Rock & Rails returns June 5 with new acts and the same great energy

In just a few weeks, Rock & Rails returns to Whistle Stop Park on Thursday nights with the same positive audience energy that has persuaded some of Colorado's best bands to return year after year.

As always, there will be dancing, food trucks, beverages, a 5 p.m. happy hour, volunteers who make guests feel at home, and "Gargoyles" enthusiastically offering helpful recycling and composting guidance.

The 2025 series is also starting strong with perennial crowd favorite, Chris Daniels and the Kings with Freddi Gowdy. Both R&B and blues musicians, Daniels and Gowdy are inductees into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

While much will be the same, after the first week, there will also be some changes to keep the event fresh, including some performers who are new to Rock & Rails. For example, Niwot's own House Blend Band will be the second week headliner, opened by local favorite and Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame member Dean Himes.

While the House Blend Band can typically be heard during their own Second Avenue concerts outside of The Old Oak Coffeehouse, this summer they're performing for the larger Rock & Rails audience for the first time.

Week three brings Paizley Park, a well-known Prince Tribute Band, opened by Wendy Woo and Gilly Mack. "They seriously embody the Prince vibe," said the event's booking agent Satir DiMarco about Paizley Park. "I want to inspire people to feel free to dress up, wear purple or glitz, get into the spirit with it, have fun."

The last show in June doesn't just bring a new band to the stage, it will change the format for the evening. The night will feature two co-headlining bands, The Wrenn Van Band and Rex Peoples and X Factr, instead of the familiar opening act followed by a headline performer. The bands will take turns playing and will likely play together before the night is over.

"People should want to be in Whistle Stop Park at 5 p.m. so they can see everybody," DeMarco said. "Both bands are equal, amazing, and legendary. I don't have enough slots through the summer for all the bands I'd like to have. Because these bands know each other, and respect each other, it can work."

Other new bands in the lineup include Brian Brooks' Sundown Rising, a country band, and new Reggae performer The Mighty Mystic, known for their positive and summer-friendly vibes. In addition, plenty of crowd favorites return, including The Long Run, Mojomama, The Wendy Woo Band, Los Cheesies, FACE Vocal Band, and Motown band One on One. The series will end, as always, with Hazel Miller & The Collective on Aug. 28.

This year's event is sponsored by a wide range of sponsors, including headlining sponsors Gunbarrel Import Motors, Petra Custom Builders, Harness Energy, and Niwot Tavern.

Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. No pets are allowed, with the exception of service dogs, and no outside alcoholic beverages are allowed in the park. Any alcoholic beverages purchased at the concession stand must remain within Whistle Stop Park and may not be brought into the adjacent Niwot Children's Park.