Louisville songwriter Jeremy Dion had a hell of a year in 2010. ]]> “Der Abschied” is ideal for Simson’s MahlerFest farewell because the text literally describes the parting of two friends. It is, Olson says, “the most colorful, beautiful, intimate piece of music ever written. Period.”]]> The director and guiding spirit of the annual Sounds of Lyons chamber music festival has described herself in the past as “part renegade, part experimentalist and part naïve,” which fits the previous four festivals to a “T.” And in the fifth Sounds of Lyons ( June 14–16), she and the festival are still renegade and experimental, but they are well beyond naïve.]]> Astraios will present %uFFFDThe Sounds of Summer,%uFFFD a program inspired by nature, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Dairy Center (tickets: call 303-444-7328; online until 5:30 p.m. at thedairy.frontgatetickets.com). They will repeat the same program at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Abbey of St.]]> A slew of changes has rocked Nate Cook’s world this past year. His band, The Yawpers — rock ’n’ roll with a country twinge, starring two acoustic guitars and a drum set — is letting their record deal with Boulder label Adventure Records expire, and the band has leapt over to Colorado SpokesBUZZ, becoming the first non-Fort Collins band to sign with the FoCo-based nonprofit/label.]]> Marilyn Manson doesn’t want to be shocking. In fact, he says that’s impossible.]]> The first week of school can be rough, as students are only half-awake from the slumber of winter break. When nary a soul was at the Fox Theatre when the doors opened for Boulder group Technicolor Ton]]> Nick Urata, the guitar-slinging, bouzouki-picking, theremin-conducting lead singer of Denver’s DeVotchKa, is ready for yet another performance with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO) at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Friday, June 14. And while his group has been practicing for the show, he doesn’t deny that when the orchestra isn’t around, they slack off a bit.]]> Boulder Weekly’s attitude toward our annual “Best Albums of the Year” column has been pretty similar, considering the opening paragraph the first three years was pretty much devoted to debunking the idea that any art can be rated. Thus, this year we’re going with a “Great Albums” theme instead. And honestly, putting the 2011 edition of this column together was more fun than previous years because of readers’ participation.]]> What do you get when you have a downtown warehouse with little city enforcement and a group of tenants whose primary addiction is art? You get Rhinoceropolis, a Denver D.I.Y. art establishment and anarchist commune that has been the city's most fertile breeding ground for new art projects.]]> Nicki Bluhm has a lot going for her. Her country-rock vocals recall the rootsy strut of Linda Ronstadt, while sweet and smooth like a crème brûlée.]]> Calexico’s John Convertino was fielding questions from the media recently; we were his last interview that day, but also at least his second interview prepping the Boulder market for the Tucson-based outfit’s upcoming Fox Theatre gig. The first one caught him a little off-guard.]]> Not many bands that come through Boulder are able to cull a playlist from a catalog that has sold more than 250 million albums worldwide. Yet this is what will happen when the Wailers come to town for their nearly annual pilgrimage Dec. 28 at the Fox Theatre.]]> Some guys worry about success and how to make it happen. Others simply do, channeling their ambition into creation, believing hard work and passion will take them wherever they need to go. Los Angeles-born rapper Nick Carter, aka Murs, is the latter such artist, someone who’s not only a fine storyteller, but punctures rap’s typical air of bravado and superiority to sing about everyday things and people.]]> The song, also the title track, is a little off-putting, even as it relaxes from its chunky and rusty-fender guitar chord opening into an uneasily medicated, pedal steel-tinged chorus. At more than seven minutes, it's the CD's opener, its title tune and its longest track but not by a long stretch its most inviting.]]> Haven’t we heard it all before? I know you’re thinking political ads, but the same is often said about music. The response to that question is a local sextet unlike anything you’ve ever listened to before. And if you think you have, just wait five minutes for your mind to change. Or melt.]]> Folk music started as a communal celebration of the best that the human spirit has to offer. There were no heroes in early folk music, no stars and no separation between the performer and the audience.]]> Schedule of bands for NedFest 2012 in Nederland, Colo. Aug. 24-26.]]> While the %uFFFDsophomore slump%uFFFD thing, releasing a vaguely disappointing follow-up to a surprisingly strong debut, may or may not be the most predictive model for a recording band%uFFFDs fortunes these days, especially since making records is often now a...]]> Akerfeldt, singer/songwriter/guitar/driving force of Opeth, says touring is how the band became known outside of Sweden and how it built its following and reputation.]]>