has album titles like The Difference Between Me and You is That I’m Not on Fire and Mclusky Do Dallas. The group split originally in 2005 and reunited in 2014 for a benefit show. But then did a 20-year anniversary tour for the underrated Mclusky Do Dallas delayed to 2024. Then the band released an EP in 2023 called Unpopular Parts of a Pig followed by a full length in 2025 titled The World Is Still Here and So Are We with a subsequent 2026 EP called I Sure Am Getting Sick of This Bowling Alley. With the dire absurdity of world events mclusky is a welcome presence in modern music. Opening the show is top tier Denver post-hardcore/noise rock quarter Cherry Spit who are a pure fusion of technical death metal, noise rock, post-hardcore and shoegaze.

Friday | 03.27
What: Gov’t Mule at Mission Ballroom
When: 6:30
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: Warren Haynes paid his dues as a musician throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s with stints in David Allen Coe’s band, The Nighthawks and on and off with The Allman Brothers Band which he joined in 1989. But in 1994 he formed Gov’t Mule in 1994 with Allman Brothers bandmate Allen Woody which became their focus when their more well-known project went on hiatus. With the then new band Haynes was able to channel his honed guitar work and insight into songwriting into original material with a masterful command of live improvisation so that the band has never been limited to expectations and sure there is the blues and country foundation but also the psychedelic flourishes that informed Haynes’ early influences with Hendrix and Clapton. The most recent Gov’t Mule record Peace…Like a River continues the band’s fusion of styles and influences into a sound that blurs the line between genres and seems orchestrated like a jazz record with contributions from the likes of Billy Gibbons, Ivan Neville, Ruthie Foster and Billy Bob Thornton.

Banshee Tree, photo by Christian O’Rourke

Friday | 03.27
What: Banshee Tree album release for Bad Luck w/Riley J Band
When: 7:30/8
Where: Fox Theatre
Why: Boulder-based Banshee Tree will release its sophomore album Bad Luck on April 17, 2026 but playing a hometown show ahead of the release likely featuring live versions of the songs from the forthcoming record. Banshee Tree’s eclectic mix of jazz inflected chamber pop and psychedelic folk pop is an apt vehicle for the eight songs on the record that have a gentle and contemplative quality like songs crafted late nights and honed in sessions around a campfire meant to be shared with friends. Despite this intimate aspect of the music each of the songs has an almost orchestral and expansive arrangement that flow into one another as though thematically Bad Luck is a concept album capturing a mood and state of mind wherein one examines wht to let go and what to hold onto going into a new chapter of life.

Saturday | 03.28
What: Pearly Drops
When: 7
Where: Lost Lake
Why: Finish dream pop band Pearly Drops released its latest album The Voices Are Coming Back to great acclaim in 2025. The record showcases the group’s gift for freely blending elements of hyperpop, glitch and what might be described as electronic dance shoegaze. Its gauzy and luminous atmospheres and entrancing, processed vocals sound like music from an as yet unrealized, existential indie science fiction film. It is an album that is its own world and one worth getting lost within and one you’ll get to experience a bit of live.

Saturday | 03.28
What: Ashnikko w/Princess Nokia
When: 7
Where: Mission Ballroom
Why: Ashnikko established herself as one of the stars of hyperpop in the 2020s with her eclectic sound and look inspired in part by Tokyo street fashion (think Harajuku). Her particular blend of styles including rap, electropop and glitch sounds like music for a dance club in a cosmopolitan post-oligarchic collapse near future tourist destination city. The artist’s sophomore album Smoochies (2025) free associates sounds and cultural references and phenomena past and present including a mention of Strawberry Switchblade in the song “Chichinya” perhaps invoking that band’s own unique style and place in popular music history. Live expect set and costume changes and plenty of theater worth showing up to catch for the sheer spectacle.

Monday | 03.30
What: Machine Girl w/Sextile and LustSickPuppy
When: 7
Where: The Summit Music Hall
Why: Until a handful of years ago Machine Girl was an underground phenomenon with its borderline unhinged style of breakcore. Its music is an often disorienting mashup of frenetic grindcore, drum and bass and glitch that might be compared musically favorably with Lightning Bolt with whom the now trio has toured. In that Lightning Bolt is in the vein of punk but taking that spirit and making a different kind of music than expected and delivering ferocious live performances. Sextile started out in a more shoegaze/post-punk style but in the past few years have switched more fully into a sound akin to 90s big beat with modern production methods and sensibilities while maintaining a deeply atmospheric and richly moody aspect that has emphasized more its experimental electronic inspirations.

Monday | 03.30
What: Westerman w/Otto Benson
When: 8
Where: Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox
Why: Westerman’s ambitious 2025 album A Jackal’s Wedding was written in Athens and recorded on the island of Hydra and perhaps reflects the mythological and cultural resonances of one of the birthplaces of Western culture. More minimal and dark, yet also perhaps more minimal, than previous offerings from the songwriter the new record is also more piano and synth forward than earlier more guitar heavy albums and the effect is reminiscent of mid-90s Magnetic Fields or the more lush post-punk period of Arthur Russell. It is an album that explores becoming comfortable with uncertainty and embracing how that mindset can ease one better into an everchanging world. In surrounding himself with an unfamiliar environment in the writing and recording process it seems as though Westerman has crafted a record that makes that navigation an easier indirect experience for the listener as the album is not a departure from style so much as an adaptation and evolution.

Monday | 03.30
What: Ulrika Spacek w/Barbara and Prairie
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Ulrika Spacek was already a noteworthy, arty post-punk band in the early 2020s but with the release of its 2026 album EXPO offers a view into its more avant-garde leanings with compositions that are nearly modern classical fused with baroque pop others a kind of breakbeat post-punk yet others a processional downtempo dream pop IDM. Its simply a rich record in terms of sound and creative ambition and seeing that kind of varied experimentalism in a small room is the way to witness it.

The Belair Lip Bombs, photo from Bandcamp

Tuesday | 03.31
What: The Belair Lip Bombs, Dust and Laveda
When: 7
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: The Belair Lip Bombs are an Australian power pop/garage rock band that was the first Australian band to sign to Third Man Records. Its spirited energy and gift for earnest melodies garnered it early praise for 2023 debut album Lush Life. For 2025’s Again, the group sounds slightly more introspective without losing its ability to put some urgent energy behind its performances. Opening the show is dream pop group Laveda from New York whose own 2025 album Love, Darla revealed its own songwriting and style leaning into a more experimental and gritty direction more akin to NYC post-punk and No Wave.