15 JULY 24-30, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | FIND MORE MUSIC COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/MUSIC Sonic Bloom DOGTAGS IS PLANTING POSITIVITY WITH ITS NEW ALBUM, ROSEWORLD, AND A LAST UMS PERFORMANCE. BY EMILY FERGUSON “This year has been the biggest of my life for music,” says Michael Merola. The guitarist is sitting in the shade of the Cheesman Park gazebo alongside his partner, vocalist Regi Worles. The two have written several songs here for their band, DOGTAGS, which is having a breakout year. It recently released an excellent debut album, ROSE- WORLD, before opening a sold-out show at Mission Ballroom for Lake Street Dive in June. Later that month, the Denver band performed its fi rst show outside Colorado at Electric Forest, and it just announced a headlining show at the Bluebird Theater to close out the year on December 5. So don’t be surprised when you see a packed crowd for the DOGTAGS set at the fi nal Un- derground Music Showcase, scheduled for the Get Loud Stage at 5:35 p.m. on Friday, July 25, and then at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 27. Even with all these accomplishments, DOGTAGS’ biggest contribution could be providing the inspiration we desperately need right now (and always, really), high- lighting queerness and humanity through bossa nova rhythms and soul-imbued an- thems. Looking at the world through rose- colored glasses can be viewed as a negative trait — a type of “toxic positivity” that belies the world’s ever-growing issues — but when bad news rotates incessantly through daily headlines, it’s important to remember that there’s so much good in our immediate real- ity. ROSEWORLD creates the same effect as the band’s live performances: It provides a much-needed mental vacation to a chimeric realm where love is paramount, acceptance is universal and vulnerability is rewarded. “We wanted to really create this other- worldly, rose-colored-glasses lens,” Worles says of the album. “Because sometimes our imaginations get hijacked by all the terrible things that are happening. Even if we sing about heavy stuff or the progressions are darker, I want us to leave people feeling lighter.” While DOGTAGS had already been play- ing live for a couple of years in Denver, estab- lishing a growing presence, the band fi nally decided to really work on an album in Sep- tember 2023. “Back then, we had maybe four or fi ve original songs,” Merola recalls. Almost two years later, the album dropped with twelve pristine tracks, including a cover of “HOJITA SECA,” a cumbia song by Argentine band La Nueva Luna that Merola uncovered. There were two big reasons it took so long to release an album, the partners say. First, Merola is a perfectionist, Worles explains, and Merola nods with a smile. The second is a little weightier: It’s an incredibly vulner- able work lyrically. “It was scary for me to be in such a very open queer relationship, especially playing on stages and putting out music,” Merola says. “And when we fi rst started DOGTAGS, I wasn’t actually out of the closet. And yet, here I was in Denver, just playing on stage with my boyfriend. ... The only person who knew was my sister, but not my oldest sister, not my parents, not any of my extended family. And I come from a very Catholic and conservative family, so queerness was actually very looked down upon while growing up. I dealt with a lot shame with that, which of course resides in our music, as well.” He came out to his parents in the fall of 2022. Although his mom and dad had seen DOGTAGS live, they didn’t know that most of the songs were about Worles and Merola’s relationship. “Sometimes it felt like the fur- ther we pushed the music, the further I was risking my relationship with my family,” Merola says. “Now it’s in a different place — I’ve been out to my parents for a couple of years, and things are rocky, but they love me, and they love [the music].” “It was truly very challenging,” Worles adds. “Everybody, when they play music, there’s a sort of emotional labor. But there was a known risk of what was at stake.” It isn’t just family dynamics that create un- easiness about being openly queer; the politi- cal climate in 2025 doesn’t help. “Sometimes you get scared just going on stage to perform with people, not to mention to be playing at the Mission Ballroom, where it’s the biggest crowd we’ve played for,” Merola says. Their mettle reverberates through the music, though. That’s perhaps why, after live performances, they’ll be met by teary-eyed new fans who see themselves in the lyrics and feel a weight lifted by the enlivened sonics. To be yourself is an act of courage, especially through art, and DOGTAGS is inspiring oth- ers to follow suit. “In fi nding Michael and fi nding our friends,” Worles explains, “it was like, ‘Oh, I have community again.’ And for the fi rst time, it’s a musical community where we aren’t in class, we’re writing our own music, and we’re helping each other navigate breakups, graduations, funerals, mental health crises. There’s a lot of life that people go through, and when you have a large band, it’s all happening all at the same time.” DOGTAGS received some solid advice when the act opened for Teddy Swims at Mission last year. Guitarist Addy Maxwell approached and said, “We play with a lot of people. Y’all need to keep going.” “Those moments are so random and special, so affi rming,” Worles recalls. “Even when we have no idea what we’re doing.” If these two don’t know what they’re doing, they hide it well. After rehearsing weekly for years, the band has solidifi ed a unique sound that’s at once technical yet breezy. It almost feels effortless, which is how you know it’s born of pure dedication. “Reggi and I started as a singer-songwriter, guitar-and-vocals project,” Merola says, add- ing that they began performing at Coastless Collective shows at Your Mom’s House. “But it grew to seven people within like, four months,” Worles adds. “Since then, it’s just been a big band.” DOGTAGS acts as a collective, anchored by Merola and Worles. They still perform as a duo, too, which makes them more fl ex- ible for gigging. Worles compares the act to LEGOs, with the band able to add or take away to adapt to any stage. “It’s sort of like a build-your-own-band set,” he explains. “Very ever-changing.” “It wasn’t meant to be a rotating band, but the way it grew was interesting because people would hear us at shows and we would connect with them and start talking and be- come friends,” Merola says, noting that would inevitably lead to a new bandmate. “To me, there’s no such thing as too many members.” Four years in, DOGTAGS has nine mem- bers: Worles (lead vocals), Merola (lead gui- tar), Heather Hunt (guitar/backing vocals), Gavin Susalski (trumpet), Aaron Dooley (bass), Micah Cheng (cello), Kelsey Hodge (backing vocals), Ben Kane (keys), and Tyler Hamlin (drums). And even more musicians contributed to ROSEWORLD. “We always knew we wanted this sort of conversational thing happening between us as both singers, but also between genres,” says Worles. “We knew there was a soul element we wanted to bring out...” “And that comes out a lot in our vocals and my guitar playing,” Merola adds. He grew up playing classic rock and blues (his dad fi rst taught him how to play the King of the Hill soundtrack) before delving into jazz and Latin jazz in college. “And then all the band members really brought their own genres into it,” he adds. The result is a kaleidoscopic array with different facets refl ecting myriad inspirations — funk, bossa nova, soul, Latin folk, rock, art pop and more — but all conspiring to create a cohesive, delightful pattern. That came from years of experimenting and refi ning the group’s sound, while honing its goals and mission in the meantime. “Jamming for years and years and years allowed us to fi nd our place,” says Worles. “But really, it’s the communication between everybody that created what we call ‘art soul.’” “For a while we were saying ‘liberated soul,’ which is cool, but now we’re leaning more on art soul — I always loved the art-rock genres,” Merola explains. “The music that really goes places and takes you on this elabo- rate story. I’ve always been inspired by that, and I put that really deeply into the music.” So it makes sense that one of the songs on ROSEWORLD was inspired by the epic, 26-season anime Naruto. “Sasori” has been a fan favorite, according to Merola and Worles, and as you listen, you’ll immediately under- stand why the earworm is so popular — it’s one of those rare songs that you don’t mind being stuck in your head. Same goes for “MELTY,” a funky, psychedelic track enveloped by all the feels that accompany unconditional love. Meanwhile, “SUMMERSICK!” is a dance party packaged in a colorful sonic weave that gets you smiling for the present and future. Overall, the album is a coming-of-age story that reminds you of life’s ebullience without being cloying or corny. MUSIC continued on page 16 DOGTAGS is in full bloom this summer. JACKSON DAVIS
