Openair Sessions

Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst have made music as Shovels & Rope for more than a decade. The South Carolina married duo's sound is rooted in classic Americana and country-folk. They add some fuzzed-out guitars and driving rock rhythms to the mix on their new album By Blood. Shovels & Rope stopped into our studio before a show at Denver's Ogden Theatre. The band played some music from the new album and chatted with Jeremy Petersen.

Jeff Cormack has been the bandleader of South of France since 2012. The Denver musician/producer and his rotating cast of musicians are preparing to release the band's sophomore album, Remember That Cool Thing We Did, later this year via Dualtone Records. We got a sneak preview of the record when South of France came into our studio for a performance and interview with Alisha Sweeney.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets released the new album And Now For The Whatchamacallit earlier this year. The quartet from Perth, Australia, has been building up a big fan base overseas thanks to their blistering garage rock and unruly live shows. The band stopped into our studio to play a few songs from the new record and chat with Alisha Sweeney.

The Burroughs are a nine-piece band from Greeley with a dynamic soul-rock sound. The band's uptempo rhythms, potent horn section and vocal harmonies were on full display when they performed some songs from the albums Got To Feel and Forever In Love in our studio. They also spoke with host Alisha Sweeney.

As frontman of Camper Van Beethoven, David Lowery became a forefather of indie rock in the 1980s. He also leads the popular alternative rock band Cracker and has produced records by Sparklehorse and Counting Crows. This year Lowery released the autobiographical solo album In The Shadow of the Bull. He stopped by to play a few songs from that record along with a Cracker song, and spoke with Alisha Sweeney.

Jay Cobb Anderson is new to Denver but a well-established musician. He's a co-founder of Portland folk-rock band Fruition and also plays in TK & The Holy Know-Nothings. Anderson -- one of our Local 303 artists this month -- just released the new solo EP Everything Is Gonna Work Its Own Self Out. He recently stopped into our studio to play some songs from that record and chat with Bruce Trujillo.

Fantastic Negrito is the performing moniker of blues musician Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz. Since winning NPR Music's first Tiny Desk Contest in 2015, he's found widespread acclaim. Fantastic Negrito's most recent album, Please Don't Be Dead, won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album this year. Fantastic Negrito and his band stopped into our studio before a show at the Bluebird Theater to play some songs from that record and talk with Alisha Sweeney.

Dessa has visited our studio a few times over the years, though her last musical performance at CPR was in 2013. The singer/rapper is a member of the Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree and has authored several books.

The Beeves hail from the small town of Erie, Colorado, and got their start busking on the streets of nearby Boulder. The members of the garage rock quartet released their debut album, "Adam & Beeve," earlier this year. The band stopped into our studio to play some songs from the record and chat with Bruce Trujillo.

Sean Frederick wrote, recorded and produced all the music on I'd Waste All My Time On You, his debut album as Good Elastics. Backed by a drummer, the Denver musician recently shared some of the atmospheric indie rock from that record in our performance studio. He also sat down for a chat with Alisha Sweeney.

Turvy Organ draws inspiration from the wave of great indie rock bands of the 2000s. Formed in Austin, the band now calls Denver home. The quartet released the EP The Ghost at the Feast earlier this year. Turvy Organ stopped in to play some music from the record and chat with Jeremy Petersen.

Shakey Graves -- the performing moniker of singer-songwriter Alejandro Rose-Garcia -- makes music with a rollicking, Americana-tinged take on life and love. We welcomed him back into our performance studio before a headlining show at Red Rocks. He and his band played four songs from last year's Can't Wake Up album and chatted with Alisha Sweeney.

The Greeley-based trio Trash Cat has a knack for breezy indie pop melodies and charmingly eccentric lyrics. The band, whom we featured as one of our Local 303 artists last month, stopped by our studio to play a few songs from the debut album, "Welcome to Trash City," and chat with Bruce Trujillo.

Pure Bathing Culture released its third album, "Night Pass," earlier this year. The Portland indie rock band with a dreamy, oceanic sound returned to our studio to share a few songs from the new record and chat with Jeremy Petersen.

Last month Angie McMahon released her debut album, "Salt," after years of performing in her home country of Australia. The singer-songwriter recently stopped into our studio to play stripped-down versions of three songs from the album.

Kiltro captivated us at last year's Underground Music Showcase when the band played one of our porch sessions. Led by Chilean-American artist Chris Bowers-Castillo, the Denver band makes loop-based songs influenced by folk, Latin, rock and electronic music. Kiltro will release its debut album, "Creatures of Habit," next month and play an album release show July 6 at Denver's Larimer Lounge. Kiltro visited our studio last month to play four songs. The band members also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about how the band grew from Bowers-Castillo's solo project to a trio, the dozens of effect pedals they use in their music and the growing diversity of Denver's music scene.

Instant Empire took a unique approach to putting out new music last year. The Denver indie rock band wrote, recorded and released one new song each month of 2018. Now, the band members have compiled those tracks into the new album "Cathedrals." Instant Empire made its fourth visit to the CPR Performance Studio last month. The band members played four songs and spoke with Jeremy Petersen about the rationale behind their strategy last year, the challenges of writing to meet a deadline and how their lyrics became more personal.

Flaural last visited us in 2017 with ambitions for a debut album. The Denver rock quartet's plan took a bit longer than anticipated, but after multiple U.S. tours and recording sessions, it released the aptly-titled "Postponement" last month. The album features the layered guitar and synth sound that has won the band praise from publications like Stereogum. Flaural returned to play three songs from "Postponement" in our studio. The band members also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about recording the album in Oakland and Denver, how fans like to listen to their music while running and why they love touring the West Coast.

Extra Gold released its debut album, "High & Lonesome," late last year. Evan Holm fronts the Denver country-western band and draws on his experiences living in Kansas City and across Colorado on the record's eight tracks. Extra Gold stopped into the CPR Performance Studio to play four songs from "High & Lonesome." Holm also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about how the band came together from a weekly residence at Denver's Syntax Physic Opera, working with producer and former Paper Bird member Mark Anderson, and the band's busy summer schedule.

Heavy Diamond Ring is a new project from Sarah Anderson and Paul DeHaven, founders of the Colorado folk band Paper Bird. The band finds the musicians continuing their 12 year collaboration after Paper Bird's split in 2017. Heavy Diamond Ring celebrates the release of its debut album with a June 7 show at Denver's Larimer Lounge, presented by OpenAir. Heavy Diamond Ring stopped into the CPR Performance Studio to play three songs from the album. The band members also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about why they love writing songs together, filming a music video in Ohio and recording with producer Mark Anderson, Sarah's brother and a former Paper Bird member.