The Velveteers Shine As They Embark On Their UK Tour

Demi Dimitro of The Velveteers (Photo Credit: Kate Rose)

On Saturday The Velveteers kicked off their UK tour with a show in Denver at the Bluebird Theater. The venue was filled with fans eager to support this badass trifecta and wish them well on their tour. The eerie mood was easily set between the incredible stage design, created by Sierra Voss, and fog rolling out into the crowd. The stage was covered in candles and roses, five floating eyes, a handpainted banner, along with vintage TVs displaying hypnotizing clips of the band. Add all of that to the already impactful sound of The Velveteers and you were left with an almost out of body experience. Your eyes continuously move around the stage between the set design, Demi’s euphoric voice paired with her fluid guitar strokes, to wanting to watch John and Adrian complement each other’s drumming prowess. This has been a wonderful group to watch grow, and we’re definitely ready to see where they go from here.

The band is set to hit the stage again overseas on September 10th at Broadcast in Glasgow.

Words and Images- Kate Rose

Brazilian Girls Danced Their Way Into Our Hearts

The Bluebird Theater was transformed into a warm and muggy dance party on Wednesday night courtesy of New York dance rockers Brazilian Girls. The four piece band made Denver one of four tour stops making for an exciting show. We were fortunate enough to catch them earlier in the day for an Open Air CPR taping and interview. With an all too familiar swag led by the talented Sabina Sciubba, the band with an almost cult like following belted out a pretty amazing set consisting of older and new favorites. The Grammy nominated band even took in the finer amenities of our fine state by partaking in some recreational smoking of our finest leafy product. The crowd never felt disengaged and even a few members got a chance to get up on stage and dance away their inhibitions while the band played their style of reggae, dance, and electro mashup of their customary element of sound.

Believe The Hype! Billie Eilish Is The Real Deal.

Fresh off a sold out tour and breakout performance at this years SXSW Music Festival, 16 year old Los Angeles native Billie Eilish continued her whirlwind year with a stop in Denver. A sold out Bluebird Theater played witness to one of the hottest pop acts in the country this past Friday night. With catchy songs and danceable numbers Eilish has won the hearts of the music world with a penchant for delivering amazing performances. Her EP Don't Smile at Me, is burning up the charts with hits such as "Bellyache", "My Boy" and the dreamy ballad "Ocean Eyes". All the hits were played as she jokingly paused to catch her breath due to our fair city's altitude throughout her set. She even managed to play an acoustic cover of Drake's "Hotline Bling" to even furthermore give us reason to believe she will be playing bigger venues on her next stop in the Mile High City.

-Robert Castro

Artist to Follow: Bishop Briggs

The first time we saw Sarah McLaughlin -known by stage name Bishop Briggs- perform was at the RiNo festival last summer. ‘River’ was all over KTCL’s 93.3 and we were all left wondering who this gospel trap goddess was. Watching her live in the hot Colorado sun our jaws hit the dusty gravel. This chick is explosive on stage and her steamrolling career has followed suit. The Los Angeles native has been steadily touring for the last year making appearances at internationally dominating festivals like SXSW and most recently, Coachella. She's got big plans for the summer including US festivals Firefly, Lollapalooza, Montreal's Osheaga and England's Reading and Leeds Festivals. It’s clicked in our heads that this pigtail whipping badass is the next pop sensation.

Last night Bishop Briggs threw down in our city at a sold out Bluebird show. Rocking a retro, oversized Tasmanian Devil tee and her classic, unforgettable double-braided hairstyle. We love her self-titled EP but it doesn't touch the experience of her live performance and presence. She bounces across the stage like a bunny rabbit yet her pitch fails to quiver (dat endurance doe). Her dynamic vocals consistently sound fresh and full-forced live. She couldn't help but adorably smirk when during a quiet pause some tipsy bro yelled, "WE LOVE YOU BISHOP." She's not willing to put up a front and it's crazy charming.

This chick also appreciates her fans like no other. You can see the glimmer of appreciation in her genuine smile as she greets fans out in the unwelcoming Denver rain yesterday. An aura of humbleness constantly surrounds her. After she liked our Instagram photos and tweets from the show we’ve also unwillingly morphed into choker wearing 17-year-old girls fanning our faces in disbelief.

It feels like we’re preaching to the choir here. If you've missed one of her live shows it's because you're not paying attention. We look forward in the continuation of following her career and hope that next time she's in town we won't sleep on the possible opportunity of asking for an interview. Stay tuned! 

The mile high city is crushing’ hard on you, Bishop Briggs.

Words: Kelly O'Keefe / Photos: Robert Castro

Ultra5280's Best Shows of 2016

We had the amazing opportunity to cover some amazing shows this year. The nice thing about our staff is that we all have different taste in music, for example our managing editor Mcclain Morris absolutely loves Pitbull (who would have known). A few things need to fit our criteria to make it a good show, showmanship, production, sound and the signature staple each band brings to the crowd. As with our top albums of 2016 we asked some of our good friends to chime in with theirs, so once again a huge thanks to our friends at Live Nation, AEG, Two Parts, and Soda Jerk Presents.

Robert Castro - Editor in Chief - Ultra5280

1. Radiohead - Austin City Limits Music Festival (Weekend Two)

2. Tame Impala - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. LCD Soundsystem - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

4. Bud Bronson and The Good Timers - The UMS

5. Sigur Ros - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

Mcclain Morris - Managing Editor - Ultra5280

1. The Lumineers - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats - Pabst Music Festival (Denver)

3. Brent Cowles - Syntax Opera House

4. Portugal. The Man / Glass Animals - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

5. Langhorne Slim - The Bluebird Theater

Matt Smith - Photographer - Ultra5280

1. LCD Soundsystem - red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Brand New/Modest Mouse - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. Explosions In The Sky - The Ogden Theatre

4. Ryan Adams - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

5. Dolly Parton - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Tobias Krause - Event Manager - Two Parts Co

1. Tame Impala - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Father John Misty - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

3. My Morning Jacket - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

4. The Raven & The Writing Desk - Fort Greene Bar

5. Dragondeer _ The UMS

Rikki Aston - Talent Buyer - Live Nation

1. Iggy Pop/Josh Homme - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

2. Dolly Parton - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. Chris Stapleton - The Fillmore Auditorium

4. Ja Rule/Ashanti - The Ogden Theatre

5. Sigur Ros - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

Zoe Lanterman - Marketing Director - Soda Jerk Presents

1. LCD Soundsystem - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Tame Impala - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. Against Me - Riot Fest

4. Unknown Mortal Orchestra/Whitney - The Aggie Theatre

5. STRFKR/Com Truise - The Aggie Theatre

Geoff Brent - Talent Buyer - Soda Jerk Presents

1. LCD Soundsysytem - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Nothing, Nowhere - Moon Room

3. Native Daughters - Larimer Lounge

4. Against Me - Marquis Theater

5. Modern Baseball/Joyce Manor - Summit Music Hall

Danny Sax - Talent Buyer - AEG

1. Gojira - The Gothic Theatre

2. Choking Victim - The Gothic Theatre

3. Mac Demarco - The Ogden and Red Rocks

4. The Specials - The Ogden Theatre

5. The Head and The Heart - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Emancipator Brought A Visual and Electrifying Set To The Bluebird Last Weekend

Thank goodness Denver was one of the nine cities chosen to be a part of the Loci Records Label Showcase. Emancipator’s Doug Appling, created the label, which he says on the label’s website is a, “crossroads of melodic downtempo, instrumental hip-hop, and electronica.” This showcase was exactly that!

 With artists like Lapa, Edamame, and Tor signed to the label, you get Emancipator type feels, each with their own twist. The acts leading up to Emancipator built the energy up and gained any previous non-fans in the crowd. And with Emancipator having a pretty consistent sound and energy, it was pleasant to have openers that were each individual, while sticking to the overall fluidity of the show. Hip-hop beats, deep house rabbit holes, and easy to follow bass lines made this the perfect collaboration of music, with just enough diversity to keep it interesting.

The sold out show took The Bluebird by storm, full of fans young and old alike, exploding with sounds of excitement and gratitude as soon as Doug Appling and violinist, Ilya Goldberg took the stage. Octagon shaped projection screens, arranged in a sort of half circle behind all the artists, came especially to life when Emancipator started to play. Visions of sleepy winters, trippy psychedelia, and serene scenes of greenery ebbed and flowed to the music, and provided the crowd with a visual guide. 

The soft, peaceful sounds of Goldberg’s violin, paired with Appling’s downtempo electronic beats, is a match made in heaven. Or Portland. As if their music couldn’t get any better, Appling threw in some old school, hip-hop, fan favorites, and had the crowd bumping and grinding in breakdowns. Very clear that Denver wanted to dance, Emancipator delivered and gave us some groovy music to get down to.

 A wonderful compilation of many of their records, Emancipator’s set had a wonderful simplicity to it. A full house, an inspiring and thoughtfully put together showcase, and all the enchanting energy procured by these artists all add to an extensive past, full of great performances, put on by some of Denver’s favorites. 

-Lina Skrzypczak