W 4/4 Tokimonsta @ Bar Standard

Now that LiveNation has dipped its hands in most venues across the Mile High (including most recently, talent buying for Vinyl and Bar Standard) music fans will be seeing more national and international acts come through town. Tokimonsta graced us last October, and she's back again with a Broadway club gig. Catch up on her Lune Ruge album and the tracks of collaborators like Anderson. Paak & Selah Sue to gear up for the show.

F 4/6 Phoebe Bridgers @ Gothic

Initially booked at Larimer Lounge, the Phoebe Bridgers show is now headed to Englewood's massive Gothic Theatre. If that's not indicative for her continuing rise in popularity, check out all the lists she's landed on for Best This and Favorite That. Bridgers astutely strikes that ever longed for balance between haunting and evocative, sincere and irreverent.

Sa 4/14 The Still Tide EP Release + Panther Martin + Bluebook @ Lost Lake

Swoon. Swoon. Swoon. What a line-up, Denver. Come for any of these local bands, and stay for ALL of them. Bluebook, with their costumes and stage set up, will seduce your eyes and your ears. Panther Martin will make you jump up and down and remember how good it feels to just rock out. Headliners, The Still Tide, in all their western pop glory and with Anna Morsett's blessed set of pipes will wrap up the night celebrating their Run Out EP launch.

Sa 4/21 The Colorado Bluebirds @ Bluebird Music Festival (Macky Auditorium)

You can thank Future Arts Foundation for booking the debut show of The Colorado Bluebirds, a stellar bluegrass band with folks from Elephant Revival, Head for the Hills, and Yonder Mountain String Band. They'll be playing the early show at Macky Auditorium for the Foundation's Bluebird Music Festival that raises money for an arts house that will offer kids free and reduced cost art and music lessons.

F 4/27 Vulfpeck & Kamsai Washington @ Red Rocks

Red Rocks season is upon us! Get your party bus plans ready, friends! And let's start by partying to... JAZZ. Yes, Kamasi Washington, the lauded To Pimp a Butterfly studio musician gracing festivals all over this year, opens for funk gurus and outspoken critics of streaming services royalties rates, Vulfpeck, at the end of the month.

This past weekend the String Cheese Incident (SCI) took over Red Rocks for what's become an annual three-night event. This venue has become a home base for the Colorado band, allowing them to bring a variety of musicians to open up and sit in on their electrifying performances. This year, SCI brought out friends TAUK, Kamasi Washington and Hot Rize for each of their three shows. We were lucky enough to cover Saturday night with the sensational jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington.

When we heard Kamasi Washington was opening this Saturday we knew we couldn't miss it. The Los Angeles born-and-raised saxophonist/composer has been making waves in music after having collaborated with all sorts of artists like Herbie Hancock, Nas, Snoop Dogg, and, Thundercat. Most recently he conducted the strings section as well as holding down the saxophone for Kendrick Lamar’s latest album To Pimp A Butterfly. He was also selected to lead this years Super Jam at Bonnaroo along side local favorites Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats. His style of jazz has opened up a new window to reach out to new audiences who might not understand the complexities of the genre. Washington released a massive three hour long album last year appropriately named The Epic that was given excellent reviews from top critics.

For those who know and love String Cheese Incident, this show was an incredible showcase. Some of our favorites moments of the night were during songs like “Restless Wind”, “Best Feeling”, “Colorado Bluebird Sky”, “Sirens” and “Desert Dawn”. As we anticipated, Kamasi Washington sat in with the band during their rendition of John Coltrane’s “Impressions”, which carried into “I Want To Take You Higher” featuring Colorado’s very own Sheryl Renee. Washington also sat in during the second set for songs like “45th of November” and “Bumpin’ Reel." The visual spectacle that SCI showcases alongside their music was nothing short of amazing; reminiscent of a dimensional portal zooming into multiple views and perspectives of the artists playing on stage.

The encore might have been one of the best we’ve seen in a while as Sheryl Renee and her powerful voice returned to stage for a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s mega hit “Dreams”. The end of the night was upon us as the house lights came on, when suddenly Red Rocks transformed into a massive impromptu dance party with band and crew together on stage. String Cheese and friends left us wth some heartfelt parting words from the great Lionel Richie, “Party, Karambo, Fiesta, Forever!”