© Tobin Voggesser / RumBum.com
Sunset at the Mile High Music Festival
The Mile High Music Fest brought together music's institutions and up-and-commers for two days of music and festie fun on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. If you missed it, we've got you covered with band interviews, set reviews and photos galore.
Rum Bum's Danielle Hartnett had a chance to sit down and chat with Big Head Todd and the Monsters, The Northern Way, Lukas Nelson, Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam, NEEDTOBREATHE, Gomez, Dead Confederate, Honey Honey, Paper Bird, The Wailers, Electric Touch, Pepper and more. We'll be posting the videos in the next two weeks.
Rum Bum's J. J. Colagrande saw Galactic, Pepper, Matt Nathanson, The Black Keys, G. Love & Special Sauce, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Gomez, 3Oh!3, Thievery Corporation, The Fray, Widespread Panic, Tool, DeVotchKa, Gogol Bordello and more. Check back all week for his set reviews.
And don't forget to join us the weekend of July 31 for the stream of the All Points West Music Festival, the weekend of August 7 for the stream of the Lollapolooza Music Festival, and then again way out in October for stream of the Austin City Limits Music festival.
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 30, 2009 at 11:03AM
If Pepper's music sounds like it's straight outta the '90's, it's because they've been around that long. Formed in 1996 on the island of Kailua-Kona in Hawaii, Pepper moved to Southern California in 1999 to perfect ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 29, 2009 at 05:00PM
Over two days, six hours of Widespread Panic bounced off the Rocky Mountain air. Why two days?? Cuz they jam their asses off. Widespread is the quintessential Southern jamband. They grab a groove, ride it, extend it, take it to ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 29, 2009 at 09:19AM
You have to look twice at a band that sites DH Lawrence and David Bowie as influences. But you have to wonder – what would DH Lawrence-influenced music sound like? A bit slow at first? Blatantly, overtly, and ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 29, 2009 at 08:08AM
Pepper brought their catchy rock / reggae / ska style to the Mile High Festival, and played to a packed crowd. Although a chilling light rain fell throughout the show, the young crowd did not mind. Pepper, originally hailing ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 28, 2009 at 02:58PM
Big Head Todd and the Monsters have been around a long time. In fact, this year is the 20th anniversary of their first album, Another Mayberry. But the songs don't feel old. You could discover one of BHTM's 11 albums ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 28, 2009 at 02:40PM
Paper Bird plays way-cool, lo-fi, folk music. Their banjo plucking may sound antiquated, but the vocals are for the now. Their two albums, Anything Nameless and Joymaking and A Sky Underground are prefect for Sunday ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 28, 2009 at 11:20AM
Denver locals DeVotchKa took the stage at 4:15 underneath a tent. They proceeded to mesmerize the Mile High crowd with their melodic music. The 4-member band has a unique sound that fuses Greek, Slavic, Mariachi, and many other ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 28, 2009 at 10:30AM
Southern rock pioneers Gov't Mule took the Mile High's Main Stage East for a 90-minute set just about the time Mother Nature started acting up. The sky threatened to open up and dump a ton of rain on the crowd, the winds started ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 28, 2009 at 07:26AM
Multi-talented duo Honey Honey blends their upbeat instrumentals and interesting lyrics with the appealing vocals of Suzanne Santo for a strong, vibrant, highly-listenable sound. Their songs are fun and ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 27, 2009 at 02:56PM
Lukas Nelson, son famed and beloved singer/songwriter Willy Nelson, is all grown up and has his own sound and band - Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real. Nelson's voice may sound eerily like his dad's but the band is just a bit ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 27, 2009 at 02:46PM
The Fray took the stage as the last tinges of sunlight faded behind The Rockies. Probably the most commercially successful group at Mile High, these local boys were extremely happy to be home. It was their first show in Denver ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 27, 2009 at 10:17AM
Davy Knowles is cute. And British. And that's enough right there, but he also plays a mean guitar and sings the blues with a clean, clear voice that sounds like Sunday morning, line-dried laundry and the Bayou. All at once. ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 27, 2009 at 07:17AM
Like Yoga in the Afternoon More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 26, 2009 at 10:24AM
Athens-based Dead Confederate takes melancholy to a whole other level. It's so low, it's practically below ground - buried under dead leaves, Georgia clay and the metaphorical detritus of history. Listening to the group ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 26, 2009 at 06:41AM
303 is the area code for Denver, so this local band was playing to a home crowd at Mile High, despite the fact they have been playing the Warped Tour this summer. With the home field advantage, these two dudes electrified a ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 26, 2009 at 06:13AM
Gogol Bordello is one of the most unique bands in the world. The 10-piece gypsy punk folk band has a sound that makes you pogo around the dance floor. It's impossible to stand still when Gogol Bordello is playing. The band ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 25, 2009 at 03:55PM
The Mile High Music Festival cast a spotlight on local Colorado bands in a way that no other summer fest has. There was so much local talent at Mile High - from headliners Widespread Panic, festival mainstays Big Head ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 25, 2009 at 06:02AM
The Colorado crowd packed the Rhapsody Tent early in the afternoon on Sunday to jam to the feel good classics of The Wailers. It was a perfect way to kick off the day and The Wailers can really bring a crowd together. In Denver, ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 24, 2009 at 04:39PM
His name is simple. His music videos are simple. His songs, too, are simple. Perhaps deceptively so. Because sometimes, in songs like "Nation of Heat," Joe Pug conjures a young Bob Dylan. And not just because he sings and plays ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 24, 2009 at 01:58PM
One of the headlining acts of the Mile High Festival, Tool, kicked off the evening with a rawness fit for the land of frontiership. As the temperature dropped by the minute, Tool dropped a chilling sound perfect for the ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 24, 2009 at 12:58PM
While the Black Keys took over one tent at Mile High, Ben Harper & Relentless7 were playing a marathon 105-minute set on the East Side Stage. They had the honor of transitioning the crowd from day into night. At least ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 24, 2009 at 12:00AM
A good music festival, like food, needs sauce, and G. Love brings it. This Philadelphia quartet knows how to mix-it-all-up. They gather ingredients: blues, hip-hop, funk, indie, and R & B, mix it with swerve and sex appeal, ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 23, 2009 at 05:31PM
NEEDTOBREATHE may just be the biggest thing to come out of South Carolina since Hootie and the Blowfish. But it doesn't seem as though they've realized that stardom. Despite having several of their songs played on popular TV ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 23, 2009 at 12:46PM
The Black Keys delivered like Dominos, taking the stage around dusk, kicking the Mile High Festival into another gear. Their tent was packed as the PA system blasted out song after song. The air became dosed in powerful guitar ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 23, 2009 at 12:00AM
Paolo Nutini’s Mile High performance was cool if you don't have a thing for sound. He played under a tent, which was good for festies to take shelter from the afternoon sun, but the sound sucked in the back because there were ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 22, 2009 at 10:35AM
Mile High was blessed when Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born came through for an afternoon session. Lyrics Born played at the smallest stage on the grounds and brought it like there was no tomorrow. The only pure hip-hop artist of the ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 22, 2009 at 09:48AM
It couldn't have been a more spectacular day, at the base of the Rockies, the gateway to the West Coast. Mile High heads were ready to groove and Gomez had a great sound to groove to. The U.K. band operated like it needed to ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 21, 2009 at 03:43PM
If you've been to New Orleans, more than likely you know about the funk. The Meters and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band can tell you about the funk. Parliament and James Brown can tell you about the funk. And Galactic, a New Orleans ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 21, 2009 at 02:55PM
There's something elemental about Reggae music. Something intrinsically humane. Before there was the screen in front of you, before there were the clothes on your back, before there were walls and malls and fast food ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 21, 2009 at 02:34PM
You may or may not know his name, you've more than likely heard his music - on TV and on the radio and wherever else suddenly popular things seep in and flood the popular culture. Though he's been making music for ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 21, 2009 at 08:29AM
The members of Gomez have a pretty good gig. When they're not touring with the Dave Matthews Band or Pearl Jam, they return to their separate corners of the world and "telecommute" - working on songs on their own and ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 20, 2009 at 07:13AM
Although not as crowded as Saturday, Sunday's Mile High Fest had an amazing vibe. Thousands of festival goers gathered under looming storm clouds to see The Fray, 3Oh!3, DeVotchKa, Thievery Corporation, Widespread ... More »
-
by J.J. Colagrande on July 19, 2009 at 05:57AM
Day one of the Mile High Music Fest was a blast. Tens of thousands of fest-goers were blessed with wonderful weather, and a lineup that was as good as it gets.
Highlights of day one included Tool's first live show ... More »
-
by Lauren Doyle on July 14, 2009 at 07:21AM
We just returned from ROTHBURY and we're doing it again. This week, RumBum.com is heading out to Denver to bring you the very best of the Mile High Music Festival. Join us here Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 for the ... More »
