Bluegrass for Bert to honor Bert Steele of The Niwot Market

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 Shaheen, who purchased the tavern in 2020 after working there for many years, first planned the one-day music festival as a 'thank you' to the Niwot community for supporting local businesses during the pandemic.

The concert was originally billed as the Niwot Music Festival, featuring rock & roll band The Samples as the headliner. When The Samples canceled just weeks before the festival, Szydlek and Shaheen reimagined the event as a tribute to Steele, their friend and long-time customer of the tavern who enjoyed all kinds of music, and especially bluegrass. Steele died shortly after the event was changed, but Shaheen said they had a chance to visit with him after his illness was diagnosed.

"These bands are not really bluegrass bands," Shaheen said, "but they each plan to play some bluegrass music for Bert. We changed the event to give everyone in the community a chance to come and remember Bert."

Szydlek noted that Steele has been a big contributor to the Niwot community for many years, including hosting the pancake breakfast at Niwot's 4th of July celebration every year, preparing food for Pat Murphy's annual Easter Egg Hunt and breakfast, and sponsoring free Friday night classic car shows.

The Niwot Market hosted Friday evening dinners with musical entertainment outside on the patio every summer, but once Steele was diagnosed with a terminal illness, Steele's family announced that the dinners would be canceled to allow family members to spend more time with him.

The bands performing at Bluegrass for Bert include:

Musicians from The Niwot Gig: 2 - 3 p.m.

Martin Marks: 3:15 - 4:15 p.m.

Wrenn Van and Friends: 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Al's Highway 50: 5:45 - 6:45 p.m.

John Loland Quartet: 7 - 9 p.m.