The Fray is back, if somewhat … well, frayed.

One of the most successful bands in Colorado music history has announced a return that can’t exactly be called a reunion because founding lead singer Isaac Slade isn’t taking part.

Band rep Taylor Perry calls it more like “the start of an exciting new chapter” for the four-time Grammy-nominated Denver-born band, which has announced a headlining show at the Fox Theatre in Boulder on Friday, July 26.

Vocalist/guitarist and primary songwriter Joe King is taking over lead vocal duties alongside longtime guitarist Dave Welsh and drummer Ben Wysocki. Whether the new trio will be playing or releasing new post-Slade music will be addressed later this month, Perry said.

Tickets are $90-$92 (zoinks!) and are on sale at z2ent.com.

The Fray largely leap-frogged the usual long climb to international success in the early 2000s with life-affirming alt-rock songs that were instantly embraced by Christian youth and their parents. The (mostly) Faith Christian Academy grads never played Denver’s now 24-year-old Underground Music Showcase (The UMS), for example, because they were literally never underground. But Slade electrified the 2007 UMS when he came to watch friend Patrick Meese and agreed to play a few songs himself.

The Fray hit the stratosphere with “Cable Car” and “How to Save a Life.”

Slade announced his separation from the band after a May 14, 2022, concert in Waukegan, Ill. He has since found his happy place on Vashon Island, a ferry ride from Seattle – and he recently opened the island’s only record store.

“I just was having these major panic attacks on stage,” Slade told the NBC affiliate in Seattle on May 16. “And I just had some mental health stuff and some relationship stuff I needed to go home and see about.”

And “home” is no longer Colorado for Slade, who now describes himself as a happy husband and a stay-at-home dad. “The biggest criticisms I get are the school lunches I make for my kids,” he told NBC. “I just walk around in obscurity – and it’s fantastic.”

Still tickets for ‘Hamilton’

The fact that “Hamilton” tickets went on sale Tuesday and did not immediately sell out the Broadway juggernaut’s entire upcoming Denver run might itself be considered news. But it’s really good news all around: It means that everyone who really wanted to land tickets to the musical’s third visit (and first in six years) got them. And you still can, too.

The first two Denver go-rounds in 2018 and 2022 attracted thousands more buyers than there were tickets for. But the uncommonly long coming run of Oct. 16 to Nov. 24 means there will be a lot more available tickets than back in 2018, which was a display of carnivorous human consumer behavior straight out of “Lord of the Flies.” This year’s run has about 130,000 tickets available, which no doubt will sell out eventually, so – everybody’s happy.

The Denver Center’s “virtual waiting list” system it employs on massive on-sale dates like Tuesday appears to have gone flawlessly. I (for one) got in late and still got out with two tickets less than an hour later.

“We are delighted at the enthusiasm that Denver audiences have for the third engagement of ‘Hamilton,’” said John Ekeberg, Executive Director of DCPA Broadway & Cabaret.

Tickets can still be had at denvercenter.org or at 303-893-4100. And this word of advice for anyone buying tickets to “Hamilton,” or pretty much anything, anytime: Buy from the source.

“It’s tempting to get tickets any way you can,” said ‘Hamilton’ producer Jeffrey Seller. “There are many sites and people that are selling overpriced, and in some cases, fraudulent tickets. For the best seats, the best prices and to eliminate the risk of counterfeit tickets, all purchases for the Denver engagement should be made through hamilton.denvercenter.org.”

No. 1,000,001: ‘Every Brilliant Thing’

I’m not going to lie: “Every Brilliant Thing” is just about my favorite play of the past 20 years, and it’s a one-actor story about suicide. Yes, suicide – and it is about the most life-affirming take on the subject you’re likely to ever happen upon. It can be played by any actor of any gender or any age. And it is currently being played by a dialed-in John Jankow for the Little Theatre of the Rockies, which is the oldest theater company in Colorado and is now celebrating its 90th summer season in Greeley.

Jankow could not be more suited for the character, whose story is peppered with moments that involve finding hidden messages from his parents and loved ones in old album sleeves. The love of vinyl permeates the entire piece, which makes it all the more poignant that Jankow’s real-life job is operating The Downtown Sound record store in Greeley (819 10th St.) with his real-life son, Ben.

“Every Brilliant Thing” plays through July 14 in the Langworthy Theatre on the University of Northern Colorado campus.

Festival locks Oundjian in

The Colorado Music Festival has announced a five-year contract renewal for Music Director Peter Oundjian, whose tenure began in 2019 and will now run through the 2029 summer season. Oundjian is also Principal Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. The 2024 festival continues through Aug. 4 at Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder.

Return of HorseChart – in L.A.

There was a time when the most daring, envelope-pushing small theater company in Denver was HorseChart, which ended in 2002 after co-founder Brett Aune moved to L.A. Fast forward to 2024 and Aune just brought the brand back with HorseChart’s first staging in 22 years, Charles Busch’s campy cross-dressing “Psycho Beach Party” at the Matrix Theatre. L.A. critics went all-in for the sexy, silly farce produced by Aune, a graduate of Littleton High School. One highly enthusiastic reviewer for Broadway World called the effort “a total triumph” (and much more) for Aune and his team.

Briefly …

MCA Denver’s enduring, wacky and beloved summer tradition called “Mixed Taste” is back Wednesdays through Aug. 14 at the Holiday Theater. Conceived by Adam Lerner in 2004, “Mixed Taste” pairs two speakers who get 20 minutes each to enlighten audiences on blatantly unrelated topics. Like July 17, when speakers Andrew Wilson and Curt Garrett discuss Bioluminescent Mushrooms and the Gang of 19. Or how about July 24: David Bowie and Mexican Mythology. Tickets $5 at eventbrite.com …

If you come across a new ad campaign for Goodwill stores featuring Grammy-nominated recording artist Jordin Sparks, you might also see Goodwill of Colorado retail regional manager Anthony Martinez spotlighted. Martinez, who grew up in Colorado Springs, came out of 20 years of incarceration and found it difficult to start over before he was hired by Goodwill of Colorado, which is a fair-chance employer. In 2023, Goodwill of Colorado helped 40,505 local individuals get placed into jobs.

And finally …

One of the most bizarre experiences of my life was sitting through Chevy Chase live in conversation before a screening of “Caddyshack” at the Bellco Theatre a few years ago. Well, like a bad debate, he’s coming back to do it again on Dec. 11, this time with a 35th anniversary screening of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” As weird as it was, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Presale now (use password VACATION) at axs.com.