Rising Stars: Meet Ben Melius of Denver, CO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Melius.

Hi Ben, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m originally from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a little peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic, but spent my formative teenage years in south Orange County, California. I did a lot of shuffling back and forth in those years, spending time with my mom on the West Coast and dad on the East Coast. I even swapped schools back and forth a few times, actually – it was an unstable and unpredictable time in my life, with two totally different lifestyles between the regions, and two totally different households between the two parents. The only constants in that era of my life, the only things that were consistent, were music and writing. As I navigated the awkward teenage years in a state of flux, I pulled in this kernel of thought and identity that my creativity was forming in to, and started to nurture it and protect it. It felt uniquely me and felt like something I was anchoring to organically in the windy conditions of my life.

It didn’t take long to find my place with music, as I picked the guitar up quickly and had a natural proficiency for writing songs – both music and lyrics. I’d always loved writing short stories and lyrical poems, so once I had a certain amount of knowledge and control over my instrument, taking the next step to blend music and storytelling together was natural and intuitive. It felt like it flowed through me pretty easily and, more importantly, uniquely. I was totally enthralled with music from morning to night. Funny enough, one of my most prolific periods of growth came from a time when I stole the keys to a truck my dad had bought for me to have when I was able to drive. Well, I wrecked that truck a few moments later, and my dad wouldn’t allow me to drive for a year. So there I was in my middle teens, my friends learning to how to drive and starting to party, I was developing what would become a deep and lifelong relationship with my guitar.

I began recording my music in Southern California immediately after graduating high school in Maryland. I was hooked and tried to play as much as I could with as many people as possible. At this phase in my life though, I really began to make some poor choices with drugs and alcohol. My last couple of years in California would serve as the launching pad for what would be a vicious, decade long struggle throughout my twenties.

Already getting the sense I was getting in too deep with substance abuse, I had an opportunity to move to Colorado and sort of restart my life in my early twenties. It was an amazing experience moving here, living outside of Boulder in Nederland, where, at the time, there was sort of a stashed-away, hyperactive and seriously talented music scene. Music and its magic burned even hotter when I arrived here, and while I was working diligently in a 9-5 position with a cool tech company, I was beginning to burn the candle at both ends to live what I thought was a musician’s lifestyle as well. Drugs and alcohol became daily habits. While I had some of the best times of my life playing all kinds of music with all kinds of friends, recording some of my favorite material, and living truly wild and free, the years started to smear together with half-assed efforts and wasted potential – in several aspects of my life. By the time I’d turned 30, I’d burned a lot of bridges, I’d hurt people I’d cared about, and I’d let my health slip to sickening lows for my age and my weight ballooned to over 260 pounds. I was in debt, living in a house on a favor from a family member, and I’d embarrassed myself in some way or another in all my social circles. My habits had turned me in to someone best avoided. That went for music, as well.

I’d also met my wife at the tail end of all this, and she saw me hit rock bottom and drag along its surface for a few years, always recognizing something in me that I was having a hard time recognizing myself. She saw me through, and gave me runway to start to become the person I can be. I spent the next decade going rogue into fitness and self-development, quit drinking, raised our daughter, grew successful businesses in the food&bev industry, and started a small real estate business. I lost over 100 pounds, developed a healthy lifestyle I’m proud of, really turned things around for myself and our family financially and physically. However, as good as things seemed, I started to wrestle with an existential feeling that my cup still felt empty and I felt unfulfilled – like I was doing things the way that I was supposed to, but it wasn’t quite enough.

I knew there was a drag in my life from not having any true creative outlets. I still played my guitar all the time, wrote verses to chords progressions and hummed melodies for hooks, but I hadn’t allowed myself to take music too seriously while I ground and dug myself out of a hole I’d dug in my 20’s. We live in a time and place culturally where there’s almost a certain condescending attitude toward artists and musicians, as though they’re not as serious as mortgage bankers or middle managers, and we’re kind of taught subconsciously that they can be distracting to “real work” like closing deals and keeping the books. Sort of something we should give up on as the “real” pressures of life mount and we fall in line with our daily roles and routines. I certainly felt this way for a stretch, until I realized that not being creative, or allowing myself the freedom to be creative, had actually stalled some growth and was actually profoundly affecting my capacity for joy and happiness. Not only does being creative fill my cup, it makes it so that I’ve got more of a cup to fill, as well.

These thoughts, these sort of “mid-life crisis” notions about “real happiness” and stare-at-the-stars and ask “what’s it all for?” moments kind of culminated for me when my dad passed away at the end of the summer in 2024. He and I had a complicated, broken relationship, and he died unexpectedly in a bad way. We had a lot of loose ends to tie up, I think we both thought we’d have enough time to swallow our pride and get around to it. It’s cliche, but it’s in these moments of loss and in our review of what’s gone and what will never be, that what’s truly important really hits us. Two things became clear to me as I trapped internally. One, I wanted to share my story of re-wiring addiction and how getting healthy and giving up alcohol changed my life. Two, I need to continue to play music and be playfully creative, for me, and also for my daughter. To learn how to express yourself through creative outlets is not only a gift for other people to experience, it’s to learn to tend a garden you can water and grow and harvest from.

And with that, I began playing music rather seriously again last fall. We recorded a series of songs I’d written throughout my stretch of getting healthy with a couple of drummers I’ve worked with for many years. We started putting some branding together, website, social, etc. We got back to performing with a jazz series last fall, my bass player Phil Chappell and I playing as a duo. From there, we’ve booked all over the front range in various band formats, but mostly as a core trio of myself, Phil and Matt Smart (drummer), with other friends joining on various instruments (a big shout out to Dan Williams, keyboard and saxophone, for the connection here with VoyageDenver, by the way). We did a feature with KGNU earlier this summer, played quite a bit up in the mountains, and I’ve been playing my beloved solo acoustic gigs a bunch around Denver these last couple of months as well. We’ve got a residency at Eldora to open up the ski season, and then we’re going to slow down and focus on the studio side this winter. We’ve got plans to publish and release a bunch of our archived material, and we are pumped to be working on an EP with some super recent music too. I suspect we’ll see all of the recording work start release around the beginning of 2026.

The music itself is very rhythm and blues forward – a lot of soul in the vocals, a lot of big, expressive guitar chords. Clean, smooth guitar work, a lot of catchy little ear worm licks. The music is different, and stands out. When we’re out, we’ve got years of original material and we do a lot of re-imagined material, as well. We get into a lot of 90’s new-soul, get in our bag and go back to the 60’s and 70’s for the disco era funk and Motown. It’s a great time.

On top of the music, 2026 is the year I hope to launch my fitness & sobriety community, MightyLife Project. All the parts are still moving, but what we’d like to do is cultivate a welcoming community space for recovering addicts to come and explore fitness as a way to help overcome the challenges that come with substance abuse and recovery. Getting sober, cleaning up, can be a lonely process, and support can go a long way in helping someone get over the hump. I remember when I was quitting drinking, even just being in the presence of someone else who is also trying to take that step – doesn’t need to be a major activity or event, just being present – can make all the difference in those many little challenging moments. Providing that, or organizing that so that like minded people can provide it, is the primary goal. It’s a lifelong project for me to get something like this off the ground, to share my story and to share how the power of taking back your health creates the foundation we can build the lives we want from. So, while I wanted to focus on the music for this piece, MightyLife Project is an equally important project in my life, so keep an eye out for that too!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t ever been a smooth road. As you get older, I think you start to realize that’s part of the beauty of it. I mentioned most of the general challenges I faced in my “story,” but to be more specific about certain challenges you could name, I’d say I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome at several important steps in my professional life, even sometimes in being a dad. I’ve struggled with anxiety, some lows of depression as I navigated in and out of my addictive behaviors with alcohol. I’ve experienced the lows of relationships gone bad, dealing with regret and accountability. When I was at my lowest, it was hard to see a way forward – I credit my wife’s continued love and support for helping me through those moments. It was also a struggle to see my circle of friends and social networks start to recede as I got sober, and realizing how many of my relationships I felt were important were propped up by alcohol or other bad habits.

There’s also less important but interesting daily struggles, like having to use social media for networking and brand growth while simultaneously feeling like social media is horrible and a thorn in society’s side, and reconciling those feelings in your pursuit of goals. The struggle of staying disciplined when you have a lot of freedom working for yourself. The daily struggle of getting out of bed before dawn to get proper exercise, and the importance of learning the lesson of why winning this specific struggle can help you win so many other struggles.

No, not a smooth road. And yes, lots of struggles!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a singer/songwriter, known for a captivating soulful voice, relatable, clever lyrical storytelling, and a finger picking guitar playing method that fuses rhythm, lead licks, and unusual, expressive chords into one rhythmic style all it’s own. It’s R&B with jazzy fingerprints all over it, with evocative vocals inspired by 70’s soul and 90’s neo-soul.

I’m most proud of my song-crafting skillset and original material – I think it really opens a window into me personally, and that the songs are thought provoking, relevant and relatable. A lot of songs have to do with wrestling with notions of spirituality, the heartlessness and cruelty of historical and modern politics, struggling with personal demons, and heartache. When I write songs, I try to paint a picture of a silver lining though, even when the context can be bleak. Ultimately, I hope to uplift and influence people positively, although a lot of the writing floats around ideas of adversity to overcome.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I’ve lived in and around the Front Range now for almost 20 years (moved here in August 2006). I love almost everything about it, and always have. I love the vibrant art and music scene that stretches up and down the region. I love that I live in an urban environment but there are outlets to an outdoor life everywhere I look when I leave my house. I utilize all the bike and running trails around our area daily, and always have a beautiful view of the mountains to behold. I can live in the city but also get away to the mountains for a complete getaway to see some friends in less than an hour. I love that we are a healthy place, that we prioritize activity and good health.

I could always be an old grump and bemoan traffic and crowds, but its hard for me to be that way because Colorado is so beautiful and I understand why anyone would want to plant their roots here. Would I like my 4pm drive downtown to take a little less time? Absolutely, but at least there’s a lot of nice things to take in while you’re parked on 25. But honestly, I don’t have many serious complaints about our city, I generally truly love it here. I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older, I don’t enjoy the cold months as much as I used to, but we might look at a winter home as we get a little older. I’ve lived here now longer than I ever lived in my hometown in Maryland or in California, so this is home to me, now and for a long time to come. I’ve even adopted the sports teams over the years.

Contact Info:

• Website: benmelius.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benmeliusmusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@benmeliusmusic
• soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/benmeliusmusic