Music in Denver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
While Denver may not be as recognized for historical musical prominence like such cities as Los Angeles, Detroit, or New York City, it still manages to have a very active popular, jazz, and classical music scene, which has nurtured several artists and genres to regional, national, and even international attention. Though nearby Boulder, Colorado has its own very distinct music scene, they are intertwined and often artists based there also play in Denver.
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[edit] Denver-grown genres
[edit] Denver Bands and Artists
Local bands and musicians as well as those often associated with Denver include:
- 16 Horsepower (Folk)
- Woven Hand (Alternative)
- Apples in Stereo (Indie)
- Big Head Todd and the Monsters (Rock)
- Earth, Wind and Fire (R&B/Soul)
- John Denver (Folk/Country)
- Bob Dylan (Folk/Rock)
- The Dave Matthews Band (Pop/Rock)
- Denver Harbor (Alternative)
- The Czars
- Judy Collins (Folk)
- Sheryl Crow (Rock/Folk)
- Bob Seger (Rock/Country)
- India.Arie (R&B/Soul)
- Philip Bailey (R&B/Funk)
- Dressy Bessy (Indie)
- The Fray (Alternative)
- The Minders (Indie)
- Opera Colorado (Opera)
- Empire Lyric Players (Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas)
- Dianne Reeves (Jazz)
- Slim Cessna's Auto Club (Country)
- Jill Sobule (Folk)
- String Cheese Incident (Rock)
- Zephyr (Punk)
- Mean Old Man
- Medina
- Soft Machine (Rock/Jazz)
- Vanilla Fudge (Rock/Metal)
- DeVotchKa (Rock)
- Vaux (Alternative)
- Winger (Rock/Metal)
- Mr. Pacman (Electronic/Rock)
- Velvet Acid Christ (Electronica/Industrial)
- Antonia Brico (Classical)
- UPHOLLOW (Pop/Rock)
- Fear Before The March Of Flames (Hardcore/Experimental)
- Single File (Pop/Rock)
[edit] Famous music venues in Denver
- Denver Center for the Performing Arts
- Ellie Caulkins Opera House
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre
- Filmore Auditorium
[edit] Trivia and Facts
- John Denver lived both in the Denver metro area and his hometown of Aspen, where he received inspiration for many of his songs depicting life in Colorado. Selecting the surname "Denver" for his favorite city, he rose to worldwide fame with such ballads as Rocky Mountain High , Starwood in Aspen , I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado , and Me and my Uncle , in which he lyrically declares "I'm about as honest as a Denver man can be!"
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience broke up in Denver, after the historic and anticipated Denver Pop Festival of 1969. Hendrix both designed the cover of the Electric Ladyland album and wrote the song Room Full of Mirrors one night at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. A local favorite during their superstardom-reign, the Experience played to often over-crowded audiences at Hendrix' supposed favorite venue, Red Rocks.
- Judy Collins, another folk singer, was raised in Denver and attended East High School. Conductor Antonia Brico was her childhood piano teacher. Several of her songs feature mentioning of Colorado.
- Bob Dylan recorded a live album in Denver, and lived in Capitol Hill for several years, where he got his start playing local folk clubs for several dollars. Today he owns a home in Telluride, Colorado.
- American Idol has scouted Denver on several occasions, and found Ace Young who was a finalist in the fifth season.
- The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is one of the largest centers of its kind in the western hemisphere, and the second largest performing arts center in the world, only behind the Kennedy Center.
