Spill Tab performs at this years Underground Music Showcase. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)
For three glorious days in July, the Underground Music Showcase hits South Broadway, transforming mild-mannered restaurants, bars and storefronts into a supercharged Voltron of noise assembling annually in Denver’s Baker neighborhood.
The 2023 UMS fully embraced the annual pilgrimage of revolution, evolution, and collective catharsis. From Banded Oak to the Skylark, revelers traversed the crooked pavement passed the zeroed-out cardinal heart of Broadway and Ellsworth to catch the amalgamation of rock, hip hop, metal, cumbia, shoegaze, and whatever the fuck Rad Dudes is this year.
Jami Duffy of Youth on Record speaks during one of many panels at Impact Days. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
The festival has served as a launching pad for local talent and national artists alike since 2001. Homegrown music education nonprofit Youth on Record joined forces with Two Parts as co-owners in 2022, and in their sophomore outing, a clear commitment to community came into focus: Accessible spaces were at the center of planning efforts, as well as drawing visibility to sober initiatives, opening up of Impact Days professional development to the public, and literally crafting an Artist Care lounge replete with a meditation space, vitamin B-12 replenishments, and Dayglo-adorned textile installations from Meow Wolf artist, Andrea Fischer.
UMS directors Jami Duffy and Casey Berry with Jessica Wallach. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
From the first notes of Friday, the UMS (lovingly and accurately also known as “you-a-mess”) was evident that it serves as a kind of Land-of-Misfit-Toys high school reunion. Though the absence of some notable buds was felt, at the heart remained the music. And, similar to the city itself, it remains a source of renewal, joyously chasing that promise of redemption by reinvention to create something new again.
Here’s some highlights that you may have missed from UMS 2023
Friday:
Levi Double U rocking the 1’s and 2’s. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Last year, Levi Double U brought donuts to open up the UMS - and though there weren’t any honey glazed at the Oasis Stage this time around, festival goers were definitely getting in the hole-y spirit dancing to the Denver producer, DJ, and drummer. Yum.
Deva Yoder’s brand of dreamy Opry felt right at home at the Skylark on Friday early evening. Her spacey psych-country featured well-crafted harmonies and vocals channeling Bonnie Raitt, fittingly culminating in a proper late-’70s jam sesh to end the set on a soaring note.
Jen Korte and the Loss occupied a similar orbital vibe at the newly christened UMS House (previously a distillery and … other establishments). Korte’s songs soared like sonic paintings, with each dynamic meticulously placed with purpose, her uber-talented backing musicians filling the space with their complementary brushstrokes and comets. Korte and crew are Americana Gothic at its finest.
Speaking of spacey landscapes, UMS vets Corsicana (the project of Ben Pisano) creates shoegaze that feels like floating on a cloud, lulling an afternoon crowd at HQ into what can only be described as “the Denver sway.” It served as a lighter aperitif to the fuzzed out garage-folk of Becky Hostetler’s bellhoss, which rocked the rafter of Stoney’s as a cathartic Dinosaur Jr.-inspired dance party.
Pink Fuzz bringing the rock to the Underground Music Showcase on day one. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
When it comes to crunch, Pink Fuzz is aptly named. In the first of two UMS sets, the Denver-based power trio brought their high-octane-buzzsaw-muscle-car sound to the Showcase Stage on Friday night. Pulpy Lemmy-esque riffs and pumping Pumpkins Siamese nightmares pummeled UMSers on a stage fit for the sound; their Saturday set also pounded eardrums numb in an unrelenting sweat-drenched set. Pink Fuzz has established a distinctive tone that, alongside literal sibling band The Velveteers, is something that can be thought of as “the Demitro Sound” - a Monster-Zombie motorcycle magnetar that leaves the throttle open the entire performance.
It was a fitting transition to Des Rocs, another nonstop three-piece and one of the standouts of UMS 2023. Described by a bystander as “heavy metal Lost Boys,” the high-energy show smacked of Ram Jam and Queens of the Stone Age riffage, occasioning new-wave with a slight gothic bent while also evoking REM and Elvis (both Presley and even Costello, if you squinted hard enough). Needless to say, Denver slurped up the psychedelic Palm Desert puree without hesitation
Jamila Woods delivering on the soul vibes. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Sultry, silky and smooth would be one of many ways to describe Jamila Woods. Her main stage set provided for a groovy and sensual set that brought out a close to the first day of the festival. The Chicago native shined as evident with her poetry background that translated over to her live set flawlessly. Woods has been making music on and off since about 2016 and we hope she continues to bless us with her soulful voice for years to come.
Last year’s mystery headliners Native Daughters once again closed out the night - and for those in the know, it was no surprise they scorched the inside of HQ to a well-done crisp, the scene of an infamous late-night Sailor Records show at 3 Kings Tavern (RIP). Returning to 60 South Broadway, the dual-drummer instru-metal volcanographers blasted their distinctive percussive assault again into the night. And as the final notes erupted in a conflagratory blast, both band and venue reminded UMSers that it’s possible to rise from ashes anew.
Photo Gallery: Robert Castro
Saturday:
It’s hard not to join in the movement at a Los Mocochetes show. And at the packed Underground Stage, it’s exactly what the crowd was called to do. An eclectic mix of cumbia, rock, funk and more, the genre-bending Denver group harnesses music as advocacy, their very name an amalgamation of “mocosos” (or “brats”) and “machete”, a tool that can be used for both cultivation and destruction, fitting for using dance as simultaneously healing and weapon.
Hex Kitten kept the party going on the Oasis Stage on day 2 of UMS. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
During a break between songs, N3PTUNE shared a memory of his last-minute UMS set from 2021 that lit the fuse of one of Denver’s breakout creatives on the ascendancy. Flash-forward and a vision’s realization was evident on the 2023 UMS Showcase Stage. Flanked by backup dancers, choir singers, and accompanist Rusty Steve, the energy spilled into the crowd multiple times and reinforced what those lucky few knew back then - that N3PTUNE (don’t forget the ‘3’) is a consummate boundary-pusher whose continued rise feels foretold.
Love or hate it, the re-emergence of pop-punk has also felt inevitable, like snakebite piercings eating their own. It wasn’t hard to walk by several venues to discover Manic Panic at the Drive Thru-inspired takes to pogo your heart-sleeved tattoos to. Take Provo, UT-based 19 Miles Per Hour, whose head-nodding set at the L evoked early-era Allister and Homegrown, culminating with bubble-blowing into the adoring crowd.
Or Denver’s Bury Mia, whose Sugarcult-tinged vibes invited Stoney’s to look back at those Warped Summer Extravaganzas ($10 bottled waters notwithstanding). And though labels are useless for Plasma Canvas, the self-proclaimed “loudest, gayest band in the world” - who recently released their “Dusk” LP on vaunted SideOneDummy Records - lived up to their billing with blistering odes to skate punk-shred, lighting up HQ with their afternoon set that left ears ringing and transphobes running.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids got the mosh pit started at The Underground Stage. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Saturday was also a night of hip-hop at the Hi Dive. Set off with the Southern stylings of RO$$AY and smooth storytelling of Lane-O, the stacked lineup gave way to Snotty Nosed Rez Kids, hyping the room less than 90 minutes after their equally engaging Underground Stage set.
Seattle’s Oblé Reed delivered smoothly crafted messages drenched in ‘90s influences, setting up the frenetic psych-freak-hop of surgical weirdos The White Moms. Closing down the night, 7 South Broadway was worked into a lather as Dirty Rotten Rhymers took the stage, tongue firmly in cheek, to announce their upcoming release “Bong Island” - a hit in the making.
Photo Gallery: Robert Castro
Sunday:
Kenny Cornbread is a ChatGPT combination of Ted Nuget and Bo Burnham. The line between tribute and parody can be a fine one, and the real-life Team Amerca’s pseudopatriotic dirges served as buzzing half-empty reminders of not to take fun seriously, knocking off the cobwebs and cracking open Day 3.
Crowds cheer on the return of Air Dubai. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)
Denver welcomed back travelers Air Dubai with open arms at UMS 2023, their performance marked the hip/rock group’s first since going on indefinite hiatus seven years prior. The in-flight entertainment didn’t disappoint, either: A perfect mix of energy and chill, it was a fitting Sunday Showcase Stage return that left the crowd hoping for more arrivals than departures in the future.
Spacecorpse giving UMS goer’s a heavier dose of music. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)
Nothing like beating back the Sunday Scaries with a dose of its own medicine, and that’s exactly what the brutal daylong lineup at Hi Dive delivered. Self-described “dystopian cyberpunk death metal” of Spacecorpse opened up the pit and Cobranoid tore through their hell-escaping high-octane speed doom, while the relentlessness of Denver monoliths Abrams and Cloud Catcher closed down it all down, leaving the room bruised whiplashed.
Green Druid. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)
Speaking of heavy, stoner stalwarts Green Druid rolled up and smoked the Underground Stage at the conveniently timed 4:35 set. It’s a deserved step-up for the group, whose previous UMS performances left the Hi-Dive ablaze in a haze of breakdowns that Keep. Breaking. Down. True to their name, 2023’s set was all power-flower, no stems or seeds, culminating with a two-ton cover of the Nirvana classic, “Breed.”
Within the darkness, there is also light. And though it’s tempting to write-off Skank Williams as a gimmick - ska-themed classic country might elicit eyerolls from the too-cool-for-school set - one listen to the group reveals a deep dedication and appreciation for both. Turns out combining The Slackers and George Jones results in one son-of-a-gun fun fusion dish. It was a fitting finish for the festival, an annual Jambalaya fit for kings and queens and in-betweens, proclaiming loudly and proudly that yes - UMS is still the best kind of mess.
Virgi Dart was our breakthrough performer of the festival this year. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
We also had our chance to host our first ever UMS Day Party on Sunday and we discovered a gem after some last minute shuffling from our artist. Our Selena Tribute party wouldn’t have been possible without the talented Virgi Dart who was able to fill in last minute with her amazing tribute to Cumbia Queen Selena. Big thanks to our other artist Miggy Camacho who is the ambassador of salsa, cumbia, and latin music dj’s in our city. Our special guests The Mañanas and Neoma kept the party going with dance inducing bangers who had everybody twerking and more.
Homework:
“Tecnicolor pop-witch” Cain Culto
Night Fishing, a mishmash of “jazz fuzz”
Multi-instrumentalist namebackwards
Words by Cory Phare and Robert Castro
Photo Gallery: Aly McClaran