Music Category

Colorado’s biggest summertime dance music event is back with a bang as Global Dance Festival (GDF) hosts perhaps its biggest lineup to date at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, July 17-19. Last summer’s GDF boasted names like Adventure Club, Zedd and Madeon, but GlobalDanceEvents.com and AEG have stacked the lineup again, welcoming a plethora of DJs who will offer up a variety of genres and sounds. From King of EDM, Tiesto, to dance music legends Benny Benassi and Above & Beyond, to up and coming producers likeRead More

On June 18th, 2015, 10 of my friends and I piled into three cars shortly before midnight. Looking back on it now, we were crazy to make an overnight 12 hour drive, but the end prize was worth the utter exhaustion: Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas. A dance music lover to my core, the journey to and experience at EDC were spiritual for me. Here’s a breakdown of Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas 2015. The Basics: What – EDC is the largest dance music festival in North America.Read More

The Hi-Dive in Denver, Colorado is quiet as the opening band packs up their own equipment and exits the stage. A quiet electricity hangs in the air; the sounds of clanking classes and friendly conversation replacing the music that was just being played. In the small, standing-room-only venue, you won’t find any top-40 artists or teenaged fanboys and girls waiting around to meet their idols.The Hi-Dive is a bar, and half of the patrons are just there to drink a few beers and check out whatever artists happen to be performingRead More

The Nashville music scene seems to favor a certain type of up and coming artist. But if you don’t wear a cowboy hat and boots and sing about tractors, is it still possible for you to find an audience? In the case of Tennessee natives COIN, that answer is a resounding “yes!” Though they may bear little resemblance to Alan Jackson or Lady Antebellum, they still owe their rise to the same renowned music scene, which nowadays churns out bands in nearly every genre imaginable. Chase Lawrence (lead vocals), JoeRead More

There’s a very good chance that a little indie outfit from Ithaca, NY is one of your favorite bands and you don’t even know it. X Ambassadors have been making waves on the underground for quite some time. From the snowballing success of their EPS to the World Cup virality of their single “Jungle” and a score of featured collaborations including both Eminem’s “Wicked Ways” and Zedd’s “Transmission” released earlier this week, it seems almost impossible to turn one’s head without catching wind of their urgent blend of indie rock andRead More

In the early days of Writtalin–which admittedly isn’t that long ago since we’ve only been going strong for about a year and a half–I had the distinct pleasure of meeting one of alternative rock’s rising stars. On the idyllic tract of downtown Fullerton, Ryan Daly, Anthony Improgo and the rest of electoropop quartet Parade of Lights shook KROQ’s Locals Only Show like a firestorm. They were poised to take the alt nation by storm, owning the stage like a post-apocalyptic Walk the Moon or a sweeter pop answer to AWOLNATION.Read More

When you buy tickets for a show at Red Rocks in Denver, they clearly say in bold print, “RAIN OR SHINE.” I’ve been to many a concert at Red Rocks, but have yet to put that rain or shine thing to the test. But today, it’s torrentially down pouring and has been for the last 48 hours in Denver. All the same, I head to my interview with DJ ETC!ETC!, hoping for the best. ETC!ETC!, or Jose Guerrero, has been producing for years, but has really hit his stride inRead More

Though their third studio effort Pop Psychology may be just over a year in the past, alt-pop band Neon Trees aren’t ready to take a break just yet. This June, the Provo, Utah quartet will embark on their aptly-titled “An Intimate Night with Neon Trees” tour, during which they will be playing a series of small venues across the US. And since their latest hit single “Sleeping with a Friend” has long since faded from the airwaves, Tyler Glenn and company have decided the best way to mark the occasion isRead More

While Taking Back Sunday finishes up their VIP acoustic set and meet-and-greet at the Summit Music Hall in Denver, Colorado, Greg Barnett, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, hangs around by the merchandise table. The twentysomethings who have come to relive their high school years and the eyeliner-clad tweens who have come to meet their idols gather around John Nolan and Adam Lazzara. Meanwhile, Greg and the rest of the Menzingers, a four-piece punk band from Pennsylvania, chat and laugh, fairly anonymous figures to the fawning group that has gathered. But whatRead More

Punk rock and basketball certainly aren’t the first things that come to mind upon listening to singer-songwriter Stefan Pruett’s debut single, but both make up the cornerstone of “Carefree” – a smooth slice of 80s dream pop that plays like a lost track from The Breakfast Club and the National’s first foray into EDM. If that sounds like an earful, listen and judge for yourself:   If the culture clash of punk and hoops isn’t immediately apparent, Pruett wouldn’t blame you. The evolution of his music into the dark popRead More

Recently I was approached by a teenager who had seen me editing my music in the library. This is how our interaction went down: Kid: “Whoa, are you a DJ?!” Me: “No, I’m a guitarist.” Kid: “Oh…” (walks away). My oh my how times are a changin’. Dylan is still right. That’s why this past weekend was refreshing. Between the Grammy’s and MusiCares awards, we saw a renewed appreciation for actual musicians.   MusiCares An annual event honoring the lifetime achievement of the greatest musicians in history wouldn’t be completeRead More

Goddamn! Oh! Baby! I found myself shouting at regular intervals as I witnessed Andre 3000 work the crowd, make love to the microphone stand, and milk the life out of his performance at Lollapalooza. I thanked God, Allah, Buddha, Oprah and Tom Cruise that I was blessed with the opportunity to witness Outkast perform live. Unless you are legally deaf, there is no acceptable excuse for not liking music. Studies show that people who don’t enjoy music are actually mentally messed up. That isn’t a joke, there is a realRead More

Scottish rock instrumentalists Mogwai – a group that I reviewed a few months ago – are back with an EP to follow up their 2014 Rave Tapes album. The 6-track EP, titled Music Industry 3 Fitness Industry 1 features three new songs recorded during the Rave Tapes sessions, and three remixes of album tracks. The EP has spawned the single “Teenage Exorcists,” one of the bands most catchy and ambitious vocal tracks to date. Music Industry 3 Fitness Industry 1 is available on iTunes here, but first, take a listen to the single on SoundCloud,Read More

Joachim Garraud has been making electronic music for decades. The DJ and producer first began his foray into dance music in the late 1980s and has been going full steam ahead since then. Known both for his unique sound as well as  for his one of a kind video shows, Garraud has seen the ebb and flow of the dance music scene and taken it in stride. As a producer, Garraud has been behind some of the biggest dance anthems of the 2000s (“Love is Gone” and “Love Don’t Let MeRead More

In the spirit of full disclosure, I went to day 1 of Decadence last year and I was sure I wouldn’t go again. The DJs that played were major names, but the Colorado Convention Center is not an ideal music venue. I found that the sound was often too low (poor Nervo couldn’t get the crowd into their set to save their lives) and the overall feel of the space was more business than music. But after attending this year’s event, all those feelings have changed. Decadence 2014 promised toRead More