:: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals ::

:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: July 20 :: (2:45 p.m.) ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals are one of the hottest acts to come out of Vermont since Phish. Fronted by their striking namesake, the band has stealthily clawed their way up the rungs of the music industry with a retro sound that injects their sultry jazzy blues with just the right amount of ragged glory to appeal to a huge cross section of music fans.

Seemingly unfazed by her recent surge in popularity, the songstress took some time to speak with The Marquee on the eve of her 25th birthday. As she spoke, she set the scene of her surroundings and painted a picture of the idyllic life of a New Englander. “All I see right now is leaves. I have a panoramic view of the woods and these are not dark and creepy woods, they are very beautiful. There’s lots of sunshine and there is a little river that flows right by me here. It is a nice place to be settled, I’ll probably never leave,” Potter said.

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:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: July 19 :: (4 p.m.) ::

By Jeffrey V. Smith

Denver’s obsession with its homegrown hip-hop act Flobots is catching on outside the city’s limits, and in a big way. Recent appearances on late night television, a major-label release, national radio play, massive digital sales, and a tour of sold-out shows are indications the band’s conscious, uplifting, message-driven songs are outgrowing their roots and generating a buzz on a national scale. It is ultimately those Denver roots, however, that the band’s members credit for Flobots existence and on-going success.

“Denver has one of the most thriving music scenes in the entire country, and very few people know about it, bassist Jesse Walker told The Marquee. “The scene is ripe with amazing musicians who are not afraid to experiment. It’s not at all unusual to see a band with non-traditional instrumentation not only pushing boundaries, but also writing great songs.”
And, that’s just what the Flobots do — push boundaries, employ unusual instrumentation and write first-rate songs.

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:: Martin Sexton ::
:: Mile High Music Festival ::
:: July 20 :: (time slot tba) ::

By Timothy Dwenger

In many ways, Martin Sexton is a new breed of soul singer. His music is an amalgam of folk, pop and gospel that blends effortlessly to create a feel-good sound that immediately transports the listener to another world. While Sexton’s introspective lyrics and intricate song structure have won him the recognition of critics and fans alike, it is his delivery that truly sets him apart from other artists. Sexton sings from his heart and bares his soul onstage. He is an inspiring performer whose energy and passion are channeled through his voice.

Sexton’s laid-back style and unrushed pace are hallmarks of his lifestyle. He and his family make their home in the quaint Massachusetts town of Northampton and spend their summers on a lake in the Adirondack Park of upstate New York. “I think the Adirondack Park is the most beautiful place on earth,” he said in a recent interview with The Marquee. “I would live up there year round if I could.”

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:: Marquee Magazine presents ::

:: Robert Earl Keen ::

:: Boulder Theater :: August 5 ::

:: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SHOW HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED

FROM ITS ORIGINAL DATE OF JULY 2 ::

By Alex Samuel

July 4th weekend is the perfect time to toss back a Budweiser and shamelessly soak in an hour-and-a-half of good ole’ American music — songs drenched in aw shucks-style storytelling with an unapologetic hint of country twang mixed with rock. Or, more simply, Robert Earl Keen’s music.

In the last 25 years, Keen defined alt-country Americana with tinny ballads, rowdy revelries, and bluesy storytelling. Now, the Houston-born icon, who talked with The Marquee just moments before taking the stage for a Texas gig, said that he is putting an album together, working on a novel, and continuing to tour.

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:: R.E.M. ::

:: Red Rocks Amphitheatre :: June 3 ::

By Chris Castaneda

In 2008, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills are finally on the same page about R.E.M.’s direction.

Since 1997, R.E.M. has been struggling to find a voice for itself, ever since the band’s drummer, Bill Berry, exchanged the spotlight for farm life. The lines of communication between the remaining members, both personal and musical, have been, at best, shaky over the course of three post-Berry albums. Now, Accelerate, the band’s fourteenth album, lays to rest the question of whether or not R.E.M. could figure out how to be a band, again.

At 49, bassist Mike Mills is enjoying R.E.M’s latest chapter. “Accelerate is R.E.M. in 2008,” said Mills in a recent interview with The Marquee. “People have been trying to say, ‘Is it a return?’ or, ‘Are you looking backwards?’ I say, no. We don’t look backwards and wouldn’t know how to if we wanted to. So, this is strictly us in this year, in this moment.”

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:: Jamie Lidell ::

:: Bluebird Theatre :: June 2 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

White singers making a mark on the traditionally black world of funk, R&B and soul is not a new concept, and from Van Morrison to Tower of Power there are many that have done it well. In recent years, however, “blue-eyed soul,” as it’s called, has been a genre that has been frequently ignored or scoffed at by younger music fans because of its connections with smooth jazz and modern Motown.

However, there is a new blue-eyed soul man on the scene and he is making the youth of the world stand up and take notice. Though Jamie Lidell has been creating music for years, his personal musical odyssey had ventured far off into the electronica realm before coming full circle and landing him squarely in the center of the soul genre with his recent Warp Records release, Jim.

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:: Railroad Earth ::

:: Ogden :: Theater :: June 13 and 14 ::

By Dustin Huth

Every place on the face of the planet has its own character. Some are powerful and impressive and people travel from all over to see them and spend time in them and take pictures to show that they’ve been to them. Other places have a character that is more subtle and intimate, but equally beautiful. Places like that don’t get traveled to much. They just go on being there quietly, lending a feeling of home to the few who happen upon them.

In the woods of rural New Jersey along the Appalachian Trail, there is a place with just such a sense of home. It is the 300-year-old colonial farmhouse of Railroad Earth’s Todd Sheaffer, and it is where the band’s fifth album, Amen Corner, was recorded.

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:: Ben Senterfit ::

:: The Oriental Theater :: June 5 ::

:: Swallow Hill :: June 6 ::

:: Mountain Sun :: June 8 ::

By Chibo Acevedo

Long time Denver resident and recent New York transplant, Ben Senterfit is coming home to the Mile High City, and he’s bringing an entourage with him.

Senterfit will be playing several Front Range shows with a host of musicians from his former home town as well as some from his new hometown, and a few others from various locales who will be meeting up with Senterfit in Colorado. In tow are David Petry, Kurt Reber, Jessica Rogalski, JT Nolan, Clay Kirkland, and special guest Zack Freeman, who will be coming up from Albuquerque.

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:: Cloud Cult :: Larimer Lounge :: May 17 and 18 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Of all the hot topics in today’s society, it’s our country’s concern about the environment that has steadily been gaining momentum over the last decade. Politicians and scientists are of course involved, but musicians seem to have a unique ability to reach out to the masses. In April, hundreds of thousands of music fans turned out to hear nearly 50 bands that were featured at the Green Apple Festival that was held in eight cities around the country. The performances were free and the intent was to celebrate Earth Day in landmark parks with art, music and educational programs.

While each of the bands who played the Green Apple festivals volunteered their time, and the events were very successful, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Events like this raise awareness of the global environmental problems we are facing but they do very little to actually act on the problems.  While both aspects are critically important, it is people like Craig Minowa and his band, Cloud Cult, that are taking things to the next level and beyond.

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:: Bootsy Collins :: Tribute to the Godfather of Soul :: Ogden Theater :: May 25 ::

NOTE: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED - No future show info is available as of yet

By Timothy Dwenger

Bootzilla to some, Casper the Funky Ghost to others, funk bassist Bootsy Collins is known for outrageous outfits, psychedelic, booty shaking jams, and an outrageous sense of humor. What many don’t know is that Bootsy Collins is a critical link between the soul and R&B of the ’60s and the wild funk music that came to be so closely associated with the ’70s.

Collins’ foray into the unpredictable world of funk started when he was about 15 years old, living in his native Cincinnati, Ohio. Collins and his brother Catfish had founded a band they called The Pacesetters and with their furious energy and youthful exuberance the band had gotten noticed by producers such as Charles Spurling and Henry Glover, who began to book the band for recording sessions with some of the biggest stars of the day. “We became the session band at King Records because we were the new, exciting, electric, and energetic, rhythm section that had this rhythm going on that nobody could touch,” said Collins in a recent interview with The Marquee from his home in Cincinnati.
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:: Rilo Kiley :: The Back Sheep :: May 18 ::
 :: Ogden Theatre :: May 19 ::

By Andrew Clayman

Like the inevitable twist in an M. Night Shyamalan film, Rilo Kiley’s recent commercial breakthrough should have come as no surprise to anyone who’d been paying close attention. As far back as the band’s 2001 debut Take Offs and Landings, singer Jenny Lewis was already seeing herself in “Pictures of Success,” and rightfully so. This is a true Hollywood band, after all, fronted by two former child actors (Lewis and guitarist Blake Sennett) and based out of the same Silver Lake neighborhood as alternative titans like Beck, Eels, and Elliott Smith. If they’d wanted to, Rilo Kiley probably could have skated into the mainstream on savvy and sex appeal alone. But thankfully, they chose to become one of the finest pop bands on the planet first.

“It’s still exciting,” said Pierre de Reeder. The longtime Rilo Kiley bassist was strolling along a pier in San Francisco and talking to The Marquee, one day after kicking off the latest tour in support of the group’s fourth album, Under the Blacklight. “The nerves are still there, too, especially when we jump into a first show like last night here in San Francisco, in front of one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever played to. A first night always has that excitement and energy. It’s never old hat,” said de Reeder.

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:: Harptallica :: Quixote’s True Blue :: May 3 ::

By Brian Kenney

There’s much to be said about tribute bands. For the most part, their shows are a guaranteed greatest hits package, and in some cases a tribute act’s enigmatic popularity even approaches proportions of the very bands they cover. It also helps when they put a twist on their presentations.

Such is the case with Harptallica, which is a unique, harp-only female duo who interpret Metallica classics with a style and flare which makes it seem that tracks like “One” and “Orion” were meant to be played on giant 34-string concert grand pedal harps.
Harptallica is the brainchild of Ashley Toman, who became intrigued with the speed metal of Metallica in a music theory class while a graduate student at the infamous Eastman School of Music — a classically influenced program on the University of Rochester campus. An assignment offered a chance to transcribe a tune of her choice, whereupon she chose “Fade to Black,” ultimately arranging the Metallica classic for two harps.

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