Rochester's Joywave Shines at the Stanley Hotel

Photos & Story by Gerardo Federico

We got to the historic Stanley Hotel early – the spiritual birthplace to Stephen King’s masterpiece The Shining – and enjoyed a beautiful drive up into the rustic beauty of Estes Park, surrounded by late Fall’s delightful scenery. Seeing Joywave, the indie phenom from Rochester, New York, promised to be a shining crown to what was already a monumental Saturday. The band – Daniel Armbruster (vocals), Joseph Morinelli (guitar), Kevin Mahoney (bass), Benjamin Bailey (keyboards), and Paul Brenner (drums) – did not disappoint.

The smallish venue – The Stanley’s wedding reception hall, which holds about 500 people, max – took a little while to get filled up. The room was a stark white, lined with wonderfully tall, blood-red curtains that framed the Art Deco bar from Stanley Kubrick’s classic film of “The Shining,” complete with the spooky, noir-lit background and everything

As the room filled, we caught the opening act, Upsahl. Playing all the instruments onstage – bass, guitar, keyboards Upsahl also sang her heart out to a very pleased, growing crowd. 

The crowd was interesting – not what I’d thought it would be, anyway. Lots of Flannel shirts and trucker hats, probably more endemic to Colorado than the band. But in this small a venue, when people cheered it got loud, regardless of the flavor of indie style. Overall, Joywave seems very popular here. There were mentions on Facebook of people traveling quite some distances to get her to see them. And I thought a jaunt all the way up to Estes was a trek!

I actually expected the crowd to be half locals just looking for a night out, and half-real Joywave fans from close by. I was wrong: there were tons of dedicated Joywave fans here! You could tell by the way the crowd knew all the words to every song, and sang them all – loudly. And Joywave satisfied all of us, playing about 18 songs, each better than the last. Their indie cred still growing, they’ll be releasing a new record in March of 2020 – and plan a large tour following.

Joywave Setlist – Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado, Saturday, December 7, 2019

1. Like a Kennedy
2. Somebody New
3. Blank Slate
4. Blastoffff
5. Content
6. Shutdown
7. Now
8. Half Your Age
9. Nice House
10. Traveling at the Speed of Light
11. Parade
12. Life in a Bubble I Blew
13. Doubt
14. True Grit
15. Tongues
16. Destruction
17. It’s a Trip!
18. Obsession