Facing West: The Biggest Colorado Band You’ve Never Heard of

Congratulations to Caitlin and Sidney on their continued success! Elevation Celebration was one of their tour stops in 2015 and they were a blast!

Facing West: The Biggest Colorado Band You’ve Never Heard of
Katie Moulton | October 30, 2017

Facing West has yet to check off the hallmarks of an up-and-coming Denver band. The acoustic-leaning alt-pop duo has never played the Larimer Lounge, never been nominated for a Westword Showcase. Neither member will be able to step foot in the hi-dive for several more years. Yet Facing West has amassed a supportive worldwide audience — 85,000 likes on Facebook, 59,000 Twitter followers, 119,000 Instagram followers, airplay of its new single, “Messed Up Masterpiece,” on 93.3 KTCL — not bad for teenagers living with their parents in Lakewood.

We chatted with Caitlin and Sidney Powell, the sisters who make up Facing West, to find out how they built such an audience, how they fit into the local scene and to defy them to melt our icy cynical hearts.

Facing West moved from connecting with listeners and fellow artists on YouTube to making music available on Spotify, which they also approached with savvy. “If you get 250 followers on Spotify,” Sidney explains, “then you get verified and get put on playlists.”

When asked about social-media strategy for artists, Facing West offers a few big tips.

In fact, Facing West Googled its way to its latest musical partnership. The Powells are big fans of Tennessee-based YouTube singer-songwriter Jacob Whitesides, and so looked up his producer, David Spencer, then sent Spencer a direct message on Twitter. This cold contact led to a long-distance collaboration, co-writing songs via Skype, and a trip to Nashville to record. The result was a series of new singles that Facing West will release online over the next several months.

www.facingwestmusic.com/
www.facebook.com/FacingWestMusic/
twitter.com/facingwestmusic
www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJ-a2IzCJ-gwlHvqvOWGhw

open.spotify.com/artist/7JQVkFw40aWF95q9FpFsxA

We got a message letting us know that Facing West is 1 of 10 artists (out of 200 Colorado bands) being featured by 93.3 for Home Town for the Holidays! They need your votes!
area93.iheart.com/content/2017-12-01-hom...-vote-on-the-top-10/