Denver's DJ Williams Is a Musical Tour de Force (2024)

When a virtuoso guitarist whose sound is rooted in rock, soul, jazz and funk releases a cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” and cites the orchestral influence of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson in the arrangement, it’s time for music fans to sit and take a listen.

Denver musician DJ Williams is a musical tour de force, and with his summer tour and a new EP, he’s bringing the noise and the funk to growing legions of fans with numerous stops around Colorado, including a show on Thursday, June 13, at the Velvet Elk Lounge in Boulder, before kicking off an East Coast run in New York City on June 19.

Williams says his latest album, By Way of the RVA, is a "love letter to the town of Richmond, Virginia,” the same place where he discovered his passion for music. The recording has a little bit of something for everyone, and that’s a testament to all the influences that coalesce in Williams’s cohesive sound. His style is a treasure chest of musical history as the sounds of ’60s Motown merge with ’70s soul, filtered through ’90s grunge and hip-hop and a healthy dose of jazz to create a velvety smooth blend of melody and rhythm.

Richmond, aka RVA, has "one of the country's most vibrant music scenes," according to Williams, resulting in such dynamic musicians as D’Angelo, Pharell Williams, Missy Elliott and Dave Matthews. “I was a child of the ’90s, very much influenced by Pearl Jam and Nirvana, but also the hip-hop of A Tribe called Quest and Digable Planets," Williams says. "I loved jazz from my parents and the old-school Motown of Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder, but also Stevie Ray Vaughan and, obviously, Jimi Hendrix."

Those inspirations are reflected in his album: “It’s one cohesive sound influenced by all these artists," Williams says, "and that’s the sound of Richmond, Virginia.”

By Way of the RVA is Williams’s fourth solo studio album, which he says was “done entirely by myself at home,” with the musician playing drums, bass, keys and synths, and providing vocals in what he called “a bucket-list project.” Having purchased recording equipment during the pandemic lockdown, he taught himself recording from YouTube videos. The drum tracks were laid down in his walk-in closet, while the vocals were done in the shower to produce a rich reverb sound. Thematically, the songs are deeply personal and nostalgic: “This is the roots of my sound," Williams says, "and a nod back to the town that made me who I am as a musician, acknowledging all the opportunities and people along the way who supported me.”

The finished product is a masterpiece that showcases Williams’s multi-genre creativity, showcasing, in his words, “who DJ Williams is.” Released on his own label, Projekt Records, and finished by Doug Krebs Mastering, Williams says he is “really proud of this record,” which he intentionally kept short: “It all flowed so naturally playing all instruments myself, and I wanted to keep that simplicity,” he explains. Musically, however, the sound is complex, especially in the jazzy “Heart-Shaped Box” cover. "My father turned me on to the Beach Boys, so the song’s intro with vocal stacking is Brian Wilson-inspired and works beautifully in that arrangement,” he notes.

With all his diverse influences, Williams can seamlessly put his stamp on a remake of a grunge classic. “Every record I do has at least one cover," he says, "and I want to make it completely my own while also honoring the integrity of the original.” He succeeds brilliantly, as he did when he joined steel-guitar master Andrea Whitt for a soulful version of the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha,” or when he covered the Doors’ “Light My Fire” and Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit” for his live album. Honoring legacies while furthering the tradition is important to Williams because, he says, “so many people believe good music” — like that of the Motown legends or the Beach Boys — “doesn’t exist anymore. But I believe it always has and always will.”

Williams established his professional music career with the legendary Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, which bandmembers affectionately called “Tiny University” because the group is such a potent learning experience. He's shared the stage with his musical heroes such as John Legend, Dave Matthews and George Clinton, and his prowess on the fretboard emulates guitar mastery in the lineage of Jimi Hendrix, Prince and Lenny Kravitz. He now performs and tours with the DJ Williams Band, which has a cast of 54 rotating bandmembers. Switching it up keeps his sound fresh and interesting, though he’s currently traveling as a four-piece band that includes drummer Ben Atkind, formerly of the jam band Goose, bassist Seth Orsini and Macon Mann on keys.

After living in Los Angeles for many years, Williams has been living in Denver since 2018. “Colorado’s a really magical place, and I don’t feel like going anywhere else,” he says, adding that in the Mile High, "we all support each other, bringing community to a vibrant music scene.” He has definitely developed a local fan base, and after playing in Tiny Universe for twelve years, Williams says he’s now “in a phase to build my name with my own music. With Karl Denson’s band, I got to be on stage with a lot of my heroes, quietly taking notes, and now it’s time to be one of those guys myself.”

Williams is staying busy with the new album and 26-night summer tour. “I’m a man on a mission right now,” he says, and while he embraced the solitary nature of recording the EP, “the stage is where I shine the most and where I’m most comfortable as an artist.” His live shows have been described as explosive, and Denver fans can experience a unique concert on Friday, June 14, when he joins good friend Marcus Machado at Herman’s Hideaway for a Jimi Hendrix tribute.

Any fan of the greatest guitarist in history — and those who know or have yet to discover the fretboard mastery of Williams and Machado — will not want to miss the show. Williams will also join Machado on Thursday, June 13, at the Velvet Elk performance, where each artist will play a set of their own music before sharing the stage to close the show. Following the East Coast run, the DJ Williams Band will be in Granby on July 11, opening for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe as part of the Granby Concert Series, before wrapping up the tour at Goosetown Station in Golden on July 13.

“Marcus Machado is an amazing guitarist,” Williams says, “a true guitar prodigy and probably the closest to a Hendrix reincarnation that I’ve ever met.”

DJ Williams and Marcus Machado, 7 p.m. Friday, June 14, Herman's Hideaway, 1578 South Broadway. Tickets are $15-$20.