After months of speculation, Monolith announced its line-up today for the 2008 two-day Red Rocks’ festival.

Monolith Festival, presented by Esurance, returns to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Saturday September 13 and Sunday September 14.  The festival, which debuted in 2007 as the first multi-day, multi-stage festival ever held at Colorado’s beloved outdoor venue, was instantly adopted as an indie fan favorite and a staple of the summer festival season.

Each year, Monolith hand picks an impressive lineup of indie favorites and blog darlings, which for 2008 includes Denver’s own Devotchka and French electro-buzz-band Justice as headliners.
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With the festival season heating up, AEG Live made two announcements this week regarding it’s two biggest festivals, Rothbury and Mile High.

Rothbury:

Few people knew that the town of Rothbury, Michigan even existed a few months ago. But this week it seems like the eyes and ears of music freaks from around the country are looking, just to the east of Lake Michigan as the Rothbury Music Festival continues to add artists to an already impressive line-up.

This week, it was announced that Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, Atmosphere, Steel Pulse, The Wailers featuring Elan, Ingrid Michaelson, Perpetual Groove, Kyle Hollingsworth Band, Boombox, Brother Ali, Greensky Bluegrass, Trampled By Turtles, and Four Finger Five have joined the line-up.

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By DJ Hippie

Web Exclusive

It was a glorious night for heavy music in Denver as two titans of the scene performed separate shows in what could easily qualify as one of the best nights ever for Colorado’s metal and industrial faithful.

The night was also a convergence of political protest with the well-thought political teachings of Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and the straight-out hatred for the current administration that is conveyed by Ministry mastermind Al Jourgensen. Revolution was thick in the sleepy Colorado air.

The day actually started at 2pm with the launch of the 2008 North American run of Gigantour at The Fillmore with blistering bands like Children of Bodom and High on Fire warming up for the might of Megadeth. The Fillmore was packed and sweaty with a mix of younger fans and a smattering of old school “metal heads.”

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:: Daniel Johnston :: Ogden Theatre :: April 5 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Daniel Johnston is a 47-year-old man who seems trapped in the mind of a boy. His simple, painfully direct songs are refreshing in the way that they cut through the self examination and other filters of maturity and nakedly reveal the most intimate thoughts and feelings. He is a remarkable example of a man who has, in many ways, capitalized on his limitations to further his chosen art form. Of all the things to be admired about this man, the first and foremost is that he has never been afraid of showing his art to the world.

While many artists will take three or four years to put out ten or twelve songs that are “polished enough to release,” Johnston is famous for getting his music out to the public as quick as possible, in any way possible. His first album, Songs of Pain, released in 1981, contained 20 songs recorded in his garage on an old boom box and then dubbed onto cassette. Johnston took the dubbed cassettes around to radio stations, newspapers and music clubs, saying, “I’m Daniel Johnston, here’s a tape of mine for you to listen to.” Continue — Read more »

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:: Ghostland Observatory ::

:: Fox Theatre :: April 19 ::

By Tiffany Childs

Ghostland Observatory is a band with a mission — to make music that’s “sweaty, raw-boned and direct from the future, committed to electronics, stuck on big beats, yet unmistakably powered by rock and roll.” With the recent release of their third album, Robotique Majestique, and a tour to support the record, the Austin-based electro rock outfit seems to be right on track to completing the mission with ease. Continue — Read more »

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:: Saul Williams :: Colorado State University :: April 20 ::

:: Fox Theatre :: April 21 ::

By Lisa Oshlo

A rare and important voice on the underground hip-hop scene since the 1990s, Saul Williams has re-emerged with another album of his trademark thoughtful, Afro-centric, socially conscious and politically progressive work.

Long a fan of bending genres, Williams seems a poet foremost, but also a talented rapper and musician. While his albums are rooted in the beats and politics of hip-hop, he also mixes heavy rock samplings in with fervent slam poetry and a bit of reggae consciousness.

The Marquee recently caught up with Williams, who elaborated on how all of these elements support each other in his work. Continue — Read more »

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:: Morcheeba :: The Gothic Theatre :: April 4 ::

By Tiffany Childs

Morcheeba’s music may be mellow, but the two brothers behind the music, Paul and Ross Godfrey, seem to like stirring things up a bit with the release of every new album.

Dive Deep, the duo’s sixth release, is no different. Featuring a different singer on almost every track, the album still maintains the deeply emotional sound layered over hip-hop beats and psychedelic noises that is a trademark for Morcheeba, but manages to step further along the weirdly creative path they embarked on over a decade ago. Continue — Read more »

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:: Dälek :: Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom ::

:: w/ Mike Relm and RJD2 :: April 15 ::

By Andrew Clayman

Sometimes, the right music arrives at just the right point in history — and helps to ignite a revolution. Other times, the right music arrives at just the right time as well, but people are too distracted by YouTube and Soulja Boy to take any notice.

“I don’t know what happened exactly,” said Dälek (pronounced “die-a-lek”), the MC behind one of 2007’s most criminally overlooked albums, Abandoned Language, in a recent interview with The Marquee. “I don’t know if people were hating on [the album] or if they just didn’t hear it. But I definitely don’t think it got the recognition it should have gotten overall. But that’s just the story of our careers.” Continue — Read more »

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:: Nada Surf ::

:: Gothic Theatre :: April 1 ::

By Chris Castaneda

“It’s weird how five albums sneak up on you,” said Matthew Caws, guitarist and lead singer of Nada Surf. The New York trio has just released its latest album, Lucky, and entered its 15th year together. For a band that was once relegated to ‘best-of’ alternative rock collections from the ’90s with the song “Popular,” Nada Surf has now built a career steeped in musical substance and character.  Continue — Read more »

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:: BoomBox :: Fox Theatre :: April 24 ::

:: Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom :: April 25 ::

:: Hodi’s Half Note :: April 26 ::

By Dustin Huth

Every so often a band will come onto the scene with a new and completely original sound that somehow, at the same time, feels like it has always existed. BoomBox are just such a band, and their sound is definitely that kind of a sound: a stripped-down and elemental incarnation of psychedelic funk rock, with well-balanced and unassuming vocals that deliver abstract imagery and storylines at an unhurried pace, paying little attention to things like clocks on walls or conventional song structures.

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:: Lotus :: Aggie Theater :: April 10 ::
 :: Fox Theatre :: April 11 and 12 ::
 :: Copper Mountain :: April 13 :: (2 p.m. show)

By Heather Jarvis

Imagine taking a festival and dumping it smack in the middle of a city which not only tolerates the atmosphere, but encourages music fans to take their extra-curricular activities to the streets and businesses nearby. Not just a dream from another dimension, but for the passport owning, more well-off jam fans, it’s a reality at Jam In The Dam.

For three days, psyched American music lovers swarmed the streets of Amsterdam, and musicians like Keller Williams stayed in houseboats on the river. Playing with the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Disco Biscuits and Dark Star Orchestra was electronic rock band Lotus, who, while no stranger to late-night festivals or sharing the stage with jam band greats, were able to experience their first tour in Europe at one of most famous cities in the continent.
Upon their return from the trip overseas, The Marquee chatted with Lotus bassist Jesse Miller during his short break back at home.  Continue — Read more »

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The music industry is desperately in need of a healthy dose of “wow.”
In recent months I’ve seen a lot of shows, listened to a bunch of new releases and all of them seem to have one thing in common, a staggering deficit of anything that would make you exclaim, “Wow!”
Now a wow factor is a difficult thing to measure because, of course, something that makes me say “wow” might leave you saying “blah,” but I think that regardless of differing opinions, music fans right now are poised to embrace something special, as long as that something special reveals itself with some guts and substance. Continue — Read more »

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