25 AUGUST 14-20, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | On Saturday, September 13, Chica- go-born, L.A.-based alternative rock band OK Go is coming to Denver for the fi rst time in ten years to headline Indie 102.3’s inaugural Indieverse Music Festival. Known as Colorado Public Radio’s home for independent music discovery, Indie 102.3 recruit- ed indie rockers Dehd and Bartees Strange and local openers Dead Pioneers and Pink Fuzz to join OK Go at Levitt Pavilion for an evening of indie, punk, rock, and alternative mu- sic. It’s not only been ten years since OK Go performed in Colorado, it’s also been over a decade since they released an album. Now that they’ve ended the drought with the April 2025 release of their fi fth album And the Adjacent Possible, Indieverse is the perfect occasion to celebrate OK Go’s return– both to Denver, and to music in general. Since forming in 1998, OK Go has consistently toured around the world, once playing a whopping 180 shows in 365 days (inspiring the title of their 2011 live album, 180/365). But according to Tim Norwind, OK Go’s bassist and sometimes vocalist, he and frontman and guitarist Damian Kulash, drummer Dan Konopka, and keyboardist and guitarist Andy Ross (who replaced original member Andy Duncan in 2005) remain a tight-knit group even after all these years. “No, we’re not sick of each other,” confi rms Norwind, who met Kulash in summer camp. “I appreciate how unique it is that Damian and I have known each other since we were 11 years old. I’m glad that the two of us, and really the four of us, because we’ve all known each other for a very long time now, are able to treat each other with a lot of respect.” So what’s their secret to keeping the peace on the road? “We actually like each other,” says Norwind with a laugh. “I hope none of these are real secrets of the trade, but in case they are, communication and friend- ship are very, very helpful for the longevity of a band.” And the Adjacent Possible, OK Go’s much-anticipated follow-up to their 2014 album Hungry Ghosts, both ex- pands on and differs from the band’s past discography. “The biggest thing for me when I hear this record is that it sounds like the most fully formed version of ourselves. That might be obvious, because it’s the fi fth, but I mean that in the sense that it was almost like we forgot to be con- cerned about current trends in music culture and stuff like that,” admits Norwind. “It certainly differs from the last record, in the sense that it’s not nearly as electronic. This one is more of a return to 4 guys and their instru- ments, and I like that.” Though the band didn’t set out to create anything in particular, they ended up channel- ing many of their childhood musical heroes across And the Adjacent Possible’s 12 eclectic tracks. “It sort of harkens back to the really early music we liked as kids, like the Beatles and the Kinks,” Norwood says of the al- bum. “Although, we do get into Nile Rodgers-like funk land, and psyche- delic Bowie-land as well.” As a band that’s long taken an inde- pendent and innovative approach to making and distributing music and visual art, it’s only fi tting for them to headline Indie 102.3’s inaugural Indieverse Music Festival. Their Indi- everse performance will be OK Go’s fi rst appearance in Denver in over a decade, and this time, Norwind is prepared to tackle the altitude: “We haven’t been to Denver in a super long time, so I’m excited to go back there and breathe the thinner air. That’s weirdly my most vivid memory of Denver, is getting on stage and being like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t breathe!,’” he recalls. “But we’re so excited to come play the festival. It’s a cool lineup, and I’m just excited to come back to Denver again.” Fans can expect to hear songs from And the Adjacent Possible as well as some classic OK Go crowd-pleasers. “We’re defi nitely going to do a very healthy and well-balanced mix of classic OK Go and some of the new record,” hints Norwood. “We’ve had a really nice experience touring this record. I’m surprised how seamlessly the new songs work with the older catalog. If you’ve been a fan of the band since the beginning, I think you’ll get everything you wanted. Other than that, we’re just bringing a big party, and everyone’s invited.” Don’t miss out on the historic fi rst ever Indieverse Music Festival! Indiev- erse Music Festival is happening on Saturday, September 13 from 4 to 10 p.m. at the Levitt Pavilion amphithe- ater in Ruby Hill Park. Tickets start at $62.77, and all ages are welcome. LIVE MUSIC ADVERTORIAL OK GO RETURNS TO DENVER TO HEADLINE INDIE 102.3’S INAUGURAL INDIEVERSE MUSIC FESTIVAL
