Live From the Artists Den

Downtown Los Angeles’ historic Mayan Theater provided a spectacular backdrop for Panic! At The Disco’s taping of Live from the Artists Den. The LA-based band, led by frontman Brendon Urie, offered a boisterous performance highlighting material from their critically acclaimed album Death of a Bachelor. Urie and crew revisited favorites like “Time To Dance” and “Nine In The Afternoon” as well “Victorious” and “Hallelujah.” Five hundred of the band’s fans filled the ornate theater, which was originally built in 1927, and lent their voices to the night’s closing song and fan favorite “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.”

The celebrated El Rey Theatre in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles hosted an intimate hometown show by alt-rockers Young the Giant. Lucky fans filled the former movie theater turned music venue originally built in 1936. The band opened their delightful 15-song set with their exhilarating single “Something to Believe In,” which ascended to the Top 10 at Alternative radio. Fans were thrilled to hear older favorites such as “My Body,” “Cough Syrup,” and “Mind Over Matter,” and were treated to two songs, “Jungle Youth” and “Titus Was Born,” being played for the first time live.

The Broad Street Ballroom, an architectural landmark in New York’s Wall Street district, provided the perfect backdrop for a riveting performance by country music visionary Sturgill Simpson. A massive mural depicting the history of seafaring wraps around the entire room, echoing the central concept of Simpson’s Grammy-winning A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, which he played in full for an ecstatic New York City crowd. Backed by a powerful horn section, Simpson also reconfigured the arrangements for songs from his breakthrough Grammy-nominated album, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.

Americana superstars The Lumineers returned to their former neighborhood of Brooklyn for an unforgettable taping of Live from the Artists Den at the majestic Kings Theatre. The band performed an 18-song set split evenly between songs from their Grammy-nominated self-titled 2012 debut and their No. 1-charting follow-up, Cleopatra (plus a riveting unreleased song, “Long Way From Home,” played solo by lead singer Wesley Schultz). The ornate, magnificent theater—built in 1929 and recently restored to its initial glory—provided a breathtaking setting for a night full of unforgettable moments.