MCA Denver’s B-Side Music Fridays returns this week, welcoming Julian Street Nightmare and Ritmo Cascabel to the rooftop stage Friday, July 7. The lineup this season 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.

JULIAN STREET NIGHTMARE

Imagine being chased down a long dark hallway by live mannequins accompanied by spiders crawling on the walls. Time feels like it’s barely moving and the idea that this could be endless begins to sink in, only to be jolted awake by the jarring sensation of free-falling. Nightmares like this demand an equally chilling soundtrack to offset the terror. Queue, Julian St Nightmare, the divine intersection of garage rock, ethereal synth house, and 80s darkwave, to make your most insufferable dreams enjoyable.

Hi Julian Street Nightmare! How are things?                

Things are going great! We currently have a summer booked full of shows all over the state. We’re also currently working on recording songs to be released for an EP. We’ve been very busy!

Who is Julian Street Nightmare? How did the band come together? 

Julian Street Nightmare came together in 2018 while jamming and experimenting with songwriting in our friend’s garage. The band is named after the fact that two of our members grew up on Julian Street in west Denver and several of our songs were written in our respective Julian Street garages. Over the years more members joined and we developed our style and now, here we are!

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

Even though we formed in 2018, we didn’t have our debut show until 2021 (mostly due to covid) and we played at The Lost Lake Lounge with our friend’s band Galleries. It was a great night and a fun show that helped project us into the Denver music scene! Our favorite thing about the Denver music scene is the sense of community and comradery, on top of such immense talent in all genres and subgenres in the scene.

Where do you find inspiration for your music? 

We have 5 members, and each member’s inspiration comes from such deep and different places, it’s truly a collaboration as far as influences and creativity go. 

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

We each have several different influences from all over the place genre wise, but in general we all come together over post punk, goth, 80s music, and shoegaze. Also Steely Dan and Jimmy Hendrix.

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

The texture of sandpaper, the scent of Malört, and the taste of Tacos Rapidos carne asasda fries.

What should we expect from your performance? 

There’s been blood, crowd surfing, dancing, and broken toilets but it’s always loud and organic. 

What are you excited about for this year? 

We’re excited to have so many great shows lined up, including DIY shows, headlining shows, and perhaps even a special Halloween show. We’re also excited to be recording songs currently and are working toward releasing an EP.

 RITMO CASCABEL

After a wild night of dancing cumbias at a Denver club, Ritmo Cascabel was born in 2019. The band's mix of traditional cumbia, western music, and rock n roll make for a unique chicha. The love for cumbia and all Latin sound is what unites these musicians to create a music that makes you dance and do some head banging at the same time. Ritmo Cascabel is Jairo Barsallo, Tayler Doyle, Raul Sanchez, Isaac Galarza, and Leo Munoz.

Hi Ritmo Cascabel! How are things?

Hey there! Everything is going well lately thanks for asking.

Who is Ritmo Cascabel? How did the band come together? 

Ritmo Cascabel is: Emanuel Montoya, Leo Munoz, Isaac Galarza, Tayler Doyle, and Raul Sanchez. The band came together after a wild night of Cumbia dancing at Pon Pon, a vinyl joint downtown. We have all been friends years prior to the formation but it was on this specific night we decided to create a new band featuring Latin rhythms and sounds.

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

We have been performing in Denver for about two and a half years now, our favorite part is the strong community bond that Denver’s music community provides.

Where do you find inspiration for your music? 

We found inspiration mainly from Cumbia, chicha, Psychedelic rock, soul, and many other Latin genres. 

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

Some contemporary artists that we look up to are Tropa Mágica, Combo Chimbita, Money Chicha, Don chicharron. To name a few.

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

If we had to put our music into a scent or a taste, it would definitely be an Al pastor taco straight from the trompo.

What should we expect from your performance? 

You can expect to dance from our highly energetic performance!

What are you excited about for this year? 

We are excited to present our self titled album which comes out August 23 on all streaming platforms, you can order the vinyl online now! And listen to two singles on Spotify and all other media stream services.

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