| Celebrate the start of summer at Swallow Hill Music’s Indiewood Street Festival in Englewood on Saturday, June 7. Presented with the Englewood Downtown Development Authority, Indiewood is a day-long musical celebration in the city’s downtown, capped by a headlining performance by the South American-inspired indie rock of Kiltro. “Street festivals are a great way to bring together a lot of different bands and sounds, while creating a really cool and comfortable experience for audiences,” Swallow Hill’s CEO Jessy Clark said. Indiewood takes place Saturday, June 7 from 1 pm to 7 pm, with gates opening at noon. TICKETS: Get your tickets to Indiewood here! The eclectic nature of this festival’s artists is a major highlight. Headliners Kiltro are gaining national attention and acclaim for a genre-mashing post rock sound that effortlessly blends shoegaze and neo-psychedelic flavors with the soulful transcendence of South American folk. Joining them is a collection of Colorado and national artists who will get attendees dancing and walking away having discovered a new favorite band or two. Road warriors Yarn create a seamless blend of vibrant, inspired, back porch melodies that have made them national festival favorites. Denver’s Rootbeer Richie & The Reveille will get everyone dancing by inducing good vibes with their soulful and funky grooves. Though relatively new to Colorado, Sunstoney’s ethereal indie dance pop has made her an undeniable favorite of the local scene. Kicking off the day is indie trio Barbara, whose sound contains echoes of alt rock’s 1990s heyday while pushing its sounds into new and unexpected territories. For the new festival, Swallow Hill had to look no further than across the street. While the music nonprofit is based in Denver, their Yale Avenue headquarters is literally on the city’s border with Englewood. “We love the businesses and all the energy coming out of Englewood right now,” Clark said, noting that its residents already make up a large part of Swallow Hill’s community. “We got really excited, though, when we reached out to the City of Englewood about working together, and discovered their interest was immediate and equally excited.” For the Englewood Downtown Development Authority (EDDA), Indiewood is the next step in extending vibrancy in the city’s downtown by attracting visitors while supporting local businesses through a high-profile entertainment-based partnership. “We are delighted to host the Indiewood music festival in Downtown Englewood! Our creative, dynamic downtown is full of local shops, restaurants, bars, and art,” Hilarie Portell, EDDA’s Executive Director, said. “We look forward to celebrating the power of music to bring people together and build community here.” In addition to the stellar lineup of musicians, food trucks, brewers, and vendor booths will be on hand to add to the festivities. Swallow Hill Music is excited to have Left Hand Brewing Co. as Indiewood’s beer sponsor. Indiewood is also located just around the corner from Englewood’s South Broadway corridor where even more restaurants and shops are easily accessible. For over 45 years Swallow Hill has produced live music events throughout the Denver area, and that includes a proud history of outdoor music festivals. That tradition was interrupted in 2020 due to COVID-related closures, but Clark said now is the time to launch something new. “We feel good about where we are and this is a fun way to get back into the community!” Clark said. |
| Swallow Hill Music’s Indiewood Street Festival Presented by EDDA Kiltro Kiltro’s latest album, Underbelly, crystallizes into a post-rock manifesto of dazzling beauty. Its songs combine touches of shoegaze, ambient and neo-psychedelia with the soulful transcendence of South American folk – the purity of stringed instruments, supple syncopated percussion and elusive melodies that define the works of Latin American legends such as Violeta Parra, Víctor Jara, and Atahualpa Yupanqui. From the propulsive, chant-like groove of “Guanaco” to the art-pop panache of “All the Time in the World,” Underbelly is the kind of record that invites you to quiet down and listen, savoring every single detail. It also signals a new chapter in the fusion of Latin roots with mainstream rock, anchoring its sonic quest on a rare commodity: inspired songwriting. Yarn Yarn have never been content to simply ride a wave and see where it takes them. The band creates a seamless blend of vibrant, inspired, back porch melodies and narrative, descriptive lyrics, detailing the challenges one faces when life is jolted off its bearings and, in re-evaluating relationships, tough choices must be made that sometimes skirt the rules. The band has eventually surpassed 1,000 shows, half a million miles, and performances in nearly every state. They’ve driven nonstop, made countless radio station appearances, driven broken-down RVs and watched as their van caught fire. They’ve paid their dues and then some, looking forward even as they were forced to glance behind. Rootbeer Richie & The Reveille Swamp boys gonna do swamp things, even when you take ‘em to a city one thousand miles from home and a mile in the sky. So it goes with Rootbeer Richie, born in the bayou then uprooted to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Backed by the Reveille, six of the hardest hitters in Denver’s diamond-in-the-rough music scene, they form the most soulful rhythm & blues band this side of the Mississippi. Sunstoney Sunstoney is an Ethiopian-American singer-songwriter and producer celebrated for her dreamy indie-pop sound. Originally from northern Virginia, she relocated to Denver in 2023, quickly immersing herself in the local music scene. In April 2024, Sunstoney released her EP, The Mirror Is Calling, a collection of five tracks that delve into themes of self-acceptance and friendship. Recognizing her impact on the local music scene, Westword listed Sunstoney among the best indie acts to see in Denver, highlighting her as one of the city’s top indie performers. In January 2025, Colorado Public Radio’s Indie 102.3 included Sunstoney in their “Best of Local 303” list for 2024, ranking her at number 13. This recognition underscores her growing influence and popularity within Colorado’s indie music scene. Barbara Barbara is a band. The Denver trio enjoys making sounds about feelings that come from things like turning seven at a roller rink, watching Freaks & Geeks, and accidentally taking too many drugs. From shoegaze to gritty psychedelia, Barbara remains wobbly and dreamy at their core. The band’s sound has been described as “Kurt Cobain but pretty,” “music to feel things to,” and “sonically unusual” which the band personally finds to be hilarious. Basically the trio is committed to figuring it out as they go— and it’s working. Emotive lyricism gives way to heavy distortion and a healthy serving of terminal climaxes in their sophomore album set to release in 2025. |