New Colorado Music You Should Know – June Edition

Welcome to our monthly series on new Colorado music. Every month we highlight five local musicians, five local music videos and five local songs. Go here to check out previous entries to the series. Are you a Denver artist with fresh music you would like us to check out? Send to Mariah.Hansen@303Magazine.com for consideration.

Summer is upon us, which means it’s time to stack your playlist with poolside bangers and sing-a-long hits for your summer road trips. To help you keep your summer playlists fresh and local for any event, we’ve combed through the local music scene to find the best in new local music. This month, our list includes rising local acts whose discographies are earning new streams on Spotify alongside new releases from familiar favorites.

Be sure to check out their playlist below and don’t forget to follow 303 Magazine and like our New Colorado Music playlist on Spotify.

Five Up and Coming Local Acts

Cass Clayton

Listen if you like Carly Simon

Cass Clayton’s music blends together some of Denver’s favorite genres. The blues singer croons over mildly jazzy rhythms, but never sacrifices her singer-songwriter perspective and manages to stay close to her Americana roots. And as hints of funk keep the tempo upbeat, Cass Clayton sings lyrics that are filled with soul.

Nick Reid

Listen if you like Shawn Mendes

At just 18 years old, Denver-based Nick Reid is still a young voice in the local music scene — but he’s one you should be paying attention to. With only a handful of singles in his discography, the young pop artist has already garnered more than 300,000 Spotify streams and co-signed with singer and rapper Bryce Vine.

Euforquestra

Listen if you like Lettuce

Transplants from Iowa, Euforquestra is exactly what its name hopes to imply: a combination of euphoria and orchestration. The band blends jazz and funk to create something that sounds distinctly like something that would naturally evolve in Denver’s own music scene — which is to say that we aren’t the least bit surprised that this band is now local to Colorado.

Kory Montgomery

Listen if you like St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Former Drunken Hearts guitarist Kory Montgomery creates music with a refinement that only comes with years of practice and experience, which is why those who aren’t familiar with his background in the local scene may find it surprising that the solo artist has only released a total of six songs, five of which were on the same EP. However, while it may have seemed like that one release was the result of beginner’s luck, Montgomery’s latest release, “Name Song,” proves that nothing could be further from the truth — and with such an exciting start to the solo artist’s discography, it’s likely that this up-and-coming local act will soon captivate audiences nationwide.

The Ephinjis

Listen if you like New Found Glory

The Ephinjis have quietly been building their repertoire in the local scene since 2015 when the modern-rock trio introduced themselves to Denver with the release of their debut single “The Beast.” And now, with several years of experience under their belt, the group’s recent releases show a polish and maturity that deserves attention from any local music lovers that may have glossed over The Ephinjis in the past.

Five New Local Songs

Goslings – “Relief”

Listen if you like Electro–Light

Goslings defies genre, blending synths and electro-pop to create something familiar, yet altogether otherworldly and ultimately a little strange. But bands like Goslings are essential for pushing the boundaries and making the local music scene a bit more diverse. Now, four years after the release of their debut album, Goslings is back with its sophomore LP, Relief.

READ: Goslings Is Keeping Denver Weird

mlady – “Happier Alone, Fuck You”

Listen if you like Phoebe Bridgers

Soft and lilting, mlady captivates with intimate and honest lyrics on their latest single, “Happier Alone, Fuck You,” which was released with support from Salt Lick. At just over two minutes in length, the song is short but endlessly beautiful in its simplicity.

READ: Behind the Maladaptive Mind of mlady

Mport – “Tension”

Listen if you like Grisly

Building slowly, “Tension” carefully layers levels of sound until they reach the song’s boiling point, making listeners feel the tension that the track’s title promises. But Mport expertly alleviates the tension, releasing listeners momentarily with a drop only to build the tension right back up again.

Sugar Britches – “Walking Up Walls”

Listen if you like Colter Wall

Four years after the release of their debut album, local country outlaws Sugar Britches are back with not one but two singles. The most recent of which is “Walking Up Walls,” which was released earlier this month. Both of the band’s recent releases come from their upcoming sophomore album, No One Cares That It’s Your Birthday, a 10-track album that will feature both of the recent releases, as well as a yet-to-be-named Cyndi Lauper cover.

Mad Radio – “Super Girl”

Listen if you like Cheap Trick

The Gen Xers that make up Mad Radio officially released a fourth single earlier this month, entitled “Super Girl.” Genderswapping the traditional hero role, a powerful female takes center stage in this guitar-driven single, with radio-chatter interludes that hear the song’s title supergirl making powerful statements.

Five New Local Music Videos

The Infamous Stringdusters – “Toward the Fray”

Listen if you like Leftover Salmon

The latest music video from The Infamous Stringdusters was a special nod to May, which is mental health awareness month — and the local bluegrass group teamed up with nonprofit Backline to ensure the video release would have a more notable impact. Set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic Mile High City, the onscreen characters grapple with their own struggles before ultimately growing to tackle problems head-on and grow to embrace inner peace.

Holdfast. – “Find A Way”

Listen if you like CRUISR

A blank stare quickly transitions to a Kit-Cat clock, frantically looking from left to right, before another transition finds a lone vocalist in an empty house in which he croons, “It’s been a year now since I left my home, and there’s nobody here now, I’m on my own.” Then, the slow song explodes into a fast tempo as the guitar drives the track forward.

The Velveteers – “Dark Horse”

Listen if you like Bad Waitress

“I am the dark horse,” Demi Demitro asserts in the opening sequence of the music video for “Dark Horse.” Staying true to the local outfit’s signature style, the video was shot in black and white, where it finds Demitro toiling on the sands of the beach before she is transported to a grim supermarket, and then transported again and again as she crawls along the floorboards.

READ: The Velveteers Talk Nightmare Daydream and Everything In Between

Hailes Ghost – “Trash”

Listen if you like Ghostemane

A skeleton’s face moves erratically behind billowing garbage bags before Hailes Ghost emerges from the blackness to take center stage in the music video for “Trash.” Hailes Ghost steps up to the mic as overlayed images of snakes and other creepy-crawlies flash on the screen before the song’s frontman finds themself rolling around in a trash pile, declaring, “I’m not trying to waste my time.”

People Like Me – “Stay Together for the Dog”

Listen if you like Japanese Breakfast

In the past, the natural evolution of a relationship saw couples settle down, buy a house and start a family. However, what that family looks like in modern society is a little different. Today, this evolution can happen much faster. And for many members of younger generations, rather than having children, starting a family means adopting a furry friend. People Like Me’s latest single grapples with what happens when a fast track to adopting a dog ends up being shortsighted as the relationship beings to crumble.