Atom Jazz Fest’s DIY spirit proves that jazz is alive and growing in Longmont

If it weren’t for beer and tacos, the Atom Jazz Fest might not exist.

Next week, the free (yes, free!) festival featuring some of Colorado’s biggest names in jazz will take over the Garden at Left Hand Brewing for three days of phenomenal music and fun. The festival is produced by the Atom Jazz Network (AJN), a local nonprofit collection of artists, mentors, educators, and venues committed to nurturing jazz talent and supporting youth programs in Northern Colorado.

Atom Jazz Network: More than just an event

In a way, the Atom Jazz Fest is a coming-out party for AJN, which earlier this year started connecting venues, creating steady gigs, and introducing local audiences to the extraordinary depth of talent residing right in their own backyard. It was founded by local jazz musicians Adisa Nickerson, Tobin Munsat, and Todd VanSelus.

AJN aims to make it easier for venues to host and audiences to see high-quality jazz performances right here in Longmont, while it also makes it easier for local jazz musicians to get paid for their talents without feeling like they have to leave for bigger markets.

Emerging out of the Atom Collective—a group of local musicians whose day jobs span CU Boulder physics research, tech consulting, and corporate sales—AJN operates on the belief that jazz should be accessible, high-energy, and deeply embedded in daily community life. Their packed events at Left Hand Brewing, Abbott & Wallace, and many other venues demonstrate that Longmont has a massive hunger for live jazz.

For local venues and talent, navigating live performance logistics can often feel fragmented. Because of the recombinant nature of jazz outfits, with their rotating rosters of players, it can be difficult for talent buyers to know what they’re getting. Venues want to know they’re getting quality acts without operational headaches, while musicians need consistent gigs and fair pay.

That’s where AJN steps in as curator and booking partner for venues across Boulder County and beyond. By handling talent selection, scheduling, and production logistics, AJN makes hosting live jazz effortless for local establishments. Through recurring performance series at spots like Left Hand Brewing and their centralized calendar (the NoCo Jazz Map), AJN maintains a steady, year-round pulse of live music.

Whether booking an intimate solo performance, a jazz trio, or a funky fusion quintet, AJN adheres to strict standards. A core pillar is protecting working professionals from being undercut by non-professionals playing for free or for beer tabs, ensuring artists earn a proper living wage and are treated like professionals.

With an eye toward the jazz talent pipeline in Northern Colorado, AJN also aims to break down the insular boundaries between higher ed and professional musicianship, collaborating with the jazz programs at the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado State University, and the University of Colorado, and intentionally curating performances that mix students and alums from different schools with seasoned professionals to facilitate networking and cross-institutional collaboration.

AJN also helps aspiring musicians who can’t afford the lessons they need to pursue their dreams by matching them with the area’s top jazz musicians and educators, providing mentorship and performance opportunities along the way so that young artists can learn the skills that lessons won’t teach you. With jazz, the unspoken rules of etiquette and collaboration can only be learned one way.

"You learn that stuff on the bandstand, in a tough but supportive environment,” says VanSelus. “You see the kids grow. They start off terrified, and they end up being much better than we are."

This commitment to showing young musicians the professional ropes will show up at Atom Jazz Fest. In a non-stop musical experience, younger musicians will be performing on side stages during the main stage’s changeovers.

And for those who still think of jazz as “museum music,” an insular, static art form preserved in amber for purists, AJN aims to change minds by way of the soul and the soles. As the lineup for the Atom Jazz Fest attests, “jazz” encompasses myriad subgenres and styles, with something for everyone—even those who think they hate it.

Local businesses play a key role in supporting jazz in Longmont

So what does this have to do with beer and tacos?

VanSelus, President of AJN, notes that the Atom Jazz Fest wouldn’t have happened without support from Left Hand Brewing. AJN has hosted live jazz at the brewery’s tap room for years, and Left Hand founder Eric Wallace was the first to suggest the festival concept to VanSelus, offering up the brewery’s beer garden as the ideal venue.

But Wallace wasn’t the only local business owner who catalyzed the festival.

“I was at Summit Tacos one day, dropping off flyers and chatting with Edward [Perea, owner of Summit Tacos],” recounts VanSelus. “There was this gentleman sitting nearby and Edward said, ‘You need to meet this guy.’ And it turned out to be John Cross, who’s the head of the art department at Front Range Community College.”

That introduction (from one of the Longmont community’s great connectors) led to a collaboration whose scope surprised even the ambitious VanSelus. The Front Range Community College (FRCC) Foundation sponsored an art contest that yielded the festival’s official artwork, created by FRCC student Ashley Torres, who also won a cash prize (posters and t-shirts featuring the original art will be available for sale at the festival). In addition, students from FRCC’s recording arts program will have the opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals from Rockfan to run sound and lights for the festival. FRCC also came on board as a sponsor for the festival.

Expanding their community impact, AJN will also be collecting donations for Longmont Food Rescue at the festival.

Jazz for all

The Atom Jazz Fest is sure to be a joyous celebration of the vibrant, sustainable, and interconnected jazz ecosystem thriving throughout Northern Colorado today. We’ll see you in the front row!

The details:

• What? Atom Jazz Fest

• Where? The Garden at Left Brewing, 1245 Boston Av, Longmont CO 80501

• When?

  • Friday, August 21, 6pm: Kickoff party, featuring Julie Koenig and Ryan McCurry

  • Saturday, August 22, 12-9pm

  • Sunday, August 23, 12-9pm

• How much? FREE!

• More information: https://atomjazznetwork.org/jazzfest/