GOODNESS Block Party Set To Take Over Denver September 1st

Labor Day weekend just got a whole lot better here in Denver. Our good friends at Red Bull and DJ Low Key are putting together a block party of epic proportions here in the Mile High!

On September 1st, 2018, Red Bull Music presents a Goodness Block Party with DJ Low Key & friends.  A celebration of Denver music and community, the day-long event is inspired by DJ Low Key’s longstanding party “Goodness” a signature event of the city’s RiNo neighborhood since 2012. Taking over 27th Street between Larimer and Walnut, the Goodness Block Party will spill onto the space out front of its longtime home at The Meadowlark to feature a stacked lineup of hip-hop and soul inspired artists including DJ Low Key, DJ Jazzy Jeff, YaSi, CRL CRRLL, TiRon & Ayomari, Kayla Marque, and Sur Ellz. In addition, the event will host the debut of Goodness Greatness, an all-star band with Phonte, Exile and friends. Tickets are $10 in advance of the event, and are available HERE.

DJ Low Key has been an influential presence in the Denver hip-hop scene for well over a decade, with his summer series Goodness now in its 7th season and his weekly the Solution (with fellow Denver fixture DJ Lazy Eyez) turning 12 years old next February. Bringing celebrated DJs and hip-hop legends from Denver and beyond to perform, DJ Low Key has created a space to showcase Denver’s unique, independent hip-hop, soul and DJ culture. With the Goodness Block Party, Red Bull Music and DJ Low Key look to highlight and celebrate the uniqueness of Denver’s East Side/RiNo neighborhood, shining a light on the community that has continued to build the area’s renowned musical and artistic legacy.

“The name Goodness comes from the idea of featuring all the goodness possible at the party - from music to people to food to drink to art and beyond. Over time, that focus brought together a whole lot of interesting, like-minded people,” DJ Low Key explains.  “Everything starts with the love of the music and then expands out from there in different directions, with a lot of unexpected great things coming from it... it’s a party for everybody, but not just anybody."

The Underground Music Showcase Shines Under New Leadership

Crowds Enjoy The Underground Music Showcase. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)

Another year and another Underground Music Showcase in the books. The funnest weekend of the year for us once again had us scouring the streets of South Broadway taking in some of the best national and local acts in music today. Under the new ownership of Two Parts, the festival took on its own identity while keeping the traditional elements of the long standing institution. For us it was our eighth year in a row covering this festival and quite possibly the funnest. Each year brings new memories and discoveries, this year was no different. The festival switched from a four day format to a three day format this year and added a slew of bigger stages tucked away among the gritty yet majestic Baker neighborhood. (Scroll Down For More)

Gallery by Aly McClaran (All Rights Reserved)

Los Mocochetes playing to the Sesh Stage crowd at The UMS. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

With three main stages this year attendees had more opportunities to see more than just music. A beer-centric stage that combined Two Parts's successful Sesh Festival combined with a music stage adequately named the Sesh Stage gave us an opportunity to enjoy our favorite session beers all while listening to the likes of bands such as The Velveteers, Slow Caves, and Los Mocochetes.

The Imagination Stage provided with some adequate amenities during the fest. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)

Another crowd favorite was the Imagination Stage tucked inside Import Mechanics. The area was a delightful oasis with an array of activities, murals, and shaded lounges to enjoy. Modular music installations as well as a record shop on wheels were amongst the favorite attractions. An El Camino with a ball pit in the the bed made for some rather interesting moments all weekend as well. 

Friday night headliners The Overcoats got things started off. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

PPL MVR (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

After dusk the streets of Broadway turned into a music lovers paradise with venues such as Three Kings Tavern, The Hornet, Illegal Pete's, Gary Lee's Motor Club and The Skylark hosted a who's who of some of the most talented bands in our city and surrounding areas. Although crowded and sometimes impossible to get into, it was the sidewalks where conversations and yearly reunions took place all while the blaring sounds reached far beyond the the clubs and into the streets.

The Denver All-Stars (Photo credit: Robert Castro)

Wes Watkins of The Other Black. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)

The buzz amongst festival attendees was pretty consistent as many enjoyed this year and had nothing but praise for the new direction the festival is headed into. As for us we cannot wait until next year to celebrate once again one of the best weekends our city has to offer. 

Words - Robert Castro

UMS AWARDS

1. Best Dressed Band: Tyto Alba (matching baseball tees), Wildermiss (dem gold jackets), iZCALLi (Karate Kid themed ensembles) The Corner Girls (prom dresses) Parallelephants (fringe on fleek) Yasi (denim queen) Madge (boxing outfits).

2. Best performances: Madge, Panther Martin, Nasty Nachos/Rumtum, Optycnerd, Tyto Alba, Hot 8 Brass Band, ALVVAYS, Bud Bronson & The Good Timers, Bison Bone, The Guestlist.

3. Best use of advertising: iZCALLi (wood screen printed signs, and numbered) Honorable Mention: The Trujillo Company, The Hollow (don't ask).

A pool full of teddy bears. (Photo Credit: Aly McClaran)

4. Best venue: Imagination Stage

5. Best place to grab a bite: Illegal Petes (a lifesaver every night)

6. Most common phrase: "Where are you?", "Is there a line?".

Gallery by Robert Castro (All Rights Reserved)

First Look: David Burchfield & The Fire Guild "State To State"

We have the first look at the new video from David Burchfield & The Fire Guild. The video is called "State to State", the catchy number will make you want to grab your partner and dance the night away. The song conjours up a plethora of genres including americana, folk, with a hint of country. You can see David Burchfield & The Fire Guild this weekend at the Underground Music Festival. The band will be closing out the Banded Oak Brewing stage from 11 pm to midnight.

First Look: Deezie Brown "Drive" Video Premiere

Based out of Austin, Texas, Deezie Brown delivers a very edgy, dark, and rebellious depiction of Alternative Hip-Hop and Electronic Pop. Deezie Brown was exposed to hip-hop at an early age while he rode around with his dad listening to some of the great artists of the South such as OutKast and UGK. Fresh off the heels of his recently released album Judith, Brown delivers a unique sound that is evident in the video above. 

Deezie Brown presents his video for the single "Drive". The Texas native is set to bring the heat this upcoming weekend to The Underground Music Showcase here in Denver. He will playing on Saturday at 8:00 PM at The Blue Ice Lounge. 

Janelle Monaé Dazzles As The Dirty Computer Tour Made A Stop In Denver

Janelle Monaé dazzles the Denver crowd. (Photo: Robert Castro)

Janelle Monaé brought her Dirty Computer Tour to the Paramount Theater this past Sunday night. On the heels of a highly praised performance during the BET Awards last week, the Denver crowd anticipated the same worthy performance from the multi-Grammy nominated performer (singer, rapper, actress, songwriter). As the lights dimmed out came Monaé under a spotlight, a thick layer of fog filled the stage leaving only a silhouette of the performer. Going right into "Crazy, Classic, Life", Monaé was joined by a troupe of dancers who accompanied her throughout much of her set. Much of the show consisted of newer material off the Dirty Computer album. Perfecting the role of showstopper, she lit up the stage with a variety of costume changes that adorned black and white checker patterns with flashy red ensembles. 

With a penchant for her love of dance, Monaé performed well calculated choreographed numbers that only brought each song to life giving it an organic feel to the performance. Other fan favorite hits included "Electric Lady", "Yoga", and "Make Me Feel", in which she channeled her own James Brown persona mimicking the legends signature dance moves. Often pausing between songs Monaé took time to mention some of our world's current cultural issues stemming from LGBTQ to immigration gaining positive reactions from the crowd. Her now famous "vagina" pants even made an appearance on the song "PYNK".

Monáe describes the song as, "a celebration of creation, self love, sexuality and pussy power", and that the color pink "unites all of humanity" because it is the color "found in the deepest and darkest nooks and crannies of humans everywhere."

As the crowd disbursed after the amazing show, the whispers of "show of the year" managed to echo across the theaters lobby as patrons made their way to the merch both to give them something tangible to remember the magical night and performance that Monaé brought to the Mile High City.

As for show of the year......we will go ahead and concur with the masses who felt the same way.

Words and Images: Robert Castro

Setlist Here

One of the many costumes Monaé wore. (Photo: Robert Castro)

Preaching the message of love throughout the night Janelle Monaé gave the Denver crowd a memorable performance. (Photo: Robert Castro)

Taylor Swift Dazzles During Her Reputation Tour In Denver

Taylor Swift and company wowed the sold out Denver crowd. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Taylor Swift and company rolled through Denver this past Friday night with her largest touring production to date. The Reputation Tour as it is billed featured some of the most extravagant production we have even witnessed. A sold out crowd of 58,000 screaming fans of all ages saw her rip through songs from all of her catalogs with a huge emphasis dedicated to her recent album Reputation. The tour brought openers Charli XCX and Camila Cabelo to open things up and they managed to get the crowd primed and ready for Swift as they each belted out their own hits that have topped the charts in recent years. Flanked by a huge screen (it hovered way above the stadiums upper deck) and and X shaped catwalk along with two side stages towards the back, you were guaranteed to catch an up close and personal view of the action. Her setlist was grouped into six acts each featuring 3-4 songs each. The opening act barred the classic Joan Jett anthem "Bad Reputation" followed by a video introduction. As the house light dimmed Swift emerged from the middle of the parting stage with nothing but fog emitting her silhouette. She opened the night with "...Ready For It" off her latest album sending everybody into a frenzy (the theme of the night). 

An amazing production for The Reputation Tour. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Some of the loudest cheers came during her second act with "Look What You Made Me Do", which was preceded by a video interlude and actress Tiffanie Haddish intro leading right into her most popular song off her latest album. Probably the loudest cheers and participation came during this specific act with "End Game", and "King of my Heart" to end the act.

The Reputation Tour is being billed as one of the biggest tours ever. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

After a brief intermission we saw Swift take to the air in a chariot that hovered above the crowd from the main stage to one of the smaller stages towards the back of the stadium. As two inflatable snakes rose above she welcomed Camila and Charli XCX to join her on "Shake It Off" joined by a half dozen dancers they managed to turn up the performance as she continued to dazzle without missing a beat.

The rest of the night featured amazing pyrotechnics and towering flames as she sang other crowd favorites such her classic country songs like "Dancing With Our Hands Tied", and "Teardrops on My Guitar". As the night came to end she finished strong with "Blank Space", "Bad Blood" and last song "Look What You Made Me Do".

All in all everybody in attendance shared the same sentiments as they walked out of the show, amazing and beyond words for what they had just witnessed. We would agree. 

Words and Images-Robert Castro