20 FEBRUARY 6-12, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | that up across the board, with complex guitar chops and strong vocals that land somewhere between the soul of Elmore James and the attitude of the Cramps’ Lux Interior. Growing up in San Antonio, he learned to play guitar and drums before moving to Colorado in 2012 to attend the University of Colorado Boulder, where he briefl y had a band called the Rock ‘n Roll Boys as well as a solo project. Aside from vocals and lead guitar, he writes most of Shady Oaks’ lyrics and music. Many of the group’s songs were written while he was working at an oilfi eld, he says, spend- ing long hours on the road between his work site in Wyoming and his home in Boulder. He was looking to start a band when one of his work friends introduced him to Samp in 2019. Once Galloway discovered that Samp played drums, the board was set. “It was easy as it can get, starting a band,” Samp recalls. “I had tried a couple of Craig- slist bands; it didn’t work out.” Galloway and Samp joined other local musicians to form the fi rst iteration of Shady Oaks just before the pandemic, and the band released its debut album, MAD, in 2022. It’s an excellent record, one you listen to from beginning to end without skipping a song, with each tune standing out while still blend- ing cohesively into the next. Lyrical narra- tives that cover everything from deep topics to simply having a good time are charged by thumping blues riffs, country and folk infl ections, and authentic rock and roll. You don’t want it to end, and that’s the case for the rest of the band’s discography, too, with Best Thing showcasing the band’s Western and country infl uences in Shady Oaks’ fi rst release with its current lineup. Serving from a large melting pot of genres, Shady Oaks has a distinct, identifi able sound unique to the band. “No Fool,” a 2024 single, is a rousing, anthemic refl ection on change, in which Arras’s keys and Hubbard’s violin both lend upbeat solos, while “Down” and “Hate Me” pull the lever on heavy, fuzzy guitar and bass that provide a rolling wave of catharsis. The most recent tune, “Stay Here,” intimates a more refl ective and folk facet, musing on working remote while surrounded by mugs of old coffee, and the passing of time. “My goal in writing is always trying to get something for everybody,” Galloway says. “That’s why we have country, psychedelic, hard rock, folk. ... It’s keeping it all under the Shady umbrella, but not being afraid to branch out other genres.” The songs are at their best live, and you’ll soon be able to hear that on a new album, due out later this year. “It’s a lot of the MAD stuff, just a live version of it,” Galloway says. “Because I think as much as the album is re- ally well produced, it’s not still completely how we sound live, right? So we just kind of got trashed at brunch one day and then went home and recorded a live album.” These are tight musicians, and the current lineup just feels right — a synchronicity that shows on stage, in the moment. “The fi rst live shows I played with them were so vibrant, it was clear the musical chemistry was there; it was an obvious fi t,” Hubbard says. “There’s space between notes and harmonies and rhythms where musical camaraderie thrives, and that’s the Shady magic. Playing with them feels like a big ol’ barrel-aged hug from a dear old friend.” Experience it for yourself when Shady Oaks plays the Velvet Elk Lounge in Boulder on Saturday, February 8. “We were one of the fi rst bands that played there when they opened,” Galloway says of the Velvet Elk, which expanded into a music venue in 2022. “That place is fun; it’s loud,” Vance says with a laugh. “It’s like a tunnel of sound,” Samp agrees. In other words, it’s the perfect place for a band that likes to pump up the volume. Next up will be a March 12 show at Sky- lark Lounge, followed by another the next night at Surfside in Fort Collins. A tour is also in the works; Shady Oaks has toured around much of the West and Midwest, where it has found a swath of fans. Even if the band ends up opening for a softer, folky artist or a jam band, it doesn’t hold back on being as loud as possible. “There have been a couple times where we get added to a bill and I look at the headliner’s music on Spotify and we’re like, ‘Oh shit, they’re way softer than us,’” Galloway says. “And we’re like, ‘Okay, we’ll tone it back a bit.’ And then we never do.” The members laugh as they recall such shows. Often, Galloway will scribble the setlist beforehand — Vance remembers paper plates being used as a surface before a show at the Fox Theatre in 2022. “But we’re not sticking to it at all,” Vance says of the setlist. “Ty will just say a different song on stage right when I’m tuning for another one.” Just fi ve years into Shady Oaks, the band has already made signifi cant headway, whether opening for the Velveteers at a sold-out show at the Gothic Theatre last year or moving up to coveted slots at the UMS. One of the members’ favorite events to play is the small music-and-crafts festival Marble Fest, which mostly comprises bluegrass bands. “When we did Marble Fest, all those people up there were like, ‘We’re so sick of hearing jam bands and bluegrass. Like, we’re so happy you guys came here and played hard rock,’” Vance recalls. In Denver, too, the band has been wel- comed with open arms. “It’s so weird to me; I thought it would take a lot more work — like, years and years — before we would play UMS,” Galloway admits. “We were in the fi rst year that we applied. ... It’s kind of imposter syndrome: Because we were just able to grasp success so quickly, I never felt like we deserved it. But I think we’ve made some solid ground here. Once Hunter started booking us at the hi-dive, that’s when we really developed the crowd we wanted.” And the shows just keep getting better; each step forward is another milestone. “I am con- stantly proud of everything we accomplish,” Galloway says. “So much so that it is hard to pinpoint a single moment of peak ‘proud.’ It is almost like we are hitting high after high.” That high is a sight to see. “Our shows are the musical equivalent of lighting sum- mer fi reworks off in the street,” Hubbard concludes. “Colorful, combustible and real damn sweaty.” Shady Oaks, 8 p.m. Saturday, February 8, Velvet Oak Lounge, 2037 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets are $16; get them here. Shady Oaks is known for its lively sets. A shot from the 2024 Underground Music Showcase set. The band was started by Ty Galloway in 2019. Music continued from page 19 JOSHUA MASSARA JOSHUA MASSARA JOSHUA MASSARA
