The Samples, Hazel Miller headline Boulder’s Bands on the Bricks

By Quentin Young

Boulder knows its music, so when you perform there you’d better put on a good show. That’s what Hazel Miller has learned, and that’s why she so enjoys singing for Boulder audiences.

So much, in fact, that she has performed at every Bands on the Bricks, the Boulder summer concert series that began in 1997.

“This is one of my coolest jobs every year,” said Miller, who is the only artist to have played the event each year of its existence..

Bands on the Bricks takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays from June 11 through Aug. 13 on the 1300 block of Pearl Street.

“It’s like a reunion for us. We get to see people we haven’t seen in god knows when,” she said. “It’s a part of my summer tradition.”

The family friendly series draws enthusiastic listeners, she said.

“They come ready to party. You don’t have to prime the pump, you don’t have to do anything but start the music,” she said. “Even the kids come ready to party.”

Miller likes to reward that kind of crowd with a great show.

“Like we say in Kentucky, ‘You got to come big or stay at home,’ ” she said.

The Hazel Miller Band is scheduled to perform June 18.

The series kicks off Wednesday with local favorites The Samples. Other artists on the 2014 lineup include Mountain Standard Time, The Tripping Griswolds and Euforquestra.

The series tries to offer a mix of genres, said Anna Salim, event director with Downtown Boulder and organizer of Bands on the Bricks. Most of the artists are Colorado acts, though Fort Frances, scheduled to perform July 23, is an indie trio from Chicago.

A new feature of the series this year will help audience members decide which artists they might enjoy, Salim noted. The Bands on the Bricks page on the Downtown Boulder website for the first time features audio samples from each act on the lineup. The listing also includes artist images and links to their websites.

Bands on the Bricks started at the suggestion of Sean Maher, who at the time was the owner of a Boulder Ben & Jerry’s store and is now the executive director of Downtown Boulder. The idea was to attract people downtown on what had been a slow night. Today, with a farmers’ market and the concert series, downtown can be much livelier on Wednesdays in the summer, Salim said.

Contact Quentin Young at qyoung@aespotlight.com or 303-684-5319.