Austin City Limits Music Festival Shines Once Again

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Friday

Another year, another successful Austin City Limits Music Festival. We had a chance to make our way to our favorite music city destination last month to enjoy the second weekend of the beloved festival (nothing compares). This years lineup comprised of one the better ones we have had a chance to cover. From Sir Paul, to Metallica, to Arctic Monkeys there was a vibe for all to enjoy. The Austin weather played a huge role as it cooperated despite predictions of rain storms.

We got our weekend started on Friday with our first performance from Reignwolf who brought an early rock onslaught to the Honda Stage. Onwards we went to catch an amazing set from ALVVAYS (who we saw just this past Summer in Denver). A soothing yet energetic set from the band had us off to a great start. One of the bands on our must see was David Byrne, the former Talking Heads frontman has been touring with what many have called one of the best productions of the year. Let’s just say he didn’t disappoint and put on one of the best performances of the weekend. Soon after the Byrne performance we headed across the park to catch long time favorite Lily Allen perform some of her classics mixed in with a few newer songs. Highlight of her set was the dedication of her famous song “Fuck You” to our current POTUS, everybody ate it up and sang at the top of their lungs. Our last act of day one was Texas(now based in LA) hip-hop outfit Brockhampton. The collective managed to put on one of the most hyped performances of the weekend. Their style of hip hop resembles part Odd Future part Wu Tang Clan. The crowd was one of the most active as they sang word for word many of the bands songs.

Reignwolf

Reignwolf (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

ALVVAYS

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David Byrne

Lily Allen

Khalid

BROCKHAMPTON

Saturday

Day two began with a bang as latin songstress Mon Laferte gave the audience a rousing set with dance moves and tight rhythmic percussions to accompany her beautiful voice. One of the highlights of our weekend. Up next was Japanese Breakfast, the indie darlings have been making a name for themselves all summer and this was our first time seeing them live….they did not dissapoint. One of the performances we got to live stream during weekend one of the festival was Brandi Carlile who was absolutely brilliant. It was only fitting for us to catch her golden hour set as she steamrolled through her catalog even bringing up Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready to join in on the fun. One of our favorite albums this year Negro Swan has been on repeat at the office and we had our chance to catch Blood Orange for the first time. Dev Hynes is the mastermind behind this project and their performance was nothing short of amazing.

Mon Laferte

Japanese Breakfast

Brandi Carlile

Blood Orange

Sunday

The last day of a festival is always the hardest, you are sunburnt, your feet hurt, your muscles ache, but for us we have been doing this for far too long to let that get in the way of enjoying perhaps the best music festival in the country. Our final day started with a couple portrait sessions with Thunderpussy and Shakey Graves. Our first act was Parquet Courts who surprisingly we have never seen live. hey responded with high energy and powerful guitar riffs that sent the great into a frenzy. The set of the weekend would have to go to Janelle Monae, we were lucky enough to see her in Denver a few months ago and already knew what to expect. Her flare for fashion and dance made this performance one that will have people talking for years. The dancing continued as we trekked across to catch Tinashe perform with her dancers, a fun set with her belting out her lyrics with a smile that would not disappear. Another one of our favorite sets of the festival. One of hip hops most underrated emcees Vince Staples had the chance to hype the crowd on the main stage before Travis Scott. Flanked with no production Staples danced across the stage from side to side rapping to the already massive crowd, the set could have used a few more theatrics to be honest. We crossed over Barton Springs road to capture Shakey Graves as his crowd swelled way past the point of no return (could have commanded a bigger stage with no effort). He managed to slay us with his alt rock style we have come to love. Finally the main event for the day took stage. Blasting off the heels of his recently released Astroworld, Travis Scott gave his home state a performance for the ages. In a surprise move he even managed to bring out NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal for a song. The massive crowd, filled with the younger generation of fans managed to create a huge presence. All in all this would have to go down as one of the best lineups in recent year. Photo restrictions kept us from photographing Paul McCartney, Metallica and Arctic Monkeys.

Parquet Courts

Janelle Monae

Tinashe

Vince Staples

Shakey Graves

Travis Scott

Rüfüs Du Sol Warms Up The Fillmore Auditorium

The Fillmore Auditorium played host to back to back sold out shows from electro darlings Rüfüs Du Sol this past weekend. We had a chance to attend Sunday night, and while snow conditions existed outside it was nonetheless “lit” inside. We have been following the trio since 2010 and have loved seeing the band evolve from a sound and production standpoint. Opening with “Eyes” of their 2018 album Solace, the band did not let up keeping a consistent vibe throughout their whole set. They played all of their hits including “Innerbloom”, “Underwater”, “Like An Animal”, and “No Place”. The band loves playing in Denver and we love having them. (Words and images by Robert Castro)

Cherub Brings The Funk Back To Denver!

For those of you who don’t know, Cherub is an electronic-indie duo from Nashville. They are most famously known for their song “Doses and Mimosas”… Many would say it’s the perfect song to brunch to. They made a stop in Denver this past weekend on their Free Form Tour and got everyone dancing at The Ogden! Cherub was opened by Maddy O’Neil who is a female electronic artist and showed that her versatility of mixing is one of a kind. Along with her, our good friend GRiZ preformed a surprise DJ set to get the night started!

Photography by: Bridget Burnett (Instagram)

Lily Allen Shines In Her Return To Denver

Summit Music Hall played host to the one and only Lily Allen this past Saturday night. Feeling the effects of a recent illness Allen was able to push through her performance with the help of her loyal fans. With a recent release of her book My Thoughts Exactly as well as her fourth studio album No Shame Allen is showing everybody a complete vulnerable side and insight into her well publicized private life. Many artist are reluctant to do what she is doing, judging by her fans and their response Saturday, it’s the same Lily they have always come to love. Her US leg of the tour is winding down with only a few more dates before kicking off into the European portion. Thank you for sharing an amazing night with us Lily, and thank you for being honest and humble.

Setlist: Come On Then | Waste | LDN | My One | Knock ‘Em Out | Smile | Party Line | Deep End (Lykke Li Cover) | Three | The Fear | Higher | Family Man | Who’s Have Known | Not Fair | Encore: Apples | Trigger Bang | Fuck You

First Look: The Simple Parade - "Going Through Something"

We have the pleasure of sharing the exclusive premiere of the video for “Going Through Something” from The Simple Parade. The band was able to share some thoughts on the song and vision for the video, as well as what’s coming up for the band in 2019.

This song came out a very physically and emotionally exhausting part of my life. After years of struggling with severe heath issues, it all came to a head with one very impactful and jarring health scare that nearly took my life. After this unnerving wake up call, I decided that I was going to start being more honest with people about how I was actually doing. I began to have very real conversations with people (usually over coffee), and I found that when I was vulnerable about my struggles, others started opening up to me about there struggles as well. This song is a collection of some of the stories I heard in my journey (I changed the names, of course), and a realization that we are all going through something, and that there is no need for us to feel alone here. It has been my experience that peace comes in two phases. First, we need to be open about our struggle and let people into our story. Second, we need to be advocates for each other and help each other in our struggles. If anything, I pray this song gives people permission to he honest and hope in the community that surrounds them. A big ask, I know, but why not put something good out there and hope that it helps make life a little better!

When asked about how the idea for the various locations of the video came about.

The idea was to film us playing the song in various locations where people were, well, going through something (aka everywhere!). The concept of incorporating the mailbox for people to write out what they were going through was our videographers idea (well done Mikey!), and I think it really helped bring the whole theme of the song together in a tangible and poetic way.

We filmed this video in various locations throughout the Denver Area (chapels, theaters, downtown, coffeeshops, hospitals, etc) over the course of a full year (hence the various beard lengths:) ), and although it was definitely a labor of love we are very encouraged to see how it turned out!

The band has some big things in store for early 2019 that will aim to reach out to those who share the crazy up’s and down’s of everyday life.

This song "Going Through Something" is a single that will be on our second album "Seeker" that will be released in early 2019. Since the release of our first album "A Love Story" (that we recorded back in CA and released in 2016), we had actually put The Simple Parade on the back-burner. However, we are very excited about this new album and feel like it could be a true encouragement to people who are wrestling with doubt and faith in this crazy life journey. With that, we are hoping to start playing more shows in the Denver area, so check our website to see when/where we are playing next.

Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers Make Love to Denver

Photo courtesy of Hobo Johnson Facebook

Photo courtesy of Hobo Johnson Facebook

Stellar young lyricist, vocalist and frontman of Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers, Hobo Johnson, also known as Frank Lopes Jr. summoned people of all ages and backgrounds to the Summit Music Hall and sold out a Tuesday night show.

If you haven’t heard Hobo Johnson - think slam poetry, rap, and angsty garage punk had a baby and added cute curly hair and a super expressive face. This group of guys from California throw down cool beats and relatable, emotion packed lyrics that attracted an obviously large fan base. After a Tiny Desk Concert submission, the group gained quick popularity, for pretty obvious reason in my opinion. Quirky emotional guys smoking cigarettes in a backyard? Yup, I’m in. Add tight music, even better.

Now hearing the crowd at a sold out venue sing every lyric must be a crazy experience, and one Lopes experienced here in Denver. But as great as that aspect was, Denver crowds are becoming disrespectful in the arrogant level of chatter and disruptiveness happening during a set. To the point in this instance where Lopes was obviously getting flustered and frustrated, at which point obnoxious audience member was asked to “Fuck Off.”

Soooooooo, I will kindly remind you Denver to mind your manners and be courteous to not only the performer (who’s trying to perform, for one) that you, and the other people surrounding you paid cash money to see, but also your fellow concert goers. You don’t want to be the guy getting yelled at by an angry fan, and he doesn’t want to yell at you, so just avoid it and take your conversation somewhere that people aren’t trying to listen to music.

Playing almost their entire discography in addition to some new songs, in front of a beat up couch/living room setup the group did not disappoint. Hits like “Sex in the City” and “Creve Coeur 1” stood out to me, but everything was performed with vivacity and true emotion, and honestly felt like I was seeing my friends play music about stuff that was happening to all of us at the time. Ending with fan favorite and the “slapper” of their set, “Peach Scone”, the crowd was involved and pleased as ever. I would recommend checking out most recent album The Rise of Hobo Johnson (2017) and giving the lyricism a chance to blow your mind as it did mine the first time I watched their Tiny Desk submission earlier this year.

Link to watch the Tiny Desk Concert here.