The Bolder Life: Music Notes and Tap Room Quotes

It’s official. Delicious microbrews aren’t the only things on tap in local tap rooms anymore.

These days, you can find anything from poker nights to Skee Ball, Schulbok tournaments to local food trucks, becoming unique venues to host special events. Perhaps the second best thing coming out of these popular watering holes (aside from all of the nationally acclaimed brews) are the sounds of live performances by the cream-of-the-crop of the local music scene. And while you might pay anywhere from $5-$30 to catch some of these popular acts in person, you can catch them live, for free, on different nights throughout the week at local breweries—the only catch is that you have to be committed to drinking good beer, and you have to dig the intimate music setting that comes along with playing live music inside of a brewery.

Last weekend, I caught the sweet sounds of local bluegrass/country and pop infused folk band, Idlewhile, at the Left Hand Brewing Tap Room—which paired with a Sawtooth Ale, straight from the source, made for an excellent start to my Saturday evening.

Here’s a list of other tap rooms that you can visit to fill your night with the smell of fresh hops and the sounds of free music notes:

Oskar Blues Brewery – Tasty Weasel Tap Room
1800 Pike Rd, Unit B
Longmont
Check out live music in this ever-expanding brewery every Saturday from 4:30-6:30pm. as well as an open bluegrass pick every first Wednesday and an open stage mic night every second and fourth Monday from 6:30-8:30pm. Upcoming shows include the Strangebyrds from Boulder and Lyons favorite Aaron McCloskey.

Left Hand Brewing Company
1265 Boston Ave.
Longmont
Whether you’re on the patio, in the back room or eating pretzels at the bar, the sounds of live music will find you in Left Hand’s always-jamming tap room. Check here to find out which local bands are on tap for the month of August and be sure to check out Left-a-Polooza on Aug. 21. Catch live performances by The Spring Creek Bluegrass Band, Cat Jerky, Squid and a slew of other oddly named local bands. This event is not free, but entry fees collected will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Boulder Beer Tap House
5757 Arapahoe Ave., Suite A1
Boulder
Adding Boulder Beer to this list of tap rooms might be cheating a little since the tap house is more than just a brewery that offers brewery tours and bar snacks: Boulder  Beer is actually a full-service restaurant with a huge patio perfect for live music every Thursday night and Saturday afternoons. Check out their events calendar, and grab a seat outside next to fresh hop plants from some dinner and some free tunes.

Upslope Brewing Company
1501 Lee Hill Dr., # 20
Boulder
Local legend John McKay of Leftover Salmon fame recently played in the Upslope tap room, and the only thing that could make watching a gig like this any better would be enjoying it along with a ridiculously delicious meal made by Comida’s Rayme Rossello and crew and served fresh out of a hot-pink food truck named Tina. Follow Upslope on Twitter and Facebook for tips on upcoming shows.

Asher Brewing
4699 Nautilus Ct., Suite 104
Boulder
When this organically focused brewery isn’t busy putting on poker nights, they keep the place full by playing hosts to local musicians putting on free shows. Check out Asher’s Facebook page for upcoming music information and be sure to contact the fine folks at Asher if you and your band are looking for your next gig. You’ll be sure to be a hit as long as the fresh beer is flowing and the sounds of free music notes are rolling.