All 12 of the Saxon Pub tenants had eyes on Payne as he opened with a slow and easy start. Throughout the set Payne mixed a variety of slow subtle originals with upbeat covers. Adhering to call out requests from boisterous tenants, Payne showed a plethora of song knowledge.

On Nov. 17, Denver’s Ellie Caulkins Opera House was filled with the sweet songs of lost love, simplicity and addiction. The source of this therapeutic rapture was former shoe-factory worker turned folk phenomenon Ray LaMontagne. With a voice that harbors the kind of goosebumps and butterflies that first love brings, he captures the many emotions that coincide with the human condition.

I have listened to a lot of music. Over the past few years, I have come to accept that there is very little that musically surprises me anymore. I am not saying that there is nothing good out there, to the contrary there has been a lot of good music lately, it is simply that the music I have listened to recently lacks staying power. When I say staying power, I mean that I can play the album a week, month, year or years later and not be embarrassed. The Rural Alberta Advantage debut album Hometowns caught me off guard.

The Bitter End is a musical landmark in New York. Many artists on their way up to stardom have played here. Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Patti Smith, Frank Zappa, even pop music's current 'It Girl', Lady Gaga.

It’s time to grab a beer and browse the CD racks at Waterloo Records which hosted Collin Herring’s newest album release “Ocho” this Tuesday, November 17^th.  The Fort Worth native has made his way back down to Austin with a slate full of shows around Texas.

Collin Herring’s fourth album, “Ocho” comes on the heels of his other albums "Avoiding The Circus" (2002), "The Other Side Of Kindness" (2005) and "Past Life Crashing" (2008).

Colorado newgrass icons Drew Emmitt and Bill Nershi break away from their well-known respective groups, Leftover Salmon and String Cheese Incident, and return to their roots to form an exciting project that melds original bluegrass standards with progressive jamgrass flavors.  With an excellent supporting cast in tow, this album is a must-own for any fan of the string band genre.

What do you get when a band known for their funky grooves decides to pair up with a soul soldier to recreate the hip-shaking magic of a legendary posse? Pure perfection.

Denver is a Broncos town.  When they play everything else takes a backseat. With the Broncos playing on Monday night, I did not expect Holiday Shores to draw much of a crowd for their show. Deservedly so, they had a bigger crowd than I anticipated. By the end of the night, they were far more interesting to watch than the Broncos.

T Bird and The Breaks were walking the lady killer beat pre-show Friday (November 6) night. Of the nine members of the band some were prancing the approximately 30 feet by 60 feet downstairs of Stubbs in anticipation, while others were getting loose with mixed drinks, MGD and billiards.

Live Dead were quite the frequenters of the Starry Plough in the Spring and early parts of the summer of 2009. During a short hiatus away from Berkeley the band toured other parts of California such as South Lake Tahoe, Eureka, and the famous Brookdale Lodge in the Santa Cruz Mountains.