Chris Stapleton plays Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium on May 5 and 6. Photo: Becky Fluke.
Chris Stapleton, Wild Nothing and Behemoth are our picks for the best shows around Colorado this week. See you there, and if you don t make it out, follow our music musings on and our selfies on . Oh, our editor has a Snapchat, too. His name is dylanacious. Hit him up.
Chris Stapleton — Fillmore Auditorium, May 5 + 6
You’ve probably heard Chris Stapleton before his breakout in 2015 — you just might not have realized it. Before cutting “Traveller,” his Grammy-award winning solo debut, Stapleton wrote songs for genre big-wigs like Trace Adkins, Tim McGraw and Luke Bryan. He’d also prove a mighty frontman as a member of the gritty bluegrass outfit the Steeldrivers, who were never the same after he left in 2010. Solo, Stapleton brings his gale-force voice and radio-proven songwriting skill to bear. Like the best Top 40 country singers, he has a damning knack for making you want to feel sad. See him at the Fillmore Auditorium on May 5 and 6. Tickets are $70-$199 via livenation.com.
Wild Nothing — Bluebird Theater, April 30
Red Bull Sound Select’s season on-the-cheap concert series returns with indie pop’s Wild Nothing. The band returns to Denver after releasing its third album, “Life of Pause,” a combination of Talking Heads interpretations and soft-hued balladry that’s confoundingly danceable. Jack Tatum, the man behind the music, would own up to the fact this latest iteration of Wild Nothing is pointedly ecstatic — he’s cited Philly soul music as a major influence on his new album’s strong disco undercurrent. Catch the band’s new-found retro obsession at the Bluebird Theater on April 30. Tickets are $3 with an RSVP and are available via redbullsoundselect.com.
Behemoth — Gothic Theatre
Polish death metal band Behemoth write about what they know. Diagnosed with , Nergal, the band’s openly satanist frontman, was suddenly became intimate with his own mortality for a year before receiving a clean bill of health. His brush with the other side only strengthened the artist’s resolve: In 2014, Behemoth released “The Satanist,” their 10th — and widely considered best — studio album. Catch Nergal and company at the Gothic Theatre on May 3. Tickets: $20-$25 via axs.com.
