SF1 and Diversity in the Denver Music Scene

Recently my friend and Open Air DJ Alisha Sweeney had a great piece on NPR’s Here & Now about the Denver music scene. She talked about one of my favorite chameleons, Nate Rateliff, who performs in variations of his own projects that are rock, folk, funk, soul and pretty much anything – because the man can do anything. My only complaint was the other selections were a little narrow… perhaps focused on bands who moved here to integrate into the scene like The Lumineers and Tennis, rather than the kids who grew up here and play all kinds of music. Rock, rap, hip hop, punk, EDM, folk, pop and pretty much any category you could name. (Alisha told me on Twitter the piece had been cut for time – which I had assumed – because trust me, Alisha loves ALL the bands here just as much as we all do.)

But Alisha hit the vibe right on the nose when she said Denver was “collaborative.” When there is a local headliner, almost always the bands meld together throughout the opening acts and play each others songs. Such was the case when SF1 played the Gothic with MTHDS, Other Black and Adrienne O. Several of these guys went to Denver School of the Arts together, and I worked with SF1 and his singer Julie Almeria when they were in Bop Skizzum. Drummer Aaron Templer and SF1 work with the Mudra Dance Studio on various productions, and dancers from the studio perform at SF1 shows. Wes Watkins from Other Black plays with just about every band in town.

Collaborative.

Talented.

Diverse.

Denver rocks.

Check out my photos from that show below, and if you are from the Denver area – I always have a up to date concert calendar (also in my side bar) with shows I think you should see.

Adrienne O

Other Black

MTHDS (Methods)

SF1 featuring Candyman & Julie Almeria