THANKS TO ALL WHO JOINED THE 2016 SUMMER IN THE CITY SERIES & TURNED OUT FOR DYNAMIC SHOWS IN 2017 & 2018
Hot Fun in the Summertime with Music and More in Five Points, Live!
Check out the videos, pictures, and band info from past shows, below...
Past Concerts: Scroll Down for Views and Reviews of Past Shows by Sémplice Baroque, Carla Sciaky, Frontier Ruckus, Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe, Jill Sobule, Cameron Dye, Todd Prusin & Alex Commins, Beth Wood, Tsibele, Shear Shazar, The Flyin' A's, Scott Mulvahill & Alanna Boudreau, the return of Jill Sobule, Mollie O'Brien & Rich Moore, Alec Ounsworth, Rabbi Jack Schechtman Gabriel, the return of Carla Sciaky, a mini-concert by Edgar Papke, a benefit show with LIAT and Annie Aqua, a dynamic double bill with Letitia Van Sant and Jackson Emmer, a stunning performance by Peter Case, a vital solo show by Kayla Marque, a rare, duo set from Florea, an evening of story, poetry, and song with Claudia Schmidt, and Libbie Schrader to end our third season. Zoë and Annie Aqua & Friends kicked off 2019, followed by David Burchfield's Quartet, a packed house for The Hydes and Dave Curely, and a powerful community concert by Rebecca Folsom, a visit to The Land of Deborah, Ley Line at Goodman's Gazebo, The Flyin' A's return, an amazing evening with Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck, and big fun for Doug's Big Birthday with Five Letter Word. (Keep scrolling to see them all...as the list of performers grows, so does this page.)
2016 Video Recap ~ Photos by David Weinhacht, Roger Marks, Karen Marks, Anna Lee, Doug Gertner. Music: "Counterfeits" by Frontier Ruckus.
2017 Video Recap ~ Photos by David Weinhacht, Tim Yip, and Doug Gertner. Music: "Almost Great" by Jill Sobule
FIVE POINTS LIVE! came to life on Mother's Day 2016 with a brunch and house concert by Sémplice Baroque, a talented quartet consisting of Miriam Rosenblum, recorders, Carla Sciaky, baroque violin, Ben Cohen, lute and harpsichord, and Elinor Saragoussi, bass viol. A full house of family and fans, including many moms, were treated to delicious, handmade brunch foods, and a tasty program of baroque music, during this benefit concert to raise funds that helped Sémplice attend a baroque institute in Ohio last summer. Thanks to all for a successful launch. Get more info on their music at www.SempliceBaroque.com
The good times and great music continued on a warm night in early June when local Denver balladeer Carla Sciaky made a rare solo appearance at Five Points Live! A packed house of over 40 fans were treated to “The Story to the Song,” as Carla connected the dots between her favorite songs and how she came to know and sing them. Get more info on her music at CarlaSciaky.com
Wednesday, July 13, was a truly special evening at Five Points Live! as we were delighted to host a family favorite, Michigan-based, indie recording artists Frontier Ruckus, taking a break from their national tour to play our living room. Their music is lyrically intensive and driven by guitar, banjo, trumpet, musical saw, keys, and harmonies. Learn more @ FrontierRuckus.com
On Sunday, July 17, the evening began with a nod to the Beatles' famous 1969 rooftop concert on the deck, as Hal Aqua and the Lost Tribe were joined by special guest Liat Arochas for a set of Fab Four tunes. The fun continued with a wild set of klezmer fusion party music. For more info and to book a klez fest of your own click here.
Jill Sobule returned to her hometown August 12th and delighted an audience of family, friends, and fans with her stories and songs both new and old. We sang along to "America Back" and "Margaret," and heard memories of a local battle of the bands and favorite spots and such, plus news of Jill's latest project, "My Song is My Weapon." For more about this wonderful artist, go to her website.
Cameron Dye brought his one-man tribute show, Last of the Hardcore Troubadours, from LA to Five Points Live! to round out our August offerings. It was a far-ranging celebration featuring music by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Johnny Cash, Jeff Tweedy, John Fogerty, Gram Parsons, Buddy Holly, Jerry Garcia, Paul Simon, John Prine, Tom Petty, Steve Earle, Hank Williams, Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder.
Todd Prusin & Alex Commins, Atlanta’s Stunning Guitar-Bass Duo, returned to Denver on September 11, fresh from their Swallow Hill show in January, and enriched by their recent workshops with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jorma Kaukonen. The audience at FIVE POINTS LIVE! was treated to the interplay between Alex’s acoustic fingerpicking and Todd's melodic bass, on old-timey, country blues tunes and more. Click here for more about Todd & Alex.
On Sunday, September 18, Five Points Live! concluded our Summer in the City Series with Oregon-based singer-songwriter Beth Wood. A believer in the power of song, Beth’s exceptional musicianship, crafty songwriting, and commanding stage presence brought out longtime friends and fans and won over many new ones. Beth’s music is a soulful, organic, intelligent, barefoot, high-energy communication of joy, and you can learn more at www.bethwoodmusic.com
Who knew so many music lovers would come out for a concert on Christmas Day... but come they did! Tsibele (Yiddish for "onion”) is a new-traditional klezmer band based in Brooklyn, New York. Their music explores the limits of the klezmer idiom through improvisation and songs from the edges of klez. The band features Denver natives Zoë Aqua (violin), and Hannah Temple (accordion), along with Eleonore Weill (vocal/flute), and Eva Boodman (trumpet), and their intimate afternoon concert the day after an appearance at Denver's annual KlezFest, joined by special guest players, found a packed house marveling at this unique voice in the vibrant New York klezmer scene. Learn more about Tsibele here.
We are still pinching ourselves to wake up from the dream of having long-time favorites Jules Shear and Pal Shazar play our living room for our first show of 2017. Jules Shear wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single "All Through the Night," The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and his first solo album was produced by Todd Rundgren. After more than 20 LPs, his most recent releases are as Shear Shazar, duets with his wife, Pal Shazar, who was a founding member of the 1980s new wave pop group Slow Children. Their music, tender and true, was presented in wonderfully crafted, insightful songs during a rare appearance at Five Points Live! in April, en route from their home in Woodstock, NY, to perform in Los Angeles.
The husband-and-wife duo of Hilary Claire and Stuart Adamson - better known as The Flyin’ A’s - have recently released their third independent album, You Drive Me Crazy, which made it onto the first round Grammy ballot. Based in the music mecca of Austin, TX, the A's perform a mix of original Americana, folk, and "Texified" jazz that’s been attracting fans in honky-tonks coast-to-coast and across the pond. At Five Points Live! on July 15 we heard for ourselves their considerable talents as both songwriters and vocalists, as The Flyin' A's delivered a spirited and soulful explosion of distinctively original music. A foot-stomping good time was had by all!
After five years as a full time member of Ricky Skaggs’s band Kentucky Thunder, Scott Mulvahill is stepping into the spotlight as a singer-songwriter. He’s shared the stage with some of the greatest artists of modern music - Alison Krauss, Barry Gibb of the BeeGees, Bruce Hornsby, Brad Paisley, Peter Frampton, Emmylou Harris, and many more, and his unique and wonderful talents are about to explode with the release of Scott Mulvahill's EP Top Of The Stairs. Alanna Boudreau’s latest release, Champion, reflects a woman richly gifted, both naturally and supernaturally, and she pushes beyond the pulse of things and into the very marrow of human experience. Five Points Live! welcomed these two up-and-coming artists to our intimate listening room for a memorable evening of music on September 9, 2017.
The Return of Jill Sobule to Five Pints Live! was a sweet, full-circle celebration of Jill's Denver roots and her storied career. Friends and family, fans new and old, were treated to favorites including "I Kissed A Girl" (and the story behind that groundbreaking tune), "America Back," and an encore of "All The Young Dudes." Plus we helped her write a song on the spot! Jill called this "The Breakup-Vagabond-Where-to-Move-Next House Concert Tour," and the poignancy of her real life events made for an intimate evening of music.
Our 2017 concert season wrapped up on November 18 with a spectacular show by Grammy winner Mollie O'Brien, and her husband, guitarist Rich Moore. For nearly 30 years, Mollie and Rich have quietly made it their mission to find, mine, and reinvent other artists' songs. They are geniuses at the craft of interpretation in the way that great singers, since the beginning of popular American music, have made the songs of their era their own. As songwriters, they add their own tunes to the canon of American roots music they inhabit and show us they’re completely at home with their musical selves. Mollie and Rich grace stages coast-to-coast, and we were delighted to have them here for a pre-holiday treat.
American indie rock musician Alec Ounsworth founded Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (often abbreviated CYHSY) in 2004, and the band has enjoyed worldwide acclaim ever since. Fresh back from full-band gigs in Spain, Ounsworth played solo at Five Points Live! on Thursday, February 8, 2018, in collaboration with Undertow Music Collective, and the show was over-the-top AWESOME! A housefull of fans enjoyed to a bunch of acoustic treatments of CYHSY faves plus covers of Tom Petty and Tom Waits, and impromptu Q&A and convo with Alec.
Jack Schechtman Gabriel, a self-described 'stealth Canadian,' is bringing it all back home in his return to Colorado, with nods to Bob Marley, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, Dion and the Belmonts, and E modal Ragas. He's recorded eight albums, spent a decade as musical Dean of the Obscure at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., and has sung with memorable musicians like The Jerry Garcia Band, Ben Mink, Claudia Schmidt, Leon Redbone, Mark Sloniker, Bobby McFerrin, and Jerry Lieber and Michael Stoller. Rabbi Jack brought amore', duende, and the musicianship that's delighted audiences in Toronto, Kailua-Kona, Santa Rosa, Vail, Capetown, D.C., and Melrose Park, to Five Points Live! in Denver on February 11, 2018.
With true joy and delight, we welcomed back to Five Points Live! a friend and favorite singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Carla Sciaky, on Mother's Day, two years to the day after she helped launch our house concert series. A packed house enjoyed Carla's curated songs selected from years of recording and touring, made deeper by the stories she added for each tune. Themes of motherhood, struggle, history, and revelation made this return visit a truly special evening, and a packed house hung on every word.
We were honored to host a special event to feature and raise funds for the 40th Anniversary of KGNU Community Radio. On May 19, 2018, dozens of dinner parties were held along the Front Range; the celebrations, dubbed "DINING ON AIR," included a curated soundtrack broadcast from KGNU's Boulder Studios. As we dined, drank, and socialized, the tunes accompanied our merriment, and the evening ended with a very special mini-house-concert by longtime friend and favorite, Edgar Papke.
Five Points Live! regulars were joined by longtime fans of David Wax Museum for this rare, intimate performance by founders Suz Slezak & David Wax. For this special concert, the duo returned to their acoustic roots, playing tunes from throughout the band's 10-year-catalog, adding a unique, sensory-shifting song experience, plus sweet touches for our 24th wedding anniversary. Among the most energetic evenings we've offered, this show on July 3, 2018, stands out as a true celebration, capped off by rooftop viewing of holiday fireworks from nearby Coors Field.
VIDEO by RICK PHILLIPS
We were pleased to host a house concert in support of our spiritual community on Friday, July 13, 2018, when LIAT and Annie Aqua joined their considerable talents for this event in support of B'nai Havurah. A nice group who bid on this event at the recent fundraiser auction were treated to fine original tunes plus a cover and singalong of Melanie's "Brand New Key." Both artists are worthy of greater exposure. Photos by Rick Phillips
Emerging indie-folk and Americana artists, Letitia VanSant from Baltimore, MD, and Jackson Emmer from Carbondale, CO, offered a rare, intimate evening of music with purpose for our Five Points Live! audience, in a KGNU Presents concert, on August 8, 2018
Videos by Jeff Lawhead
We're not using the term lightly in calling Peter Case a legend. As a member of the 70's vanguard L.A. power pop band The Nerves (Hanging on the Telephone), the founder and frontman of The Plimsouls (A Million Miles Away), and with 20 solo releases to his credit (plus a tribute album and three Grammy nominations), Peter Case carries the mantle of singer-songwriter from rock n' roll and blues, to folk-rock and solo acoustic performance, with time-honed chops and rare wisdom. It was a dream come true for us to present this longtime musical favorite at Five Points Live! on 8/26/18, and the SOLD OUT house was treated to an incredible show. Enjoy the many photos by David Weihnacht, Rick Phillips, Dylan Dawson, Kim Schweisberg, Scott Replogle, Arlo White, and Doug, plus Dylan's videos.
Fresh from a cover story and performance at the Westword Music Showcase, singer-songwriter, and Denver native Kayla Marque is poised for a big break. "Marque is a rising star in Denver and part of the local songwriting movement that draws inspiration from folk, soul, hip-hop, indie rock and R&B — though she dislikes being bound to any genre." Her beguiling voice and lyrics were on display for fans, family, and friends on September 21, 2018, as Kayla took a break from recording her next album, Brain Chemistry, to perform in this rare, living room setting. Those in the house will bear witness to this rising talent, who opened her heart at this KGNU Presents show with a journey through her beautiful, powerful catalogue of music.
Etched into the ebbs and tides of Florea's dark + delirious Americana rock is a traveler's wistful longing. They came as a duo to Five Points Live! on a warm, October evening (10/19/18), spinning tales from desert dreams to sinners in the swamp. Florea features Megan Fong on vox/guitar, and Eli Saragoussi on vox/bass, and we were lucky to get a rare, up-close appearance by this in-demand local favorite, fresh from a full-band performance at Ophelia's Electric Soapbox. Check out photo's by Eli's dad, Rick Phillips, plus a few shots by Dan Fong, father of Megan, and a renowned rock photographer.
To say that Claudia Schmidt is simply a performer with a talent to entertain would be a huge understatement. Claudia Schmidt delivered a quirky and wonderful evening of music, poetry, story, laughter, drama, and celebrating the moment with a message of compassion, hope, and a call to action during her KGNU Presents show here on October 26, 2018. Her songs and stories took us from a cold winter night on Beaver Island, Michigan, to recording in an art barn in Connecticut, and resisting on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Claudia surprised us with songs from her brand new release, Concinnity, and added her mountain dulcimer talents to the guitar, acapella, and spoken word delights.
Our 2018 house concert season ended with a special visitor from the East Coast. Libbie Schrader is a recording artist and a scholar, an award-winning singer-songwriter with a passionate alt-pop/rock style, who fronted the group Think of England, opened for Jewel, and had a song on an episode of the Gilmore Girls. The title track of her fan-funded album, “Magdalene," led to Schrader doing research about Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John, and to two master's degrees in theology. Now a doctoral candidate in Early Christianity at Duke University, Libbie was in Denver for an academic conference and dropped by Five Points Live! to share her music and perspectives on her fascinating research.
We called it a "pop-up" concert, a special show with special friends, to start the new year. On Saturday, January 5, 2019, our largest crowd ever packed the living room, kitchen, and dining room, and they were not disappointed. New York-based Klezmer master Zoë Aqua and Denver-based Annie Aqua, served up a delicious program of original works, and music from Eastern-European, Balkan, and Middle Eastern traditions on their violins, plus special guests Chris Aiello (from Brooklyn) and Mark Diamond (from Boulder) delivered a tasty, improvisational 'jazz dessert.' We hope they pop in again soon! (Photos by David Weihnacht + special guest on guitar and soundboard: Hal Aqua!)
When we saw Colorado's David Burchfield perform his raw, emotive Americana music at the recent One Epic Night event in support of Swallow Hill Music (one of our favorite venues), we knew he'd be a great fit for our intimate living room shows. David plays American folk music that’s not content to stay within traditional genre boundaries, rich with details that bring the listener right into the scene of his passion. We were delighted to launch our fourth season of house concerts on January 27, 2019, with David Burchfield as a quartet, playing stripped-down, straight-ahead versions of David's tunes as they're meant to be heard. With the fireplace glowing, this rising talent warmed a winter's night with a powerful candor, exploring tragedy found and narrowly escaped, and the sounds of joy by a man who knows how close the dark can creep to the light’s edge.
The Hydes are sister-brother duo Joanna and Iain Hyde, Denver natives now living in Dublin and D.C. respectively, who warmed a cold night as they wove creatively and decisively through an eclectic musical landscape of Americana, Irish, bluegrass, and beyond, joined by multi-instrumentalist, singer and dancer Dave Curley from Galway, Ireland. Our most international bill ever was also the largest turnout of fans, friends, and family, who came to celebrate the Hydes' homecoming on Monday, March 4, 2019, en route to their appearance at the Durango Celtic Festival. Thanks to David Weihnacht and Rodger Hara for photos.
“What a voice…” Rebecca Folsom’s music is about liberation. Her songs crack open hearts, inspire hope, and leave listeners with a deeper perspective. Rebecca’s world-class voice traverses a near-four-octave range. Her impressive vocal range and expressive songwriting were on full display, up-close, as our Five Point's Live! audience connected deeply with both song and songwriter on Saturday, March 30, 2019. Thanks to Rebecca for creating a special show, for inviting Leeann Roberts and Kim Crecelius to offer up beautiful harmony vocals, and with gratitude as well to Hal Aqua who left his soundman seat to sit-in on blues guitar.
The Land of Deborah is an award-winning singer-songwriter with a unique take on life, love and the pursuit of fair trade chocolate. Born and raised in England, Deborah is a world traveler who calls Vancouver home when she’s not hanging out in Denver. The Land of Deborah made her Five Points Live! debut on May 6, joined by Neil Zimmerman, for an evening of song and the first rooftop visit of 2019.
To launch a new concert location, we welcomed Ley Line, an all-female, multilingual folk and soul band from Austin, Texas, on June 16, 2019. Members Kate Robberson (ukulele, vocals, bells and whistles), twin sisters Madeleine Froncek (stand up bass and vocals), Lydia Froncek (percussion and vocals), and Emilie Basez (guitar, ukulele and vocals), bring four voices that coalesce, rooted in rhythm, and transcending language and genres to create a sound that seems to emerge from deep within the earth. They were the perfect band to inaugurate this new venue, Goodman’s Gazebo in Southeast Denver, which began with a potluck dinner, and an evening filled with world music in the great outdoors. Thanks to KGNU Presents for helping to promote the show.
When we first hosted The Flyin' A's in 2017, their infectious music-making turned our living room into a juke joint, and we were so delighted to welcome back this husband and wife duo who hails from Austin, Texas, performing Americana music with a Lone Star kick. The high energy pairing of Stuart Adamson's outstanding lead guitar work and gritty vocals, and Hilary Claire Adamson's powerhouse vocal gymnastics and lilting melodies, is known for their top notch songwriting, breathtaking harmonies, and exceptional live performances, and they lived up to that billing as a packed house was treated to a batch of original tunes (including previews from a forthcoming record) and with covers of Townes Van Zandt and Roger Miller. Coming off an interview on KGNU's Honky Tonk Heroes show, the A's were joined for a few songs by visiting troubadour George Kilby, Jr., to top off a special night of music in our living room.
Have you heard of Scott McCaughey? Maybe you've heard of his bands Young Fresh Fellows, The Minus 5, Filthy Friends, or perhaps you know The Baseball Project? Of course you've heard of R.E.M. with whom Scott toured and recorded from 1994 until the band's break-up in 2011. We were delighted to host this rare living room show by one of rock-n-roll's unsung heroes, and thrilled that Scott brought his friend and bandmate Peter Buck to join him for the set. A packed house of fans were witness to a tremendous display of song craft, camaraderie, and musical history as this dynamic duo treated us to an array of tunes including some from the new Minus 5 release, Stroke Manor. This show was on July 12, 2019, and booked via Undertow Shows.
Mix three singer-songwriters, several stringed instruments, and a variety of percussive techniques, and you get Five Letter Word. This Portland, OR-based trio of powerful women includes Leigh Jones (guitar, percussion), Clara Baker (fiddle, guitar, banjo) and Audra Nemir (bass), blending their signature harmonies into songs from folk to bluegrass to blues and beyond. Winners of the 2018 Northwest String Summit Band Competition, Five Letter Word joined us on August 5, 2019, to celebrate Doug's big birthday week with a stellar show and a few surprises. After all, 'sixty' is a five letter word...
There was no better way to celebrate Maggie's birthday on October 11, 2019, than with local favorites Mollie O'Brien and Rich Moore, bringing their vast catalogue drawn from the canon of American Roots Music to a packed living room of friends and fans. And with special guests Carla Sciaky and Harry Tuft each taking a turn to sit in with Mollie and Rich, it was a birthday gift not soon forgotten by Maggie and everyone in attendance.