All Swallow Hill Music programming, including concerts, is on hold through March 31, 2020. To learn about postponed and rescheduled concerts, please click here. To read our statement on Swallow Hill’s response to the COVID-19 situation, click here.
For Nick Lowe, a funny thing happened on the way to pop stardom; it never quite happened, but it may have preserved his career.
Rising from the now legendary UK pub rock scene of the early 70s, Nick’s song “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” became a hit at the end of that decade in Elvis Costello’s hands. Just as the punk rock movement he helped influence was simultaneously imploding and expanding, Nick’s solo career flew high enough to carry him through the 80s with guitar pop tunes like “Cruel to Be Kind,” “I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass,” and “I Knew the Bride.”
In the 90s Nick sought to reinvent himself in middle age; this proto-punk was not going suck the air out of past glories on the oldies circuit. Beginning with 1994’s The Impossible Bird, Nick demonstrated that life’s next stage is just a chance to put creative restlessness to good use. He’s never looked back.
On Tuesday, June 9 at 8 p.m., he rolls into Denver’s Oriental Theater for Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock & Roll Revue Starring Los Straitjackets. Nick will bring his singular songbook and suave but mischievous demeanor, Los Straitjackets will provide the hooks and Lucha Libre wrestling masks. This concert is presented by 105.5 The Colorado Sound.
Tickets for this concert and more are on sale now unless noted otherwise. Complete details can be found below. Thank you for supporting live music in Denver with Swallow Hill!
Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets
FULL EVENT DETAILS
105.5 The Colorado Sound presents…
Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock & Roll Revue Starring Los Straitjackets at The Oriental Theater
Tuesday, June 9 at 8pm; $34 advance, $36 day of show
Nick Lowe has made his mark as a producer (Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Pretenders, The Damned), songwriter of at least three songs you know by heart, short-lived career as a pop star, and a lengthy term as a musicians’ musician. But in his current ‘second act’ as a silver-haired, tender-hearted but sharp-tongued singer-songwriter, he has no equal.
Los Straitjackets are the leading practitioners of the lost art of the guitar instrumental. Using the music of the Ventures, The Shadows, and with Link Wray and Dick Dale as a jumping off point, the band has taken their unique, high energy brand of original rock & roll around the world.
Darlingside in Daniels Hall
Wednesday, May 27 at 8pm; $24 advance, $26 day of show
Equal contributions of vocals, lyrical altruism and wisdom, and effortless musicianship are what empower today’s Darlingside and animate their latest album, Extralife. As evidenced in their new recordings, Darlingside jettisons preconceived notions and hardwired life lessons with the grace of choirboys. Perhaps by moving beyond our preconceptions—going Extralife—we can create an amazing future by steering this world towards something incredible. That all makes up the definition of extraordinary. Tickets for this concert go on sale Friday, March 6 at 10 a.m.
Eliza Gilkyson in Daniels Hall
Friday, May 29 at 8pm; $22 advance, $24 day of show
Eliza Gilkyson is a 2-time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and activist who has become one of the most respected musicians in folk, roots and Americana circles. She has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, etown, Sirius/XM, Air America Radio and has toured worldwide as a solo artist and in support of Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Dan Fogelberg. In April she will release 2020, the album is a collection of politically charged anthems designed to motivate, reflect and inspire action during what may be the most vital American election of our lifetime.
Brent Cowles in Daniels Hall
Saturday, May 30 at 8pm; $20 advance, $22 day of show
Blurring the lines between boisterous rock, R&B, and contemplative folk, Brent Cowles’ infectious voice and knack for melody seem to swing effortlessly from quavering intimacy to a soulful roar as they soar atop his exuberant, explosive arrangements. His latest single, “High to Low” gives the listener a real sense of Brent’s current mood. His songs are more evolved yet simpler, his lyrics are stronger yet fragile. He hopes you love it, live it and get down with it.
Jon Cleary (solo piano) in Daniels Hall
Friday, June 26 at 8pm; $26 advance, $28 day of show
Jon Cleary’s work pays obvious homage to the classic Crescent City keyboard repertoire created by such icons as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Dr. John, and James Booker – while also using it as a launching pad for a style that incorporates such other diverse influences as ’70s soul and R&B, gospel music, funk, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Cuban rhythms, and much more.
Heather Mae, left, and Crys Matthews are Singing OUT.
Singing OUT Tour Feat. Crys Matthews and Heather Mae in Daniels Hall
Saturday, June 27 at 8pm; $19 advance, $21 day of show
Award-winning singer-songwriters Heather Mae and Crys Matthews are joining forces once again to spread their message of social-justice, hope and love from coast to coast as the Singing OUT. The Singing OUT Tour is a celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride. Heather, whose evocative vocals and rhythmic piano style call to mind artists like Stevie Nicks and Sara Bareilles, creates intoxicating and unforgettable music inspired by her own personal experiences as a queer, plus-size woman living with Bipolar Disorder. Crys, a powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she, a black, lesbian, butch-identified woman, lightheartedly calls “the poster-child for intersectionality,” has been called “the Woody Guthrie of our generation.”
More concerts coming to Swallow Hill Music
Antje Duvekot and Korby Lenker in Tuft Theatre on April 24
Jubilant Bridge in Tuft Theatre on May 2
The Council in Quinlan Cafe on May 21
Bob Livingston in Tuft Theatre on May 29
Banjo Masters: Jeff Jaros, Dick Weissman and Pete Wernick in Tuft Theatre on May 30
Dan Navarro in Tuft Theatre on Saturday, June 27