While most artists will do a New Year’s Eve run leading up to the big night, Yonder Mountain String Band takes the opposite approach this week. Along with a show on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, Yonder Mountain String Band plays what we could call a post-New Year’s Eve run that continues on Jan. 2-3 at the Boulder Theater. The Colorado-based bluegrass band also welcomes Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman (Jan. 2) and Andy Hall and Andy Flaco (Jan. 3) as supporting acts. If you, like Yonder, are Colorado-born and bred, there’s no better way to kick off a new year of music than with some home-state pride. ($35, )
Fans of the Flaming Lips are used to catching the iconic psych-rock band at major festivals and big arenas. This summer the band played a headlining set at Riot Fest, and before that at the 1stBank Center with String Cheese Incident. But on Jan. 4, the band will play its most intimate Denver area show in recent memory at the 1,600-capacity Ogden Theatre. As we’ve seen at some of the band’s other rare small shows, the Flaming Lips don’t tone down the stage production in tighter venues. This show, like every Lips performance, will be a major spectacle, but this time in a smaller package. ($75, )
Matt Miller: mrmiller@denverpost.com
