For the past decade, electronic rock group Lotus has been building a loyal fan base with their ever-changing blend of jam, funk, jazz, and recently more hip-hop style sounds.

I always listen to the opening track extremely carefully. It’s the opening track the artist has selected to hit your ears first and foremost. The opening track "Toys” sets the stage rather well for a melancholy CD like this. It was a passionate intro piece that stuck in my head and had me eager for what lied ahead. All in all the whole CD is brilliantly delivered with a richly woven Alternative-Rock Gypsy Jazz-textures with songs that go far deeper than the next independent artist.

The Colorado front range has many perks, beautiful scenery, great hiking and lots of sunshine. Since I’ve moved here though, I was able to experience the sense of community along these front range cities and learn to love it very quickly. I feel that our impressive local music scene is a core glue that not only strengthens our communities, but creates a positive environment for people to get involved and help their local scenes evolve.

They say everything is bigger in Texas and as far as Wood and Wire from Austin, Texas sound goes, the band goes plenty big on their self titled CD, Wood and Wire.

For my first time at the Ogden in Denver, I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the first bands that fueled my interest in funk music, Galactic.

Fans of the Grateful Dead’s Dick’s Picks and Dave’s Picks series will welcome a new archival series of live Jerry Garcia Band recordings that debuts tomorrow (Feb. 19) with the release of GarciaLive Volume 1. The 3-CD set features the complete performance of the JGB (there was an early show and a late show) at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ, on March 1, 1980.The shows were originally recorded in multi-track for live broadcast by New York radio station WNEW-FM.

Sometime last Saturday night it dawned on me why the guys from the Infamous Stringdusters are doing so well for themselves; their charm and charisma comes through without toting a hometown identity. When the Dusters play in Nashville or Telluride, or Eugene, they make the crowd feel like their hometown crowd.

Renowned vibraphone, percussionist and lyrical mastermind Mike Dillon is one of those traveling musicians that might not always draw the largest of crowds, but is embraced by many musical communities and fans of altering genres.

At the second stop on their Ski Tour through Colorado, the Infamous Stringdusters used their first night at the Fox to make an extremely compelling case for the audience to return for the second show on Saturday. Seamlessly combining soaring solos with impressive stage dynamics and powerful songwriting, The Stringdusters left the capacity crowd in a sweaty, euphoric state.

When you hear Tyler Grant’s name, you are most likely to conjure memories of the Emmitt-Nershi Band, or even more likely the acoustic guitar he flatpicked on his way to numerous awards and distinctions.