What’s on this offseason at Belly Up Aspen?
When just about every other place in Aspen closes its doors and goes dark for mud season, Belly Up keeps its lights on and keeps a solid run of bookings going through May.
The club has a handful of marquee names on the way this offseason – rising country star Brent Cobb last week, the DJ Bonobo on Thursday, May 11, and the great Old Crow Medicine Show playing Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” on May 13. Otherwise, they’ve filled in the offseason schedule with mostly free shows from Colorado acts, newcomers and Belly Up regulars like the Sublime tribute act 40 Oz. to Freedom, bluegrass band Tallgrass and reggae outfit Policulture along with some promising but less familiar names.
Belly Up is also running its free movie screenings most Mondays and, in an inspired move, they’re showing the resplendent new BBC nature series “Planet Earth II” on the club’s big laser projection screen in two screenings every Wednesday night this month (with $5 drink specials and a $10-and-under food menu, it’s no doubt the best thing happening midweek this offseason).
Here’s a rundown of what else is on the way at Belly Up this offseason:
Friday, May 12
No cover until 10 p.m.
The dependably entertaining San Diego-based Sublime tribute act, led by vocalist and guitarist Dane Scott doing his best Bradley Nowell, keeps the sprit of the late great SoCal dub band alive.
Thursday, May 18
No cover
Two up-and-coming Colorado acts headline a night of electro-funk. Skydyed, out of Fort Collins, is a three-piece that blends electronic production with the live performance by multi-instrumentalists Andrew Slattery and Max Doucette with drummer Shane Eagen. They share the bill with Tnertle, an adventurous nine-member Denver-based outfit that mixes hip-hop and EDM with a funky horn section.
Friday, May 19
No cover
The Fort Collins trio and Belly Up regulars play a progressive kind of bluegrass that could only be born in Colorado, powered by three-part harmonies and unbound by the traditions of the form.
Saturday, May 20
No cover
Playing what they’ve dubbed “original mountain reggae,” this five-piece out of Boulder plays an original blend of roots reggae that’s made them a local favorite in their frequent swings through ski country.
No cover
Crowd-pleasing fiddle-tinged jams and freewheeling shows have made this Durango band a staple on the Colorado live music scene over the last five years, hopping freely between bluegrass, funk and psych-rock.
Monday, May 22
No cover
A string band with roots in jazz and old school acoustic blues, Old Salt Union is the bluegrass pride of St. Louis (they’re based just over the border in Illinois). For a crash course in their foot-stomping throwback style, check out their latest EP: last year’s “Cut & Run.”
Thursday, May 25
No cover
A funk rock band out of Athens, Georgia, Universal Sigh and its jazzy, jammy two-guitar lineup has been on the road in the U.S. behind its 2016 full-length debut “Atoms & Void.”
Friday, May 26
No cover until 10 p.m.
A rising star on the Denver electronic music scene, Late Night Radio (Alex Medellin) can produce high energy club tracks alongside the soulful mixes he’s dubbed his “Vinyl Restoration” series that sample old school sounds to create original chilled-out tracks.
Saturday, May 27
No cover until 10:30 p.m.
Founded by Denver singer-guitarists Dave Lakchak to celebrate Bob Marley’s birthday for a February 2013 concert, this Marley tribute band mixes the Jamaican reggae legend’s classics with improvisational passages and new arrangements.
Bar Talk: sway Thai
sway opened its Aspen doors at the beginning of February with nine cocktails on the menu including some options not offered in Austin, such as a Thai coffee martini, fitting in with this mountain town’s espresso martini infatuation.