The UMS: Blog

Thank you, Denver.

Ricardo Baca — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:24:00 MDT

What can we say? Record attendance. Gorgeous days. Insane stories. Beautiful music. Great surprise events.

The other day, a colleague told me she wished she had been followed around by a camera crew the entire festival — because everything was so funny, so great, so strange, so memorable. I couldn’t have agreed any more. The 2010 UMS was an incredibly special event, and I’m proud to have been a part of it.

Thank you for hanging out with us, Denver. What a tremendous weekend!

There’s tons of UMS coverage out there (thanks and cheers to Westword, 303 Magazine and all our blogger pals), but here are the stories/photos/videos from The Denver Post, one of our sponsors. Check out this goodness, and this madness, and this awesomeness — and this and this and this and this.

O, and then there was this. Wow, Denver. That was a festival to remember!

The UMS loves you.

UMS Song of the Day: Ian Cooke, "The Rot"

Ricardo Baca — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, music fans. (The UMS comes to a close TODAY!) We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Ian Cooke was voted as Denver’s No. 1 artist last year in the ninth annual Denver Post Underground Music Poll, and his innovative chamber pop is a thing of beauty. Listen to “The Rot” here and see him tonight on the Groove Automotive Stage tonight!

Welcome, Mayor Hickenlooper! And Luchadores!

Ricardo Baca — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:26:00 MDT

Two days in, and The UMS is a rousing success. Last night was madness, and wow, Denver, you all are total champs. What a tremendous weekend — already! We’re so dang excited for more fun tonight, and we just found out that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will be joining us for some fun tonight — and he’s going to introduce his buddies, Flobots, when they play the CarToys Stage at 9 p.m.!

Important note: Sadly the Groove Automotive Stage’s line-up for today didn’t make the print program, so here it is — and make sure you get over there to catch some Mexican wrestling, Varlet (featuring Lilly Scott from the last season of “American Idol”) and the Northern Way! Yay!

Groove Automotive Stage — Saturday, July 24, 2010

3:45 PM LUCHA LIBRE MEXICANA / All Ages

5:15 PM LUCHA LIBRE MEXICANA / All Ages

6:45 PM Varlet (featuring Lilly Scott) / All Ages

8:15 PM The Northern Way / All Ages

UMS Song of the Day: Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, "Parallel Lines"

Ricardo Baca — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, music fans. (The UMS continues TODAY!) We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Denver-based rockers Snake Rattle Rattle Snake are the real thing, and we’re lucky to have them playing The UMS tonight at the CarToys Stage! (And tomorrow at 3 Kings Tavern!) listen to “Parallel Lines” here.

Introducing: UMS nights at the Mayan!

Ricardo Baca — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:18:00 MDT

One of our new venues this year — the stately Mayan Theatre — is something we’re really excited about. Tonight and Saturday, The UMS will host shows at the Mayan that will make you dance and sing — and shake it! Each night, Magic Cyclops will get things going at around midnight or 12:30 a.m. Tonight we’ll have a very special Nathan & Stephen reunion show with a large cast of supporting characters! And on Saturday, Ukulele Loki’s Gadabout Orchestra will swing into the awesome movie palace for a rager of a show. Headliners will go on around 12:45 a.m. each night, so be sure to swing by for a rare rock show at Denver’s best movie theater!

UMS Day No. 1: A recap via stories, photos, video, Q&A, audio slideshow, essays and more

Ricardo Baca — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:02:00 MDT

Did you notice that picture of Mike Marchant and Liz Eckland (standing in front of the Hi-Dive at The UMS on Thursday) on the FRONT PAGE of The Denver Post today, friends? If not, grab yerself a copy! Great picture, and what a gorgeous opening day of music!

Reverb was all over the place at The UMS’s opening day on Thursday. The music blog has hundreds of photos, a couple essays, a Q&A, a video, an audio slideshow and more right here. Check it, and we’ll see you out for more festival action tonight!

Same time, different place: All Brown Barrel shows have been moved

Ricardo Baca — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:51:00 MDT

All UMS shows at the Brown Barrel have been moved! Bands scheduled to play the Barrel tonight (Friday) and Saturday will play Rock the Cradle, 18 S. Broadway across from Hi-Dive. All bands scheduled to play the Barrel on Sunday will play Delite, 32 S. Broadway (also across from Hi-Dive).

ALL BAND TIMES/DATES REMAIN UNCHANGED.

Apologies for the move, but the Barrel had to pull its participation this morning for various reasons. We will still rock, my friends.

Day 1 was amazing. This will be a weekend to remember, Denver!

The UMS Box Office moves to its final location today — at Broadway and West Archer Place next to the Baker neighborhood’s Goodwill store. See you today at 5:30 p.m.!

UMS Song of the Day: Paper Bird, "Blue Sparks"

Ricardo Baca — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, music fans. (The UMS continues TODAY!) We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: How rad is Paper Bird, what with its trombone-backed three-part nu-folk harmonies? We’re fans – and we love “Blue Sparks.” Hear it here – and at the CarToys Stage tonight!

Check out The Sesh @ The UMS: Music Industry Panels For Denver's Arts Community

Ricardo Baca — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:17:00 MDT

The UMS will feature music, stand-up, burlesque, Mexican wrestling, photography, art and so much more.

But did you know the region’s largest music festival also has music industry panels? And they’re free and open to the public?! Click through for the entire Sesh @ The UMS schedule — which includes sessions with AEG Live’s Chuck Morris, KTCL’s Goodman, Stephen Brackett from Flobots, Heather Browne from Fuel Friends, Alex Brahl from Red Light Management and so many others!

The UMS starts today! And we're in the news!

Ricardo Baca — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:27:00 MDT

Hey, everybody. We are so very ready to start Denver’s biggest music weekend tonight with you all. If you didn’t buy your four-day festival wristband before midnight last night, no worries. The box office opens at 5:30 p.m. tonight next to the Hi-Dive (at 7 S. Broadway), and you can purchase your four-day wristbands and VIP bracelets right there!

The UMS has been all over the news lately, and not just in our very own Denver Post. Check out The Onion/A.V. Club’s interview with me, festival director Ricardo Baca here. (I’ll also be interviewed today on KGNU today around 10:30 a.m.!) There’s lots of blog goodness out there, too. We like Empty Reviews Top 10 list. And the Donnybrook Writing Academy is always great for enlightened UMS picks. We love the work Something Like Sound does up in Golden, and they showed us some UMS love. And Kaffeine Buzz’s UMS preview is also totally worth a read. Of course we love DenverThread, run by a UMS volunteer, and here’s his UMS coverage.

There’s lots more out there, but dang, I have to get ready for the KGNU interview. See you all out on Broadway tonight — and all weekend long!

UMS Song of the Day: Candy Claws, "Catamaran"

Ricardo Baca — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, music fiends. (The UMS starts TODAY!) We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Candy Claws is straight outta Fort Collins, and we’re not the only ones in love with their dreamy indie pop. (See Pitchfork’s thoughts here.) We love their “Catamaran” (hear it here!), and we hope you like it when they throw it down tonight at The UMS!

UMS special guests revealed!

Ricardo Baca — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:02:00 MDT

Hey, UMS’ers. Ready for the best music weekend of the year?! Sweet – so are we! And we have some news for you — news that will help you plan the best schedule for The UMS, which starts TOMORROW!

Wanna know who a couple of our secret special guests are? Well damn, all you had to do is ask. Click through, brothers and sisters, and we’ll share two of 2010’s secret guests with you!

Buy your wristbands before midnight tonight!

Ricardo Baca — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:39:00 MDT

UMS pre-sale wristbands will be taken off sale at midnight tonight, Wednesday July 21. After that, four-day wristbands jump from $30 to $40 and are only available at The UMS box office. Tell your friends, family and fans to buy theirs today to save $10 per wristband, and thanks for supporting The UMS!

UMS Song of the Day: James Pants, "I Live Inside an Egg"

Ricardo Baca — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, Denver’s Hottest Dance Crew. We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Stones Throw Records is happy to lend us their boy, James Pants, for a very special dance party going down Friday night at The UMS. Check out his freaky dance beats via “I Live Inside an Egg” here.

UMS Song of the Day: Eastern Sunz, "Everybody's Anthem"

Ricardo Baca — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, UMS rockers. We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: While The UMS is thrilled to host some of Colorado’s hottest hip-hop, we’re also psyched to welcome Portland hip-hoppers Eastern Sunz to Colorado for their Friday-night show at The UMS. You’ll wanna check these guys out after hearing “Everybody’s Anthem” here.

UMS silk-screened posters are in!

Chris Vetrano — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:09:00 MDT

Each year, UMS artist Todd Roeth works with UMS screen-printer Chris Huth to create our commemorative silk-screened posters. This year Todd made a video of the cool process, and you can check out the video — and the posters — right here.

UMS Song of the Day: Dances With White Girls, "No You Girls" (Franz Ferdinand remix)

Ricardo Baca — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, music lovers. We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Brooklyn electro is in the house when Dances With White Girls is on the decks — and he’ll be rocking the coolest warehouse dance party on Broadway on Friday night. Give his remix of F*ranz Ferdinand’s “No You Girls”* (which was given props in Rolling Stone magazine recently) a listen here.

A letter from UMS volunteer (and executive director) Ricardo Baca

Ricardo Baca — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:38:00 MDT

I wrote a letter for this year’s print program, but we cut it to make room for the mammoth schedule – which includes 325-plus bands and The Sesh @ The UMS, our music industry panels! Here’s the letter anyway, as it has some news you can use in there!

Has it really been 10 years? Yikes!

Live: A UMS rock photography exhibit by Joe McCabe

Ricardo Baca — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:36:00 MDT

Joe McCabe has been shooting concerts for the last three years in and around Denver, primarily for Reverb and The Denver Post. “Live” is his first exhibit of work, and his shots are up in Sputnik (7 S. Broadway) through the end of July. Make sure you pop in during The UMS to see Joe’s work. More here.

The results are in: Snake Rattle Rattle Snake tops this year's Underground Music Poll

Ricardo Baca — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 10:35:00 MDT

It’s a UMS tradition — releasing the results of the Underground Music Poll right before the festival each year. Check out today’s Denver Post for the results and the goodness, and here are a few links to whet your appetite.

Our feature on this year’s No. 1 band, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake (which plays twice during The UMS).

The top 10 bands, in their own words.

The voting breakdown.

UMS founder tackles question: To poll or not to poll.

The 10th annual Denver Post Underground Music Showcase:
The largest indie music festival in the Rocky Mountain region with 325-plus artists. Venues include rock clubs, bars, art galleries, gardens, coffee shops and more in the Baker District, South Broadway between Sixth and Alameda avenues. 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday (July 22); 5:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday (July 23); 3 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday-Sunday (July 24-25). Four-day wristbands are $30 now at theums.com; day-of wristbands are $40.

UMS Song of the Day: Smile Smile, "Tempo Bledsoe"

Ricardo Baca — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, brothers and sisters. We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Last time I saw Smile Smile, they were opening for Metric at the Ogden Theatre last year. If you were there, you know that they’re plenty great enough to open for Metric — and rock The UMS on Saturday and Sunday! Check out their awesomely named (and totally sweet) ballad “Tempo Bledsoe” here.

Exciting news: Nathan & Stephen reunion show at The UMS!

Ricardo Baca — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:56:00 MDT

In 2008, a love-in of a band called Hearts of Palm won The Denver Post Underground Music Poll, and they played a couple triumphant shows at The UMS that summer. But before there was Hearts of Palm there was Nathan & Stephen, a little group with a big heart. The UMS is thrilled to announce that Nathan & Stephen will play a reunion show at 12:30 a.m. Friday night at the Mayan Theatre at The UMS! More here.

UMS Song of the Day: Flobots, "White Flag Warrior"

Ricardo Baca — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, friendlies. We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Flobots, headlining The UMS on Saturday night, are one of the many groups to have broken out of Denver’s vibrant music scene in the last five years, and their rock-driven brand of hip-hop is something we can totally get behind. Give their latest single, “White Flag Warrior,” a listen here.

UMS Song of the Day: The Seedy Seeds, "Drive Me to the Center"

Ricardo Baca — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, dudes. We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Cincinnati’s The Seedy Seeds are a blast of an indie pop group playing The UMS on Sunday. Check out their Mates of State-like sweetness here – “Drive Me to the Center.”

UMS Song of the Day: These United States, "I Want You to Keep Everything"

Ricardo Baca — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:00:00 MDT

Hey, festival friends. We’re going to throw down a song a day leading up to the festival. All artists here are playing this year’s 10th annual UMS, July 22-25. Check it: Today’s artist is These United States, a killer, no-frills rock band along the lines of Kings of Leon or the Hold Steady. They’re playing Friday at The UMS! Give their jam “I Want You to Keep Everything” a listen here.