Asians at The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase 2013

Connie Hong, of Ivory Circle and Reviving Cecelia, will be performing a lot during the 2013 UMS. (Courtesy Ivory Circle)

Back in the day when I ran AsiaXpress.com, I used to do these posts all the time — scouring through music and movie festivals to find Asian and Asian-American entertainment. Mostly through pictures and names — I’m probably missing a few. With The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase schedule announced today, I figure it was worthwhile checking out the talent who’s coming out.

The UMS, which runs July 18-21, will feature 417 bands playing across more than 20 venues – and it only costs $35. It’s definitely been one of the staples of my summers for half a decade now. And having covered the Asian-American communities for more than a decade, I’ve gotten to see great acts like Hello Kavita, Ellison Park and The Slants perform live.

Alas, it’s been a couple years since I’ve truly gotten to truly experience and enjoy it. Last year’s fell during something, um, unpleasant.

If you only choose one from my list below, check out Ivory Circle. I just listened to her EP and am blown away. And if you happen to be down there and see a bald Asian kid with thick black-rimmed glasses, come say hi and grab a beer with me.

Check out my (hopefully) complete list of Asian-American acts coming to The UMS this year:

Amache pilgrimage from Denver explores Japanese-American internment

Amache pilgrimage from Denver explores Japanese-American internment

Every once in a while, there’s a story that keeps getting pushed back for some reason or another. One of the ones that’s been on my plate for years has been the Amache internment camp pilgrimage piece.

This past Saturday, I joined 47 other people on a four-hour bus ride down to Granada, Colo., a small agricultural town in the southeast corner of the state.

It was interesting staring out the window as we were moving further away from Denver into this rural area. It’s hard to imagine what it was like to be one of the thousands of Japanese-Americans who were forced to uproot from their homes and move to the middle of nowhere. The mundane, barren landscape surrounded us, but at least I knew I was going to go home by the end of the day.

Kina Grannis comes to the Bluebird in Denver on May 7

Singer-songwriter and YouTube star Kina Grannis is going to perform at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 7 at the Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 on the day of the show or $20 for a meet-and-greet session.

Check out one of her music videos after the jump.

Denver’s own Magic Cyclops on “American Idol”

Magic Cyclops on “American Idol.” ‘Nuff said.

“Book of Mormon” comes to Denver (and everyone wants to go)

Tickets for the highly anticipated Tony award-winning musical “The Book of Mormon” has opened and Denverites are flocking en masse to get tickets.