Niwot's House Blend Band will debut at Rock & Rails

In the past, when local music fans wanted to listen to Niwot’s House Blend Band, they would head to the spaghetti-fueled summer concert series on Second Avenue. But this week, the Niwot favorites will be headlining at Rock & Rails. They’ll take the main stage at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 12.

“The group was small when we first started, and the thought of ever headlining Rock & Rails wasn’t even a concept to me,” said Michael Tomich, the band’s co-founder. “By the time we realized that maybe we could play at Rock & Rails, we had too many performers to open. At the same time, we’ve been getting feedback that people liked our music. I thought that it might be a great thing to have a truly local band, made up of people who live in and around Niwot, to play for friends and neighbors in Whistle Stop Park.” Founded during the pandemic, The House Blend Band fulfilled the dream of Tomich, a musician and music educator, and his wife, a musician and the band’s co-founder, Patty Machen, to bring music to their coffee shop, The Old Oak Coffeehouse. When they first performed, the band members were masked and maintained required social distancing, but it gave house-bound Niwotians and members of the larger community the chance to get out and enjoy music. The group has flourished since its first spirit-lifting show six summers ago. Their numbers have grown from three to ten members representing the entire community, including alumni and current students who played in the music programs at Niwot and Silver Creek high schools. “We include the ages of 71 all the way down to 16- and 17-year-olds,” Tomich said. “It’s a massive age span.”

House Blend Band concerts have become a LID-funded, regularly expected summer event with music from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and beyond. Onstage, Tomich and Machen are joined by their daughter Paris Tomich as well as Andrew Bunin, Joshua Thomas, Hadyn Peacock, Lucas Haratsaris, Zach Kaufman, Andrew Hudgins, and Felipe Mejia.

Another Niwot favorite precedes The House Blend Band. Singer songwriter, and 2022 Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Dean Himes will play at 5 p.m. He will bring his guitar-forward, classic country and pop tunes along with his own original music to the night’s earliest attendees. “Performing at Rock & Rails has got to be my favorite gig,” Himes said. “I’ve been invited back a total of 10 times straight -- every year since 2016. I’m humbled and excited to come back.” As with all of the shows in the series, beverages including beer, wine, and margaritas will be for sale on the premises, with tips being donated to area nonprofit organizations. This week’s tip jar recipients are the Rotary Club of Niwot, and the Niwot Cultural Arts Association’s Native American Art project. The Rotary will present its annual Eli Buzas Community Service Award during the concert. Food will be available from local food trucks.

Attendees are asked not to bring alcoholic beverages into the park from outside, and bags will be screened at the front gate. Any alcohol purchased must remain within the park premises, and bringing outside alcohol anywhere else, including to the children’s playground, is prohibited. In addition, pets are not allowed on the premises, and items that are brought in that can’t be recycled should be taken out with the guest who brought them. Recycling and composting is available, with Gargoyle-manned recycling and compost stations.

Rock & Rails is produced by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association and the Niwot Business Association and is made possible by a range of sponsors, including the Niwot Local Improvement District. For a full list of sponsors, visit niwot.com/rock-rails.