Orley is a hypnotist. He’s also a comedian, a hypno-comic, if you will.

Flight For Life helicopters and airplanes usually fly people out of the mountains. But on Sept. 12, in a fundraising event called the Rocky Mountain Ransom, Flight For Life will helicopter eight Front Range denizens to a remote mountain location, dropping them with nothing but a cell phone.

In the summer of 2010, Jeff Emtman, then a student at Fairhaven College, was suffering a sleepless night when he had an epiphany.

The creative process of a singer-songwriter can be a lonesome one. You write songs alone, rehearse alone, often perform alone.

Fourteen years ago, Yonder Mountain String Band formed over a Guinness in a bar in Nederland, according to a tale spun by guitarist Adam Aijala.

A note to incoming freshmen: Life outside the parental womb is complicated. You might be used to home-cooked meals, rent-free housing, structure and supervision, but all that is about to change as you take your first baby steps into the real world.

Gemma Wilcox, a 34-year-old British expat who produces, directs and acts in one-woman shows, is one of those Fringe Fest regulars. She won the “Best of Fest” award in 2005, 2006 and 2008, and she’s back this year with a one-woman show called The Magical Mystery Detour, which she co-wrote with director Elizabeth Baron.

Sitting in a chair at the Naropa Performing Arts Center, as various artists performing in this year’s festival check out the space, hash out technical details and rehearse, Ortolano talks about the festival he birthed eight years ago with a pragmatic savvy.

Denver artist Tony Ortega’s attic studio overflows with framed prints he has made during his three-plus decades as a professional artist. Chicano-style prints made with colorful pastels and paints hang from the walls.

Through a bluegrass career spanning nearly four decades, Tim O’Brien has played on many stages and with numerous players, but RockyGrass holds a special place in his heart. Hell, he’s performed there 28 times, which is why organizers asked him to fill the final slot of the festival’s 40th year.