Whether you saw the spoiler of what Friday’s special treat was going to be, or you heard the news in the moment, Kitchen Dwellers used Friday’s show at Denver’s Ogden Theatre to announce their new album, Seven Devils, set to release March 1st, 2024.

The announcement came at the end of the second set, which closed with the title track, but not before Kitchen Dwellers sat into a Celtic conjuring that led you to wonder if these four men have the ability to host a seance on the stage. Predicted by the stranger in front of me proclaiming, “This is where it gets dark.” Out of the mellow rumblings, banjo picker Torrin Daniels and bass slapper Joe Funk, the only two on stage at this time, took us to dark space, holding a note as they walked off leaving the crowd in a “Seven Devils” limbo.

Enter the feature film.

Showcasing intimate recording footage and interviews with each band member, the film was less of an announcement and more so liner notes to guide us in the listening experience of their newest LP. The video offered what inspired this new endeavor, and a reminder that Wise River was about reflecting inward. Moving onward, Seven Devils comes with a call to action from Torrin, asking fans to truly listen to this album in its entirety, front to back.

In this newest release, the band explores the very topic of existence, and though Dante’s Inferno is in the conversation, they assure us it’s not demonic, satanic, or even pagan. It’s about existence, similar to Sturgill Simpson‘s five albums representing the stages of mysticism and the journey of the human soul. It covers themes that have occurred and been pondered throughout human occupancy and spirituality. Though the latest LP serves 12 tracks, not nine (which would be reflective of the nine circles of hell as depicted in the original text by Dante Alighieri), we can speculate when listened to in its entirety, Seven Devils will deliver a conversation about the stages of life and existence.

Existence is solidified through community. It’s through collective effervescence that we find dwellings of how to exist, how to treat one another, and live in harmony with each other and ourselves. These reminders came in many forms on Friday, such as the audience’s collective chorus singing “Happy Birthday” to guitarist Max Davies as he blew out his candles and journeyed us into “Smokestack” in the first set. There was also the audible and unanimous “ooh” from the crowd as the band took us to a cooling blue ease, out of the anguish of “Drowning (…Again)” during the encore.

As lovers of live music, we witness the collaboration between band and audience, as the musicians orchestrate the sea of people in front of them from head-banging rage to twinkles of the mandoline. Often through their lyrics, and last night was no exception, Kitchen Dwellers remind us how to navigate those further circles of hell, the dark pockets of life that cannot be ignored in a conversation of human experience. But they also remind us how to travel out, such as with a mantra of “Don’t worry I’m doing fine” gifted in the first song of the evening, “This Time”.

Through “Comet” we entered the flames of Inferno, burning down doubt and fear. And perhaps a reason for two Doors covers over as many nights—“Break On Through (To The Other Side)” at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom and “L.A. Woman” at the Ogden—we are told to reach for the very door depicted in their new album artwork. One that displays sunshine. One where we can “Stand at Ease” in “the morning light.”

Kitchen Dwellers often remind us that no matter how far into the darkness you go, there’s another side of the coin. If there were any doubts in the audience’s minds they were released as we fools shouted in reassurance to each other, and ourselves, to “keep on going.” And we kept shouting until we believed it. Perhaps the sweetest revenge to the shadows within is that of reclaiming your joy through music and community.

Kitchen Dwellers – The Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO – 11/10/23 – Preview 

Setlist: Kitchen Dwellers | The Ogden Theatre | Denver, CO | 11/10/23

Set One: This Time > Sunday Funday, Comet, Muir Maide, Smokestack, Seven Devils [1]

Set Two: Shadows, Stand At Ease > June Apple > L.A. Woman (The Doors), Come On In My Kitchen [2], Sweet Revenge (John Prine) [2], Ghost In The Bottle > High On A Mountain Top > The Living Dread > Ghost In The Bottle > Seven Devils

Encore: Drowning (…Again)

[1] Followed by pre-recorded video announcing the new album, Seven Devils

[2] w/ Cris Jacobs

As we ventured into night two on Saturday, we were reminded that, like collaboration, this band holds no bounds. They showed up ready to serve a setlist that represents their dynamic range of sounds and genres. Kitchen Dwellers are known to add some spice in the evenings with an array of covers amongst their galaxy grass originals, filled with fluctuations of emotions and preferences, much like the human experience. Saturday was no exception.

As if we were given a charcuterie board of tasty tunes, the Montana four-piece cooked up an experience, peppering in covers that paid homage to alternative rock, folk-rock, 90’s country, and punk rock. Alongside psychedelic hues and some funky bass, we journeyed to the Spanish-like sounds of “Mimas and Ida” and ushered in Celtic ballads and hornpipes. On paper, these varying influences can be interpreted as random, but to know Kitchen Dwellers is to know how gracefully they weave it all together. With an umbrella of their signature sound ringing through each original and cover, the songs are united into a cohesive experience.

To acknowledge Saturday’s setlist without shouting out “Eat My Dust” would be a disservice. Luke Black, the guitarist of up and up-and-coming Alabama bluegrass band Mountain Grass Unit (who also opened the show) joined the Dwellers on stage for an adrenaline-filled sit-in. A perfect song for having two guitarists on stage, Black came out ripping. In the song each player was highlighted, each one trying to top the last, kicking up the dirt. The Dwellers often reference Colorado as their home, and in this western landscape, we found ourselves in a musical cowboy shootout. The visions of a spaghetti Western set the stage for five musicians to give it what they got.

Kitchen Dwellers closed out their sold-out shows with one final announcement, leaving us with a special treat and tying a bow on their appreciation for the Centennial State. This time the news came during the second set with the announcement of upcoming shows in Buena Vista at the Surf Hotel on May 21st and 22nd, 2024, and Mishawaka Amphitheatre in Fort Collins on May 24th, 25th, and 26th, 2024.

Kitchen Dwellers – The Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO – 11/11/23 – Preview

It’s undetermined when those will go on sale, but for now we look forward to January when they are back for five shows in the Rocky Mountains. For a full list of upcoming Kitchen Dwellers tour dates head here.

Check out a gallery of images from Kitchen Dwellers’ two-night Ogden Theatre run in Denver courtesy of photographer Kit Tincher.

Setlist: Kitchen Dwellers | The Ogden Theatre | Denver, CO | 11/11/23

Set One: Sundown, Foundation, Guilty > The ’59 Sound (Gaslight Anthem), Years Of My Life > Broken Cage > Phaedrus > Eat My Dust [1], Rockin’ In The Free World (Neil Young)

Set Two: Covered Bridges > Dunno > Reuben’s Train (Traditional), Mimas And Ida, Some Girls Do (Sawyer Brown), Wise River, Visions Of Mohr > Covered Bridges

Encore: Paradise Valley, Their Names Are The Trees, Lean On Sheena (Avoid One Thing)

[1] w/ Luke Black (Mountain Grass Unit) on guitar