NEDERLAND -- David Tilmon has lived in Colorado his entire life. Growing up, his parents encouraged him and his siblings to try something musical. He remembers first trying piano, but taking lessons and practicing, he never connected with the instrument. His parents still encouraged him to pick an instrument, so he decided to try playing a guitar in their house that hadn’t been played for a while. He started lessons with an instructor who exposed him to various kinds of music, encouraging his interests and guiding him through styles he hadn’t known about before.
Tilmon remembers a turning point for him being the first time he heard the song “Classical Gas.” When the song, an instrumental piece written and originally performed by Mason Williams, played on the radio, he realized that the guitar could still be a powerful instrument by itself. From there, he shifted into fingerstyle playing and focused on instrumental music. Currently based in Berthoud, his instrumental stylings blend folk, classical, jazz, Americana, and even rock influences. He’s worked instrumental interpretations of acts such as The Beatles, Queen, and Talking Heads into his shows, taken inspiration from guitarists such as Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins, and written original instrumental compositions, releasing his debut album Formative in 2021.
Tilmon has started implementing his vocals and an electric guitar into some performances but for the most part, his performing experience of over a decade has focused primarily on acoustic, instrumental, fingerstyle guitar compositions. Along with his own compositions, he’ll play his interpretations of modern rock, jazz, classical music, and other instrumentals he loves. Instrumental standards he’s included since the beginning of his performing career include “Classical Gas,” which has also been performed by another one of Tilmon’s primary influences, Tommy Emmanuel, and “Windy and Warm,” written by John Dee Loudermilk Jr., and performed by Chet Atkins, as well as Doc Watson. When it comes to original compositions, he says there is no consistent process for how he writes. Sometimes they come to him all at once, and sometimes he’ll write a piece of an idea and sit on it for a week, a month, or even a year before coming back to it and finishing it.
Tilmon loves playing music live for people, comparing it to having a conversation with someone. Just like conversations allow him to share his life experiences and what they enjoy, playing music live allows him to share his musical experience and the styles and pieces he loves. He hopes that regardless of where anyone is in their life currently, whatever place they’re in, and whatever reason they come to see him, they will leave feeling at least a little better than they came in and that he can make a net positive impact on his audiences.
You can see David Tilmon performing at the Very Nice Brewing Company location in Nederland, 20 East Lakeview Drive #112 in the Caribou Village Shopping Center, on Saturday, January 18, 2025, starting at 5 p.m. Learn more about his music and find his social media presence by going to his website, https://davidtilmon.com/.
