In the build up to their five-night run at The Boulder Theater, Yonder Mountain String Band announced that a guest musician would be sitting in with them each evening.

If there were to be a declared “newgrass” hub for the 1990s-2000s resurge of popularity, most would undisputedly agree that Colorado is that place. Sure the great states of California and Oregon have their fan base and head venues, and lets not forget that the Nashville scene is still souring with talent young and old. But all those Nashville folks never miss a single year of Colorado’s Planet Bluegrass Festivals (Telluride Bluegrass, Lyon’s Rockygrass and Folks Fest).

Having lived and worked in Boulder, CO for almost 20 years now, I can’t help but reminisce about how my life has changed since I first moved here from the East Coast in 1992. In July of 2012 I will have officially lived here longer than where I grew up.

Going to a Trace Bundy show is like going to a family dinner that you actually want to be at. The first time I listened to Trace Bundy’s music was in college. A friend had a copy of his “Adapt” CD and I used to play it when I needed to relax. This was the 3^rd time I have seen Trace perform.

I first heard of Elephant Revival when I met Bridget Law at a fiddle contest five years ago. She had a magnetic personality and played the fiddle with the best of them, so I made sure to look up her band when I got home. The first Elephant song I listened to was "Ring Around the Moon", and it was stuck in my head for days. Since then I have seen them play many times.

I had never seen Elephant Revival before tonight. And sometimes, ignorance is bliss, and the best way to see a live band. Having no expectations or prior convictions of how a show will sound or make you feel is liberating.  After all, music is foremost an innate emotional reaction to rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, and when you have no existing mental model, your mind is forced to make one, which, in its synthesis, is one of the best parts of man’s love affair with music.

Cheer Up! Robert Randolph and the Family Band are in town! The established pedal-steel player and his band came through Colorado in October, and made sure to add a tour stop at the beautiful Boulder Theater on October 21, 2011. The band is has built quite the reputation for high-energy, danceable, uplifting concerts during their relatively short career.

Nothing says Halloween better than vampires.  Except for Zombies maybe.  Never mind the fact that it wasn’t actually Halloween, it was Saturday night, and that’s close enough for those of us with jobs that keep us from partying it up on a Monday night.  Devotchka’s annual Halloween show always draws a crowd of the costumed and enthused, and last Saturday was no exception.  Add to the fact that Boulderites love a costume party more than most people with a killer (or undead?) theme like Vampires vs.

Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta and Westword are proud to present the 7^th Annual Last Waltz-Revisite featuring Polytoxic & The Denver Horns at the Boulder Theater Friday, November 18^th, 2011. Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 16th for $15.00 in advance and $17.50 day of show.

97.3 KBCO is proud to present the Yonder Mountain String Band’s Colorado Countdown New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Boulder Theater Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 through Saturday, December 31st, 2011. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, August 31st for $35.00 General Admission, $65.00 New Year’s Eve and $185.00 for the 5-Day Pass.