Sonder Spotlight Series #1: SHIFT ft. Moontricks w/ Melody Lines, KR3TURE + Motifv w/ Derlee, MIDIcinal, Louie Letdown (Preview)
Image courtesy of Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom via Facebook
Welcome to a brand new music news series from Sonder: The Sonder Spotlight Series! We’ve been keeping this one under wraps for quite a while - and we’re so excited to reveal it to you! In the Sonder Spotlight Series, we’ll be going in depth of our coverage of Colorado shows, previewing and reviewing a single show every month (for now). In this series, I’ll be interviewing musicians, managers, and other show-related individuals before the show to give us an idea of what to expect. Then, Alyssa Montaño of Rocky Montaño Photography (and Sonder’s Director of Logistics) and I will be attending, photographing, and reviewing the show to bring you full coverage of some of the most exciting events happening in the Colorado Music Scene. If you’d like your show to be considered for the Sonder Spotlight Series, please email sonder.music.management@gmail.com.
For Sonder Spotlight Series #1, we’re highlighting Dec. 9th’s installment of SHIFT Thursdays, featuring Moontricks w/ Melody Lines, KR3TURE + Motifv w/ Derlee, MIDIcinal, and Louie Letdown at Cervantes, brought to you by Cervantes and River Beats. The show is taking over both sides of the venue, Ballroom and Other Side, so get ready to start your weekend early with a night FULL of music - plus an appearance from Colorado legend Mikey Thunder. I’m so excited that I was able to interview Vinny Crippen of Melody Lines and Louis Fagelson (Louie Letdown) to preview the show. PLUS, we’re SO pumped about this new series that we’ve decided to kick it off with a giveaway! Make sure you visit us on Facebook and find this article’s post to enter to win 2 tickets to this Thursday’s show.
This will be our first time seeing Louie Letdown and Melody Lines live, but we’ve had the pleasure of working with them before! We first met Louie Letdown when he did a set for Rocky Mountain Virtual in the middle of the pandemic - it absolutely blew us away. Then, we got to work with Melody Lines for ARISE Online NYE, where they joined Desert Dwellers, Magic Beans, and Spectacle. We can’t wait to see these guys live after such stellar virtual performances. Check out the interview below and don’t forget to enter to win a pair of tickets to the show on Sonder’s Facebook page. Here are the details:
SHIFT ft. Moontricks w/ Melody Lines, KR3TURE + Motifv w/ Derlee, MIDIcinal, and Louie Letdown
Thursday, Dec. 9th, 2021
8:30 p.m.
Moontricks, Melody Lines, KR3TURE [Late Set] (Ballroom)
+Motifv w/ Derlee, MIDIcinal, Louie Letdown (Other Side)
Tell us about SHIFT Thursdays. Why is it special to you?
Louis: Cervs has been a huge part of my development as an artist. Before I started consistently making music, I was writing for a music blog called Compose Yourself. I would write reviews and interview the artists for the ReSearch shows every Wednesday at Cervantes. I met a bunch of incredible people and artists during that time, and I see Shift Thursdays as the next evolution of the ReSearch series. I always dreamed of playing one, and now here we are!
Vinny: Shift thursdays is a weekly showcase of music at Cervantes that's very important for me. It's always nice to have a solid lineup of music that's not on a friday or Saturday night. Denver is lucky enough to always have good music on the weekends. Sometimes too lucky. There's often an overwhelming amount of shows on Fridays and Saturdays to pick from, but weekday nights can be a different story. On Thursdays, Cervantes is almost always the best place to be because of SHIFT.
What about the event are you most looking forward to?
Louis: This is my first time playing a full hour set, so I have a ton of new music that I can’t wait to share. Also, the lineup is crazy stacked. I’ve seen Motifv a few times and I love his sound - his sample game is top notch. Derlee is legitimately one of my all time favorite producers, and MIDIcinal is the homie and always throws down. MIDIcinal's set at Sonic Bloom in 2019 was one of my favorites of the weekend. All the artists in the Ballroom are sick too!
Vinny: Really just looking forward to playing Cervantes again. It's one of the main venues that always feels like home and it's been about 2 years since we last played! That's way too long. Other than just returning to the stage excited to debut some new music and have some fun sit ins and see the rest of the acts on the bill, as I love their music as well
Image courtesy of Melody Lines
What do you hope attendees experience or take away from your performance at the event?
Louis: My goal is always to create a connection with the crowd through my lyrics. I try to speak to things that people care about, and as long as something resonates with the listeners, that’s a win. Also, my friend/producer/DJ Sammy Seeds and I are trying out a new stage setup so we hope it pays off!
Vinny: Hope they just enjoy the set we play and the night in general and keep us a mind to try to make it out to our shows in the future.
Who on the SHIFT Thursdays Dec. 9 lineup have you played with or worked with before? Can we look forward to any collaborations on Thursday?
Louis: I’ve opened for MIDIcinal before at Larimer Lounge with a friend’s group called Sassfactory, and we have some mutual friends including Sarah Mount, Dom Fante, and Rob Revere. While I listen to them daily, I’ve never worked with Derlee or Motifv. I did give Derlee a ride to Sonic Bloom from the airport in Denver though, but I’m not sure that counts. I'm a fan of everyone on the lineup, so collabing in the future would be amazing.
Vinny: I've worked with a few of the artists on the bill. We played right before Moontricks at Cervantes once before for the Sonic Bloom Pre Party in 2019 and it was amazing. I work closely with MIDIcinal often. Last year he headlined the other side and I was fortunate enough to play keys in his live band and have sat in with him multiple times - in a full 8 piece band, just the two of us, and as a trio and variety of arrangements. Resident host DJ Mikey Thunder also deserves massive shoutout. I've known him for many years. He actually got me my first gig for Melody Lines which was opening up for SunSquabi at 1up Colfax back when that was still a venue. He also got us our first Cervantes show. He's forever a hidden gem in the industry who's always professional, and there's no doubt he's going to be getting the party started proper this Thursday.
Image courtesy of Louie Letdown
How do you feel this event represents the Colorado Music Scene?
Louis: Cervantes and River Beats do an amazing job putting on artists in the scene. As a Denver based artist, opportunities like this are incredibly important. I can’t thank Cris, Evan, the Cervantes team, and River Beats enough for adding me to the bill! Also shoutout to Sonder Music Management for putting together this article!
Vinny: I think this event really represents a good variety of vibes and styles of music. People in Colorado seem to be pretty open minded and listen to a lot of different stuff. Our music doesn't sound very much like Moontricks but everyone I've talked to is stoked for both of us and the fact that Colorado let's artists be themselves and do what they do.
Follow Louie Letdown on socials: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | Soundcloud
Follow Melody Lines on socials: Facebook | Soundcloud | Instagram