Forged in the halls of Greeley Central High School, and fine-tuned in the spare bedrooms of their parent’s homes, the Naked Mannequins bring an eclectic brand of “fuzzed out emotional indie” to every last performance.
What started as a group of friends playing covers of songs they liked has turned into a staple of the Greeley music scene — one that’s on the verge of making a statewide presence.
After winning the Greeley leg of Bandwagon’s Battle of the Bands competition in November, the group will perform at the finale Friday at Denver’s Oriental Theater for a chance at $5,000 and a spot on the cover of Bandwagon Magazine.
“It was a really amazing surprise,” vocalist Kayla Price said. “And we’re just going to keep pushing as hard as we can.”
With inspirations ranging from Green Day to Chappell Roan to Sleep Token, it’s hard to nail down their sound.
“We don’t really have a genre. We kind of write whatever sounds good.” guitarist Mikah Martinez said. “We’re just kind of leaking out of the box, and it’s messy, but it works. And we can all vibe to the same kind of song we’re writing.”
However anyone would describe it, there is no doubt it has connected with those who have made their to The Moxi, 2454 West or any other stage or basement around Greeley they’ve played.
And the band’s story is almost as unique its sound.
This year marks their seventh year in action — conjuring images of scene veterans who cut their teeth in a number of bands before finally meeting the right group. But, forming while the members were all still early into their teens, the Naked Mannequins crew skipped straight to the last step.
Martinez spearheaded the group in December 2019, when he saw a video now-bassist Kas Smith had posted of herself playing bass.
“In the background was my dream amplifier,” Martinez said. “So I texted her, and we planned a practice. That was in December 2019, so right before COVID.”
The Naked Mannequins, from left, guitarist Mikah Martinez, vocalist Kayla Price, bassist Kas Smith and drummer Jacoby Barnhill pose for a portrait at the arcade in Chippers Classic Lanes in Greeley on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)A few months later, Smith brought up a drummer she had known from her time in choir — adding Jacoby Barnhill to the fold. Price joined the band to play keys and sing background vocals — but was pretty quickly elevated to lead singer after the band’s first two vocalists flamed out.
“I had barely started playing bass maybe a year before Mikah saw that video of me playing,” Smith said. “These three were way ahead of me … So when we all got together and started playing, I was like, ‘Oh. I need to start trying a little harder.’ ”
The group played its first show in September 2020 — an outdoor gig at the Greeley/Evans Moose Lodge 909 that was one of the city’s first live performances as the pandemic still raged.
It also put a hard deadline on deciding on a band name — something they had routinely put off since forming.
“It was our first show, and we didn’t have a name,” Martinez said. “And I got this literal naked mannequin from a flea market. It was only a torso, and we customized the heck out of it. And I was just like, ‘The Naked Mannequins.’ ”
They toyed with changing the name — the top three contenders after weeks of debate were The Insomniacs, The Quaranteens and Caffeine Cavity — but they just kept coming back to the Naked Mannequins.
“Everyone remembers Naked Mannequins,” Barnhill said. “That’s a pretty hard one to forget. I mean, unless you don’t know how to spell mannequins.”
The name, coupled with the infectious energy live and never-quite-sure-what’s-coming-next writing style, has made them a name impossible to forget in the Greeley — and northern Colorado — music scene.
An early highlight came at the 2021 Greeley Stampede, when the a summer rainstorm gave The Naked Mannequins every up-and-coming band’s best friend: a captive audience.
“That was a big crowd,” Barnhill said.
They must have liked what they heard, because the band has been invited back every year, since moving from the free stage to the larger Park Stage — alongside names like Lit, Rodney Atkins and Casey Donahew.
The Naked Mannequins performing on the Park Stage at the Greeley Tribune. The band started in 2019, when all four members were still young teens. (Courtesy/The Naked Mannequins)The band points to the recent Battle of the Bands win as another highlight.
The group didn’t have lofty expectations going into the preliminary round. They looked at it as an opportunity to play another show and meet some cool people in the scene.
“We were so excited to play with not only these really talented musicians, but also at one of our favorite venues in Greeley at The Moxi,” Smith said.
They are taking the same mindset into the gig at the Oriental. Because why change? Their genuine approach both on and off stage has brought them this far.
It has kept them together through the teenage angst that derails most bands that young. And its brought them out the other side, tighter — both on the stage as musicians and off the stage as friends.
“There are layers to having a band that keeps going,” Martinez said. “It’s not just being good at your instrument. It’s relationships, it’s communication, it’s listening to each other and collaborating. It’s a lot of teamwork.”
But, to those involved, the key to their success is pretty simple.
Each member, not wanting to take too much credit, attributes it to the group itself: the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
“We have great chemistry,” Martinez said. “That’s really important as a band, and it’s kind of what has stopped us from leaning to different bands as well. That’s why we’ve stuck around for almost seven years. This is my second family.”
Barnhill echoed his guitarist’s sentiment.
“We love one another,” Barnhill said. “And sure, we go at each others throats sometimes, but that’s because we’re siblings.”
The Naked Mannequins, from left, guitarist Mikah Martinez, drummer Jacoby Barnhill, vocalist Kayla Price and bassist Kas Smith pose for a portrait at the arcade in Chippers Classic Lanes in Greeley on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Battle of the Bands finale
Naked Mannequins will take the stage Friday night at the Oriental Theater, alongside Miniluv, The Koozies, Hand Turkey and Evan Bingham and Rude Mood. Tickets start at $26.88 and are available at BandwagonPresents.com.
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