Immigrant’s Child and Barbara will hit the stage for B-Side on Friday, August 11. This season’s lineup is chock-full of Denver talent delivering soul-grooving sounds in all of the tasty genres of music. If you don’t know about B-Side, it’s about time to get familiar with one of the best ways to experience the amazing talent in the city. Do your stretches and gather your friends for some summer night dancing on the museum’s rooftop. But first, get to know this week’s B-Side bands:

Immigrant's Child

Immigrant's Child was founded in Denver, CO and is currently made up of Keeana Martinez (Vocals), Colin Hill (Drums), Josiah Martinez (Bass), and Mario Martinez (Guitar). Pulling from their eclectic backgrounds Immigrant's Child has become a melting pot of alt, latino, regional Mexican, and classic rock influences. Immigrant's Child newest EP, Papalotl, is available on most streaming services and is led by the latin/rock influenced single, SAP (Spanish Audio Programming).

Hi Immigrant’s Child! How are things? 

Things are going well! We’ve been enjoying a pretty laid back summer, focusing on spending time together and writing some new music.

Who is Immigrant’s Child? How did the band come together? 

Immigrant’s Child is made up of Keeana Martinez (Vocals), Josiah Martinez (Bass), Colin Hill (Drums), and Mario Martinez (Guitar). We started out when Josiah and Keeana (siblings) met Mario in high school. From there, we spent a couple of years just jamming in basements until we met Jessica Cha (Vocals), and Brenden DeLeon (Drums). They were key as we all began to write music together and subsequently play shows. Since then, they’ve left to pursue different passions and that gave space for Colin to join us most recently.

How long have you been performing in Denver? What is your favorite thing about the Denver music scene?

We’ve been playing shows since 2019. We really love the DIY attitude that so many in this community share. Even organizations that exist to work with musicians such as Salt Lick Records or Youth on Record push that attitude and approach. We’ve seen shifts in encouraging artists to work with what they have at their disposal.

Where do you find inspiration for your music? 

We pull a lot from personal experiences as they relate to our heritage and background. Our band name is self-descriptive in that we are connected to immigration. Keeana and Josiah are second generation Mexican immigrants while Mario is an immigrant from Mexico. Our songs are a way to relate our experiences as we perceive them.  

This means that we allow ourselves to focus on what we want. We can sing about our mental health, relationships and what not. At the same time we can turn around and focus on key issues that affect our communities. We are what we choose to be. 

Who are some artists/creators that are influential to your musical practice?

It feels like we’ve all been exploring different music artists lately. We’ve been listening to Wombo, Tatsuro Yamashita, and Julio Jaramillo.  We also really got into Halsey’s If I can’t have, Love I want Power album. We love the out of left field collaboration with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Such a good album. 

Visually we’ve been inspired by older anime such as Neon Genesis and FLCL. We still haven’t found a way to make a song feel like that for us, but it’s definitely something that’s consistently present for us. Additionally, we have to mention The Bear. We have a fantasy of being a chef thanks to that show but that’s all it’ll stay for now. 

Music can be an immersive experience. How would you describe your sound as a texture, a scent, or a taste?

We think our music can feel like an old favorite denim jacket. It’s got enough ambiguity to be associated with different styles but retains notable features that associate it heavily with long standing ideas. It’s edgy, it’s hard labor, but most importantly it's yours. We can have set meanings for our songs but we love it when people attach/create their own. 

What should we expect from your performance?

A lot of emotion! We’ve been playing shows more sparsely this year so we’ve been taking the opportunities we have had to really project ourselves a bit more intensely. 

What are you excited about for this year? 

We are doing our first mini tour at the end of the month! It’ll be our first time playing out of state and we’re super excited. We’re also finishing up new music and are looking forward to sharing that in the near future!

Barbara

Barbara comprises established musicians Bridget Hartman, Anna Panella, and Camilla Vaitaitis. After meeting in mutual pursuit of certificates denoting that they Know About Music, the three moved in together. In a new creative sandbox void of stamped papers and prerequisites, they excavated a fresh, intuitive approach to composition. The infinite jam session that is implicit to cohabitation formed an uncanny scaffold for the natural sound of Barbara— psychedelic, liminal, and vibrant. Barbara has a sound that’s been lived in. Stay for a while, come dance in the kitchen. You can be our fourth-dimensional roommate.

Hi Barbara! How are things? 

We’re doing great! We just finished playing at UMS following our first tour. We traveled to Calgary, Canada to play at the Sled Island Festival with seven other shows along the way. We’re currently working on writing our next album in the mountains where we recorded our first album, Escape Artist. 

Who is Barbara? How did the band come together? 

Barbara is the collective persona of Camilla Vaitaitis, Anna Panella, and Bart Hartman. We all met in music school and moved in together during COVID. During lockdown we all started exploring music through new instruments in an attempt to depart from some of the constructs we learned in school, and Barbara was born. 

How long have you been performing in Denver? What is your favorite thing about the Denver music scene?

We have all been performing in Denver in various projects for almost a decade, but Barbara has only been on the scene for a year. We love the abundance of shows in Denver and all the amazing friends we’ve met in this community.  

Where do you find inspiration for your music? 

Our inspiration comes from our shared experiences and emotions. It started as a means of grappling with the lockdown and has become a natural healing outlet for all of us throughout the course of living, growing, and performing together. 

Who are some artists/creators that are influential to your musical practice?

Some huge influences for us right now are Spirit of the Beehive, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Nilufer Yanya, Matty, and Water From Your Eyes. 

Music can be an immersive experience. How would you describe your sound as a texture, a scent, or a taste? 

Our music is tart cherry.

What should we expect from your performance?

Our performances are high energy and span a wide range of musical states and emotions. This show is also going to be the last opportunity to see us perform for a few months while we take time to work on the next record. 

What are you excited about for this year? 

We are excited to spend the next few months traveling, writing, and recording our next album. We are entering a new chapter in our lives both individually and as a band, and are so excited to see how things grow.

Click here more information and to purchase tickets to this season's B-Side Music Fridays!