Courtesy of the Dirty Turkeys
Audio By Carbonatix
What started as a pandemic hobby between two brothers in Castle Rock has turned into a fast-rising Colorado act that was awarded Best Acid-Rock Band in Denver this year.
The Dirty Turkeys, which comprises brothers Russ and Bradley “Gonzo” Hansen, Sam Baker and Ty Tullar, is a group of self-taught musicians who met at CU Boulder.
“Over COVID, Russ and Sam started learning their respective instruments,” recalls Bradley, the group’s vocalist. “We found Ty up in Boulder when we got up to college…and that turned into bigger shows and bigger shows.”
Courtesy of the Dirty Turkeys
The members of the Turkeys have come a long way from their humble beginnings of jamming over YouTube tutorials and college-house parties: They are playing with the Stews at the Bluebird Theater on Friday, October 10, and at the Fox Theatre in Boulder on the following night.
The shows — sure to live up to the band’s reputation of sweaty, high-energy crowds, vivid lights and a contagious mix of chaos and community — will be the band’s last in Colorado for the next few months as the band embarks on its East Coast tour on October 15.
“We are looking forward to touring a part of the country that we’ve never been to before…like playing New York,” says Russ. “It is a crazy, crazy thing.”
Courtesy of the Dirty Turkeys
The band recently finished recording its new album, Soul Sugar, and plans to play it on the road. Fans will get an early taste of the forthcoming album with the title track set to be released as a single on October 31. “That song is a good, all-in-one encapsulation of the album — the tempo, the energy, the theatrical aspect of it and the story,” says Russ.
Additional singles from the album will be released in a staggered approach over the next few months.
Bradley notes this new album differs from its debut, Cowboy Caravon, which was released on April 11 and recorded at Denver’s Colorado Sound Studios. “[Soul Sugar] will be the best music we will have put out,” he says. “It’s a bit more structured than the last album. I think we’ve grown as musicians a lot and I think it’s definitely going to show with a lot of these newer songs.”
Courtesy of the Dirty Turkeys
The creative process for the new tracks was extremely collaborative. Each band member brought new ideas to jam sessions, playing around with lyrics and riffs to see what fit. For the most part, the band has a collective consciousness in determining what songs feel right. Often labeled acid cowpunk, the Turkeys’ sound developed organically through exploration of various musical influences. Recently, the members have been embracing their natural evolution as artists with a more focused sound, maintaining the same tempo throughout.
“We never really tried to fully categorize [our sound]. We take different genres and piece them together,” Baker explains. “We don’t try to define it too much but all the music we’ve made up to this point kind of falls under acid cowpunk.”
Denver’s music scene has been a key influence on the Dirty Turkeys’ development and identity as a band, and the members cite such acts as Horse Bitch and Jesus Christ Taxi Driver as inspirations.
“There’s a lot of the music scene in Denver that’s just nuts right now,” Bradley says. “So it was an honor to be placed next to a lot of those bands [in Best of Denver 2025].”
The Dirty Turkeys, 8 p.m. Friday, October 10, the Bluebird Theater, 3317 East Colfax Avenue (tickets are available at bluebirdtheater.net), and Saturday, October 11, the Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder (tickets are available at z2ent.com).