Story: Slade Rand
Dylan Kishner Band brings its eclectic blend of twang and groove to Cervantes’ Other Side on Thursday night in Denver.
The local trio builds its upbeat live show around original tunes with an honest country lean. Kishner plays hearty, warm guitar melodies over a dance-y shuffle that feeds the band’s “Y’allternative” style.
“There’s something about country music that I’ve always been drawn to,” Kishner told After Midnight this week.
The band is Fernando Valdez on bass, Anthony Hester on drums and Kishner on guitar. They’re in their second year playing together, and have their eyes on the road ahead. During a January show earlier this year at Lost Lake Lounge, the band found new ground and happy surprises jamming out Kishner’s heartfelt songs.
“Since coming together with this band I think my approach to music has changed. I think we’ve got something really cool going,” Kishner said.
DKB plays a set ahead of Diggin Dirt and fellow locals Hand Turkey on the Other Side stage Thursday night. Tickets are available here.
Kishner and Valdez said they’re happy to be back playing the Other Side, the same stage where they’ve caught some of their own favorite acts through the years. The DKB members gigged around Denver, Boulder and Longmont for years before formally linking, and they bring a mix of styles to their psychedelic show.
Hester spends time drumming in a Cranberries cover band, Valdez cites influences in “old school” Mexican music and punk rock, while Kishner has an ear for both Reba McEntire and Pink Floyd.
“We’re going to play some music you want to dance to, we’re gonna play some music that’s going to make you feel some things,” Valdez said. “It will be all over the place.”
Valdez and Kishner met in 2021 and started making music soon after. Kishner and Hester had already been playing music when the three joined as DKB at the start of 2023.
“We all have such different influences, though we do meet in the middle of a venn diagram,” Valdez said.
Onstage, the three musicians bounce ideas off one another while stretching out original songs like ‘Chico Funk’ and ‘Into the Storm.’ Rehearsals can turn into a multi-hour jam session where the three cowboys have fun and find open space, while they shoot to keep the improv tight and honed in during shows.
“One of my favorite things about playing with Fernando is he’s so animated and energetic onstage,” Kishner said.
Valdez plays a modified Squier Jaguar bass he’s loved since bringing home in 2020, and Kishner plays a Hagstrom Ultra Swede. He’s favored the reliable, distinct guitar for the past decade of songwriting.
“What I like about it is its versatility,” Kishner said. “I think that the simpler you can go, then the more you can do with the basic tones.”
Dylan Kishner Band hits at 7:15 p.m. Thursday night at Cervantes’ Other Side. As the opener for the triple-header night, Kishner said he and the band feel a little more freedom to explore and do what they want onstage. He said Cervantes is a great place to play, knowing many of the club’s regulars also make music.
“Playing for a crowd of fellow musicians is fun,” Kishner said.
Newcomers to DKB can expect some John Prine-flavored original tunes, mixed with bouncy jams pushed by Valdez over a country shuffle Hester employs to kickstart the trio’s grooves.
“I love how natural it is,” Valdez said. “I’ll be feeling it, and then Dylan’s feeling it and then we’re all feeling it and then the crowd’s feeling it. The natural communication and energy that happens between all of us really translates into the music.”
Tickets for Thursday night’s DKB show are available here via Cervantes’. Click here for details on the band’s summer plans, including a headlining gig June 15 at the Fox Theater in Boulder and a festival appearance at Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain in Arkansas.
“Come get your y’allternative on,” Kishner said.
After Midnight 
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