Boulder private parties
Live music for private parties in Boulder.
A long table on the Chautauqua porch, a duo just inside the doors, and the Flatirons going pink over dinner. Boulder evenings are built for this, and a solo, duo or trio is usually the size that suits them.
Dinner parties, anniversaries and milestones, at home, at the hotels downtown, or up at Chautauqua: this is the Boulder version of our private parties page. Boulder has its own rules on evening sound, and we honour caps and curfews as written. Whatever number your venue, HOA or rental agreement puts on evening sound, tell us at contract and the night is built under it.
The look
Outdoors, one player or two.
An acoustic guitarist in the open air and a solo player on a bridge: the sizes a Boulder patio party books.
The sizes
The sizes Boulder books.
A quartet is for a dance floor that has to fill. Most Boulder evenings are conversation first, in venues and neighborhoods that sit close together, and a solo, duo or trio covers that with the volume ceiling to spare. When a date wants four pieces, we'll say so.
A solo through a patio dinner is the smallest of these and the one Boulder books most. A trio is the biggest night most Boulder venues allow, and it fills a dance floor without needing a stage.
Boulder is a Front Range drive from Denver, so the travel line is short. What live music costs in this market is on the pricing page, and the cost guide sets out the Colorado figures.
The venues
Chautauqua to the St Julien, and the houses in between.
Boulder's private events concentrate in a short list of the market's places. Chautauqua's Community House and Dining Hall carry the milestone dinners and anniversaries. The Hotel Boulderado and the St Julien hold the downtown celebrations. Flagstaff House holds the dinner that is booked for its view.
Each carries its own sound reality. Chautauqua sits inside a residential historic district. The Boulderado and the St Julien put their event floors a corridor away from sleeping guests. Flagstaff House sits up a mountain road with the city below it. The conclusion is the same at all of them: ask for the venue's sound policy early, choose a size that sits comfortably under it, and put the number in the contract.
At home the same holds. Boulder neighborhoods sit close, and for half the year the evening wants to be outdoors: a solo or duo on the patio at dinner volume, 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table, is the booking that keeps the evening on the right side of the fence line. A trio plays indoors.
Logistics
The drive, the load-in and the last set.
Travel from Denver is one short line on the quote, with no mileage arithmetic and no lodging line, so the fee for the music itself is the same one a Denver host sees. November and December dates run on the corporate season's clock, decided August through October, and New Year's Eve books first.
Load-in at these sizes is small: one van, 45 to 60 minutes, through whichever door the venue prefers. The Boulder question worth settling early is parking. Downtown is metered, Chautauqua shares its lot with a trailhead that fills on summer evenings, and a house on the Hill shares its curb with the university year. Tell us the address and we plan the carry; a solo needs 6 by 4 feet and a single dedicated circuit at the end of it, which most Boulder houses have to spare.
We honour the curfew as written. Give us the cap and the cut-off when you book and both go into the plan, including how the last set lands on the cut-off. Footprints and power for every size are on the technical page, and the Denver page carries the house-booking detail at metro scale.
Extras that can appear on a quote.
- Front Range travel: Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins
- I-70 corridor travel: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Winter Park
- Far resort travel and a night's lodging: Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat, Crested Butte
- Holiday and peak weekends, and New Year's Eve
- Live-band karaoke
- Learned songs, with four weeks' notice
Questions
Asked about Boulder bookings.
- How late can a band play in Boulder?
- As late as your venue's own rules allow; we honour caps and curfews as written. Boulder venues and neighborhoods set earlier ceilings than Denver's. Give us the cap and the cut-off at contract and the night is built under both.
- Does travel from Denver add to a Boulder quote?
- One short line on the quote, covering the whole trip down and back. There is no mileage arithmetic and no lodging line for Boulder, because Boulder is a drive home, and the fee for the music itself is the same one a Denver host sees.
- What size fits the Community House at Chautauqua or a Boulderado event floor?
- Solo to trio. These are conversation-first venues with neighbours and guests close by, and three pieces is the most sound the evening usually wants. A solo or duo holds dinner at 65 to 72 dBA; a trio adds the lift for toasts and a small floor without crowding the ceiling.
- Can music play outside at a Boulder home?
- Yes, at dinner volume. We play outdoors on a covered, level and dry area with power run to it, and Colorado evenings cool fast, so instruments come indoors as the night does. A patio set at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table keeps the evening on good terms with the street.
Send us the date and the Boulder venue, and we'll check the sound rules for you.
Live music for your event, from a solo musician to a full band, with sound support that’s the right size for the venue and a personal contact for the night.
Send us the date and the venue, and we’ll come back with a recommendation and a price for your night. What live music costs in this market is on the pricing page.