Here are some random photos taken throughout 2018 of some of our favorite bands. Photo Credit: Robert Castro
Too many people to name.
Tyto Alba
Oxeye Daisy
Corsicana
One Flew West
YaSi
iZCALI
Crl Crrll
Water Aerobics
The Velveteers
Citra
Kayla Marque
Maxwell Hughes
HR People
Whiskey Autumn
Pout House
Wildermiss
King Eddie
The Corner Girls
The Corner Girls +1
Some of the most talented musicians in Denver!
Who doesn't like free concerts? Set upon the beautiful backdrop of Ruby Hill Park, Levitt Pavilion enters its second season with an impressive lineup of free and paid shows. Fresh off their innaugural year in which the venue received numerous awards (Best New Venue-Pollstar) the lineup is set for what should be an amazing summer. We are pretty excited for this news and are looking forward to this years crop of talent. Make sure to RSVP to the concerts you will be attending this year.
After a successful inaugural season in 2017, Levitt Pavilion Denver has announced their 2018 season. The state-of-the art outdoor amphitheater, able to accommodate up to 7,500 people in its open lawn setting, is located in Denver’s beautiful Ruby Hill Park. Levitt Pavilion Denver will present 50 free concerts this year featuring acclaimed Denver-based artists and award-winning regional and national talent in a wide array of music genres.
The Pavilion, has been garnering acclaim from local and national media outlets of late, including; a nomination for “Best New Venue” by Pollstar, “Best Non Profit Venue” by Westword and a feature in Billboard Magazine as “One of the Twenty Freshest Venues” in the Country. The public is invited to bring their picnic blankets and lawn chairs to the free concerts—reflecting the casual, family-friendly atmosphere of all Levitt concerts.
Levitt Pavilion Denver’s 2018 season will begin on June 1st and run through the end of September. The first wave of acts, can be seen below, but more shows will be added soon.
Levitt Pavilion Denver - 2018 Free Concert Series
Friday, June 1st - TBA
Sunday, June 3rd - Tea Leaf Green + Support TBA
Thursday, June 7th - Tommy Emmanuel + Support TBA
Friday, June 8th - Della Mae + Support TBA
Sunday, June 10th - Thee Phantom & Illharmonic Orchestra + Support TBA
Thursday, June 14th - The Slackers + The Dendrites
Friday, June 15th - Ghost of Paul Revere + Support TBA
Sunday, June 17th - Flor de Toloache + Support TBA
Thursday, June 21st - The Gills + Support TBA
Saturday, June 23rd - Denver Concert Band + Support TBA
Sunday, June 24th - School of Rock + Support TBA
Thursday, June 28th - TBA
Friday, June 29th - Celso Piña + Support TBA
Saturday, June 30th - The Posies + Terra Lightfoot
Sunday, July 1st - Brownout + Money Chicha
Friday, July 6th - Slim Cessna's Auto Club + Support TBA
Sunday, July 8th - The Hillbenders + Support TBA
Thursday, July 12th - Larkin Poe + Support TBA
Friday, July 13th - TBA
Sunday, July 15th - Incendio + El Javi
Thursday, July 19th - Frances Cone + Support TBA
Friday, July 20th - Sotomayor + Support TBA
Saturday, July 21st - The Stone Foxes + Support TBA
Sunday, July 22nd - Jenny and the Mexicats + Support TBA
Thursday, July 26th - Local Latin Festival
Saturday, July 28th - The Alternate Routes + Support TBA
Sunday, July 29th - The 1st Annual Reggae on the Grass
Thursday, August 2nd - TBA
Friday, August 3rd - Rainbow Militia + Lady Gang + Retrofette
Sunday, August 5th - HONEYHONEY + Support TBA
Thursday, August 9th - Katie Herzig + Support TBA
Friday, August 10th - Mariachi Sol de mi Tierra + Support TBA
Saturday, August 11th - TBA
Sunday, August 12th - John Fullbright + The Talbot Brothers + Blake Brown & The American Dust Choir
Thursday, August 16th - The Unlikely Candidates + Support TBA
Friday, August 17th - Waker + Support TBA
Saturday, August 18th - Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express + Support
Sunday, August 19th - Levitt National Tour presents Paul Thorn and Blind Boys of Alabama
Thursday, August 23rd - Ripe + Support TBA
Saturday, August 25th - TBA
Sunday, August 26th - The Brevet + Support TBA
Friday, August 31st - Inspector + Roka Hueka
Saturday, September 1st - TBA
Friday, September 7th - TBA
Saturday, September 8th - TBA
Sunday, September 9th - Bernstein 100 with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra Brass & Percussion
Friday, September 21st - TBA
Saturday, September 22nd - Authority Zero + Support TBA
Sunday, September 23rd - Lao Tizer Quartet + Support TBA
Friday, September 28th - Carbon Leaf + Support TBA
Through a partnership with Emporium Presents, Levitt Pavilion Denver will also present a handful of ticketed shows, featuring artists like Robert Earl Keen and WAR. These shows are supplemental to the free concert series, which will continue to focus on new and emerging talent as well as seasoned artists.
A full schedule of both free and paid shows can be found at www.levittdenver.org.
For more information, email Levitt Pavilion Denver at info@levittdenver.org.
Levitt Pavilion Denver is the result of a partnership between Friends of Levitt Pavilion Denver, Denver Parks and Recreation and the Levitt Foundation, a national creative placemaking funder which empowers communities across the country to revitalize underused public spaces through free concert series. The venue will be programmed, managed and supported by Friends of Levitt Pavilion Denver, a local nonprofit dedicated to building community through music. The venue’s founding sponsors are Colorado Harvest Company, O.pen VAPE and Illegal Pete’s.
The 2018 season is also made possible by the following sponsors: 9NEWS, Toyota, Dos Equis, Great Divide Brewing Company, Bonfils Blood Center, FirstBank, Pepsi, Dulce Vida, Cutwater Spirits, Lyft and more to come.
Saturday, May 26th - The Fab Four - Ultimate Beatles Tribute
Saturday, June 2nd - Alan Parsons Live Project - Eye in the Sky 35th Anniversary Tour
Friday, June 22nd - Home Free
Friday, July 27th - Robert Earl Keen
Saturday, August 4th - WAR & Tower of Power with guest Megan Burtt
Friday, August 24th - ABBA The Concert - A Tribute to ABBA
Monday night, September 21, the LA based band Best Coast gave Denver a live listen of their new Album California Nights. California Nights is Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno’s third full-length album, released in May, and is a slightly more sophisticated and thoughtful album covering their reoccurring themes of relationships and life in California. They are not the same band they were five years ago, and Cosentino’s growth both as a musician and coming into her late twenties, certainly shines through.
Cosentino explains how this album, “embodies the rich lightness and stinging darkness of a California state of mind” and the juxtaposition of what people perceive as LA with the sunny weather, big palm trees, and celebrities, contrasted with the intrepid, lonely reality. She says the title was a good fit for many reasons, one being there is a song on the album by the same name, which, “is one of the biggest, most different songs we’ve written” and the fact that she does much of her creative thinking at night. “It also ties in with the idea that, as natives of LA, Bobb and I know a lot of spots and places within and around the city that a lot of people don't really know or care to know,” Cosentino reveals. “There is a grittiness and darkness to Los Angeles. We related to the idea that things may LOOK or SOUND fun and upbeat, but they may not actually always BE that way, much like our songs.”
If you’ve never heard them live, there is certainly a ruggedness to their sound that is playfully contrasted with Cosentino’s light, flirty vocals. Their new lineup included three guitars, making them a five-piece band instead of the normal three or four. Though most of their songs can be played with three to four people, the new additions fit in and complemented their new, more sophisticated sound. Hearing them live, especially with the added guitars, was even grittier than on their record, as you could feel the sound reverberate around you and see the drummer and guitarists moving their arms a million miles a minute. Meanwhile, Cosentino is up there in the center going through all these different facial expressions as she sings about her many experiences, thoughts, and feelings. It was an emotional experience to watch them play, as I think all live art should be and the crowd responded.
The Bluebird was packed with all different types of people. Most of which was comprised by couples who would be singing or swaying along, not appearing that one had been dragged along by the other. In fact, most of the “woo!” ing came from guys, which is not too surprising. One would think Cosentino has a handful of men to choose from in any given city, yet her lyrics indicate she is still pining away for one good guy to give her a lasting happy love song.
Best Coast played a full hour and a half set with no breaks, just a minute at most between songs to say thank you, which she did after every song, and to take a drink. The majority of the set came off of their current California Nights, though they did play a few throwback favorites such as, “When I’m with You” and “Our Deal” and closed with their most popular track “Boyfriend”. Cosentino made it apparent she knew what a crowd pleaser that song is by joking, “I’ll give you $5 if you can guess what song we’re about to play to close off the night.” There were no outfit or set changes, special effects or special guests, but Best Coast brought their energy and authenticity to Bluebird Theater Monday night and that’s all us fans can really ask for.
Review: Tiffany Candelaria
Denver, it's time to relive your childhood. Tonight at the Denver Botanic Gardens Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, Uncle Kracker and Eve 6 are bringing your high school mix-tapes to life. What better way to spend your Tuesday evening than surrounded by exotic plants and tunes from your past? Sell your Beanie Baby collection, do what you have to do to be here tonight... because it's going to be an unforgettable blast from the past.
Get your tickets right HERE
Looking to know a little bit more about the artists? Read their bios below:
Under The Sun, the hugely popular summer tour celebrating the golden age of alternative pop rock ‘n’ roll, returns with a star-studded festival line-up featuring Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, Uncle Kracker, and Eve 6.
“It’s that time of year, my friends,” says Sugar Ray frontman and Under The Sun co-founder Mark McGrath. “The time when the Under The Sun 2015 Tour comes into your town to bring you some of the biggest bands and biggest hits of a decade we all know and love: The 90’s! So grab a cold one, call some friends – or come make some new ones! – and enjoy some of the music that’s become the soundtrack of our lives. It’s gonna be a rad summer!”
Now in its third year, the Under The Sun Tour has proven one of summer’s favorite events, met with packed houses and euphoric media attention at each stop along the way. Entertainment Weekly kicked things off by declaring 2013’s inaugural Under The Sun to be “the coolest tour of the summer!” In addition to major features in such publications as Billboard and the Los Angeles Times, LATFUSA.com hailed the UTS show at Los Angeles’ legendary Greek Theatre as “a nostalgic night with unbelievable energy radiating from both the stage and the audience.” “It was amazing,” noted Examiner.com, “a great show, very energetic and a real crowd pleaser…if you missed this one, your loss.” “What a remarkable time,” raved OmahaNightlife.com, “what a happy night, what a show.”
- SUGAR RAY -
Mark McGrath is a true original. Best known as lead singer/songwriter for Sugar Ray, the Southern California-native can lay claim to a stunning string of top 10 hits, including “Someday,” “When It’s Over,” and the twin #1 classics, “Fly” and “Every Morning.” McGrath and Sugar Ray proved worldwide fan favorites, with multiple multi-platinum albums (including the RIAA 3x platinum certified 14:59), countless sold out tours, innumerable TV appearances, and starring roles on the covers of such national publications as Spin and Rolling Stone. More than two decades since their foundation later, Sugar Ray remain devoted to the cause that united them, the pursuit of good times, sunshine, and great rock ‘n’ roll.
McGrath has also enjoyed a high profile career as a multi-faceted TV personality, including his recent roles as host of AXS TV’s interactive GRAMMY® Prediction Special and truTV’s extreme singing competition series, Killer Karaoke. Among his many other credits are stints as co-host of the entertainment news program, Extra, and as host of the nationally syndicated Don’t Forget The Lyrics! A three-time champion on VH1’s Rock & Roll Jeopardy, McGrath has also appeared on such series as Fox’s American Idol, NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice (Season 4), ABC’s Wife Swap and The Neighbors, and of course, Syfy’s landmark Sharknado 2: The Second One.
- BETTER THAN EZRA -
When Better Than Ezra hit #1 with 1995’s “Good” it was an overnight success story more than five years in the making. The New Orleans-based band came together in 1988 at Louisiana State University, first unveiling their debut album, Deluxe, independently in 1993 and then again via Elektra Records in 1995. Fueled by singles like “In The Blood” and the blockbuster “Good” – which reached the Top 40 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” – Deluxe achieved RIAA 2x platinum certification and undeniable status as a classic of the alternative era.
Two decades later, Better Than Ezra are as impactful as ever before, with fans including Taylor Swift, who attested to the trio’s timeless appeal by covering their 2005 single, “Breathless,” at the historic Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief charity telethon. In addition, frontman Kevin Griffin’s irrefutable pop prowess has seen him become an in-demand songwriter and producer, with such hits under his belt as Sugarland’s “Stuck Like Glue” and Howie Day’s “Collide.”
Meanwhile, Better Than Ezra’s eight studio recording, 2014’s All Together Now, earned critical acclaim as well as yet another radio favorite in the electro-pop inspired “Crazy Lucky,” which hit Billboard’s “Adult Top 40” airplay chart upon its September release. More importantly, the hard-touring band’s Better Than Ezra Foundation (www.BTEFoundation.org) allows them to give back to their native New Orleans with charity ventures benefitting everything from coastal restoration to after school programs for underprivileged kids.
- UNCLE KRACKER -
Uncle Kracker vaulted to stardom as a charismatic presence and chief collaborator in Kid Rock’s Twisted Brown Trucker Band before kicking off a stunning solo career of his own with 2000’s RIAA double platinum debut, Double Wide. From there, the Michigan-based singer/songwriter/performer – known to his parents as Matthew Shafer – unfurled a string of top 10 multi-format hits including 2001’s #1 smash, “Follow Me,” “In A Little While,” “Smile,” and of course, 2003’s record-setting cover of Dobie Gray’s classic “Drift Away.” The latter track made history by topping Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart for a staggering 28 weeks – the most weeks at #1 for any song on the AC chart, ever. As if that weren’t enough, the following year saw Uncle Kracker topping Billboard’s “Hot Country Songs” chart for five consecutive weeks with “When The Sun Goes Down,” his RIAA gold certified collaboration with country superstar Kenny Chesney.
In addition to nearly non-stop touring, Uncle Kracker has made numerous high-profile TV performances, including NBC’s The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, CBS’ The Early Show Saturday Edition, ABC’s Live! With Regis and Kelly, and Fox’s American Country Awards. In 2014, Uncle Kracker joined Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, and Blues Traveler for the second annual Under The Sun Tour and had such a good time he’s back in 2015 with an even bigger and better live show. “It's meant to be a party,” he says, “and I want everybody involved. Each time we go on stage, I want people to leave smiling.”
- EVE 6 -
Eve 6 formed in Southern California in 1995, inking a deal with RCA Records before they’d even finished high school. The band’s eponymous debut arrived in 1998, attaining platinum success on the back of hits like the Modern Rock chart-topper, “Inside Out.” 2000’s Horrorscope affirmed Eve 6 as alternative stars via a run of radio gems like “Promise,” “On The Roof Again” and the crossover Top 40 anthem “Here’s To The Night.”
It seemed Eve 6 were everywhere, with appearances on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night With Conan O’Brien, CBS’ The Late Show with David Letterman, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and seemingly constant MTV rotation. The band announced a brief hiatus in 2004 but returned in 2012 with their acclaimed fourth album, Speak In Code. Re-energized and reunited, Eve 6 has since been an active and dynamic live act, with extensive headline tours as well as regular festival appearances.
Being a late kid is something that a lot of "kids" in our wish-washy generation of graphic designers and freelance whatevers can relate to. We're a generation that was raised on hide-n-go-seek and dial up internet. Where having a a cordless phone was a sign of class and our expansive CD collection was one place we could continually rely on for solace. Rossonian has captured our angst and confusion and bottled it up into one comprehensive disk aptly entitled, "Late Kids".
The best way to describe this album as a cohesive whole is to say that it is a matured soundtrack to my awkward teen years..where braces and unrequited love was rampant. But matured in a sense that it mimics my cry for "belonging" that my twenties have brought. Stuck in the purgatory between being an adult and still wanting to call our parents each time we get a flat tire.
The first song on the album is "Late Kids" which is reminiscent of 90's rock. It's groovy, careless and catchy. A perfect introduction to the album and a glimpse into what Rossonian is all about. This transitions us into one of their more mellow tracks, "In The Summer" which unsurprisingly is our new summer anthem. It's a little more indie-electro and personally, the sound that I appreciate most from Rossonian. The third song on the 5 song album is "Stressed Out" which transports me to angsty car rides with my Walkman and my cheek pressed aggressively to the car window... (Don't talk to me mom, you don't know me)... "The Truth" and "Sidewalks" are the last songs on the album. Both are laid-back and in the same indie-electro vein as "In The Summer". "Sidewalks" is an experiential conclusion and surprisingly my favorite song on the album. Definitely a sound and conclusion that left me hungry for more.
As a comprehensive whole, the album is great. It dips and vibes through decades of strife and ends poetically in the present. A unique sound from some Late Kids dedicated to the craft of music production. We're excited to see where their talents take them. Hopefully to some local shows around the Denver Scene!
Holy hot damn! Colorado's local music scene is "killing it" as Managing Editor, Castro loves to say. Ivory Circle has come full circle with their latest release, "Faces and Colors". It mimics their signature tempo from their first EP, with the bass drum echoing the beating hearts of lost lovers in the background, but seemingly more mature. Connie, Ivory Circle's lead singer lays her vocal cords out on the table and holds nothing back as she fearlessly belts out the anthem of scorned lovers. If this song is any indication of what's to come when their album debuts this April, then lets just say we're going to have to come up with a better synonym for "killing it". Plus, the music video is SO well done. You can tell that they are very serious about their art and aren't going to stop until they make it. Whatever that means. Give it a listen and stay connected for their album drop later on in the Spring!
