Here are some random photos taken throughout 2018 of some of our favorite bands. Photo Credit: Robert Castro
Too many people to name.
Tyto Alba
Oxeye Daisy
Corsicana
One Flew West
YaSi
iZCALI
Crl Crrll
Water Aerobics
The Velveteers
Citra
Kayla Marque
Maxwell Hughes
HR People
Whiskey Autumn
Pout House
Wildermiss
King Eddie
The Corner Girls
The Corner Girls +1
Some of the most talented musicians in Denver!
HUUUUUUUUUGE NEWS!!! The Solution w/DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez is moving the party for the first time in half a decade! After a fantastic run at The Meadowlark (starting on 12/15/2011, check the timeline below), the party is off to greener pastures in Capitol Hill at the award-winning Black Box (314 E 13th Avenue, basically 13th Ave & Grant). It’s a bittersweet move after so many classic memories over the years, but we’re super excited about the possibilities of upgrading to The Black Box’s renowned sound system, adding a more flexible setup for more out of town and local guests, featuring drink specials again, having options to live stream the party online, teaming up with a weekly food truck (The Jerk Truck, of Goodness fame) & lots more.
We’d also be lying if we said we weren’t excited to get away from the ‘New Denver’ crowds of randoms that have take over the "RiNo" neighborhood and turned off a lot of our friends and party people that make up core of party. When we initially moved the party to The Meadowlark, we loved that it was such a special space hidden in plain sight, but the secret’s been out for years at this point and it’s cost us some of the magic. With that said, hopefully this can be a reset from the randoms and a chance to make the party better than ever before. We’ve got a bunch of other announcements coming up, so make sure to join our e-mail list, follow us on social media (@DenverSolution) & stay tuned for more great memories at The Black Box - starting with a music video shoot "Party", the new single from longtime friends of the party, The Reminders!
P.S. Thank you so much for rocking with us over the years Denver!!! It’s been well over a decade since we started the party with the goal of making “the kind of party we’d want to go to” and we’ve been humbled countless times by how many magic moments have followed. We realize that all of that starts with having a great crowd of friends and party people supporting the party – so thanks again, from the bottom of our hearts!!!!!
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 (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
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.
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.
RECITAL is a collaborative art event featuring dance, music, and other mediums. It will be held the 11th of October at 8pm at Syntax Physic Opera House.
Founders Mattie Gonzales and Rianna Lee wanted to create an event that satisfies the desire for performance art. In a newly thriving city full of wonderful art shows, drag shows, and concerts it seems necessary to bridge the gap between media, especially as the fall show season gears up. This event incorporates local and touring performers, and promises acts both contemporary and unprecedented. The vibe will be set at Syntax. With their uniquely welcoming ambience, and amazing curated cocktails attendees will certainly be charmed. The night will feature performances and DJ sets by local artists. We are also excited to host the very talented Jorge Elbrecht, who has collaborated with a number of exceptional artists like Ariel Pink.
The Mile High City has been hungry for a big time music festival and Grandoozy delivered in it’s first year this past weekend. Feeling the void of failed music festivals in the past (with all due respect for reasons unknown to us) such as Mile High Music Festival, Monolith and just recent Riot Fest, Denver music fans would often have to travel to experience the big time feeling of such a large fest. The festival itself has been years in the making and finally got the green light this year to bring it to Overland Golf Course. Superfly the promoters responsible for bringing the fest managed to play it safe with the lineup and scheduling this year. Initial thoughts of having too many EDM and jam-band artist weighed heavily on concertgoers amongst the first announcement of the fest. Once the lineup was announced it did settle a lot of nerves as the first wave of acts were to everybody’s liking. Headliners this year included Kendrick Lamar, Florence and The Machine and Stevie Wonder, not a bad trio to kick off your first festival.
The burnt end sandwich from Sugarfire. (Photo Credit: Bridget Burnett)
With lush green lawns and plenty of shade, patrons had all the amenities of a big festival in the comfort of a golf course. Three main stages were all within reach as well as many other side stages the provided for some amazing smaller acts. Food and beer were easily accessible although by late afternoon and early evening lines did become a bit congested. Vendors such as Illegal Pete’s, Habit Doughnut Dispensary, and our new favorite bbq joint Sugarfire provided for some amazing culinary delights. What better way to wash down all the amazing food than by some amazing beers. Aside from Bud Light (whoever thought of those 4-packs is a genius) the festival had a craft beer tent to showcase some of the finer adult beverages. From Oskar Blue’s to Breckenridge Brewery there wasn’t an IPA not to like. If you wanted some of the harder stuff our friends at Deep Eddy Vodka had a beautiful oasis setup with enough activities to keep you busy between sets. An Area rightfully named The Flight Club provided flights of everything from Whisky and Rum to delicious Tequilas.
Other fun activities included a replica of South Park that had an array of different challenging games including ring toss, skee ball, nerf darts, and more. One of the busier areas of the festival all three days from what it seemed. An area labeled the Break Room was an all-day dance area that provided for some rad dance moves as well as some not so rad dance moments. DJ’s took their turn spinning everything from house to disco. Noteworthy sets by Soul Clap and Weird Touch were the highlight of the festival. Art installations by some of the best muralist such as Detour303 and DINKC were busy throwing up amazing pieces during the day. Festival coverage is by far one of our favorite things to cover here at Ultra5280 and having Grandoozy right in our own backyard this year was amazing. The festival has a five year contract and we can only hope they return next year for another amazing weekend. We would love to see this festival grow and make Denver a prime destination for all music lovers to attend.
Day one of the festivities had us racing between stages to catch Denver locals AMZY and Flaural both worthy enough of representing our city on the big stage. Flaural entertained with their psych rock sound while AMZY provided for the first wtf moment of the festivals history as lead singer Brennan Johnson climbed the stage thruss in typical rock star fashion. (see below) Other highlights of day one included performances by Tennis (another local five), Bishop Briggs (possibly the happiest musician in the world) Miguel, Phoenix, The War on Drugs and last but not least the reigning champion of hip hop Kendrick Lamar. Day two was headlined by the angelic and majestic Florence and The machine who had the crowd tuned in as she danced all across the stage with her red locks flowing making for an truly magical performance. Day two also included amazing sets by Snow Tha Product, Young The Giant, and Sturgill Simpson. Day three began with a rousing set by locals Dragondeer. Other notable sets included amazing r&B artist Daniel Caesar and Kelela. Mavis Staples held her own on the main stage while De La Soul took us down memory lane with their legendary hits. St Vincent had all the indie kids going wild while The Chainsmokers packed in one of the larger crowds of the weekend. Hip hop artist Logic preached his message of unity to a rather low energy crowd (according to him). The perfect ending to an amazing festival ended as Mr. Stevie Wonder got behind the piano to show us that music is a universal language as many in attendance sang word for word all of his amazing hits that reached far into his catalog. We enjoyed every aspect of the festival and will be looking forward to next year. Check out our extensive photo gallery below.
Our Labor Day weekend saw us spend it in the Pacific Northwest once again as we had a chance to take in the long established Bumbershoot Festival. We were so impressed last year we decided to revisit and take in three days of amazing music, art, and culinary delights. This years lineup heavily favorited some of hip hops elders as well as the newer generation. Artist such as Lil Wayne, Ludacris, and T-Pain had us feeling nostalgic while main stage headliners J-Cole and SZA gave us a look at the future of the genre. The festival itself sits right in the middle of the Seattle Center making for easy access between stages set upon the picturesque Space Needle as the backdrop. With a variety of stages the festival sets itself apart from most with the lush views and unique sight-lines of the stages. B-Eats is also a huge draw as some of the city’s most renowned food spots are on hand to sample their delicious dishes. This years lineup was a mix of all genres that had crowds range from high schoolers to those elders who appreciated bands such as The Revolution and more. This is a festival we love and hope to return to again next year as it has become one of our favorites.
Day One Photos: Photo Credit: Robert Castro
Lil Wayne (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Day Two Photos: Photo Credit: Robert Castro
T-Pain (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Day Three Photos: Photo Credit: Robert Castro
Blondie (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
