Widespread Panic, the Warped Tour, and the Southern Comfort Music Experience – with Gnarls Barkley -- are coming to town. Oh yeah, this is the weekend to take a musical road trip to Denver or Red Rocks.

WIDESPREAD ON THE ROCKS

It’s that time of year again. It’s time for Widespread Panic’s annual pilgrimage to Colorado’s official shrine of rock n’ roll -- AKA -- Red Rocks Amphitheatre. In a summer where only superstar acts like Madonna and The Police are selling out local concerts, loyal Widespread fans have pretty much bought up all the tickets to the Denver jam band’s shows. The “Spreadheads” know they’ll be treated to three unique nights of top shelf jams and groove sessions “on the rocks.”

Widespread’s on the road promoting its latest CD, and the band promises to work some of its new tunes into the Friday through Sunday Red Rocks’ shows.

“We’ve been playing for a long time, but we haven’t even achieved the pinnacle of our success,” said percussionist Sunny Ortiz. “There’s so much we still want to accomplish musically and ethically. In our opinion, we’re still trying to reach the top of the mountain – and our fans are a big part of it.”

It’s been two years since Widespread Panic released its 2006 CD “Earth to America.” The band had been going through a creative evolution and decided to add some extra elements to its new record “Free Somehow.” Widespread recorded the CD in the Bahamas, and fused background singers, an orchestral string section, and even some horn sounds into the mix.

“Recording in the Bahamas was a blast,” emphasized Ortiz. “We were striving to create a sound that’s different from the past. This record shows the growth of this musical group and of our songs. But in the end, we’re a band that doesn’t depend on record sales. It’s all about touring.”

Widespread Panic likes to create new music, but the band also believes in giving back to local communities. The group is now involved with the Make it Right Foundation -- an organization that helps out people in the post-Katrina New Orleans. Yep, that’s the same group that Brad Pitt’s helping out.

“The Make It Right program helps the people in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward who were flooded out in Hurricane Katrina,” said Ortiz. “The organization helps build houses for people who used to live in that area. We also encourage Panic fans to bring canned goods to all our shows to help out local food banks. We’ll be doing that at Red Rocks. We’re looking forward to playing Colorado – it’s like our second home.”

RELIENT K AND THE WARPED TOUR 

Where can you get to see over 25 indie rock acts for $35? The correct answer is the Warped Tour. Sunday the annual summer show hits Invesco Field in Denver and this year’s tour features sets by Gym Class Heroes, The Academy Is..., Story of the Year, Norma Jean and Relient K.

Relient K’s hitting the road to promote its new CD “The Birds and the Bee Sides.” The band is offering quite the deal for fans – the 26-song record is being sold for only $7.99!

In 2007 Relient K released the CD “Five Score and Seven Years Ago” and the record jumped to the No. 6 slot on the “Billboard” record charts. The band’s optimistic, pop/punk rock tunes have earned Relient K street cred in both the indie and Christian rock worlds.

“We’re definitely like rock ‘n’ roll – we grew up on punk pop bands like Blink-182 and The Thrills,” said vocalist/guitarist Matt Thiessen. “We just like music that’s fun to make. We’re spiritual guys that write songs about faith that all kinds of people can relate to. We are optimistic in our lyrics; no matter what’s happening in your life, you should always find something to hope for.”

Relient K originally went into the studio to record 13 new songs. The band dubbed the project the “Nashville Tennis” EP, but the group still had a solid collection of b-side songs that never made it to previous records.

“We changed our minds and decided to make one 26-song CD,” explained Thiessen. “The first half of the CD is the ‘Nashville’ sessions. We wrote some joke songs and some country sounding songs for that. The second half of the CD is b-sides songs we collected from our 2001-07 releases. We always try to do something for our fans, so they’ll be able to get all 26 songs for $7.99. I keep joking about that being a steal.”

Widespread Panic isn’t the only band that likes to help non-profit groups. Last fall Relient K and Switchfoot helped out Habitat for Humanity. Now, Relient K’s working with the international organization Blood:Water Mission.

“For one dollar, you can help provide people in Africa with enough water for a year,” said Thiessen. “The Blood:Water Mission also works to build wells and latrines in Africa. I’m going to try to get to the information table on the Warped Tour stops and talk to fans about it. The band’s been having a great time on the tour – it’s like a musical summer camp!”