At 600 Longs Peak Ave., Longs Peak Pub sits on one side and Sweet Cow Ice Cream on the other. Unit H is between them, and since August it has been The Lost Bluebird, the first brick-and-mortar space the Future Arts Foundation has ever had. Before the address went public, founder Travis Albright gave one hint: "You'll be able to get a great burger on one side and a tasty ice cream cone on the other."
The foundation is best known for the Bluebird Music Festival, a spring folk and Americana weekend that has been based at CU Boulder's Macky Auditorium since 2018. The festival happens in Boulder, but the organization's only permanent address is now in downtown Longmont. That address was chosen to keep a free music school going, so it runs on a different rhythm than a concert hall.
A Boulder County nonprofit that could have gone anywhere
The Future Arts Foundation had gone 12 years without a building of its own. Over that time it ran arts programs, donated instruments, and produced the festival in borrowed rooms and on other people's stages. Albright founded it in 2014 to support Colorado musicians and get instruments to young people who couldn't afford them. He started putting on festivals around Colorado in 2008, with acts like The Lumineers and Gregory Alan Isakov.
When the time came for a permanent space, Boulder wasn't automatically the choice. "We were looking for the right fit and were open to any town in Boulder County," Albright told the Longmont music blog Front Row LoCo. "When this location became available, it just felt right. It has a good vibe, a great location, and is not too big. We don't want to get in over our heads right away... Slow, continuous growth has always been our goal."
"Not too big" explains most of what happens inside. The space was sized for a coffee counter, a retail wall, and a classroom. It was never meant to hold a concert crowd.
What's inside Unit H, and what isn't
The June announcement in the Daily Camera and Times-Call called The Lost Bluebird a "new venue." Albright corrected that framing soon afterward. "I don't want anyone to think this is a place to see regular live music," he told Front Row LoCo. "It's a place to hang out and support independent artists."
Here is what the foundation and local coverage say the storefront is built for:
| Use | What it is |
|---|---|
| Espresso bar | Coffee service in the front of the shop |
| Independent artist retail and gallery | Work by independent artists, for sale |
| Festival merch store | The official Bluebird Music Festival shop |
| Monthly dinners and concerts | Scheduled once a month, not nightly |
| Bluebird School | One of the program's two class locations |
Albright has said the space is also a chance "to get back to supporting independent artists and not just musicians." He had said in April that the festival's growth had kept the foundation focused heavily on music in recent years.
Some details aren't public yet. The foundation hasn't posted customer hours. The only times on record are from a July hiring notice, which offered baristas and associates $30 an hour for shifts from 9:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. The Lost Bluebird page on the festival website currently returns an error. No specific dinner, concert, or gallery show held since opening has been named in public coverage. A founding-member offer on the foundation's ticketing page includes a pair of tickets to the monthly dinner-and-concert for a year, plus an invitation to a Friends & Family grand opening. For now, walking past the storefront tells you more than the website does.
The coffee pays for the classroom
The retail side and the school are directly connected. Proceeds from The Lost Bluebird's daily operations go toward keeping the Bluebird School tuition-free. According to Albright, the foundation never set out to be a concert producer. Its long-term goal, shaped by his background in music and education, has always been free music education for kids.
The school is new. It opened in Boulder in 2025 and met at Broadway Music Studios before the Longmont space existed. A March Daily Camera profile described the first cohort as 12 teens, ages 14 to 18, from six Colorado cities. About 80% of them had never written a song before.
Here is how the program works now, according to the school's own page:
- Two five-week semesters. The first covers songwriting. The second covers performing as an ensemble.
- Monday evenings, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Classes meet at The Lost Bluebird in Longmont and at Broadway Music Studios in Boulder.
- Instructors. Evan Reeves is lead instructor and Darcy Nelson is assistant instructor.
- Cost. The program is 100% free. It focuses on children of Colorado teachers, first responders, and mental-health professionals, and anyone may apply.
- How to apply. Families can email [email protected]. No application form, deadline, or upcoming semester dates have been posted.
- The finale. Students finish the program by performing during the festival.
That last step ties the Longs Peak Avenue classroom to the Boulder stage. Kids practicing in Longmont on Monday nights end the program in front of a festival audience in Boulder.
"Our students have a wide range of interests, and we encourage that. We don't want everyone to be like us. That would be awfully boring!" — Travis Albright, to Front Row LoCo
The festival is growing, and the storefront is its year-round shop
The foundation's plans for spring 2027 make the Longmont space more useful, not less. The April 2026 festival ran two days at Macky, with Gregory Alan Isakov and Shakey Graves co-headlining. The ninth annual festival in 2027 grows to four days, six performances, and three Boulder venues.
- Thursday, April 22. Kickoff show at the Velvet Elk Lounge. Artists are still to be announced.
- Friday, April 23. Mon Rovîa headlines Bluebird's first Chautauqua Auditorium show, with Josiah and the Bonnevilles and Alex Amen.
- Saturday, April 24, afternoon. Jonathan Russell of The Head and the Heart leads an in-the-round concert at Chautauqua with Mon Rovîa, Bebe Stockwell, and Khatumu.
- Saturday, April 24, evening. Evan Honer and Colorado Americana duo Marfa play full sets at Chautauqua.
- Sunday, April 25, afternoon. The festival moves back to Macky for its Strings & Stories program, where Waxahatchee, Honer, Josiah and the Bonnevilles, and Marfa talk about the stories behind their songs.
- Sunday, April 25, evening. Waxahatchee headlines, joined by Russell and Stockwell.
Chautauqua shows have reserved seating, and Macky events are general admission. Single-event tickets start at $49 before fees. VIP passes include all five Chautauqua and Macky performances, premium seating, and a Saturday lounge with food and drinks. Tickets went on sale to the public in September through the festival's ticket and schedule page.
Every show on that list is in Boulder. The merch counter, the espresso bar, the classroom, and the monthly dinners stay open on Longs Peak Avenue the rest of the year.
Where it fits on a downtown walk
For anyone already walking downtown, The Lost Bluebird is between two places Longmont knows well. You can stop in on the way to a burger at Longs Peak Pub or a cone at Sweet Cow. Front Row LoCo described free music education as "a critical ingredient for sustaining a burgeoning music scene like Longmont's." The Future Arts Foundation has now placed that ingredient inside a Longmont storefront. For updates on hours, dinners, and the next school semester, the Future Arts Foundation site and the foundation's email are the channels the organization points people to.
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