Do you believe in augurs? As a bookworm and English teacher, I always look for them in literature and instruct my students to do the same. Omens of good things to come and harbingers of impending doom are common tropes in fiction. But the portents woven into those narratives are intentional and premeditated – mechanisms to clue the reader in to future events. Real life is another matter entirely.

Fayetteville, Arkansas has seen a lot of different bands in the past few years. Its electronic scene is growing, as well as its jam scene. And really, all of its music is growing. So it’s no surprise George’s Majestic Lounge chose a band like Lotus to play at their venue. The band has played at this venue several times, but never on the venue’s new, much larger stage.

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.

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.

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.

Boulder County favorites Mountain Standard Time and their annual front range Mardi Grass celebration at the Fox Theatre has become something of a right of passage, and a pilgrimage for Ned Heads, Denverites, and their fan base grown from classmates and neighbors. With Boulder’s favorite venue filled with Mardi Gras beads, and a line forming down the block spotted with costumes, it was evident that word had spread. Whispers of a sell out were in the works. Crowds started forming at the bars.

With the winter doldrums in full swing it’s easy to contract some severe cabin fever. We are getting ever closer to spring but the temperatures seem to say otherwise. Thankfully the Aggie Theatre was serving up a warm dose of John Brown’s Body and Euforquestra to ease our winter suffering.