Tyler Campo was one of those rare human beings who had the courage to do what made him happy. And what made Campo happy, his friends say, was playing bass guitar, bartending – and all things Denver.

His Facebook cover photo could have been a tattoo on his arm. It says: I ♥️ DEN.

Campo was well-known as the bass player for Cowboy Curse, a (mostly) three-piece Denver band once well-described as “angelic, Shins-infused indie pop.” But he was better known as one of the kindest souls in the Colorado music community.

“Tyler was the guy who knew everybody in town,” said Jim McTurnan, Campo’s mate in a band called Soft Skulls. “I can’t picture him without him smiling. Because more than anything, he was a people person who loved everybody, and everybody loved him in return.”

Campo died Feb. 26 in Aspen at age 47. The cause of death has not been released but is believed to be natural causes.

“He was such a light,” said Rob Burleson, drummer for the band Spells. “He was super friendly with a sprinkle of East Coast snark.”

As either a bartender or a musician, Campo worked at most every music venue in town. And from behind the bar, Burleson said, “Tyler greeted anyone he knew with a smile, a hug – and usually a shot of tequila.

“He was always eager to catch up, and never shy about saying, ‘I love you.’”

Campo was born Sept. 24, 1977, in Storrs, Conn., and attended the University of Connecticut before moving to Boulder. Here, Burleson said, he was a supporter of the music and food scenes “to the bone.”

Ben Bergstrand started Cowboy Curse in 2003, he has said, as a way to keep little brother Josh off the streets and out of trouble. Rounding out the then-foursome was longtime musical collaborator Darin Strachan “and a fast-talking longhair named Tyler Campo.” In 2005, Erin Tidwell took Josh’s place.

The band was known for its great lyrics, cool three-part harmonies and all-around musicianship. The name came from a Pitchfork article that talked about how touring acts view Denver as a cursed place. One memorable song title: “Mow ‘Em Down Like Jesus Would.” Another was inspired by a police shooting involving developmentally disabled teenager Paul Childs in 2005, “Shoot a Boy.”

After re-releasing a five-song EP in 2003, a three-song maxi-single in 2004 and a full-length album in 2006, the band resolved not to make another album. “From here on out, we’re going to digitally release two tracks at a time, an A-side and a B-side,” Campo told journalist Ricardo Baca at the time. “This way we can produce something for fans more often, putting something out every two months instead of every two years.”

The band played together through 2009, and there was a reunion show at the Squire Lounge in 2019.

Campo also played with McTurnan in Soft Skulls as well as with Gun Street Ghost and Port Au Prince. The bass player has to be really good for any trio to work, McTurnan said, and Campo was a shining star.

“As a guitar player, Tyler had a rare genius that a lot of musicians don’t,” McTurnan said. “He had a great ear that allowed him to take any sloppy, half-assed three-chord-song that I might write, and he could come up with a complex melodic bass line that could really carry the weight of the song.”

On top of that, while he was playing those great bass parts, “he could just nail the sweetest harmonies. He could belt out this huge falsetto and he could hit really, really high notes.”

Campo worked as a lead bartender for Aramark and at virtually every music venue in town. That list included Mission Ballroom, the Bluebird Theater, Cricket on the Hill, the Ogden, the Gothic, Number Thirty Eight and Levitt Pavilion. Just last month, a photo of Campo working an event at Bemelmans’ Bar in Aspen was published in the Feb. 22 Aspen Times. Bartending, he told anyone who asked, brought him joy. And financial stability.

“He was an immensely talented and an immensely smart dude who could have chosen whatever path he wanted in life,” McTurnan said. “But playing in a band is not something that’s particularly rewarding monetarily for 90% of the musicians out there.”

A celebration of life will be held from 2-8 p.m. March 23 at the Bluebird Theater. A GoFundMe to cover expenses has been organized by co-worker and friend Heather Garcia that has raised about $22,000 so far.

“Campo was my friend. And he was your friend,” she said. “He was a beacon of encouragement, and everyone’s biggest cheerleader.”

He was not one in a million, she said, but rather “one of one.”