Shawn Brackbill

Catch the Head and the Heart at Magness Arena this Saturday.

Update 5/24/13: Contest is over. Winners have been chosen. HaloEleven, russ.christiansen, candy.I.angel, ej8085 and ajgutierrez77, check your email for details on how to claim your tickets. Thanks to everybody else for all the entries.

See also:
- The ten best concerts to see in Denver this week
- Review: The Head and the Heart at CU Boulder, 11/1/12
- Slide show: Obama and the Head and the Heart in Boulder

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Kev Kash is a rising talent from the local scene who has songs with the likes of Innerstate Ike, Myrical and Mr. Midas. Kash says 2Pac his biggest influence, but he says his style is comparable to Lupe or Kendrick Lamar. We recently caught up with the rapper, who has a new record coming out titled Moon Light Grind Vol. 1. Keep reading to get a sneak peek of the new album and to find out more about Kash.

See also:
- Esi Juey has a "hundred-round clip of hits"
- J.Rebelz on female MCs finding their own voice instead of playing second fiddle to men
- Albeez 4 Sheez of A-Co Recordz is still thriving after more than a decade in the game

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Randy Stillwell

Time (aka Chris Steele) has long been focused on enacting positive change and has rarely been shy about voicing his opinions. As a journalist, he's written on controversial subjects ranging from UFOs to the government's role in the death of Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party -- and has received death threats in return. Time hooked us up with a new track from his upcoming project, Newstalgia, "They Call Us the Irish," and it's just as brave and painfully honest as you'd expect.

See also:
- Time keeps on ticking with an Adam Yauch tribute and new album in the works
- A first look at Time's video for "Why My Money Ghost" from his 12 Headed Hydra series
- Time on his possible status as one of the secret rulers of the world

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Rob Garza

Rob Garza has a lot going on besides Thievery Corporation -- he's also a touring DJ in his own right who ignites dancefloors everywhere he spins, and he has a new album out entirely comprising remixes he's tweaked. We caught up with him to talk about the album, how he works his own sound and what's coming up next for the impresario.

See also:
- Rob Garza DJ set at Beta, 6/1/13
- A new Frontier: Tommy Metz remixes, remasters and renames Blossom Frontier
- Alex B.'s Pirates of the Caribean remix: Top five other recent local remixes

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Shawn Brackbrill

THE HEAD AND THE HEART @ MAGNESS ARENA | SAT, 5/25/13
Formed in Seattle in 2009, this project started out playing open mics and within a year after playing countless shows, the Head and the Heart independently released its debut album. The band, whose self-titled album came out on Sub Pop in 2011, is a vibrant live act that still retains its homespun charm, with shades of Nick Drake and Cat Stevens haunting the edges of its melodies. (Catch the Head and the Heart at MusicFest 2013 at the University of Denver, with Mayer Hawthorne, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down, PLACES and Vetta Star.)

See also:
- Nathaniel Rateliff reinvents himself, does some soul-searching with the Night Sweats
- Folk-friendly foursome Dawes is collecting both attention and influences
- The Who at Pepsi Center, with Vintage Trouble, 2/12/13

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MOON BOOTS @ NORAD | FRI, 5/24/13
Moon Boots maintains a mysterious persona appropriate for a being who's allegedly imbued with sentience in a top-secret NASA experiment, but here's what we know about him: He's based out of Chicago, he's signed on the French Express label, and he has a grasp on the sort of funky, dirty, soulful sound that many house DJs would give their sense of rhythm for.

See also:
- Michal Menert discusses board culture and how the destination is in the journey
- Gabriel and Dresden on their hiatus, their reunion and how much they love Beta
- Hipp-E and Greg Eversoul: "When we tag-team, it comes out in our sound"

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A lifetime of music fandom and a voracious appetite for new things has given me a wide-ranging (if sometimes shallow) knowledge of musical styles, forms and history. Despite that, there are holes. Big holes. And some of those holes are, well, embarrassing. I've decided the time has come to fill those holes, with the help and guidance of some of my colleagues. Missing Links is a chronicle of those experiences.

See also:
- Ten essential jazz albums if you know squat about jazz
- Chris Potter wrote an entire album inspired by The Odyssey
- The five best jazz shows in Denver this May

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See DJ Logic and the Space Lab crew for free this weekend at Civic Center.

Feel like partying in the park this holiday weekend? Here's your soundtrack, courtesy of Jay Bianchi's Summer of Serendipity series. The two days of free music this weekend at Civic Center Park features The Space Lab: Kraftwerk ReAmped, a supergroup of sorts comprising Jesse Miller from Lotus, Steve Molitz from Particle & Phil Lesh and Friends, Allen Aucoin of the Disco Biscuits, Scott Metzger of Gene Ween Band and DJ Logic. As the name implies, the outfit breathes new life into the music of Kraftwerk with live instrumentation and improvisation.

See also:
- Review: Disco Biscuits at the Ogden Theatre, 1/25/13
- Review: Lotus at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 9/8/12
- Particle is constantly pushing the envelope in its quest for reinvention

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Catch Lusine, Bruno Pronsato and more at the Great American Techno Festival.

The Great American Techno Festival has revealed part of the lineup for the third annual edition of the burgeoning techno extravaganza. Following up last year's banner lineup of Kevin Saunderson and John Tejada, this year's Great American Techno Fest, which is slated to take place Friday, September 13, through Sunday, September 15, is set to feature Lusine, Bruno Pronsato and more. Keep reading to see who else.

See also:
- The Great American Techno Festival aims to give beer geeks a place to dance
- First annual Great American Techno Festival to hit Great American Beer Festival
- Great American Techno Festival 2012 lineup

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There are many different versions of DJ Babyshoe running around Denver, depending on who you ask and when they last saw him. On any given weekend, Babyshoe (aka Eric Talledo) is crisscrossing the city spinning forgotten hits at the Lost Lake, playing a party hosted by TheHundred or unleashing late night grooves for Dance-Pile.

While he says he enjoys the variety ("it can be whatever you want it to be," he explains), Babyshoe has been devoting more time to the beat scene lately, including curating evenings of chilled out, futuristic sounds for Fresh Produce, his bi-monthly live showcase at the Meadowlark.

See also:
- Meet Real Cosby, a local producer making dynamic, retro-futuristic, experimental house
- Black Amex sounds as opulent as its name
- Nathaniel Rateliff reinvents himself with the Night Sweats

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