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Synths: A vinyl DJ night showcasing a melange of synthetic sounds, including the sounds of synth-pop, minimal synth, and kraut, among other sounds! Come dance or, otherwise, sit very still!
Jake hails from the hills and valleys of Central Pennsylvania where he grew up listening to everything from country and folk to heavy metal. Later, while in college at Penn State, he helped form a band called, The Roof, as their lead guitarist.
Now he blends his classic rock, folk, country, blues, and americana influences into an eclectic repertoire that now is beginning to include original material, as he transitions into the role of songwriter.
Kat Lane is an indie/folk singer and songwriter from Boulder, Colorado. She grew up playing classical violin and taught herself guitar and piano at an early age. Kat spent most of her 20s guiding outdoor education programs for 18 year olds all over the world--living in Peru, Ecuador, Indonesia, Fiji, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and all over the Rockies.
Kat feels deeply at home in the Colorado folk music scene in the musical community that permeates the Rocky Mountains. She is a firm believer that writing comes from experience, and the more life you live, the more music you make. Her songs are nostalgic, sprawling stories that let you into her world through her echoing voice and melodies.
Jeff Clendening’s songwriting blends americana and indie pop with a midwestern childhood at its heart. He finds inspiration in deep emotion and strives to meaningfully connect with the listener through clever lyricism and infectious melodies.
Brody Schenk is a rising Nashville singer-songwriter whose music blends heartfelt storytelling with a variety of musical influences. Brody's songs are deeply rooted in humanity, nature, the universe and the beauty found in honest moments.
Fans of artists such as The Meters, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Ravi Shankar, Jack Johnson, Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, and Keller Williams will all find pleasure in Brody's performances which create a unique blend of singer-songwriter lyricism, infectious rhythm, and undeniable musicianship through the use of effects and live looping techniques.
Lively conversation for language learners, native speakers, and everyone in between. We regularly have 10+ languages spoken and always have spirited discussions!
Molly Fitzpatrick was first elected as Boulder County Clerk and Recorder in 2018 and re-elected to a second four-term term in 2022. As Boulder County Clerk and Recorder, Fitzpatrick oversees three divisions: elections, motor vehicle, and recording.
Fitzpatrick serves as the president-elect of the Colorado County Clerks Association and is slated to serve as president of the association in 2024. She also serves as the association’s elections legislative co-chair, collaborating closely with county clerks and stakeholders to implement forward-thinking election reforms prioritizing security and accessibility in elections. She actively participates in multiple national working groups and dedicates her time to the Electronic Recording Technology Board, which supports the digitization of land records in Colorado.
In her time as clerk, she has already overseen seven elections. She has consistently championed advancements that uphold the values of integrity, accessibility, and security in the elections process and has worked to demonstrate these values to the public through proactive communication and outreach.
Before becoming clerk, Fitzpatrick demonstrated her commitment to civic engagement as the organizing director at New Era Colorado, where she orchestrated statewide initiatives that empowered young voters to participate in the democratic process. Her efforts not only aided voters in navigating the complexities of voting but also contributed to pivotal administrative and policy reforms aimed at making democracy more accessible.
SARAH MINTO-SPARKS
Sarah Minto-Sparks has played acoustic guitar and sung nonstop since first picking up a guitar at twenty, finding music to be the perfect medium for connection. Inspired by her Grateful Dead-loving father and her Texan roots, Sarah draws folk, bluegrass, and classic rock influences in her original songs. Her debut album, "Stoned I Left Rocky," is a tribute to leaving her home state and finding a new home in the Rockies. After years spent traveling the country by van and abroad in pursuit of music, life, and academics, Sarah settled in Boulder, CO. She can often be found coordinating shows with her fellow local musicians, hosting events in the artist community, and playing in mountain towns throughout the Front Range. She is a Founding Member of Busted Coyote Records.
TOM MORRIS
Tom Morris is a Boulder, Colorado-based acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter whose performances blend emotional storytelling, masterful guitar work, and a rare command of traditional and contemporary styles. His original songs carry a haunting melodic clarity, his traditional folk interpretations feel lived-in and authentic, and his instrumental pieces showcase a distinctive voice on the guitar, often using one of more than 25 alternate tunings he employs to create rich, resonant soundscapes.
With a repertoire that moves effortlessly from British folk ballads to intricate fingerstyle instrumentals, from intimate originals to reimagined covers, Tom brings both versatility and artistic identity to every stage. His playing draws on fingerstyle, cross picking, and dynamic tonal shaping—ranging from pure acoustic warmth to atmospherically modulated textures—always in service of the song.
JO FULLER
Jo Fuller is a CO-based singer-songwriter. Her debut album, Wood of the Grain, is a personal exploration of development in context. Jo’s music is genre-bending, but is ultimately best classified as alt-country. Pulling from the varied musical influences of her Kansas upbringing, she brings you depthful poetry sung to a groove.
Texas-based rock singer-songwriter Mark Winters is many things; a witty poet, passionate musician, entrepreneur, optimist, family man, and a bonafide rocket scientist. He first picked up a guitar to play a song for his wife on their anniversary. That’s when he discovered the joy of connecting with people through music. Mark combines music, poetry, a science background, and love for his community to form his signature sound, “rock with a positive vibe.” His musical roots are in rock, blues rock, and pop, and John Mayer, Tom Petty, and Jason Mraz are significant influences. “My music starts from a place of poetry and creative inspiration, and I use my ‘rocket-scientist brain’ to find structures that help me explore that initial burst of inspiration and feeling – like writing haikus, my favorite! My grandmother taught me to express myself through poetry and I'm thankful to her for setting me on this creative and expressive path.”
Bangers & Blunders:
Bangers & Blunders is a Colorado-based traditional Irish music duo. Shannon Muenchow and Graeme Danforth originally met at Irish sessions in the Denver area, and have since formed a musical connection based on their mutual admiration for the Irish music tradition. They bring uplifting trad. tunes to life with twin-fiddle melodic interplay and driving rhythms on fiddle and bouzouki.
Shannon and Graeme's debut album 'Tunes For The Porch' is a compilation of instrumental sets, including many of their favorite tunes. It represents a journey through the tradition of Irish dance music as they combine old standards with new compositions from musicians who are carrying the tradition forward in the present day. Ultimately, it's a culmination of their friendship and their shared love for traditional Irish instrumental folk music.
Katie Mintle:
Katie Mintle is a Colorado-born and raised indie folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
She first fell in love with music at age 11 through Celtic traditions, beginning harp lessons and quickly taking her playing to the streets as a busker in Boulder. Music has always been part of her life, but singing and songwriting came into fuller focus in 2020 during lockdown, when she began exploring her voice more deeply and writing original material.
Since then, Katie has continued to develop a warm, intimate indie folk sound rooted in tradition, storytelling, and stripped-back instrumentation. Her music reflects a balance of old-world influence and modern folk sensibility, shaped by both her early traditional roots and her evolving songwriting voice
Nicolette Andres:
Nicolette Andres plays the violin and the Hardanger fiddle, a 9-stringed folk instrument from Norway. She has performed across the world and has composed original music for film scoring. She released her cdebut album, Hands, in April 2025, which features cittern player Graeme Danforth, her husband. The cittern is a lute-like instrument dating back to the Renaissance. Between these two instruments there are 19 strings.
Nicolette performs solo and collaborates with other artists. Along with her husband, she regularly plays with Irish session players in Boulder, Colorado. From 2017-2020 she was a member of the steampunk band Abney Park, where she toured internationally - visiting Russia twice.
Raised in Evergreen, CO, Nicolette now calls Boulder home. She began violin lessons at age 5, and attended the University of Puget Sound where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Music (2015). She first learned of the Hardanger fiddle after graduating college through a friend, and felt a strong pull towards it from this moment on. She started studying the Hardanger fiddle in 2020 on an instrument loaned to her by the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America.
Yugs is an indie-alternative Chilean-Jewish artist and producer who makes music to close your eyes and dance to. Drawing from an eccentric mix of influences—The Strokes, Mac DeMarco, J Dilla—his sound blends indie rock guitars, Latin grooves, dreamy synths, and introspective lyricism created to "help you see the magic that exists all around us."
Yugs has become a staple in the Denver and LA music scenes, opening for major artists like Michael Seyer and Los Shadows and headlining Denver venues like Skylark, Lost Lake, and Hi Dive. Yugs just graduated from LAAMP (Los Angeles Academy for Artists & Music Production) under legendary producers Stargate (Rihanna, Beyoncé). He is the co-founder of the alt-folk supergroup GIRLSTUPID with Megan Winsor and Diana Thale.
He releases his next album, Dancing In My Room, on May 5th, 2026—an emotional, genre-blending odyssey about moving on from a seven-year relationship, holding love for what was, and exploring themes of self-love and identity. It's a soundtrack for anyone trying to find the sunshine in a world becoming more isolating and dark.
As a producer, Yugs has produced music across a wide range of genres—including R&B, Latin, hip hop, folk, pop, and singer-songwriter—for artists such as Sunstoney, Big Dopes, Keddjra, Trayce Chapman, Jon Rubio, Pool Sharks, Frida Aria, Megan Winsor, and Diana Thale.
Esai Vargas is a Denver-based indie/ bedroom pop artist who blends the chill vibes of indie-bedroom pop with hints of R&B. Known for pretty chord progressions and a dreamy sound.
Cherry Pitter is a Fort Collins based rock band founded by Ethan Minard bringing an eclectic mix of alternative, indie, psychedelic, and folk elements into a glorious and catchy concoction.
Lively conversation for language learners, native speakers, and everyone in between. We regularly have 10+ languages spoken and always have spirited discussions!
BIO: Simone Nicole creates intimate, emotionally rich performances that feel like stepping into a candlelit room — warm, brooding, and quietly powerful. Loosely rooted in folk but unbound by genre, her music blends poetic storytelling, expressive vocals, and subtle shifts in rhythm and mood. A Fort Worth–based artist with a globe-spanning upbringing, Simone’s songs explore love, longing, and the human experience with honesty and depth. She has been recognized as Fort Worth’s Best Musician and Best Female Vocalist, and her latest work continues to draw listeners into a space that’s meant to be felt as much as heard. (www.simonenicole.com)
BIO: Lauren Frihauf is a rising neo-folk artist whose sound blends indie singer-songwriter intimacy with folk and neo-soul influences. Featured in NPR Music’s 2022 Tiny Desk Top Shelf and a standout on Season 19 of The Voice (Teams Gwen and Legend), Lauren is known for her expressive vocals and emotionally resonant songwriting. Drawing inspiration from artists like Nai Palm and Joni Mitchell, her open-tuned guitar work and fluid melodies create performances that feel both grounded and exploratory. Raised on a rural farm yet carrying a distinctly urban sensibility, Lauren’s music invites listeners into a reflective, soulful space. (www.laurenfrihaufmusic.com)
Bring an acoustic instrument and sit in with Boulder Old-Time Jam! Every first Thursday on the Trident Patio, starting at 6 p.m.
Giovanni Chavez is the Denver, Colorado based singer-songwriter and guitarist behind Los Cronies, a band featuring some of the best friends of Chavez, Brandon on guitar, Braden on bass, and James on drums. At the end of 2025, Chavez went through a rebirth in Turtle Island’s Grand Canyon, leading him to switch from the electric guitar to the acoustic guitar. With this new stripped down and organic approach, Chavez released his debut solo EP “Mae” in December of 2025. Building a new collection of songs, Chavez is beginning to pull friends back into the live band on backing vocals and other instrumentation to join him for concerts. Recording analog straight to tape, Gio has also started recording friends in Colorado and plans to release more music and play more shows in 2026.
TAVO CARBONE Bio:
Tavo Carbone (VT/NY, voice/guitar/piano) has been an active songwriter and recording artist since 1998, independently touring since 2006. Songs are described as"dystopian folk/blues" with musical influences that include Michael Hurley, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, others. There's an off-kilter charm to Tavo Carbone's oddball, old-timey pop...Essentially a solo act, Carbone's been known to employ orchestral flourishes to flesh out his skeletal acoustics including at one point a 17-piece backing band - City Paper (Philadelphia). In recent years Tavo has adopted the unusual stage moniker of a bald eagle mask with a moving beak. This theatrically engaging visual element has become a consistently developed 'character' of sorts, in venue spaces all over the country. Recent album releases include Planet Nonsense (2019), Give Em the Bird (2022), Viral Melodies (2020), Narcissyphus (2019). Carbone lives and tours in a 1991 Toyota motorhome with his dog and performs in theaters, basements, living rooms, record shops, and is currently on the Why America Tour which will traverse 38 states.
ENCAV BIO: Self identified as "Hipster Blues," ENCAV started out as Experiments iN Cello And Voice and quickly evolved into the ongoing musical meanderings of Robert Rowe (uke, cello, violin) and Melissa Maugeri (vocal, lyrics, bass) Though we spend a lot more time on solo and other projects these days, Encav will always be home.
Robert Rowe Bio: Based in Boulder, Colorado, Robert Rowe is a versatile multi-instrumentalist, music instructor, and central figure in the Front Range music community. Seamlessly shifting between violin, viola, cello, and ukulele, his stylistic reach spans everything from intricate acoustic arrangements to vibrant ensemble performances.
A frequent performer across the region's most iconic local stages, Robert has brought his music to historic venues like the Gold Hill Inn, the Hotel Boulderado, and the Velvet Elk Lounge, as well as intimate local favorites like The Laughing Goat. Whether sitting in during a full band showcase in Longmont, bringing Hawaiian music to local community centers, or guiding the next generation of musicians at Harmony Music House, his work reflects a deep, lifelong commitment to the craft and a passion for connecting people through live music.
Amanda Crumley is a singer-songwriter who is re-emerging. Equal parts Radiohead and Dolly Parton (among countless others) influence songs that are fully her own
Jen Hitt singer/ songwriter: "The voice of Joan Baez with the wit of Leonard Cohen," says Margaret's Dad. Served on a bed of light rhythm guitar, Jen Hitt sings originals and familiar tunes to blow a bit of jasmine through your mind. http://jenhitt.com
Eastwood & Holly is a three piece indie folk band from Fort Collins, Colorado. The band is fronted by singer-songwriter, Chelsea Beth along with multi-instrumentalist Russick Smith on the guitar, bass and banjo and Brett Throgmorton on drums. Their original music balances atmospheric guitar textures, driving rhythms, and emotionally charged lyrics. Many of their songs are inspired by their shared love of nature as well as autobiographical experiences of travel and adventure.
The Unwieldies are Dani Bell (vocals/guitar), Robert Bell (upright bass/vocals), and Tim Mallot (dobro/mandolin). They deliver rich, dynamic vocals and harmonies that resonate deeply in their original songs about love, loss, and longing. Along with their signature cover arrangements, their style blends indie-folk flair with Americana torch and alt-country storytelling.
Join us for an evening of live music with The Niwot Gig's Rock & Pop All-Star Bands. This Boulder County–based program is bringing two youth bands and one adult band to the Trident for a lively set of classic rock and pop hits from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
It’s a great chance for family and friends to come out and support these musicians, and for anyone in the Boulder community to enjoy a fun, relaxed night of familiar music in one of the city’s favorite gathering spots.
Come early, grab a drink or a bite, and settle in for a memorable evening of live music.
Jeff Sharlet is the New York Times bestselling author or editor of eight books. His latest is The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War (2023), a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist for Nonfiction, one of The New York Times 100 Books of the Year, and a New Republic book of the year. In 2020, he published This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of Strangers. “Gorgeous,” says The New York Times, “[t]he book ingeniously reminds us that all of our lives — our struggles, desires, grief — happen concurrently with everyone else’s, and this awareness helps dissolve the boundaries between us.” Sharlet’s other books include Sweet Heaven When I Die, C Street, The Family — the basis for a 2019 Netflix documentary series, The Family, of which he is narrator and executive producer — and, with Peter Manseau, Killing the Buddha;and two edited volumes, Radiant Truths, and (with Manseau) Believer, Beware. His writing on Russia’s anti-LGBTQ crusade earned the National Magazine Award for Reporting, and his writing on anti-LGBT campaigns in Uganda earned the Molly Ivins Prize and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission’s Outspoken Award, among others. He has also been the recipient of numerous fellowships from MacDowell. Sharlet is an editor-at-large for VQR, and is or has been a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, Harper’s and Rolling Stone, and a contributor to publications including The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Esquire, Mother Jones, Bookforum, and others. At Dartmouth College, he is the publisher of 40 Towns and is the Frederick Sessions Beebe ’35 Professor in the Art of Writing.
Nathan Schneider is an associate professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he leads the Media Economies Design Lab. His most recent book is Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life.
Have you ever had an experience before? Together, this eclectic band of misfits creates a sound that is equal parts tactile, emotionally moving, and mentally insane. They explore uncharted territory with improvisation, stream-of-consciousness songwriting, and creative use of unconventional instruments. Don't trip out, man! Come see Lounge Drugs and let their music guide you through the ocean that is your mind.
Lounge Drugs is the brainchild of Jay LeCavalier (of The Crooked Rugs, Los Toms, and Funscreen). After emerging as a solo project, Lounge Drugs quickly evolved into a live band by popular demand. Since its debut in 2022, the project has evolved into a completely different animal on the stage. Live shows are notoriously unpredictable and filled with humor, inspiration, and psychoactive energy.
Infinite Cousins is a local psych band consisting of Trident’s Ted Stevens, and Denver rockers Sam Moylan, Willy Tyson, Ryan Schlictman, and Violet De Vries. Their music is an homage to 70s psych and kraut like Black Sabbath and Neu! with a modern twist. In the last year they’ve put out two albums, completed two tours and partnered up with Denver’s High Plains Psych Exchange with lots more on the way.
Find their music and more here: https://linktr.ee/infinitecousins
Corners of the Sky is a noisy psych garage rock band out of Kansas City. The band is well known for their energetic performances and improvisational moments of musical chaos, heavy on the pulp.
Saturday, June 20, 2-4pm
Reading to celebrate the anthology, Winter in America (Still: Poets, Writers, and Artists Respond to a Fractured World. Co-hosted by Anne Waldman and Roxi Power The reading also celebrates the conclusion of Naropa University's Summer Writing Program this summer.
Featuring:
Caroline Bergvall
Mari Brown
CAConrad
Matthew Cooperman
Stella Corso
Caroline Ebeid
Tongo Eisen-Martin
Aspen Everett
HR Hegnauer
Valerie Hsiung
Vincent Katz
Aby Kaupang
Roxi Power
Margaret Randall
Kathryn Rieber
Andrew Schelling
Cedar Sigo
Shannon Sky
Steven Taylor
Tony Trigilio
Anne Waldman
JOE GORKA: With his keenly observant lyrics and blend of dynamic guitar and piano work, Chicago-based singer-songwriter Joe Gorka has made a name for himself in the Midwest music scene. He has played such well-loved Chicago rooms such as Schubas Tavern, City Winery, and Uncommon Ground, along with venues and festivals across the region. 2025 saw the release of his debut solo acoustic EP "Evergreen", as well as increasing national attention with his selection to the 2025 "Emerging Artist" showcase at Connecticut's Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. In 2026 he will be playing shows across the country while completing production of his debut full-length album, due out in the fall.
Lucy Isabel is a folk/Americana singer-songwriter who divides her time and affection between Nashville, TN and coastal New Jersey. She has spent years touring the United States and is known nationwide for her soaring melodies, compelling lyrics, and enveloping stage presence. She released her debut LP, Rambling Stranger, in 2019 and her highly anticipated sophomore album, All The Light, in October 2024, both to critical acclaim.
!mindparade blends elements of art pop, psych, and experimentalism. Their music has been described as “an ambitious low-fi bedroom symphony marked by flourishing psychedelic arrangements” (NUVO) and "a perfect slice of what’s best in Oregon Pop Music." (Oregon Arts Watch) . Currently based in Portland, Oregon. In 2020, the group founded their own label, Neon Underground Archives, in order to self-release their genre-bending records.
Precocious Neophyte (PrecOneO) is the shoegaze/dreampop project of South Korean singer-songwriter Ham Jeehye. After relocating to the U.S., Jeehye began experimenting with home recording in Chicago. She embraces a lo-fi aesthetics for PrecOneO to create a fuzzy yet expansive sound inspired by the organized noise of bands she grew up with in Korea‘s indie scene.
From PrecOneO’s debut album Home in the Desert (Graveface Records, 2023) to the more recent Stony EP (Longinus Recordings, 2024), Jeehye negotiates impossible longings for perpetual spaces and times of home, filling unstable distances with overdriven warmth and cradling the insecurities of isolation in layers of distorted guitars.
After moving to Boulder in 2025, co-producer and guitarist Ethan began participating more in writing and recording, and the band has been performing actively in Colorado with new members Davis Rowan (drums) and Joe Grobelny (bass).
Marc D. Cohen blends lyrical poetry and landscape photography in ‘A Dance with the Cosmos’
This collection invites readers to explore meaning and passion through the lens of the natural world
The newly released poetry book, “A Dance with the Cosmos” , by Marc D. Cohen, is timely for reflecting on the beauty of nature amid today’s chaotic world events.
This poetry book blends the harmonies of birdsongs and the elements to keep the reader immersed in the rhyming, melody and meaning of his poetry. Its nuanced observations in the forest and mountains is meditative and self-healing, as one can almost hear the stream flowing, while the bluebirds fly above. The poet incorporates landscape photography to enhance the motif of the poems. The subject matter of poetry ranges from the natural world to being present in the moment; from the understanding of relationships to the science of the cosmos.
“A Dance with the Cosmos” has been critically acclaimed by two award-winning authors, Heather Frimmer, author of “Always Hope,” and David Baron, author of “The Martians.”
“A Dance With the Cosmos is an intriguing collection inspired by the beauty and complexity of the natural world. Cohen’s astute observations, lyrical language, and unexpected turns of phrase create an immersive and satisfying reading experience.” —Heather Frimmer
“Marc D. Cohen’s A Dance with the Cosmos is heartfelt and moving. These poems- about loss, hope, and the solace of nature-will resonate with anyone who calls Earth home.” —David Baron
About the Author
Marc D. Cohen is a prolific writer who shares a passion for the environment, nature, birding, and meditation for self-healing. He has a unique observational skill to translate the natural world as part of human growth and spirit.
Katie Yeager is a Denver-born singer/songwriter. Part journal entries/part fan fiction, Katie's songs embody lived heartbreak and imagined joy. Their style reflects their love of classic folk rock and modern queer pop.
Penelope Jane is a mandolin player, singer, and songwriter from Boulder, CO, currently attending Berklee College of Music. Shaped by growing up in the Colorado music scene playing with her family band, her music is a blend of modern and traditional bluegrass, folk, and Americana inspired by artists like Sierra Hull, Bella White, and Sarah Jarosz. With the release of her new album 'Evergreen,' she brings her original songs to life with the help of her family band and others who have influenced her musical journey. To listen to hear album or learn more check out her website: https://penelopejanemusic.com/
"give it a year"
"With humble roots in an unheated backyard shed, Boulder-based Jehovah's Fitness Club brings an eclectic mix of jazz, funk, blues and Latin sounds to the local scene. With eight enthused musicians at its core, JFC has a budding track record of putting on a lighthearted and energetic show, drawing crowds in venues like Larimer Lounge and Trident Booksellers and Cafe. Known for their seamless improvisation, tight musical synergy, and a touch of mirth, they blend spontaneity and groove creating a unique live experience every time they take the stage. JFC's recent EP "Household Name" was released in Spring 2025. Come witness the fitness!"
Admiral Radio, the award-winning folkgrass/Americana act from South Carolina, is the creative partnership of Coty Hoover and Becca Smith. Named after their old wooden radio, this husband-and-wife team blends heartfelt harmonies, storytelling, and raw sincerity. Having met while waiting tables in South Carolina's Lowcountry, their sound is straightforward yet powerful—rooted in tight vocal interplay and finely picked acoustic instruments. Inspired by the everyday, their songs explore life lessons, the quiet hustle of ordinary life, and the dogged optimism that drives it all.
Bring an acoustic instrument and sit in with Boulder Old-Time Jam! Every first Thursday on the Trident Patio, starting at 6 p.m.
Billboard Magazine award recipient, Laurie Dameron, has been playing guitar for over 50 years, and singing even longer. She studied jazz guitar at Adams State College, and shortly thereafter took lessons from the world-renowned guitarist Johnny Smith. Between solo performances and playing with her band, “Laurie D and the Blues Babes”, she has performed for hundreds of venues in and out of Colorado over the past 20 years. Ms. Dameron is a three-time winner in the Colorado Music Business Association's song writing contests, and in 2013 she passed the first round of “America's Got Talent.” Laurie has released three CDs and is versatile with selections from folk, instrumental, pop, country, blues, and jazz. Just a few of the venues she has performed at include: Boulder Creek Festival, Capitol Hill People's Fair, A Taste of Colorado, Dazzle Jazz Club, The D Note, Mead Street Station, Mary's Lake Lodge, and Stanley Hotel in beautiful Estes Park. She has also opened for Denver acts; The Informants, The Delta Sonics, Lionel Young Band, Hazel Miller, Chris Daniels and the Kings, Dan Treanor Band, and Afrosippi with Erica Brown.
Lorrie Baum, on bass and vocals, studied trombone at the Music Academy in Vienna, Austria. She took a pause from her studies to join an Austrian all-girl band, “The Soul Magics”, who played to sell-out crowds throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. After returning to the USA she finished her Bachelor of Music Education degree at CU Boulder, and later earned a Masters degree in music theory and composition at UNC in Greeley. Ms. Baum taught instrumental music in the Denver Public Schools for 24 years, and has toured with many Colorado based bands including Earl Cole, Raw Honey, Nikki Dufrene from New Orleans, Airhart out of Kansas City, The Sunday Ladies, Wood and Street Talk, and Sister Swing. For the last two years she and Laurie Dameron have been performing as a duo called Laurie and Lorrie. Together with their rich history they please any audience with folk, pop, rock, country, blues and jazz, and originals!
Carly Fox leads Foxes Float Trip, a jammy folkpunk acoustic trio blending improvisation with honest storytelling and rich instrumentation. Alongside Carlys GenX-Joni-Mitchelly, Art-Garfunkely vocals and rhythm guitar you’ll find Dead-inspired percussionist spouse Steve Fox and funky-sweet cellist Rex Westen, bringing songs to life with rhythm and resonance. Expect tunes about family, grief, ghosts, dreams, and other beautifully complicated middle-aged things—all delivered with warmth, wit, and emotion.
Euphorium is the ultimate jazz/rock combo band featuring pieces from famous jazz artists. Julian Yungstrom on drums/sax, Will Hall on guitar, Paxton Hayes on guitar/alto sax, Harold Peic on bass, Everett Hassinger on keys/sax. Euphorium is a professional jazz-fusion ensemble that delivers high-quality, improvisational music. Built around a sophisticated horn section and a tight rhythm section, the band focuses on smooth grooves, clever arrangements, and skilled solo performances. Their sound combines the classic elements of traditional jazz with a modern, accessible energy.
4 Strings Attached is a youth violin ensemble founded in 2004 and led by violinist Martin Lopez. Made up of performers ages 3 to 18, the group promotes a love of music through performances, education, and community events across the Chicagoland area, presenting dynamic one-hour programs performed entirely from memory. They have gained recognition through local festivals, media appearances, and corporate events, as well as national and international tours to Mexico, Florida, Bulgaria, and Italy, and they love performing for new communities. Beyond musical growth, members develop discipline, teamwork, and confidence through their experiences.
Topaz Hooper is an author, entrepreneur, and poet from Denver, Colorado. She combines her many artistic talents to create intersectional and unique works. As demonstrated in this book, she enjoys using the aesthetics of art, photography, and the beauty of poetry to make works that incite emotional and sensory reactions in her readers. In her free time, she enjoys travelling to new places, learning languages, cooking plant-based meals, and sitting in coffee shops overlooking a busy city street.
A Life Worth Living is her second book. Be sure to read her first book, My Mind's Eye Poetry and Visual Art on Social Justice, Philosophy, and Identity. More poetic, visual, and creative works to come.
Book Summary:
A Life Worth Living: Poetry & Photography on Love, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is an interdisciplinary multilingual poetry book filled with seven years of original photographs and poems. The book explores topics like global inequality and peace, natural distasters and how love can transform (and destroy) our happiness. A Life Worth Living will stoke your imagination and deepen your understanding on how to love more freely, find liberty within, and pursue happiness in a messy, unequal world.
Tom Pakele and Stevie Guitar Glotzer are known for their soulful harmonica and guitar renditions of classic blues hits from legendary artists like Howling Wolf, Junior Wells, and Sonny Boy Williamson, as well as their own original music which is a must-experience for any blues enthusiast. With Tom's captivating vocals and Stevie's masterful guitar work, they bring the timeless sounds of the blues to life in a way that's both authentic and fresh.
Bitterroot began as a Boulder-based trio comprised of songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Caroline Quine, bassist/vocalist Matt Cantor, and guitarist/vocalist Kevin Johnson. The project has welcomed additional local and national artists as they add studio recordings to their songcraft, including producer/guitarist Julian Peterson. Bitterroot's Americana/folk sound features original compositions, engaging vocals, and soulful instrumentation.
Julian Peterson is a longtime Boulder/Denver-area favorite, and has contributed his considerable musical talent to numerous local artists including Erica Brown, Rebecca Folsom, and Megan Burtt. He is the founder of Wolf Den Records, a Longmont-based artist development and production label. The Julian Peterson Trio includes Leor Manelis on drums and Casey Sidwell on bass, and showcases Julian’s soulful vocals, heart-centered songwriting, and tasty-hot guitar.
Synths: A vinyl DJ night showcasing a melange of synthetic sounds, including the sounds of synth-pop, minimal synth, and kraut, among other sounds! Come dance or, otherwise, sit very still!
Lucky Me consists of Three-time Grammy winning producer/composer/musician Tom Wasinger and legendary Boulder singer/songwriter Craig Skinner.
Tom Wasinger: a composer, arranger, producer, teacher, and multi-instrumentalist based in Boulder, Colorado. Tom has received three GRAMMY AWARDS as producer of the “Best Native American Music Album” in 2003, 2007, and 2009. Tom has also produced three other GRAMMY nominated records in 2001, 20 05, and 2008. Tom’s first commercial success as a producer came in 1994when his collection of international lullabies “The World Sings Goodnight” reached #3 on the Billboard World Music chart. This collection has since been licensed by National Geographic for the release “Lullabies, Dream Songs From around the World”.
Kate Whitefield is a folk singer-songwriter from Kansas City. Throughout high school, Kate enjoyed gigging around the KC metro, teaching guitar to kids, leading children’s music at a local church and coordinating songwriters’ events for the Heartland Song Network. She spent two years in Nashville at Belmont University, where she studied Music Therapy and Media & Entertainment Industries. She also volunteered with Musicians on Call and Empower Music Therapy. Now at the University of Kansas pursuing a journalism degree, Kate continues to perform in the community and provide guitar lessons through KU’s Music Mentors program. She currently works on the public relations team for Manor Records, a nonprofit record label dedicated to supporting KC artists.
She plays a mix of covers and originals, balancing nostalgia with refreshing twists. She can be reached at katewhitefieldmusic@gmail.com or @kate.whitefield.music on Instagram.
Bring an acoustic instrument and sit in with Boulder Old-Time Jam! Every first Thursday on the Trident Patio, starting at 6 p.m.
What ails ye o' wanderer? Whatever it may be, Patchwork Jack's got the remedy. This merry band of westerners (both north and south american) mix up a recipe of one part cowboy, one part cumbia, and one part klezmer/romani swing. Their music, much like an old worn-out quilt, tells tales of love, loss, resilience and the human experience. Expect tender and raucous in equal measure. Dancing shoes required.
A heartrending, transformative true story following Brad Ryan and his grandmother Joy Ryan as they embark on a seven-year journey to visit every US National Park.
Raised in Appalachia, Grandma Joy lived a life shaped by constraints and hardships, while Brad grappled with the weight of family rifts and unresolved pain. Together, they embarked on a quest not only to witness the majesty of America’s wild landscapes but also to heal generations of struggles and misunderstandings. Over seven years, they sought to visit all sixty-three US National Parks. From the towering peaks of Denali to the otherworldly beauty of the Everglades, each park became a classroom, teaching them profound lessons about nature, resilience, and each other.
Grandma Joy and Me follows a seven-year adventure of intergenerational healing, wherein a grandmother and grandson find themselves released from the injustices—real and imagined—that had long held them hostage. An emotionally charged exploration of love, forgiveness, and resilience, this unique bond between a young man and his ninety-three-year-old grandmother—the oldest person to visit every US National Park—is more than just any travel tale; it is a testament to what makes us deeply human.
Brad Ryan is a veterinarian, wildlife conservationist, social media inflfluencer, and writer from southeastern Ohio. He earned his BA from Miami University in Ohio, an MSc in mammalian biology from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and a DVM/MPH combined degree from The Ohio State University, specializing in wildlife medicine and veterinary public health. For Brad, storytelling is a vehicle for healing—rooted in empathy, inspired by nature, and driven by a desire to help others feel seen and connected. As a keynote speaker, he champions LGBTQ+ inclusion in the outdoors, eliminating stigma around mental health, and the protection of wildlife and public lands.
Synths: A vinyl DJ night showcasing a melange of synthetic sounds, including the sounds of synth-pop, minimal synth, and kraut, among other sounds! Come dance or, otherwise, sit very still!
Bring an acoustic instrument and sit in with Boulder Old-Time Jam! Every first Thursday on the Trident Patio, starting at 6 p.m.
What would a postcarbon future look like? How would a more just, decarbonized world require us to change the way we live? What would it take to build this world? These questions lie at the heart of Building Postcarbon Futures: Land, Justice, and the Energy Transition.
This book offers a comprehensive account of the myriad ways in which people are transforming their social, ecological, and economic systems to create more just, beautiful places in response to the climate crisis. With contributions from more than a dozen leading scholars of climate justice, Building Postcarbon Futures takes readers through 30 exemplary works of climate justice spanning 43 nations and 6 continents. Together, these illustrated case studies foreground the often-overlooked tactics, strategies, and modes of practice being employed, often by marginalized peoples, to build a more just, decarbonized world—from Cuba to Kiribati.
Building Postcarbon Futures is both a celebration of action underway and a challenge to those tasked with bringing new works of climate justice into the built and natural environments—the planners, designers, policymakers, and activists pushing this planet toward a future of collective flourishing.
Billy Fleming is a leading voice on the role that the design of our cities, communities, and landscapes plays in responding to the climate crisis. He is founding co-director of the Climate and Community Institute, a progressive think tank focused on climate and political economy, and assistant professor of landscape architecture at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Fleming is coeditor of Design with Nature Now (Lincoln Institute 2019) and A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation: Uniting Design, Economics, and Policy (Island Press 2021). Formerly, he cofounded and served as the inaugural Wilks Family Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center at the University of Pennsylvania and worked on urban policy development in the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Obama Administration.
Contributors:
Catherine de Almeida, Gianpaolo Baiocchi, Eliza Breder, Holly Jean Buck, Daniel Aldana Cohen, Keller Easterling, Kian Goh, Rob Holmes, Leah Kahler, Reinhold Martin, Danielle Rivera, Douglas Robb, Akira Drake Rodriguez, Matthew Seibert, Aaryaman “Sunny” Singhal, Abby Spinak, Charles Waldheim.
Bring an acoustic instrument and sit in with Boulder Old-Time Jam! Every first Thursday on the Trident Patio, starting at 6 p.m.
Magic Mountain Talks presents:
Paul Reitter is Professor in German Languages and Literatures at The Ohio State University. He is the author of Bambi’s Jewish Roots and Other Essays on German-Jewish Culture (Bloomsbury, 2015), On the Origins of Jewish Self-Hatred (Princeton, 2012), and The Anti-Journalist: Karl Kraus and Jewish Self-Fashioning in Fin-de-Siecle Europe (Chicago, 2008). He collaborated with Jonathan Franzen and Daniel Kehlmann on The Kraus Project: Essays by Karl Kraus (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013), named an Editors’ Choice by the New York Times Book Review and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism. For his translation of the first volume of Karl Marx’s Capital: Critique of Political Economy (Princeton University Press, 2021) he won the 2025 Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Price from the Goethe Institute.
Arne Höcker is Associate Professor of German Studies at CU Boulder. His publications include The Case of Literature: Forensic Narratives from Goethe to Kafka (Cornell UP 2020), and Paranoia and the Totalitarian Drift of Modernity (forthcoming 2026).
For fans of Eat Pray Love and Untamed, a soulful memoir of motherhood, mysticism, and plant medicine that chronicles one woman’s journey of healing and transformation in the lush wilds of Kauai.
What if your greatest teachers weren’t shamans in the jungle but the people you eat breakfast with every morning?
The Mother Vine is a raw, often funny, and deeply human story of one woman’s awakening through plant medicine—and the winding road that leads her there. After walking away from a high-powered TV career and a picture-perfect life in Canada, Shannon moves her family to the jungled slopes of Kauai in search of a more laid-back existence. But instead of fresh mangoes and good surf, she finds herself swept into a tide of unexpected revelations.
In the crucible of motherhood, Shannon’s two sons and husband become unlikely teachers, reflecting her forgotten pieces with unrelenting love and occasional ferocity. Their struggles crack her open in ways no self-help book ever could. When deep-seated heartache has her seeking transformation, an invitation to drink ayahuasca becomes a lifeline. Guided by ancient wisdom and insatiable curiosity, Shannon begins the journey of remembering who she truly was—and still is.
More than a memoir of healing, The Mother Vine is a love letter to the mess of motherhood, the mystery of the medicine path, and the sacred power of being fully alive. If you’ve ever longed for something deeper, this book is for you.
Shannon Nering is a former CBC television host and reality TV producer turned natural medicine practitioner and storyteller. Her work bridges the worlds of media, motherhood, and modern mysticism, drawing from a rich background that includes advanced studies in consciousness and ongoing PhD research in natural medicine. She is the founder of Glo Well, a wellness brand and app whose mission is to support women through midlife transformation, and she leads seasonal detoxes and retreats through her practice Glo Kauai. Shannon lives on the North Shore of Kauai.
Lively conversation for language learners, native speakers, and everyone in between. We regularly have 10+ languages spoken and always have spirited discussions!
Arthur S and the Effects is the full band incarnation of solo act Arthur S based out of Denver, CO; a Denver boy and his rock ‘n roll band. Arthur S and The Effects are a rock and roll foremost with splashes of country and r&b, all put through the dynamic range of colors modern psychedelic rock has to offer. Calling on lyrics that evoke visions of Bruce Springsteen, Britt Daniel and Joe Strummer, the songs are meant to be reflections, almost tone poems, on the forces that shape who we are and the transmissions of what it means to become and live in the modern world.
The Effects debut album “Ballad of the Queen City Stomper” is out now!
Choro, samba's older cousin and Brazil's first urban popular music genre, was born in 19th century Rio as a melding of European classical music with Afro-Brazilian rhythms and harmonies. It's known for its intricate melodies, playful rhythms, virtuosity, and improvisation, and it continues to evolve today.
Join the Boulder Choro Club for a “Roda de Choro” and experience choro, played as it is traditionally, in a circle of musicians.
"With humble roots in an unheated backyard shed, Boulder-based Jehovah's Fitness Club brings an eclectic mix of jazz, funk, blues and Latin sounds to the local scene. With eight enthused musicians at its core, JFC has a budding track record of putting on a lighthearted and energetic show, drawing crowds in venues like Larimer Lounge and Trident Booksellers and Cafe. Known for their seamless improvisation, tight musical synergy, and a touch of mirth, they blend spontaneity and groove creating a unique live experience every time they take the stage. JFC's recent EP "Household Name" was released in Spring 2025. Come witness the fitness!"
Three lefts makes it right, right? We’re Third Turn, a three-piece jam group from Fort Collins, Colorado. We fuse rock, jazz, reggae, funk, disco, and more with our singer/songwriter style tunes, with a pinch of tasteful covers. Each set rearranges and morphs into a new experience so you’ll never see anything like the last. Currently making our way around local Colorado venues, we plan to expand with every show so don’t miss our unique set when we’re in town!
The Dylan Kishner Band has been gigging regularly in Colorado since 2017 and has shared the stage with many local and national touring acts. The group’s influences include Tyler Childers, John Prine, Grateful Dead, Queens of the Stone Age, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Old 97’s (among countless others). The DKB has two studio releases, a live album, and two studio singles under its belt and continues to produce music regularly. "
Singer-songwriter Paula Gayatri delivers poetic, intimate performances dripping with soul. Early influences like Joni Mitchell, Indigo Girls, and Bach have woven with her years of chanting and meditation at a yoga ashram. Check out her album, Between Music & Love, and explore her offerings at www.gayatri.devillier.com
Mira Devi's music is a soul-stirring blend of East and West, weaving folk melodies with poetic storytelling. Drawing inspiration from artists like Shawn Colvin, The Band, and Gregory Alan Isakov, her thoughtful musicianship and evocative lyrics explore love, loss, motherhood, and the search for connection in a beautifully imperfect world. www.miradevi.com
Lively conversation for language learners, native speakers, and everyone in between. We regularly have 10+ languages spoken and always have spirited discussions!
Merle Law is a singer-songwriter based in Portland, OR, whose songs create an intricate tapestry of memory and longing. Law has developed a sound driven by untraditional counter rhythms, a melodic tide pool and personal poetry that relates to the listener. Born Meredith Law to a Philly drummer and a singer from south Louisiana, Merle’s influence pulls from a vast library of songwriters.
Merle Law’s approach, recording to tape on a cheap nylon string guitar with a spectral band, is steeped in the textures of the homes they’ve inhabited: from the moss-draped bayou to the deep and foreboding gray fog of the Pacific Northwest, and the illustrious roads in between that connect them. Law’s new album was recorded by Ryan Oxford and is set to be released in 2026.
In recent years, VYLLA has played several shows and festivals across Germany and the UK. Some highlights definitely include the double bill with Puma Blue (UK), Fusion Festival Lärz, and Jazz Open Stuttgart in Germany.
In August 2024, they released their debut EP called KIDS IN PARLIAMENTS along with several live sessions in various formats. In 2025, VYLLA is dedicated to crafting their highly anticipated debut album. Over the past month, the band has been on an intense creative journey, exploring and experimenting with new sonic landscapes to find the perfect sound that powerfully conveys their politically charged lyrics and musical vision. By staying true to their identity and roots, they discover a voice that deeply connects with their audience.
Nu Bass Theory seamlessly blends electronic beats, soulful synth melodies, intricate samples, and mesmerizing vocal harmonies. This Boulder-based outfit crafts a rare slice of electronica that maintains the groove, extending an irresistible invitation to an alternate lounge world dance party.
Nu Bass Theory's music celebrates diversity and innovation, transcending traditional genre labels to create a sonic journey where the boundaries between electro, pop, and jazz effortlessly dissolve. Enter their realm, where each performance fuses electronic prowess and live instrumentation, promising an unforgettable experience that defies expectations. Whether captivated by the infectious energy of their produced beats, pocket, or mantra-based vocal style, Nu Bass Theory invites you to join them on a sonic adventure. In Boulder and beyond, they are the architects of a new era in electro-pop-jazz. The rare slice of electronica that maintains the groove, Nu Bass Theory sets the stage for a musical movement, inviting all to dance, listen, vibe, and create friendships.
Bring an acoustic instrument and sit in with Boulder Old-Time Jam! Every first Thursday on the Trident Patio, starting at 6 p.m.
Dillon Hoock is a songwriter from Colorado Springs who writes the kind of songs that stay with you. Rooted in Americana and Folk, his voice and guitar carry a quiet emotion that feels honest and lived-in. His music wrestles with purpose, mental health, and what it means to find peace in a noisy world—an ongoing attempt to make sense of life and leave something real behind.
The Jamaica Kollection of the Shante Dream Arkive continues Marcia Douglas’s "speculative ancestral project" (The Whiting Foundation) begun with The Marvellous Equations of the Dread. Dreamlike and fiercely paced, this poetic and eco-spiritual work zooms into tight focus on present-day life while dashing deep into the past.
Douglas weaves a rich mosaic of characters and timelines: a mother searches across centuries for her missing child; a young girl flees from New Jersey to the Grand Canyon to escape U.S. immigration officers; an undocumented migrant struggles with loss in America; an Ashante woman endures the hull of a Middle Passage ship; a wailing youth leaps through dream-gates seeking liberation and the lost parts of himself. One key to the whole is Zora Neale Hurston’s left-behind camera, recalling her time with the maroons in the village of Accompong.
Each chapter/poem opens like an aperture onto another facet of the dream story, the whole juxtaposed against botanical, animal, and planetary migrations and the riddims and chants of the cosmos. Through immersive storytelling richly layered with drawings, footnotes, and natural phenomena, Douglas carries forward the cultural preservation so central to her vision. The Shante Dream Arkive reimagines the “movement of Jah people” and the cultural memory of the African diaspora, while exploring themes of loss, survival, deliverance—and the buried herstories of the Caribbean and the Americas.
About Marcia: Born in the U.K. and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, Douglas's writing navigates the complexities of everyday Jamaican life while also inventing and reinventing form in signature ways. Engaging with history and Jamaican reggae/dub traditions, her multi-genre work "creates a speculative ancestral project that samples and remixes the living and dead into a startling sonic fabric" (Whiting Foundation). A Creative Capital, Whiting Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts fellow, she is the author of the novels, The Jamaica Kollection of the Shante Dream Arkive: being dreamity, algoriddims, chants & riffs, The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: a novel in bass riddim (long-listed for the 2016 Republic of Consciousness Prize), Notes from a Writer’s Book of Cures and Spells, Madam Fate and the poetry collection, Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom (a UK Poetry Book Society Recommendation). In addition to writing, Douglas has performed a one-woman show, “Natural Herstory,” adapted from her fiction and exploring the lives of seven Jamaican women. Her most recent work, The Jamaica Kollection of the Shante Dream Arkive, continues the innovative examination of Jamaica’s colonial past and speculative futures which has come to characterize her storytelling. Marcia Douglas is a College Professor of Distinction at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
"I wish to write without borders."
— Marcia Douglas
Jeffrey Pethbridge:
Jeffrey Pethybridge is a poet, editor, and curator; he is the author of Striven, The Bright Treatise (Noemi Press 2013), which was selected as one of ten best debuts of 2013 by Poets & Writers. His second collection Force Drift, an essay in the epic has just been published by Tupelo Press in 2025. His writing and visual poetry appear internationally in journals such as diSonare (MX); White Wall Review (CA); Writing Utopia (UK); the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day; Chicago Review, Volt, Best American Experimental Writing, Manifold Criticism; The Iowa Review, New American Writing and others. He teaches in the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University where he is Co-Artistic Director of the Summer Writing Program. In 2026 he’ll serve as the curator of Enclave, a transdisciplinary poetry festival held in Mexico City each year.
A letter, an essay, an archive, a blueprint, an unredacted CIA file: Force Drift exposes what we already know—the “hell-yellow glare” of American empire escapeless from the glass eye in the sky. Searing in his critique, Pethybridge’s anti-epic painstakingly documents & unredacts the machinations of “endless war,” disaster capitalism, & the continuous reduction of people into isolated, severed parts forever lost to CIA black sites. The accumulation of Force Drift architects the violent patterns of empire—the city, the event, the torture, the missing, the blur between surveillance and black sites. Force Drift is an insistent call “to be new abolitionists.”
––Andrea Abi-Karam
Somewhere in the middle of this powerful book, there is an inked hand across the page of a section called passages followed by the line: “the body tracks in history—”. A powerful summary of the brutally bare remnants Pethybridge is calling up and staying with. Here the alphabet starts with Aleph for Abu Ghraib. Force Drift has been some 15 years in the making and it responds forcefully and explosively to the accelerated symbolic and verbal incoherence of our times. Official redaction is here countered as a form of dissident poetics and Pethybridge uses it maximally in his angry, raw and demanding work, which blends landscapes of erasures, dense visual shapes, with exploded, endlessly cyclical, unfinished stories and intercepted thought-processes. A savage, somatised work.
––Caroline Bergvall
A tour-de-force epic of unleashed lyricism, Force Drift exposes—in blackout, in its layers of silence, in its winding lines, and echoing syllables—the disappeared scream at the heart of America. Jeffrey Pethybridge is one of the most imaginative, sensitive, and brilliant curators of art working today, and Force Drift is energized and alive with his dedication as a poet and researcher. Against both the brutality of 21st century U.S. imperial desire, and the feckless aesthetics of so many uncommitted poetries, Pethybridge weaves the spatial dimensions of language into cyclones; once caught in those storms hear the “ardor / disaster requires,” and, there experience “spiraling down these vowels” under a “sun shattered over sea-waves.” Finally within the hold of this astonishing book you will have to answer the Sphinx, that first monstrous interrogator. And, if you are released, Force Drift will leave you forever changed.
––J. Michael Martinez
Standing on the charnel ground, the catastrophe and human wreckage of US torture policy, Force Drift is at once lamentation, broken anatomy, archive of shadow and screams, and documentary investigation that could only be realized through poetry. Extending an internationalist lineage of poets of history from Etel Adnan to Raul Zurita, Pethybridge shows again how poetry confronts atrocity––you have to look at it––and even as the evidence gets under your “time-sensitive skin,” burns your eyes, and threatens to overload your psyche, the lyric determination that suffuses Force Drift carries you through the labyrinth of disaster. Pethybridge’s visceral “essay in the epic” is an essential document for how to be truly contemporary, and “hold the gaze in the darkness to see the light of the century” (Agamben). I so admire this vow, this voice to keep lifting the carceral curtain to see through “emergent night.” Whistleblowers unite!
–––Anne Waldman
Lively conversation for language learners, native speakers, and everyone in between. We regularly have 10+ languages spoken and always have spirited discussions!
Freyja Wild is a singer, composer, and dynamic performer whose music conjures a landscape of mystic enchantment and world-inspired rhythm. Classically trained but unbound by genre, Freyja blends rock, jazz, Celtic folk, medieval and avant-garde influences into a sound that is uniquely her own — lush, vibrant, and deeply evocative. Both intimate and rhythm driven, Freyja’s songs are rich with haunting melodies, lush vocal harmonies, and acoustic guitar and bass woven with sounds from Nature’s wild. Her music lifts the spirit, nourishes the soul, and gently reminds us that the world is beautiful. Audiences are also treated to unique interpretations of feel-good favorites by artists such as Steve Winwood, Annie Lennox, Rush, and Joni Mitchell.
Accompanied by Phil Van Scotter on guitar and Pete Jacobs on bass, Freyja Wild offers a moving and transformative musical experience that leaves listeners inspired and renewed.
Freyja Wild – vocals and percussion
Phil Van Scotter – guitar
Pete Jacobs – bass
Patty Jackson is a singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist performer, teacher, community song leader. She has the voice of an angel with a unique guitar style creating rich chord progressions and stunning textures by using open tunings and multiple capos. Not to be content to be pigeon holed into one style of music, she blends folk, roots, blues, country, americana and a touch of jazz into her repertoire. Recently, she has added ukulele and baritone guitar into her shows. She can get her audience clapping, tapping and singing along with songs of strength and resilience, weaving a spell bounding musical story about a little forgotten street in her neighborhood or get folks laughing about the silliness that can sometimes be the human condition.
Matt Harbor is a Minneapolis-raised singer-songwriter and guitarist now based in Boulder, whose music sits somewhere between indie pop, folk, and rock. Drawing on influences like Noah Kahan and Matt Maeson, Harbor writes with an introspective honesty that defies easy resolution. His recent debut EP, Second Person, traces the disorientation and quiet revelations of early adulthood - the stretch of life between leaving home and figuring out what comes next. He'll be joined by John Klingner on drums, Elli Karges on keys, and Hope Colacino on vocals.
Join us for an evening celebrating Earth Month with three poets whose work explores our complex relationship to nature and place. Anne Haven McDonnell, Erin Robertson, and Radha Marcum will read from their collections that engage with wilderness, changing landscapes, and the wonder and fragility of our ecosystems.
Singing Under Snow (Wheelbarrow Books, February 2026)
These are poems of queer ecology. In reckoning with a mother's aging, a breakup, or grief and disorientation in the face of the climate crisis, these poems seek a spiritual meaning in ecological belonging.
Anne Haven McDonnell grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she teaches as a full professor at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her most recent collection Singing Under Snow won the Wheelbarrow Prize with MSU Press (Feb. 2026). Her other books include Breath on a Coal, winner of the Halcyon Poetry Prize, and the chapbook Living with Wolves from Split Rock Press. She is co-creator of the forthcoming Rocky Mountains Literary Field Guide: Art, Ecology, and Poetry (Mountaineers Books, spring 2027). Her honors include fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, a MacDowell fellowship, and poetry prizes from Narrative Magazine, The Gingo Prize for Ecopoetry, and a Terrain.org poetry prize. Her poems appear in journals such as Orion Magazine, The Georgia Review, Ecotone, and elsewhere.
What the River May Bring (Raw Earth Ink, January 2026)
A poetic journey of healing through Alaska's interior wilderness, these poems trace rivers, dunes, burn scars, and birch forests, honoring a unique ecosystem and inviting us to pay attention to the awe rising within ourselves.
Erin Robertson teaches outdoor nature writing classes in Boulder County and serves as Writer in Residence for Friends of Coal Creek. Her poetry has been published in the North American Review, Cold Mountain Review, Poet Lore, Deep Wild, and elsewhere. Past honors include being a Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence at Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Boulder County Artist in Residence at Caribou Ranch, and awards in the Michael Adams Poetry Prize and Columbine Poets Members' Contest.
Pine Soot Tendon Bone (The Word Works, June 2024)
An elegy for our times, Pine Soot Tendon Bone is awake to unfolding crises—from wildfires to gun violence—while locating hope in the simple but precise act of observing nature.
Recipient of the Washington Prize for Pine Soot Tendon Bone (The Word Works, 2024), Radha Marcum is the author of Bloodline (3: A Taos Press, 2017), which delves into her grandfather's involvement in building the first atomic bombs in New Mexico during World War II, winner of the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Poetry in 2018. Also an award-winning prose writer with a focus on health and environment, Marcum has written for American Rivers, Colorado Water Trust, Outside, and The Wilderness Society.Her poetry has been commissioned by the Clyfford Still museum and appears in journals such as Conjunctions, Quarterly West, The Kenyon Review, Poetry Northwest,The Colorado Review, and elsewhere. A Boulder resident for 25 years, she teaches at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop and privately.
Lively conversation for language learners, native speakers, and everyone in between. We regularly have 10+ languages spoken and always have spirited discussions!
The Trident is proud to present a new series we are calling, "The Tongueless Theater." Bringing to the Trident stage, screenings of silent films from the past, present, and future, featuring original scores and soundtracks performed by local composers and musicians.
Hi. We're a multi-instrumental, multi-genre band started by husband and wife team Niki and Luke Tredinnick that blends elements of rock with indie-folk, using jazz-influenced vocals and unconventional instruments such as accordion, clarinet, and trombone. We want to get you singing and dancing and feeling stuff, so come on down to a show sometime. Xo
Where did that band name come from?"The Dollhouse Thieves" band name comes from Luke's mom's nickname for her cousins who reclaimed the family heirloom dollhouse (her toy as a child). This kind of family story speaks to us, because we are about community and family; striving to bring people together and spark curiosity and imagination through music and storytelling.
Bailey Pope (She/Her/Etc) is a New York based Comedian, writer, and pigeon-holed actor, providing the overly-tattooed, failed rock star transgender woman comedy that everyone has been searching centuries for. Bailey has shared stages with Roy Wood Jr, Sam Jay, Mark Normand and Ashley Gavin. As an actor, she often appears as “Angry bartender” or “Aloof tattoo artist” in shows such as AppleTV+ “City On Fire”. Her writing has been published by Hard Times and Refinery29.
Noah C. Lekas
Noah C. Lekas is a worker-writer and folksinger based in Colorado’s Front Range. Carrying on the labor poet tradition, his first book, Saturday Night Sage was published by Blind Owl in 2019. His debut EP, Sounds From the Shadow Factory followed in 2021. With a new record, The Flowers of Perennial Dissent slated for a 2026 Lekas, as Third Coast Review put it, continues to "Tell of the struggles of working-class laborers through poems equally acerbic and transcendental.“
Alyssa Battistoni is a professor of political science at Barnard College. She is the author of Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature (Princeton UP 2025) and co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal (Verso 2019). She works and teaches on climate and environmental politics, capitalism, Marxism, feminism, and other topics in modern social and political theory.
Benjamin Kunkel is the bestselling author of Indecisionand Utopia or Bust, and a co-founder of n+1. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books.
These original meditations on the Sanskrit letters range from personal narratives to metaphysical and theological speculations, linguistic play, and inter-spiritual allusions to other works and traditions, all relevant to living a contemplative life in the contemporary world.
Sowder’s book is anchored in the devotional Tantrik, Śaiva-Śakta tradition, focused on the Divine Feminine, but allusions to western mystics (Christian, Jewish, Muslim) also appear frequently. No other book like this exists.
“In the opening pages of Michael Sowder’s Sacred Letters, we learn the astonishing fact that the name of the Sanskrit script, devanāgarī, means ‘city of God.’ An alphabet understood as both divine and human, a sociality of fire. Drawing from his years as a student of yoga and Indian spirituality, Sowder meditates on the revelatory proximity of language, holiness, and embodiment in this elegant volume. He reflects on our most humane impulses as connected beads along a chain and as beauties worthy of contemplation for their own sake, his developing narrative fusing the personal to the mythic, to the transformation of both. ‘The teacher comes singing,’ Sowder writes; we his readers are fortunate to listen.” —Kimberly Johnson, PhD (Berkeley), poet; National Endowment for the Arts scholar; professor of classics, Brigham Young University
“Sacred Letters is a tantric text, woven of two gorgeous books. First, in clear bell-like tones, Michael Sowder provides instruction to the Sanskrit language, its sounds and syllabic letters. The second book, vivid as last night’s dream, is a pensées. It strings memories, visions, and reflections on a thread of sound. Follow the thread: a host of teachers—from gnarled old-apple Thoreau to radiant Mā Indirā Devī—lead you by torchlight up the mountain of yoga.” —Andrew Schelling, author of Love and the Turning Seasons: India’s Poetry of Erotic and Spiritual Longing
“Rather than confining words to their original origins or etymology, this book invites them into a broader, personal context, blending them into a cultural and philosophical framework. It is a rich intersection where philosophy meets life.” —Semeen Ali, poetry editor, Muse India
“Sacred Letters evokes and embodies the living breath of meditation and heart-centered contemplation in this inspired journey through the Sanskrit ‘alphabet’ and its many archetypal permutations. These masterful meditations uplift readers with him into the realm of the ecstatic yet remain solidly anchored in the felt material world, where the personal, historical, mythic and spiritual all meet.” —Alan Botsford, author of Walt Whitman of Cosmic Folklore
“Sowder presents fifty Sanskrit letters as doorways into profound insights about yoga philosophy, mystic revelations, natural beauty, holy pilgrimages, and a spiritual memoir of awakenings. Each letter reveals a brilliant aspect of divine love, like the many facets of a diamond.” —Robert Sternau, poetry editor, Sufi Journal
“Sowder charts his spiritual awakening, powerfully captured in life’s moments when the divine and the everyday intersect. With a poet’s eye and a scholar’s mind, he rescues these epiphanies from forgetfulness and illuminates them for fellow seekers.” —Sue William Silverman, author, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences
“Michael David Sowder has written a poetic introduction to the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, revealing how the meanings of each letter relate to teachings and practices of Yoga, devotional Tantra, and the Divine Feminine. This is an exciting project because very few people know, use, or understand Sanskrit today.” —SpiritualityandPractice.com
Longtime yoga and meditation teacher Michael David Sowder is an author, poet, and professor of poetry, religious studies, and yoga studies at Utah State University. With a PhD from the University of Michigan, Sowder is the author of two collections of spiritual poetry, The Empty Boat and House Under the Moon, and two chapbooks of poetry. Feminist poet Diane Wakoski chose The Empty Boat to win the 2004 T.S. Eliot Award. His chapbook, A Calendar of Crows, won the inaugural New Michigan Press Poetry award.
Sowder’s writing explores themes of yoga, Buddhism, mystical experience and contemplative practice, wilderness, and fatherhood. He has appeared in MuseIndia, The Bombay Review, Shambhala Sun (now Lion’s Roar), American Life in Poetry, Five Points, Green Mountains Review, Sufi Journal, New Poets of the American West, and The New York Times Online. He frequently travels to India, where in 2014, he was a Fulbright Scholar. Trained in a Tantric yoga tradition, he has been practicing and teaching yoga and meditation for almost fifty years. The founder of the non-profit, Amrita Yoga Institute of Logan, Utah—which teaches yoga, meditation, contemplative practice and philosophy—he founded the first prison meditation program in the Alabama prison system in 1978, as well as prison writing and meditation programs at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Facility and at the Cache County Jail in Logan, Utah.
Lively conversation for language learners, native speakers, and everyone in between. We regularly have 10+ languages spoken and always have spirited discussions!
Trident Booksellers & Cafe is located in the heart of Downtown Boulder, Colorado. With Buddhist roots, our cafe and bookstore celebrate community, compassion, diversity, and independent thinking.
