Kansas City’s lineup of creative talent plays best when musicians can plug into bands where they’re needed most, said Sky Cowdry, describing an inclusive local music scene built on shared resources, and sounds.
Silvee: Dan Camino, Hannah Kelly, Sky Cowdry, and Chaney Butner; courtesy photo
Silvee — a singer-songwriter-driven dream pop group infused with rock and roll (and set to perform at Tuesday’s Small Biz to Watch event) — is a prime example, he said.
“A lot of us play in other bands, too,” explained Cowdry, bass player, backup singer, and producer for Silvee. “Kansas City has a sense of community that is not super common in other scenes where we all kind of support each other. I also play in the band They’re Theirs, and bandmates from my other bands will come out and see the shows and support us. It’s really cool.”
“It’s very diverse,” continued Dan Camino, guitar and synth player and backup singer for Silvee. “It’s super cool that there’s so many people to make music with and play with.”
“It’s a friendly community,” added Silvee drummer Chaney Butner. “It’s easy to meet people, and I feel like it’s probably easier to start bands because so many people are down to try different projects.”
Although its members are experienced on local music scene, Silvee is a relatively new kid on the block — forming in late 2024/early 2025 and playing its first show in late June. The band came together after Butner heard lead vocalist Hannah Kelly singing with a friend of his, he shared.
Drummer Chaney Butner and bass player Sky Cowdry play together with the band The Highwater in June 2024 at Startland News’ Startup Crawl at PNC Plaza in Kansas City; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Drummer Chaney Butner plays with the band The Highwater in June 2023 inside Blade & Timber during Startland News’ Startup Crawl; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
“One night at the bar, I met her,” Butner continued, “and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m a big fan of yours. I would love to get together sometime and make some music.’ And then we started talking and then that’s what led to the first practice.”
Butner then recruited Cowdry and Camino, who he had played with in the bands The Highwater and Surf Wax, respectively.
“I know they’re really good musicians,” Butner said.
“I think when we initially met together,” Kelly recalled, “we were just planning on jamming and seeing how it went. And it went so smoothly.”
The band’s sound leans into bearing-of-one’s-soul lyrics.
“They can expect an ethereal, atmospheric vibe that oscillates between sadder stuff that fills the room and then a little bit more upbeat stuff that gets people moving,” Cowdry said of listeners attending one of their shows.
Since coming together, the band members said, they have been working on recording music and have started playing one show a month. Following the Small Biz to Watch event, they’ll next perform Aug. 30 at Lemonade Park in the West Bottoms.
“We’ll try to play shows with bands that fit our vibe,” Cowdry noted, “Like Honeybee is the one that we’re playing with at Lemonade Park. But otherwise, we’re just working on recording material and having stuff out for people to listen to.”
