Story by Skylar Richardson

The Fort Collins Music Association will present “The FoCoMX Kickoff Party” on Thursday, April 13, at 4 p.m. in the Ramskeller, the CSU pub located in the basement of the Lory Student Center.

The Kickoff Party is a pre-show for FoCoMA’s music festival FoCoMX, or the Fort Collins Music eXperience. The Kickoff Party, which is free for all ages, will feature reduced FoCoMX ticket prices and live music performed by Slow Caves and HoldFast., two Fort Collins-based bands. Guests can purchase food and drink at the Ramskeller.

The Kickoff Party aims to raise ticket sales for FoCoMX, and tickets will be available at the event. Each ticket purchased at the party enters buyers into a drawing, and students can win a $130 gift card to the CSU Bookstore, a $120 gift card to King Soopers or a $50 gift card to Tony’s.

Tickets

Tickets for FoCoMX, which takes place April 28 and 29, can be purchased either at the Kickoff Party or April 10-13 at the CSU Flea Market, which is across from the Bookstore on the second floor of the LSC. Tickets will be available at reduced prices: $15 for students, $25 for nonstudents. FoCoMX features more than 200 bands across 20 venues around Fort Collins. This is FoCoMX’s ninth year, and will include performances by Slow Caves and Holdfast. The entire lineup can be found at Focomx.focoma.org.

Slow Caves, a synth-punk band, is made up of CSU alumni. They formed Slow Caves in Fort Collins in 2014, and since then, the band has gained acclaim across the Denver music scene. The band members are childhood friends David Dugan, Jackson Lamperes and brothers Jakob and Oliver Mueller. The Mueller brothers are both vocalists and guitar players, while Dugan plays guitar/bass and Lamperes plays the drums. In harmony, the group has a “surf-inflected pop vibe,” Westword wrote in April 2016.

In 2015, the band played at the Austin music festival South by Southwest (SXSW). Slow Caves also showcased at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City that year. So far, 2017 has been a busy year for Slow Caves. They appeared again at SXSW in March and continue their tour in Colorado, Utah, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas, Texas and New York, at the end of June.

About HoldFast.

HoldFast., formed by three brothers from Fort Collins in 2011, is an alternative rock band. They describe their lyrics and sound as “loud, honest and infectious.” The band members are Charlie Maddocks, Mikey Maddocks and Tommy Maddocks. Charlie is the lead vocalist, but he receives support in backup vocals from brother Mikey, who also plays bass. Tommy, the heart of Holdfast.’s sound, plays the drums.

The band’s name always includes the period that follows it, but the band is anything but halted. They have graced FoCoMX with their musical presence in previous years. HoldFast. released its debut single, “Because of You,” late in the summer of 2016.

Slow Caves and Holdfast. both can be found on YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud.

For more information, visit Focomx.focoma.org and stay tuned to CSU accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat at @ColoradoStateU throughout the week for updates before and during the show.