Header, Wildermiss

Beloved by fans and critics in its hometown, Denver-based Wildermiss closed out 2017 as one of the most exciting acts to emerge from the Mile High City. The promising quartet built up a strong, impassioned grassroots following that helped propel it to a pair of back-to-back wins in KTCL’s benchmark promotions, the annual Big Gig this past summer and Hometown for the Holidays- not to mention multiple sold-out headlining shows of their own.

When the time came in early 2013 to bring the music to the stage, the Heaths reached out to friends both new and old and gathered together an ensemble of touring musicians the size of a circus, tumblers and all.

Hard to believe that a little more than a year ago this foursome (Emma Cole, Joshua Hester, Seth Beamer, and Caleb Thoemke) was an auspicious yet aspiring act playing unassuming opening slots on weeknights. The outfit quickly won fans over with a smart brand of guitar-driven pop, which has plenty in common with acts like Local Natives, Echosmith, and Florence and the Machine. Cleary, the act found its way.

The songs are instantly memorable as much for their melodies as for their meaning — both of which are equally as integral to the impact of the song, if you ask Hester. “I’ve always thought lyrics find their validation through melody,” he says. “You can sing the simplest line but if a melody has conviction, then it works better than the most poetic paragraph you can write.”

Talk about seeing the forest for the trees.