bio
“Your friendly Neighborhood soul band”
DOGTAGS is a queer soul/jazz collective based out of Denver, CO. Built around the real-life relationship of founders Regi Worles and Michael Merola, DOGTAGS embodies friendship, community & acceptance through their vibrantly evocative music. The group exists as an ever-changing array of collaborators and friends who join Worles and Merola, making every DOGTAGS gig a once-in a lifetime collaboration - a case of the “you just had to be there,” intensified by the group’s formidable musicianship, Worles’ ravenous vocals, and a higher purpose to foster connection in a world increasing becoming disconnected. At a DOGTAGS show, no one is a stranger, but everyone is a friend.
To date, the group has played Endless Sunshine, Crosscurrents, Oktoberfest, The Underground Music Showcase, sold-out Lost Lake and have opened for the likes of Thee Sacred Souls, Teddy Swims, Slum Village and more. DOGTAGS much-anticipated debut project is set for release in 2025, preceded by singles, "keepsake" and "sumn bout roses" is a neo-soul, jazz, R&B & post-pop collection serving as a proper introduction to the newest dogs on the scene.
**Dog Tags can be booked as a duo, small ensemble, jazz combo, or full power band.
latest releases
OUR FIRST SINGLE.
Sumn Bout Roses debuts in early August. Our first single is all about the opening your heart up to the unknown. We compare ourselves to others, we try to impress them with gifts, but the truth is that when love arrives the only thing you can do is let it take you on whatever journey it wants to send you on.
just a few of our demos.
If you want a taste of what we’re working with right now this is the spot for you! If you’re interested in our release strategy let us know!
Dog Tags submission to the 2023 Tiny Desk Contest!
Dog Tags Duo playing an acoustic meetup
dogtagsmusic@gmail.com + management@motherfunk.co
Press Photos
reviews
Dog Tags is a band built around friendship, community & acceptance. Dog Tags is music for besties, baes & kindred spirits. Songs that start as friends and grow into something more. A neo-soul, jazz, r&b, & post-pop collective blooming in Denver, CO. At their core, Dog Tags is still the duo they started as; anchored always by the sensual, latin/bossa guitar work of Michael Merola and the breathtaking "you HAVE to hear them live" vocal acrobatics & songwriting of Regi Worles. Their camaraderie & musicality together is undeniable. In the last year, Dog Tags have folded in friends & collaborators (drums, keys, trumpet, saxophone, more guitar!) playing with varied lineups,styles & setlists, making each Dog Tags show a magical event. Magical like the way you feel after a really good potluck. The kind where you talked deeply with new & old friends about stuff that matters. The kind that make you appreciate good hosts who make good food, houses with good light & plants, and uplifting jams humming in your head as you wander home through Cheesman Park.
Seeing Dog Tags live is to witness real, live friendship in all its brilliant, technicolor action. Their songs and their live set are special; not just for their tight, fresh, exciting musicianship, but for the life changing message they carry. That the way to change the world starts with our individual, interpersonal relationships. Platonic, romantic, familial, ecstatic. Love & acceptance, radical & essential. Dog Tags urge & encourage the listener to change the world one friend at a time. The song that started quietly is swelling now. Regi's falsetto is gentle yet demainding; the kind of voice that can change minds & hearts, helping us all grow & bloom together.
"See me / everything that I am / everything that I'm not / & everything that I want to be..."
Matt Jones, Larimer Lounge
The Denver-born eight-piece promises a wild and pure-fun dance party, blending soul, funk, R&B, Latin jazz and more.
— WESTWORD
“Meet Dog Tags your friendly neighborhood neo-soul band.”
