All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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Although it feels like Rock & Rails just got started, the last concert of the season took place Thursday, Aug. 31. As the saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun." And, as usual, the last concert pulled in a nice crowd to enjoy the music, the weather and to say goodbye to Niwot's long-running signature summer event. The evening kicked off at 5:00 p.m. with Nalani in a solo performance following last week's performance as the Rock & Rails headliner with The Nalani Effect. Nalani, also...
Hazel Miller, who has performed at every Rock & Rails summer concert series since its inception in 2006, will bring her powerful voice and a blend of jazz, blues, R&B and popular music to Niwot Aug. 31. Miller will appear with her band, The Collective, to bring a soulful end to the 2023 summer concert series at Niwot's Whistle Stop Park. For the past several seasons, Miller has been the featured performer at the final concert. Miller has played almost every venue and event in Colorado over the...
The Niwot community turned out to honor the life and memory of Bert Steele Saturday, Aug. 26, in Cottonwood Square shopping center. What was originally planned to be a "thank you" to the Niwot community for supporting local retail businesses, and helping the merchants survive the pandemic shutdown, morphed into a tribute to the late Bert Steele, who brought The Niwot Market to life over 20 years ago. Stacy Szydiek, co-owner of The Niwot Tavern, spearheaded the effort to put the afternoon and eve...
A beautiful evening greeted concert-goers at the penultimate Rock & Rails concert of the season on Aug. 24. Although gray skies threatened, nothing more than a brief dash of rain fell, making for a perfect summer evening. Rock & Rails veteran Wendy Woo opened the evening. A Boulder native, Woo's parents were founding faculty members at Naropa University in Boulder. Influential beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Ken Kesey would be regulars in the living room – a fact s...
Robert "Bert" Merrill Steele Oct. 16, 1950 - Aug. 7, 2023 Robert "Bert" Merrill Steele passed away peacefully on August 7, 2023, in Niwot, Colorado, at the age of 72. Born on October 16, 1950, in Fort Collins, Colorado, he leaves behind a legacy that will forever be cherished by his family, friends, and community. A true grocer at heart, Bert found comfort and joy in his work and his community. He held a deep affection for his family, his roots, and a hard day's work that came along with...
The 3rd Annual Niwot Honey Bee Harvest Festival is a family friendly community event that celebrates the crucial role played by honey bees, the 900-plus species of Colorado native bees, and other pollinators' role in pollinating crops and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. The event is sponsored by the Niwot Business Association (NBA) with additional funding provided by the Niwot Local Improvement District. Event co-planners are Niwot residents Victoria Keen, Dawn Server of Meadowlake Honey, and D...
Hundreds of people turned out for the Celebration of Life for Bert Steele on Aug. 20 at the Knaus Farm on Nimbus Road, with a bluegrass band providing background music both before and after remarks and remembrances by family and friends. The much-loved principal owner of The Niwot Market died Aug. 7 after a short illness. But the tributes to Steele, focusing on how he treated people and how he served the community, haven't ended. On Saturday, Aug. 26, Bluegrass for Bert will be held in...
This week's Rock & Rails headliner is possibly the first performer in the series to have ever set foot on Whistle Stop Park's gazebo stage. Nalani is a Niwot High School graduate with deep area roots and fond memories of the concert series. "Rock & Rails is my home," Nalani said. "I remember when they built the gazebo and feeling that it was an anchor point for a community space. I just stood up on it, with my arms wide open, and wondered what the space would be like with the crowd, vendors,...
The beginning of autumn is a time of celebration at The Grange. The community will come together to revel in the season's harvest and the joy of dancing, singing, and learning together. Community Dance Lessons Tuesdays, September 5 through December 12, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Teacher-choreographer Lindy Bartruff invites all ages and levels to the Lindybdance Fall Celebration featuring line dance classes and social dance workshops for $10/person or $15/couple. Join in fun and free dance samplers and be...
The annual Jared Music Foundation RISE Concert fundraiser comes to Whistle Stop Park Thursday, Sept. 7, at 5 p.m. The concert will begin with Mojomama, a funky blues Rock & Rails favorite, followed by Soul School, a crowd-pleasing multi-genre band that plays anything from soul to country to pop. Donations will provide young musicians from Boulder to Niwot to Longmont with scholarships and instruments to continue pursuing their love of music. The concert is free. Dancing is encouraged. Food...
According to Lily Sykes, Arts Student of the Week, "Music is a beautiful mix between emotion and mathematics." Sykes believes that is what draws her to it. "Music theory is fundamentally based in mathematics, and playing an instrument is a very mathematical process: press the right buttons, use the right muscles," Sykes said, "and the right sound will come out. However, this is not the magic of music. While making the right sounds is very methodical and important, true music goes beyond playing...
Robert "Bert" Merrill Steele Oct. 16, 1950 - Aug. 7, 2023 Robert "Bert" Merrill Steele passed away peacefully on August 7, 2023, in Niwot, Colorado, at the age of 72. Born on October 16, 1950, in Fort Collins, Colorado, he leaves behind a legacy that will forever be cherished by his family, friends, and community. A true grocer at heart, Bert found comfort and joy in his work and his community. He held a deep affection for his family, his roots, and a hard day's work that came along with...
When Robin Abb ("Rockin' Robin") and the Niwot Business Association came up with the idea for Niwot's Rhythm on the Rails summer concert series in 2005 when the bandstand was built in Whistle Stop Park, she had already decided who should manage the sound. Craig Cutcliff, the sound engineer, remembers that moment clearly. "I started the first year that they had it. Rockin' Robin called me up," he said. "I had mixed her band. So that's when I started. And I've been doing it ever since." Cutcliff...
Dressed in white suits, with finely choreographed dance moves, the musicians of One on One made the music come alive at Rock & Rails Aug. 10. Although the early afternoon began with a light shower, by the 5 p.m. start time, the rain had stopped, the wind died down and the sun was out. Singer-songwriter Megan Burtt opened the evening with her guitar and vocal artistry as the crowd gathered. One on One's setlist, featuring the best of Motown, had the crowd singing along. Early in the evening the...
The House Blend Band resumes its summer concert series on 2nd Avenue in Niwot on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. 2nd Avenue from Murray Street to Franklin Street will be closed for the duration of the event to provide room for the portable stage set up, seating, and dancing in the street. The inside of The Old Oak Coffeehouse will be closed during the event, but spaghetti will be served from the window, along with other food and drinks. Other businesses, including 1914 House and The Niwot...
The Niwot High School Marching Band has been working hard to prepare for the upcoming school year. Members perform at a multitude of events throughout their tenure with the band including the Boulder County Fair Parade, Niwot High School football games, St. Vrain Band Night, and several local parades. These performances would not be possible without the substantial practice time and effort each band member puts into their instrument. The first practices each year that bring the group together...
Detroit Motown and classic soul will fill Whistle Stop Park this Thursday, Aug. 10, when Ron Ivory and One on One take the stage. The quartet will be playing a range of music from the 1950s through the 2000s including familiar songs from The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes. They're playing it during a year when the group is marking its 20th year performing in what's been one of its busiest years. "It started in 2003," said Ron Ivory, who serves as bandleader f...
The Niwot Tavern is hosting a music festival at Cottonwood Square on Aug. 26 from 2-9 p.m., in honor of Bert Steele, co-owner of Niwot Market, who died Aug. 7 after a short illness. The free event, "Bluegrass for Bert," is funded by the owners of Niwot Tavern, with financial assistance from the Niwot Local Improvement District and the Niwot Business Association. "The whole event is for Bert, because he's the heart of Niwot," said Stacy Szydlek, co-owner of the Niwot Tavern. Szydlek and Tara...
At the start of Niwot's Flower Fest last Saturday, Aug. 5, a huge line trailed outside Fly Away Home Decor, going all the way to the gas station in Cottonwood Square at the end of the block. Some people arrived an hour before 10 a.m., the official start of the Flower Fest, in order to receive one of the free 75 baskets for the Flower Walk. "There were around two hundred people. We had to turn people away." said Sarah Cioni, owner of Belle Terre Floral, a florist shop specializing in bridal...
Jamie McGregor kept busy playing music at Niwot High School, where he graduated in 1984. "I played in the marching band, the concert band, the jazz band, and the orchestra," he said. Then he added with a laugh, "I was the ultimate band geek, with the key to the band room." He began playing at age three, when a neighbor gave him a toy drum set (allegedly to annoy his parents), and he began studying the drums in earnest in fifth grade. At Niwot High he studied percussion with band director Mike...
Guerrilla Fanfare Brass Band brought its high-energy brass to Niwot last Thursday. Aug. 3, and the crowd loved it. The group, featuring trumpets, trombones, saxes, drums and a tuba, crowded the stage and entertained the audience with funky instrumentals that everyone enjoyed. The weather cooperated as predicted storms bypassed Niwot, unlike the rain and windstorm on Tuesday night that took down the entry-gate structure at Whistle Stop Park. One of the two tipi-like tripods was damaged when it...
Brass, sass, and a party are coming to the Rock & Rails stage Aug. 3 as Guerrilla Fanfare plays the event for the first time. Made up entirely of Denver-area musicians, they impart a New Orleans-style funk to their concerts, bringing trumpets, trombones, a tuba, saxophones and drums to their audience. The band's founder and manager Zach Brake is a 2016 CU Boulder alumnus and music education major who fell in love with brass band music while in school. He dreamed of starting a brass band at a tim...
Tuesday, July 25, saw The Peter Fund host a concert in Whistle Stop Park in conjunction with the recognition of the first five Kindness Counts Award winners in the non-profit's effort to recognize and reward acts of kindness. The evening opened with two bands, The PSB and Pearl Vision, each made up of local high school students who knew the late Peter Bonn-Elchoness, who died of a rare heart condition during his senior year at Niwot High School last fall. The music concluded with a performance...
Niwot’s first Flower Fest will be held on Aug. 5 from 10:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. on Second Avenue and in Cottonwood Square Shopping Center in celebration of colorful summer blooms. Sponsored by Niwot Business Association and the Niwot Local Improvement District, the fest is being organized by Sarah Cioni, the owner of Belle Terre Floral, and Kathy Trauner, the owner of Fly Away Home Decor, with several fun events planned and lots of free flowers. The first seventy-five arrivals at Fly Away Home for the Flower Fest will receive a punch card to u...
Colorado's unusually wet summer weather caught up with Rock & Rails July 20, cutting short the performance by Rebecca Folsom and her band. The dark clouds and threat of rain held off until just after 7 p.m., when lightning strikes within two miles of the venue, accompanied by a downpour, interrupted the performance. Folsom and the band tried to wait out the storm as concert-goers huddled around the depot building and crowded under umbrellas, but when high winds came up and the rain did not...
In a world where music has the power to touch hearts and ignite souls, singer-songwriter Rebecca Folsom stands as a true luminary. A Rock & Rails favorite since 2006, Folsom and her band return to Niwot's favorite event, July 20. "Niwot is a home away from home," the Boulder native shared. "There's something special about the Niwot community and the strong sense of celebration in that community." This year, Folsom takes the stage propelled by the momentum of "Sanctuary," her newly released...
Beautiful blue skies and high temperatures brought out a huge crowd to the July 13 edition of Rock & Rails. And the bands didn't disappoint. Award-winning songwriter Tim Ostdiek got the evening started and was joined by Jenny Balagna, bringing their upbeat mixture of folk originals and covers to the stage. Ostdiek and Balagna are both based in the Longmont area and perform around the Front Range, often with a full complement of band members, but Niwot was treated to an intimate performance by...
The House Blend Band, composed of family and friends of Old Oak Coffeehouse owners Michael Tomich and Patty Machen, took to the street Saturday, July 15, to perform for a large local crowd. Three generations of the Tomich-Machen family performed with the band, blending harmonies with the musicians. Old Oak Coffeehouse barista Zach Collins also sang with the band, continuing a tradition of featuring one of the Old Oak employees at every concert. The band set up on 2nd Avenue on a stage purchased...
"It seems like it's probably been twelve years at this point," said Mark Trippensee of Last Men on Earth as the band prepares to return to the familiar bandstand in Whistle Stop Park on July 13. "[Rock & Rails] is a hometown gig for us, which we don't do a lot of in the summer," he continued, "so it's always nice to have that amount of people come out." Last Men on Earth's music ranges from classic rock and pop, to country from the 70s, 80s, and current popular music. But what can patrons...
Two local acts, and first timers at Rock & Rails, got the crowd going at the weekly concert Thursday, July 6. Although rain threatened the event earlier in the day, the clouds parted just before the opening act, providing a perfect night for music, dancing and food. Dechen Hawk started the night with his indie soul ballads. Having moved to Boulder when he was five, the "adopted Colorado native" says he has always loved music. But when his father was diagnosed with brain cancer when Hawk was 14,...
"Why would anybody ever eat anything besides breakfast food?" This excellent question was posed by the fictitious character, Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, from the television show "Parks and Recreation." Quite frankly, it appears a large majority of Niwot agrees. The only thing that makes breakfast foods better is when that food is shared with friends, neighbors, loved ones, and new faces. That, and when a portion of the proceeds go towards helping our community. This year's pancake...
The community is invited to enjoy an array of unique entertainment, education, and other opportunities at the Left Hand Grange throughout July. George Ray Russell Sunday, July 9, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. The Grange is proud to present George Ray Russell, the Wrangler of Rhymes, in an afternoon performance of cowboy poetry and song. Award-winning Russell travels extensively bringing his love of the history and culture of cowboys. His original works are songs of adoration for the horses, hard times, humor...
Although storm clouds threatened and a few sprinkles danced their way through the early evening, the weather was no match for the well prepared and excited Rock & Rails crowd on Thursday, June 28, where two bands new to the event were ready to entertain the crowd. The night opened with the Teresa Storch Duo, made up of Storch and her husband Peter Lacis. No strangers to the stage, the Duo have toured internationally, performing at festivals in Scotland and Ireland. Their music focuses on...
Niwot High School's band program is full of dedicated musicians, and that includes the drumline. The marching band as a whole is under the instruction of Wade Hendricks, and the drumline is being instructed by Scott Barto. Once the audition and selection process, held in the spring semester, has concluded, the Summer Sectionals begin. During these Thursday early morning practices, members of the drumline are given time to learn and master fundamental techniques in order to begin memorizing...
Another year, another Fourth of July - it seems like Niwot just had a celebration, just last year. This year, the Niwot Community Association is once again hosting a town-wide celebration for our nation's independence beginning at 8:00 a.m. and wrapping up around noon. Festivities include a pancake breakfast and concert as well as the Niwot Downhill Mile Run, and a parade winding around both Cottonwood Square and down Second Avenue. The pancake breakfast will be served from 7:30 a.m. until...
Donald Allen Farr Dec. 7, 1943 - June 12, 2023 Donald Allen Farr was born in Detroit, Michigan. He passed away at the age of 79 in Commerce City, Colorado, due to Parkinson's. He met his wife Julie Farr in California and the couple married in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1970. They lived most of their married life in Niwot, Colorado. They had four children and many pets. They were married 36 years before Julie's passing of breast cancer in 2006. When Don was a kid he loved playing with trains and that...
One of the most enjoyable things about Rock & Rails is the mix of bands that play each week. It's possible that the only thing each week has in common is that whoever is playing on stage, they are going to be danceable. And Los Cheesies might be one of the most unconventional bands to step onto the bandstand stage at Whistle Stop Park. Their mix of fusion reggae, ska, Latin, '80's, rap and psychedelic rock stylings is blended with wacky humor that could winkingly be called "Yankovian" (as in Wei...
The rest stop at Whistle Stop Park was brimming with bicyclists Saturday morning, June 24, to raise awareness and money for the Bike MS charity, dedicated to helping victims of multiple sclerosis. The ride took place on a gorgeous summer morning when all of the flower boxes down Second Avenue were in full bloom, and many locals watched from the coffee shop patio as the endless stream of bicyclists zipped by. Other Niwot community members helped out the riders at the Whistle Stop Park rest stop....
You might recognize him as a volunteer at various Niwot Community Association events, such as Niwot Clean Up Day. Perhaps you have seen him on the NCA Road Crew or as a member of the tech team at Rocky Mountain Christian Church. Most likely, you have seen him driving the golf cart offering transportation service at Rock & Rails. Misha Barrett started providing his transportation services for patrons who parked down the street from Rock & Rails in the summer of 2022. His usage of the golf cart...
Given the weather over the last month, it seemed inevitable that rain would eventually crash a Thursday Rock & Rails party. And rain it did on Thursday night, June 15, halfway through the headline act. But that didn't stop the appreciative crowd from enjoying a country-themed evening, nor did it end the evening. Taylor Shae, a Colorado native who recently released the single, "Small Town America," started the music and happy hour off at 5:00 p.m. Shae, a singer and songwriter, has been...
On June 24, hundreds of bikers in colorful gear will fill the streets of Niwot, heading west on Niwot Road before looping down to Second Avenue, with a rest stop at Whistle Stop Park before crossing the Diagonal Highway to continue north on N. 73rd Street. The Bike MS charity is making its annual ride through Colorado. The route for this ride can be up to 100 miles long, winding from the Front Range Community College in Westminster to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The Niwot...
Thanks to generous contributions from the community, the Niwot High School Education Foundation (NHSEF) sponsored several student field trips during the 2022-2023 school year. The mission statement of the NHSEF is: "In partnership with our community, the NHSEF endeavors to enrich academic experience through learning and teaching grants, to expand opportunities for students to explore next steps in their education and professions, and to award scholarships to NHS students, enabling them to achiev...
Wouldn't it be an incredible experience, not only to visit New York City with forty-two of your closest friends, but to sing a masterwork at Carnegie Hall? Well, forty-three Niwot High School choir students are able to add that exact experience to their life's resume. The NHS Choir Department departed from Denver International Airport on June 9 for New York City and returned to Colorado on June 13. During that time, their itinerary was jam-packed with visits to several famous landmarks, tourist...
"You know you did something right when your kids throw you a retirement party and all you have to do is show up," said Julie Breyer, recently retired Niwot Elementary School third grade teacher. On June 17, a joint retirement party was held at The Wheel House on 2nd Avenue in Niwot for Breyer and her husband, Bob Breyer, who also retired this year. Bob is an aerospace software engineer who worked for many companies over the years and takes significant pride in working on the Hubble Space...
This week, CW & Twenty Hands High are returning to the Rock & Rails stage for their second year, bringing their country, Southern rock, outlaw, red dirt sound with them. Local musician Taylor Shae will open for them. I talked to the band's founder and frontman, CW Wooten, just after the band finished a performance at Beasts and Brews, a taphouse and butcher shop in Colorado Springs. Our conversation started not by talking about music or his latest show, but about the food that was there. Wooten...
Dark skies and the threat of rain didn't deter a large crowd from enjoying the second Rock & Rails concert of the season on Thursday, June 8. The music kicked off at 5:00 p.m. with Dean Himes, a local country artist. Himes wowed the crowd with a combination of his original songs and well-loved covers. Himes is no stranger to Niwot having played at the Niwot Tavern, First Friday Art Walks and Rock & Rails in the past. Himes was inducted into the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022. Headli...
The requests for funding presented to the Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee June 6 included old and new events –- a new event designed to capitalize on the Bike MS: Colorado event coming through Niwot on Saturday, June 24, a FlowerFest event scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, music for First Friday Art Walks, a resurrection of Oktoberfest on Sept. 30, and a Where’s Waldo Local scavenger hunt throughout the month of July. Bike MS: Colorado Bike MS: Colorado is a bicycle ride, as opposed to a race, with a route from Fort Collins to...
Thursday's Rock & Rails headliner is familiar to many attendees, with proven performers who can get the audience up off of their lawn chairs, abandon their picnic baskets and onto the dance floor. It will be the popular Chris Daniels and the Kings, the beloved Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducted band, which has played its rock and blues-based music in venues throughout the world. They will be preceded by the opening act, Gunbarrel acoustic guitarist Dean Himes, a 2022 Colorado Country Music...
Despite the threat of rain and the allure of the Denver Nuggets playoff game, Rock & Rails kicked off its summer 2023 season last Thursday, drawing an impressive and enthusiastic crowd. With looming dark clouds above, the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band provided the opening set. The headliner, Girls on Top!, followed with two sets of high-octane party music, bringing the dance floor to capacity. As usual, the team of volunteer greeters, beverage servers, and student "gargoyles"...
One of the first jewelry pieces Edward Amsbaugh had accepted in an art exhibit was the first piece he ever created. "It was a deer head," Amsbaugh said, "that I cut from a 2 x 2 piece of metal. By hand. From an old, distant memory of my childhood friend Ian. Because he had deer heads on his walls. And I took from that memory, and I tried to make something that made me not only feel that sort of nostalgia, but also bring something new to people looking at a new piece of artwork." Since then, Amsb...
