House Blend Band Summer Concert Series expands

The second concert in the 2024 House Blend Band Summer Concert Series in front of The Old Oak Coffeehouse at 136 2nd Avenue in Niwot is set for this Saturday, June 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. This concert will feature songs by Chicago, Elton John, and multiple Motown jams, along with other hits from the 60s to the 2000s.

The free event will close 2nd Avenue from Murray Street to Franklin Street that evening. It is recommended to bring your own chairs as seating is limited. Spaghetti and meatballs made by The Old Oak Coffeehouse will be available to purchase, and 1914 House and The Wheel House, with La Musette food truck, will also be open.

The band itself is a group originally consisting of just coffee shop co-owners Michael Tomich and Patty Machen and their vocalist daughter Paris Tomich. The band has since grown to include bassist Andrew Bunin, drummer Joshua Thomas, guitarist Bob Cannistraro, trumpet player Joe Trabis, saxophonist Greg Worthington, and audio technician Jonathan Machen.

"We have at least three workers that sing, so we try to feature at least one on a song at every concert. This concert will feature one of our baristas, Marley Hill-Filben," said co-owner Patty Machen.

The Old Oak Coffeehouse was originally opened in 2017 with the goal of including music, art and pottery. Michael said, "We were tempted to have some singing in the coffee house from the start, but Patty was still teaching and I was working 60-70 hour weeks, so we both just ran out of steam."

However, the COVID-19 pandemic would change that. Machen continued, "We would have other bands in every Saturday and it started to give us the itch to get up there and play again. Once COVID started to cause so many restrictions, we held an outdoor concert where we only shut down half of the road. The first year was small, but so much fun, so the next year we applied for a Boulder County Special Events license. The last three years we have received [LID] funding which has helped to expand the concert instead of us covering the entire cost and risking a financial loss."

Each summer, the House Blend Band Summer Concert Series continues to grow. "Our recent partnership with Slow Food Boulder County for these events occurred this winter when Jodie Popma reached out about partnering with salads," Patty said. "We thought it was a great idea to also help highlight the different local farms and restaurants and bring in more community, which is really the main focus of our band, bringing people together and having it benefit the community."

Aside from Saturday's concert and the opener on May 18, there will be three more concerts this year on July 20, August 10, and September 14, all running from 6 to 9 p.m. The July and September concerts will feature mid-show performances from The Niwot Gig, Niwot's music school for young musicians.