Austin native Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) was in town this past weekend and his presence was heard loud and clear! We've been following this guy for a few years now and we are happy to see how far he's come. We caught him last year at the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival and even spotted him at the SXSW Festival back in march. This time he sold out the Ogden two nights in a row - it's clear we're not the only folks in Denver enjoying his music. We didn't make it to the Friday show because we were at Lost Lake to see The Velveteers and Dragondeer, but to our surprise, Rose-Garcia stopped by Lost Lake late night for an exclusive little DJ set, even sporting a Star Trek uniform. Priceless!

Colfax was buzzing on Saturday night and we were excited to see what Rose-Garcia had in store for us. Normally a solo act with just a guitar and his iconic suitcase drum kit, this time around he had a full band joining him on stage. The show was amazing! Song after song, he had the whole crowd cheering and singing along. He played an interesting array of tracks going back and forth in tempo. We particularly enjoyed the songs "Chinatown", "Bully's Lament", "Friends and Genus", "Hard Wired", and his new hit single "Dearly Departed", which features Colorado native Esmé Patterson. His unmistakable raspy voice and street artist vibe makes him one of our favorite musicians to cover, and we were so thrilled to get to meet him. Word has it that he's going to hole himself up this winter in order to work on a new album for next year. We can't wait!

-Andrew Rios

You guys should realize by now just how much Ultra5280 loves Red Bull Sound Select. A beautiful, new-age platform where fans can collaborate on playlists, discover new artists, and get access to hundreds of super cheap - and sometimes even free - concerts a year? This program sits at the forefront of new-age music discovery, and we’ve loved taking advantage of Denver being chosen as one of the first markets for SoundSelect to call home over the last year. We’ve covered multiple SoundSelect shows over the last year, and featured SoundSelect artists like CRL CRRLL, In The Whale, and The Epilogues at numerous Ultra5280 events.

SoundSelect is continuing to work hard on the artist development portion of it’s program, helping bring young artists to new fans across the globe, and they’re kicking off year two in Denver by bringing Austin-based group Brownout to the Hi-Dive this coming Tuesday, February 24th. The group describes themselves as “hardcore Latin Funk”, and I’m really not sure what could be more tantalizing than hearing each those words used together to describe one single group. Supported by Denver SoundSelect artists The Yawpers and Dragondeer, Brownout Presents “Brown Sabbath”, the group’s re-imagined versions of Black Sabbath songs. SoundSelect events like this Tuesday’s show are open to the public, but members of the SoundSelect community get first dibs on discounted tickets, as well as fun bonus’ that come with each event. Fans who join the SoundSelect community before 9pm on Tuesday and RSVP to the event online will be eligible to get tickets to the show for a measly $3 dollars (no, we’re not kidding), while tickets without RSVP will be $15. In case you needed more of a reason to come, the first 50 fans through the door of the show that night will receive a free Illegal Pete’s burrito. Good music and delicious food - what more could you ask for?

This Tuesday’s show is the first of many amazing performances Denver will see from SoundSelect artists this year, and registering with the SoundSelect community is the easiest way to guarantee you don’t miss a minute of fun. Register online at www.redbullsoundselect.com/login, and while you’re there, be sure to RSVP for this week’s show. Hope to see you there - you know we’ll be getting down.