Openair Sessions

Colfax Speed Queen has been a can't-miss live act in Colorado's music scene for several years. The Denver garage rock band's concerts involve crowd-surfing and mosh pits while the band delivers high-energy guitar and organ riffs. Colfax Speed Queen last November released its sophomore album "Talk To Your Doctor." We recently welcomed the band back into the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2013. The band members played a few songs from the new album and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about channeling their live energy in the studio, making a split single with fellow Denver band The Ned Garthe Explosion and some recent tour memories in Kansas City.

It's plain to hear that Sweet Spirit has a big sound: The Austin, Texas, rock band has nine members and one of the most energetic frontwomen in indie music. That's Sabrina Ellis, who also sings for A Giant Dog. Sweet Spirit last month released the new album "St. Mojo." Six of the band members stopped into the CPR Performance Studio before a gig at Denver's Hi-Dive to perform four songs from the new LP. They also spoke with Scott Carney about their non-stop touring schedule and their friendship with fellow Austin band Spoon.

Why? has spent more than a decade crafting experimental rock music with a strong dose of hip-hop. Much of that comes from bandleader Yoni Wolf, who has also toured as a solo rapper. The Cincinnati band's latest album, "Moh Lhean," is a collection of melancholy piano ballads -- some of them written after Wolf suffered a bout of poor health in Central America. Why? stopped into the CPR Performance Studio before a Denver show to play four songs from the new album. Wolf also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about balancing various musical projects, the health scare that influenced "Moh Lhean" and recording the album in his home studio.

Singer and guitarist Kyle Emerson may be familiar to fans of Colorado's music scene as a member of the psych-rock band Plum. That group relocated to Los Angeles last year but Emerson is back in Denver to release music under his own name. His debut EP "Worth It" is out next week and he celebrates with a release show May 11 at Hi-Dive. Emerson and his band stopped by the CPR Performance Studio to play four songs from the new EP. He also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about assembling a new band for his solo work, recording live to tape and how his solo work differs from the music of Plum.

Chris Senseney and Stefanie Drootin are the songwriting partners behind the trio Big Harp, which has released three albums on the Saddle Creek label that span a variety of genres. The married couple has recently stayed busy as a new band called Umm. Their debut album "Double Worshipper" is out this fall. Umm previewed some music from that forthcoming debut in the CPR Performance Studio. Senseney and Drootin also spoke with Alicia Bruce Mitchell about the origin of the new project, how it differs from Big Harp and their ideal way to release music.

A dé​Collage concert features a lot more than just music. The Denver band incorporates costumes, film projections and live painting into its shows, while tinkering with experimental electronic sounds in its music. The band also helps run the Denver music production space Moon Magnet Studios. ​dé​Collage stopped into the CPR Performance Studio to play some new music and decorate the space with balloons, quilts and lights. The band members also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about interactive live shows, their collaborations with Denver musicians and their new album coming out this fall.

Sera Cahoone this month returned to the CPR Performance Studio for the first time since 2012. The singer-songwriter and Colorado native recently released the album "From Where I Started." It features contributions from members of Death Cab For Cutie, Iron & Wine and Son Volt, with whom she performs a few Colorado shows next month. Cahoone performed four songs from the new album in the studio and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about self-releasing "From Where I Started" and writing a song about a family tragedy.

The story of Bison Bone begins in Oklahoma, where singer and guitarist Courtney Whitehead launched his music career playing at barnyard parties. Eventually Whitehead made his way to Denver, where he recruited singer Brianna Straut after watching her perform a Gillian Welch song at 3 Kings Tavern. Bison Bone recently released its debut album, "History Of Falling." The country-rock band stopped in for a studio session just before its release. The quintet performed four songs from the album and spoke with Jeremy Petersen about the band's origin, recording the album mostly live and the influence of artists like Woody Guthrie and JJ Cale.

Shark Dreams first came to our attention when singer and guitarist Mike McGraw participated in our Fort Collins Super Session earlier this year at the Music District. McGraw fronts the Denver-based quartet, which last year released the EP "Deeep." It features breezy indie rock songs that often veer into intense crescendos. Shark Dreams joined us in the CPR Performance Studio to play a few songs from the EP as well as some new music. McGraw also spoke with Jeremy Petersen about the band's peculiar name, his time in Fort Collins band Mosey West and his recent move to Denver.

Flobots recently returned to the CPR Performance Studio to preview some new music from their forthcoming album "NOENEMIES." The Denver hip-hop band explores the power of protest music on the new record. It features call-and-response choruses written to empower protesters and performed by members of the Denver community. The band performed three songs in the studio, backed by Denver gospel group Spirit Of Grace. The members also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about recruiting people to sing on the album, their upcoming live shows in Colorado and the themes behind songs like "Sleeping Giant."

The Band Of Heathens celebrated its 10th anniversary last year and recently released its fifth studio album "Duende." The Austin, Texas, quintet incorporates elements of Americana, jam band music and country into a groovy style that's made them a live favorite in their hometown and beyond. The Band Of Heathens stopped by the CPR Performance Studio before a pair of Colorado concerts. They performed four songs from "Duende" and spoke with Jeremy Petersen about the new album's title, the evolution of the band across its first 10 years and some of the band's memorable Colorado shows.

The members of Denver band Get Along met as high school students in Monument, Colo. Nicholas and Cara Yañez -- who are now married -- have spent five years exploring genres from synth-pop to punk rock. Their live setup includes a collection of keyboards and synthesizers -- and an electric ukulele. Get Along will release a new EP this year. The duo previewed some songs from that release in the CPR Performance Studio and spoke with Alicia Bruce Mitchell about balancing music and family, writing within multiple genres and their love for artists like Bon Iver and David Bowie.

Natalie Tate has been busy in Denver's music scene in recent years. She's played lead guitar in Ark Life and received the "Best Singer-Songwriter" award from Westword last year. Tate recently released her second studio album, "Broken Open," which features more electronic instruments than her previous work. Tate visited the CPR Performance Studio to perform a few songs from the new album and speak with Alisha Sweeney about featuring notable musicians from Denver's music scene on the new album, integrating pop culture references into her music and her long musical partnership with filmmaker Shane Boris.

Tennis recently returned to the CPR Performance Studio a few days before the release of the album "Yours Conditionally." The Denver indie band has been on tour for much of 2017, and they head to California this month to play Coachella Music Festival. Tennis performed four songs from the new album and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about the feminist message behind "Ladies Don't Play Guitar," how their recent sailing trip inspired "Yours Conditionally" and getting "Girls" actress Zosia Mamet to star in the promotional videos for the album.

Overcoats are emerging as one of the most exciting young bands of 2017. The New York duo recently performed at South By Southwest, appeared at NPR headquarters for a Tiny Desk Concert and landed an opening spot for Maggie Rogers' North American tour -- including a stop at Denver's Larimer Lounge last week. Overcoats brought their dreamy harmonies and synth-pop to the CPR Performance Studio before that show to perform a few songs from the forthcoming debut LP "Young." They also spoke with Alicia Bruce Mitchell about the band's origin story as students at Wesleyan University, bonding over a love of the Dixie Chicks and experimenting with their sound on "Young."

Slothrust has drawn comparisons to guitar-driven alternative rock bands like Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. But the trio initially met as students at Sarah Lawrence College playing jazz and chamber music. That background adds an unpredictable element to their rock music. Slothrust released its third album, "Everyone Else," last fall. The band members performed a few standouts from that album in our CPR Performance Studio and spoke with Jeremy Petersen about their musical experiences at Sarah Lawrence, writing through improvisation and their recent move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.

Strange Americans last joined us in the CPR Performance Studio in 2014. Since then the Denver roots-rockers have been at work on the follow-up to "That Kind Of Luster." We got a sneak preview of that album -- "Borrow You Brother" -- when the band returned to our studio this week. The band headlines Denver's Hi-Dive tomorrow night before a few tour dates in the Midwest. They played a few new songs in our studio and spoke with Alisha Sweeney about recording the new album in Denton, Texas, how a studio fire affected the recording process and their collaborative lyric writing.

Some prominent women of Denver's music scene collaborated this month for a two-night show at Denver's Syntax Physic Opera. Billed as "WMN And The Queen City Of The Plains," the unique concerts featured members of eight female-fronted Denver bands. Prior to the shows, we welcomed a few artists who participated into our CPR Performance Studio -- including Jess Parsons and members of Ivory Circle, Bluebook and Sinkra. These four acts each took a turn playing an original song. They also spoke with Alicia Bruce Mitchell about how the concerts came together with the help of musician Wes Watkins and the many hard-working female musicians in Denver.

Slow Caves first performed in our studio in 2015. Since then the Fort Collins band has signed to the Cincinnati-based Old Flame Records and released the "Desert Minded" EP. This year they've performed at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho. The self-described "synth-punk" band returned to our studio earlier this month. They performed some new music and spoke with Scott Carney about signing to their new label, how they've evolved as a band over the past two years and getting compared to the Beach Boys.

Bad Licks is a new Denver band that includes members of Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Rootbeer & Mermentau and The Blue Rider. They've released just two songs but have gained attention through live shows in Denver and beyond -- including a stop at this weekend's Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho. The garage rockers stopped into our CPR Performance Studio before heading up to Boise. They played some new music and spoke with Alicia Bruce Mitchell about the origin of Bad Licks, plans for a forthcoming EP and previous experiences at Treefort with their other bands.