Before these artists get massive, we’ve decided to give them a little love so we can hit them up for free tickets when they make something of themselves. Here is part two of our three part series highlighting favorite Colorado artists that deserve all of the local feels.

Take away everything Colorado is commonly known for — hippies, weed, skiing, hippies skiing while on weed — and there’s still an ample amount of glorious shit to behold. Colorado’s burgeoning music scene contributes to its statewide excellence, showcasing successful artists for a worldwide platform. A go-to audience for up-and-coming artists in the past few years, Colorado music lovers cherish the notables who claw their way to the top. Before these artists get massive, we’ve decided to give them a little love so we can hit them up for free tickets when they make something of themselves. Here is part one of a three part series highlighting our favorite Colorado artists that deserve all of the local feels.

Covenhoven // Covenhoven.com

Joel Van Horne, lead singer and main mastermind behind Covenhoven, captures the heart of Colorado through whispering guitar solos and cry-alone-in-the-shower lyrics. Ever feel like sitting in the pouring rain to contemplate life? Horne’s your guy. As a Colorado native, he grew up wandering through the state’s calming streams and inspiring mountainscapes, jotting down tunes with a reed brush he scavenged from the forest. It’s as close to “Rocky Mountain High” as one will ever come without stepping on John Denver’s toes. Still contemplating life? Go pour yourselves a glass of vino, draw the blinds, and listen to his latest self-titled album.

How would you classify your music?
Symphonic folk, cinematic mountain music …

What does your perfect day in Colorado look like?
It would definitely involve something outdoors and wouldn't necessarily hinge on any particular season. A whole day on the Colorado river with some friends, splitting time between lounging in the hot springs and swimming in the river, then camping that night, this would be pretty high on my list.

Covenhoven is not a typical band name, can you elaborate on how you came up with it?
Covenhoven is the name that my dad gave to the log cabin my granddad built by hand over the course of a decade, more than half a century ago in southern Wyoming. This music is inspired by the memories, landscapes and spirit of Covenhoven.

Sunboy // snby.net

Sunboy’s music is nostalgic. It takes the listener back to the good ol’ days in which one could eat AppleJacks in pajamas and watch cartoons relentlessly without getting classified as a couch potato. Its music transcends age dynamics or classifications and systematically encompasses a state of being. When listening to Sunboy, we think back to backyard barbecues, OTPHJs and smoking the forbidden grass for the first time. Lately, the Lords of Dogtown-ish hooligans had a heavy run of shows headlining popular venues and playing the main stage at the Underground Music Showcase, so it’s not hard to catch that throw-back vibe nearby.

If you could go on tour with anyone right now, who would it be?
Blink 182. We love Blink 182, and we've also heard they suck live, so they'd probably make us look like a decent opener.

Which band member is the most likely to end up lost in Mexico on a random Wednesday night?
Jordan (Lempe) has always admired Kurt Cobain; that sounds like creative suicide to me.

What's your favorite thing about performing?
Hearing the songs live. We record everything one track at a time, so everything is in layers. When you're playing live, you have to hit all of those parts with your bros on stage. It's a really new feeling for us, but it's magical. For me, it kind of validates Sunboy as a band and not just a recording project. Also getting drink tickets from the venue is nice.

Total Ghost // TotalGhost.com

The first time we met the tongue-in-cheek Total Ghost duo, we were catcalling and whistling towards Chøn and Biktor as they traipsed across South Broadway in nothing but short-shorts and man-spanx. But when you look past the purple hair and skin-tight knickers, you have two guys who consistently entertain the masses with their electronic comp-core proclivities and hilarious antics. We can’t ever say no to acts that love partying and fucking robots, either. They also do humans. From what we hear they really don’t discriminate.

How/who came up with the idea of being sexy, German (porn?) stars on stage?
Chøn: We supposing it vas our mothers, for this is what they bore us to be.

What has been the craziest thing that's happened at one of your shows?
Chøn: At our concert shows crazy things is quite normal, so ze craziest thing that has happen vas once nothing happened at all. It was a good concert show ünd then everyone went home ünd went to bed. We did not know what to do, so we went home to bed too.
Biktor: That was a mind fück.

If you had to choose one song to listen to on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Biktor: Nothing with guitars.
Chøn: I am always having a beat in my head by which to write a music. This is why our music all sounds the same to some.
Biktor: Same beat.
Chøn: Yes, but the songs are different. Some days I sing about making love to beautiful women, other days it is about making love to beautiful robot women.

Post Paradise // PostParadiseRock.com

Even though Boulder, Denver and Ft. Collins are all physically within spitting distance enough to blend localized quirks in the industry, they’re still far enough apart that observant music lovers can hear subtle nuances of bands coming out of each. Post Paradise works itself into the scene with a uniquely Ft. Collins sound, and has amassed a steadfast group of fans in the recent years because of it. Vocalist Nick Duarte and company build their alternative rock design around thoughtful prose and set it all apart from the herd with Amy Morgan’s romanticized cello. It’s a diamond in the rough that’s about to find its forever setting.

How does the Ft. Collins music scene compare and differ from others around the state?
For a 'small' city, Fort Collins has a great community of musicians, plus there are the tons of awesome music fans that love coming out to support local shows. Then of course, there are the great organizations here, like SpokesBUZZ, Bohemian Foundation and FoCoMa. They are unbelievably committed to making sure local musicians get great opportunities and are able to make the most of them.

What's the goal for the band in the coming months?
We've been in and out of the Blasting Room all year working on our new record. We've had sessions booked every few months to go in and put more songs down. We're still a 'full length record' kind of band. You heard it here first and I'd say it's the heaviest and most energetic record we've done; yet it's a collection of love songs. How about that? We'll probably drop another single at the end of the year to hold our fans over.

Which animal do you think would make the best musician?
Maybe Riff Sharks?

To contact the writers of this article, McClain Morris and Brian Frederick, email: Contact@TheRooster.com