The Shows Of The Year – Our Picks For The Best Concerts of 2013

2013 was an amazing year for music on the Front Range and for us here at Listen Up Denver!  Our team of talented writers and photographers has been working diligently all year to be sure that Listen Up Denver! remains one of Colorado’s best music resources and your go-to source for information and reviews of music in, and around, the Mile High City.  Over the course of this year we have covered more than 200 shows between us.  Fingers have been flying on keyboards and rapidly snapping shutters all over this state as we strive to keep you, our readers, informed about what’s going on musically!

Though we have all attended countless shows this year, we’ve tried to narrow it down to a few choice picks for our “Shows of the Year.”   Some of the biggest bands in the world stopped in Colorado this year, but this list proves that we have some exceptional local talent well.  Featured prominently on this list alongside some of the biggest names in the business like Prince, Phish, The Black Crowes, Iggy Pop, and David Byrne, are local favorites, Nathaniel Rateliff, Gregory Alan Isakov, and Elephant Revival.

Please note the links to our reviews beside these selections (where available) and sit back and enjoy a fascinating look back on some of the best concerts of 2013.  See you all out there in 2014!  Thanks for supporting Listen Up Denver!

Tim Dwenger – Founder & Editor

• Nathaniel Rateliff (and The Night Sweats) – Gothic Theatre – November 29th (Read Review)
• Tallest Man On Earth – Ogden Theatre – June 1st (Read Review)
• Pickwick – Bluebird Theatre – March 19th (Read Review)
• Iron & Wine – Paramount Theatre – November 7th
• Prince – Ogden Theatre – May 12th

Jeanette Barrow – Features Editor

• Phish – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – September 1st
• Empire of the Sun – Ogden Theatre – October 29th (Read Review)
• String Cheese Incident – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – July 27th
• Dark Star Orchestra – Ogden Theatre – March 20th
• Itchy-O @ May The Fourth Be with You – City O’ City – May 4th

Jim Mimna – Head Photographer

• Galactic – Ogden Theatre – February 16th (Read Review)
• Drive-By Truckers – Boulder Theater – April 12th (Read Review)
• The Meter Men – Ogden Theatre – May 10th (Read Review)
• Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – July 10th (Read Review)
• The Black Crowes – Ogden Theatre – November 13th (Read Review)

Nate Todd – Editorial Assistant & Contributing Writer

• Phish – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – August 30th (Read Review)
• The Black Crowes – Boulder Theater – November 11th (Read Review)
• Marco Benevento – Quixote’s True Blue – January 19th (Read Review)
• Widespread Panic – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – June 28th (Read Review)
• The New Mastersounds – Telluride Blues & Brews – September 14th (Read Review)

Ty Hyten – Contributing Writer & Photographer

• Gregory Alan Isakov & The Colorado Symphony Orchestra – Boettcher Concert Hall – November 8th (Read Review)
• Iron & Wine – Paramount Theatre – November 7th
• Night Beds – Hi-Dive – February 13th
• Nathaniel Rateliff (and The Night Sweats) – Gothic Theatre – November 29th (Read Review)
• Justin Townes Earle & Patrick Dethlefs – Mishawaka Amphitheatre – June 15th (Read Review)

Kelly Hueseman – Contributing Writer & Photographer

• Tedeschi Trucks Band/Grace Potter/JJ Grey – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – June 15 (Read Review)
• The Black Crowes – Ogden Theatre – November 13 (Read Review)
• Bonnie Raitt – Bellco Theatre – October 17 (Read Review)
• The Meter Men – Ogden Theatre – May 10 (Read Review)
• Greyboy Allstars – Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom – April 12-13 (Read Review)

Johne Edge – Contributing Writer & Photographer

• Iggy Pop and Public Enemy at Riot Rest – September 21st-22nd – May Farms (Read Review)
• Maceo Parker – February 22nd – Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom (Read Review)
• Lance Herbstrong at Cirque Side of the Moon – Casselmans –  February 8th (Read Review)
• Slightly Stoopid – April 20th – Red Rocks Ampitheater (Read Review)
• Jon Hovarth, JPOD, Frank Cueto, and Timothy Wisdom at Funky Town Friday – Burning Man – August 30th

Brian Turk – Contributing Writer

• Phish – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – August 31st
• Carolina Chocolate Drops & Elephant Revival – Denver Botanic Gardens – July 24th (Read Review)
• Boom Box – State Bridge – July 6th (Read Review)
• 40th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival – Telluride Town Park – June 20,21,22,23 (Read Review)
• Galactic – Ogden Theatre – February 16th (Read Review)

Lindsay Lynch – Contributing Writer

• Alt-J – Bluebird Theatre – April 23rd (Read Review)
• James Blake – Ogden Theatre – April 28th (Read Review)
• HARD on the Rocks – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – July 2nd
• Phish – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – August 31st
• Lotus – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – September 13th (Read Review)

Emma Polachek – Contributing Writer

• Railroad Earth – Boulder Theater – July 13th
• Infamous Stringdusters @ Winter Wondergrass – Crazy Mountain Brewing Company – February 17th
• Herbie Hancock Tribute w/ Motet members & Dominic Lalli – Boulder Theater – July 25th
• Further – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – September 22nd
• London Souls & Lettuce – Cervantes – June 1st (Read Review)

Patty Ho – Contributing Writer

• David Byrne & St. Vincent – Denver Botanical Gardens – July 13th (Read Review)
• Otis Taylor – Park House – August 3rd
• The Staves – Hi-Dive – June 11th (Read Review)
• The Postal Service – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – May 30th (Read Review)
• Nathaniel Rateliff – Mercury Cafe – February 27th

Gary Mellini – Contributing Writer

• Phish – Dick’s Sporting Good Park – August 31st
• Prince – Ogden Theatre – May 13th (Late Show)
• Dance Party Time Machine – Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom – September 27th (Read Review)
• Umphrey’s McGee – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – June 7th
• Nine Inch Nails – 1st Bank Center – November 13th

Mitch Kline – Contributing Photographer

• Greensky Bluegrass and Fruition – Gothic Theater – November 15th (Read Review)
• Queens of the Stone Age – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – August 15th (Read Review)
• Jim James – Ogden Theatre – May 9th (Read Review)
• Widespread Panic – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – June 29th
• Phish – Dick’s – September 1st

Todd Radunsky – Contributing Photographer

• Soundgarden – 1stBank Center – May 28th (Read Review)
• Phish – Dicks Sporting Goods Park – August 30th (Read Review)
• Prince – Ogden Theater – May 13th
• Rush – Pepsi Center – August 2nd (Read Review)
• The Who – Pepsi Center – February 12th

Kirsten Cohen – Contributing Photographer