Whereas Oscar and Emmy statuettes are produced by huge high-end manufacturers, John Billings and his small team handcraft Grammy awards in the little town of Ridgway, Colorado.
The great bassist recalls his days growing up in Denver and playing with Joe Walsh, Elton John and other stars.
birthdays
A symposium at Fiske Planetarium convened members of Spontanuity, whose psychedelic light show provided visual background for the Dead’s 1969 concert in Boulder.
The enormous impact of MTV’s revolutionary all-video format of the early 1980s transformed a slew of artists into iconic acts. Brian Brainerd’s portrait photography cemented the golden age of their appearances in Colorado.
The hit “Barely Breathing” made an unlikely pop star out of Duncan Sheik, who went on to compose the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening. He died September 17, 2026, at age 56.
The Rainy Daze had one of the biggest Colorado-based hits of the 1960s—"That Acapulco Gold,” an ode to marijuana crooned in Roaring Twenties vaudeville style.
Cleo Brown
A vocalist and pianist, Cleo Brown sang bawdy blues songs in the 1930s and 1940s, then retired and became a nurse. She was rediscovered living in Colorado in the late 1980s and returned to recording. She died in 1995.
On Record book series
Each volume of the award-winning On Record series gathers over 200 limited and extraordinary images and 100 interview-based profiles spotlighting an array of musical artists.
merchandise
Explore the Colorado Music Experience’s store, stocked with stylish products and gifts for music fans.
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A non-profit organization established to preserve the legacies of Colorado music, CoME serves as a repository for informational and archival resources.
