This Ethereal, Ritualistic Concert Will Make Waves at Meow Wolf

Bluebook, the hauntingly ethereal indie band from Denver, takes its moniker from a deeply personal place. Founder Julie Davis originally used the name as a metaphor for her songwriting process, drawing from the structured examination booklets often used by students for written tests.

"I was an English major, and I started putting poems together that I liked the structure of," Davis explains. "It was a lot of different ones...a lot of Emily Dickinson, because it's so easy to write her poems into songs, since they have that hymn structure."

Her early musical explorations saw her setting poetry to music, making sense of the world through lyrical reinterpretation. When Davis first began performing that music, it was just her and a CD player onstage, playing tracks she had created. 

"I was interpreting the poems through songwriting, so I called it Bluebook after the college booklets you take exams in when you're in college," Davis said. "To me, those tests were always very emotional and there was an important kind of processing of the texts and integration of meaning that happened when writing about them in a bluebook. The project was that for me at first because it was just me, and I was using it as a way to interpret these poems, so it was sort of a metaphor for that. Now it doesn't really mean anything, but there it is."
Though Bluebook has since evolved into a four-piece, this sense of discovery and transformation remains at its core. On Saturday, March 22, Bluebook will bring its evocative sound and immersive stagecraft to the Perplexiplex at Meow Wolf, promising an experience that transcends a typical concert. Also including openers Body and Pleasure Prince, the show is set to be a mesmerizing fusion of ethereal music, immersive visuals and communal storytelling.

"I personally have been longing to create and use shows to explore rituals," Davis says. "Not grounding in any particular tradition but the ritual of coming together. At a couple of recent shows, I asked some ladies to process and sing onstage — I called it ritual theater. For our Meow Wolf show, we are going to have a professional processor; our friend Joe Richmond is bringing his speakers so we will have surround sound; and Joel Rekiel, our videographer, is creating spring equinox-themed animated immersive projections."

Along with Davis on bass and vocals, Bluebook includes Jess Parsons on keyboards and vocals, Hayley Helmericks on drums and vocals and Anna Morsett on guitar and vocals. Each member came to the project from different musical backgrounds, yet they found a shared language in their love for atmospheric, deeply affecting music.
Davis and Parsons first began collaborating nearly a decade ago. “Jess and I started playing together nine years ago,” Davis recalls. "She had never used any pedals and I said, ‘Here’s a delayed and reverb pedal, so just experiment.’ She was more straight-ahead folk but I had this sense she was secretly dark inside. Now, the darkness comes naturally."

Initially, the duo was working on another project but when Davis realized Parsons played piano, she asked her if she would help her arrange the songs she had been performing solo with tracks. "She came over and we started singing together," Davis. "I felt so good so we kept doing it. Our kids would play and it was a really sweet time. I was making loops so The Astronaut’s Wife in 2018 was just the two of us."

Helmericks, formerly of Snake Snake Rattle Rattle, joined Bluebook in 2019, eager to embark on a new creative journey. "I'm definitely drawn towards darker music," Helmericks says. "After Snake Snake Rattle Rattle dissolved, I came into this project fully ready to begin a new. I said to Julie, ‘I can play drums,’ and basically invited myself into the project."

Morsett, the most recent addition in 2020, surprised Davis by seamlessly integrating guitar into Bluebook’s once guitar-less aesthetic. “I had been scarred by playing with too many guitar players,” Davis admits, “but what Anna plays is always so perfect. Anna had a band that she still plays with but said she loved Bluebook and wanted to play with us so badly. I said, ‘We’ll never have a guitar in Bluebook,’ then was like, ‘Wait, I’m just kidding. That would be amazing,' and we’ve been playing together ever since." 
The band’s creative chemistry is rooted in collaboration. While Davis often brings song structures to the group, each member contributes their own instrumental and harmonic ideas.

“It’s collaborative,” Helmericks explains. “We’re all writing our own parts. Julie brings the song's form to the band and we start working from there."

More recently, Davis has invited the band to co-develop chord progressions, ensuring the sound continues to evolve. The band's distinct musical sound can be heard on its latest EP, Holy Rider, which was released on March 10 and includes three new songs: "Some Things Fly Away," "Wash Me River" and "Holy Rider." The tracks mark an important milestone for the band, as they’ve been performed live for some time but are only now being officially released.

One of the tunes, “Wash Me River,” holds special significance for Davis, as it’s the first song she ever wrote. “It’s an old, old song,” she notes, reflecting on the cyclical nature of inspiration in her work. "It is an Emily Dickinson poem, but all three of the songs are very dark. We've been performing these live for months but life's been so busy that we are just now releasing them."

The band finished recording the tracks in April with producer James Barone but "have been dragging our feet to release the music," Davis says. "You know how you make something and then, if you don’t release it right away, you don’t know how you feel about them anymore?"

"You overthink them," Parsons interjects.

"Yeah, that’s a pattern in my life," Davis says. "I shouldn’t have sat on them for so long but it’s okay. I’m not holding them back. I give up. I release the three songs."

The songs are available on Bandcamp rather than Spotify, a deliberate decision that reflects the group's DIY ethos and desire for a more personal connection with listeners. Bluebook's artistry relies heavily on live performances. Over time, its stage presence has grown “more bombastic and psychedelic,” according to Helmericks.

“We actually are going to record live at Meow Wolf, so watch for that," Davis adds. "The recordings are good. I wasn’t trying to degenerate them but I feel like we’ve evolved. We are becoming more powerful in our own selves and relationships with each other and I hope the live recordings capture that." 

For its upcoming show, Bluebook is embracing theatricality and immersive storytelling. Davis describes a dream she had about “giant goddesses processing at the show,” inspiring the creation of what she calls “ritual theater.” The performance will incorporate elements of procession and immersive projections. The members will also be dressed in white to serve as canvas for the projected visuals.

"Some of us,” Helmericks laughs, playfully acknowledging that not everyone is committed to the costume aspect. Beyond the aesthetics, the show will feature a new song and a special cover.

"I don’t know how it will go," Helmericks says. "It’s a little strange. The whole show is kind of an experiment. We usually play at dive bars and venues like that, but now we are playing at the Perplexiplex at Meow Wolf."

Bluebook has built a reputation as one of Denver’s most compelling live acts, but its ambitions stretch beyond the local scene. “We just had a song placed in Pretty Little Liars: Summer School,” Davis shares. “Our music feels very cinematic, and I’d love to get more songs into film and TV."

Touring is another aspiration, though it presents logistical challenges given the members’ family commitments.

"With both Jess and my baby daddies being touring musicians, it is tricky," Davis says. “We really are beholden to their schedule unless we want to bring our kids on tour.”

"Well, Jess’s daughter is the best tour manager," Hehmericks teases. "No one sells merchandise like her, so we could make it work."

For now, Bluebook is focused on the present — writing new music, honing its evolving live show and celebrating its artistic journey with Denver audiences. The band's Meow Wolf performance promises to be a watershed moment, combining sound, spectacle and storytelling in ways it has never done before.

As Helmericks puts it, “The special treats we've mentioned are to entice people to come out to Meow Wolf and get weird with us.”

Bluebook, Saturday, March 22, 8 p.m. Meow Wolf Denver, 1338 First Street. Tickets are $26.75.