The Ride Festival presented a very Rock and Roll heavy line-up this year in Telluride Town Park. Anchored by two nights of Widespread Panic, the festival also offered up sets from Jason Isbell, Big Something, Thunderpussy, Rose Hill Drive and more all while the sun shined down on the picturesque town for most of the weekend.
A sold-out crowd poured into The Fillmore last Friday night to catch a glimpse of jam royalty as Phish guitarist and king of the jamband scene, Trey Anastasio, brought his seven piece band to town. 2015 has been a busy year for Trey; whether it was helping to deliver Phish’s best summer tour of the last two decades or filling in for Jerry Garcia with The Grateful Dead for their 50th anniversary shows, the jam icon has had perhaps his most prolific year of his distinguished career.
The weather couldn’t have been better for an evening with Mark Knopfler on The Rocks. The rainstorms that plagued earlier concerts at Red Rocks this summer were nowhere to be seen and the sunset was a dazzling pallet of reds, oranges, and purples. The sultry air from the unseasonably warm day hung around the rocks as we readied for what was sure to be a night of fantastic musicianship.
After a beautiful day on Saturday, Sunday brought the rain to Byers, Co and Riot Fest. Sunday’s headliner, Blink 182 didn’t hit the stage after midnight due to a long weather delay and the mud that was caked onto everything brought out the inner Punk Rocker in everyone. Clothes were soaked with water and blood but the hardcore fans stuck it out. Rain or shine the tickets said, and many wouldn’t have traded anything for a weekend that brought acts like The Replacements, Iggy and the Stooges, Public Enemy, and Rancid to the Mile High City.
The Larimer Lounge is a dive bar, pure and simple; it’s a little out of the way, wires hang from the low ceiling, and the walls are plastered with simple posters for upcoming shows, but last Saturday it was transformed into a Southern Juke Joint when Fox Street Allstars threw the album release party for their sophomore album Tough Talk. The sounds of R&B, Funk, and gritty, Whiskey soaked Rock-n-Roll spilled out on the street all night as the temperature inside climbed and bodies rubbed together on the dancefloor.
With 16 stages and over 150 local and national bands, The Westword Music Showcase boasts that it is Denver’s biggest one-day music festival and quite frankly, it’s almost too much to manage. With 16 bands playing at the same time, conflicts abound and you are left to select only a few over the course of the day. That said, it’s a great festival and the overload is part of the fun!