Westword Music Showcase: A Day Full Of Fun In The Sun

The crowd going wild during the Galantis set. (Photo: Aly McClaran)

This past Saturday we celebrated covering our tenth Westword Music Showcase and once again we had an amazing day celebrating some of the best national and local music right in the heart of The Golden Triangle. While the main stages were buzzing with some of the best national acts it was the neighborhood venues that provided for some of the best action of the day.

Demi Dimitro of The Velveteers (Photo: Robert Castro)

Roaming the streets of Broadway and Lincoln, we had a chance to take in amazing sets from The Hollow, Kayla Marque, The Velveteers, iZCALLI, Chella and The Charm, Lady Gang, The Corner Girls, Grayson County Burn Band, Florea, Blake Brown & The American Dust Choir, RL Cole & The Hell You Say and more. The main stages had us reeling with amazing sets from locals Wildermiss whose Hometown for The Holidays win gave them a chance to play main stage as has been the norm the past few years. Other notable sets came from Sunflower Bean, St. Lucia, Bonobo and Galantis who need the night.

The one day festival has continued to succeed by sticking to a simple formula and that is to provide some of the best Denver local acts along with some of the buzz bands on the national scene to provide a day full of musical bliss.

Photos: Robert Castro

Photos: Aly McClaran

RiNo Live: A Fixer Upper With Some Promise | Review + Photos

For a festival that lacked any type of promotion (and official website), Friday night drew out surprisingly large crowds to the River North neighborhood. The festival goers ranged from Blue Moon beer enthusiasts, hipsters in no less than 3 inch brimmed hats and eager bros excited to explore a new area of Denver. The ticketing lines were minimal and the entry process was flawless… but that’s about the only fluidity the night saw. 

Packed like sardines. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Seeing as this was the first year for RiNo Live and a new location for a festival there were some unexpected obstacles that arose. Running Parallel to the Platt River, cushioned between the new Blue Moon Brewery, the festival was one long rectangle that bottlenecked at the stage. The layout made it difficult for people to spread out and caused a ton of congestion around the stage. In addition to the occluded stage front the beer lines made it nearly impossible to walk freely around in the event space. The beer tents were positioned directly across from each other  creating one large human zipper that ran directly through the center of the concert. Resulting in one big Trumpian wall of impatient humans and a ton of frustrated bystanders trying to navigate the festival space. 

Jean-Philip Grobler of St. Lucia (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Patricia Beranek of St. Lucia (Robert Castro)

Aside from a few mistakes that one could expect to see from a freshman festival, RiNo Live got a bunch of things right. The lineup was diverse and unexpected, bridging generational gaps and appealing to a wide array of people. St. Lucia brought a ton of energy and had everyone wishing that Jean-Phillip Grobler was their aerobics instructor. In between air kicks, fist bumps and laps around the stage Grobler would engage and entrance the audience with his energy and charisma. At one point he had all four thousand attendees jumping in house party fashion, chanting and singing along. Next on the bill were the Silversun Pickups, a blast from our angst filled teen years. Despite keeping a low profile for the past decade, they had a slew of die hard SSU followers. The timid duo blessed us with new and old songs in between quirky banter and coy smiles and were a perfect end to the evening. 

Silvers Pickups (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Nikki Monninger of Silvers Pickups (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

In addition to a unique lineup RiNo Live boasted a myriad of diverse vendors. From salt inspired jewelry to an interactive painting booth that allowed for you contribute to the art as a collective, the vendor scene was both intriguing and thoughtful. It seemed as through each vendor was meticulously chosen and each reflected the creative nature of Denver’s hippest art district. 

Although RiNo Live had its fair share of setbacks they were able to draw four thousand people to their gate all in the name of art and music. We look forward to seeing the festival grow in the coming years. Maybe next year they’ll have a website and hashtag to go along with it… but until then we’re happy to say that we attended the first ever RiNo Live Festival (as we’re sure there will be plenty more to follow). 

Music | Empire of the Sun | The Fillmore Auditorium | September 12th | Photo Essay

The Fillmore Auditorium was packed in this past Saturday for Empire of The Sun. With a slew of top act openers including Holy Ghost and St. Lucia the crowd was sure in for a treat as Empire of The Sun took the stage to their customary crowd pleasing production. Always ones to put on a show, they mesmerized the crowd with an array of lights, fog and backup dancers that only brought their performance to life.