Analog Salon

08/31/2026

You may already know from his recent work with our friends at the Clyfford , where he used conversation and live sound to explore a single painting.

That ability to move between mediums runs throughout Matt’s creative life. The Fort Collins–raised intermedia artist, musician, educator, and co-founder of Onestraw has shared work at the Whitney, MoMA PS1, the Art Institute of Chicago, and spaces across Colorado. He releases solo music through RVNG Intl., performs with the ambient jazz quartet Fuubutsushi, and is restoring 2.5 acres of land with his family along the Front Range.
This Thursday, Matt will tell the story of that life and creative journey through ten songs. His longtime friend DJ Ladybug will guide us into and out of the conversation with all-vinyl sets.

Think of someone you’ve been meaning to catch up with and invite them along. Analog Salon was made for nights like that.

Join us September 3 at the for Analog Salon 16.

🎟️ AnalogSalonDenver.com

08/27/2026

We’ll be at this Friday! Will you?

They’re closing out August somewhere new: The Roots, ’s new campus. We’ll hear from founder Frank Anello on this month’s theme, NAKHLAH (Palm). Outdoors, screen-free, and centered on community. Our kind of morning!

📸 by & Justin LeVett Photography

08/25/2026

When Dolly came to Red Rocks in 2016, I didn’t have the same connection to her music that so many people around me did. But I knew enough to know that the chance to see one of the most influential women in American music at the best venue in the world might not come around again.

And it didn’t. I never saw Dolly live again. I will forever be grateful I took that chance.

I was working at Red Rocks at the time, but that night I had the privilege of being a patron alongside my best friend, a lifelong Dolly lover. Experiencing the show through her, and surrounded by thousands of people who adored Dolly, helped me understand just how much she meant to so many, especially women.

Before heading into the show, I stopped in the back hallway to say hi to some coworkers, who told me we had JUST missed Dolly. She had come through an employee hallway I had never seen another celebrity use, simply because she wanted to meet the staff, thank them, and say hello.

Another friend working near the stage that night remembers Dolly stopping mid-song just to smile, wave, and say hi to her. It was a tiny interaction in the middle of a sold-out show, but one she has never forgotten.

Dolly was widely known and widely loved. But the humility she carried at that level of fame is what stays with me. The warmth people felt from afar was just as real in the smallest moments behind the scenes. She led with heart and had an almost motherly way of making people feel safe, seen, and important.

Now my own child receives books through her Imagination Library, a program that has gifted more than 300 million books to children around the world. Every month, we get a little gift and letter that feels like it’s straight from Dolly herself. Her influence reached so far beyond the stage, often in ways both deeply personal and quietly generous.

Her light will not be forgotten. I’ll carry this story with me, along with the memory of seeing a little of that light for myself.

—Makayla, Analog Salon team

08/12/2026

Happy National Vinyl Record Day! We’ll celebrate any excuse to put on a record.

What are you spinning today?

08/05/2026

Analog Salon #15 is sold out.

Thank you for showing up for this little listening experiment, month after month. This one is intimate, full, and a benefit for Community Radio, with guest speaker Michael Thornton, and music by Jessica Numbers, and DeepRawkDave on the KGNU Patio at the Buell Media Center.

A few notes before Thursday: the event entrance is on 21st Street, not the main entrance on Arapahoe, and our team will help bring guests upstairs to the 3rd floor. It may be hot up there, or it may rain, because we all know August in Colorado. Class is outside for this one. Bring a water bottle, wear your favorite concert tee, and read parking signs carefully.

Oh, and have you done the extra credit yet? Read Michael’s essay on Red Rocks, download the assignment, and start thinking about your first concert before we gather. 👉 AnalogSalonDenver.com

07/21/2026

Beauty and sadness, but mostly beauty, on a hot summer night in Denver.

Last Wednesday, Amy, Michael, and Molly McGrath opened their family album to the Analog Salon community through fourteen songs, stories, photographs, and memories. Together, they traced the people, places, and music that shaped their family, while offering glimpses of Denver’s creative community along the way.

Across genres and decades, the evening returned to a few enduring ideas: the quieter forms of love that hold families and friendships together, the way beauty and sadness often travel side by side, and the power of music to help us resist cynicism, injustice, and the pressure to become smaller than we are.

The McGraths reminded us that creativity is not reserved for artists. It can be a way of raising children, building community, caring for one another, and finding meaning in a world that often refuses to make sense.

By the end of the night, we had witnessed how a family soundtrack becomes a family philosophy.

Thank you, Amy, Michael, and Molly, for opening your family album to all of us. It was a gift.

07/14/2026

❤️

We can't wait!

07/10/2026

The songs that shape us often come long before the work we’re known for.

Join us Wednesday, July 15 for Analog Salon: McGrath Family Album – Music, Memory and Community in Denver.

Through arts education, music photography, journalism, record stores, and decades of creative work, Amy, Michael, and Molly McGrath have helped shape Denver’s cultural landscape. Together, they’ll share the songs, stories, and memories that came first.

The evening also features two all-vinyl sets from Denver DJ Blake Britton, a familiar presence on KGNU’s airwaves.

📍 Posner Center for International Development
🎟️ Ticket prices increase on Wednesday, so reserve your spot in advance through the link in our bio.

07/08/2026

A teacher, a writer, a music critic, and a lifelong listener walk into Analog Salon.

For Analog Salon #15, we’re joined by Michael Thornton, a North Denver storyteller whose life and work are shaped by close attention to records, language, students, neighborhoods, and the culture moving through all of it. As a teacher, Michael knows how to open a question. As a writer and critic, he knows how to follow a song beyond the surface. This Salon brings those instincts together for an evening of music, memory, and conversation in support of KGNU Community Radio, one of our beloved partners and a vital home for independent voices across Colorado.

Analog Salon #15
🗓️ Thursday, August 6, 2026 | 6–9PM | 21+
📍 KGNU Patio at Rocky Mountain PBS
🎤 Guest Speaker: Michael Thornton
🎧 Guest DJs: From the KGNU family
🎟️ Tickets available now https://www.eventbrite.com/e/analog-salon-15-tickets-1993363188958?aff=Facebook

FREE appetizers & FREE drinks courtesy of Mad Lemon + Ratio Beerworks + Seed & Spirit Distilling + Illegal Pete's

Produced in partnership with:
CoCreate PBC • Cross-Pollinate Consulting • FM Boutique • Birdy • KGNU Community Radio • CreativeMornings/Denver • Twist & Shout Records