Between early bedtimes and wrangling babysitters, parents of small children often find that enjoying live music can be difficult, especially during the winter months. That’s why Anya Thomson of The Music Train family music studio created a monthly family concert series.
“There is so much incredible live local music,” Thomson says. “In the summer there are family-oriented daytime festivals where you can see live music. But in winter, most live shows are late at night and loud.”
The Music Train concerts are held on the third Saturday of each month from September through May. The indoor shows happen in the afternoons at the D Note restaurant and nightclub in Arvada.
Different musical styles are showcased each month during a two-hour show from 4 to 6 p.m.
As a music teacher, performer and mother of two, Thomson realized that live music was something she really missed from her pre-parenthood days. She started The Music Train five years ago, offering family music classes at her Denver studio. Thomson found that she loved sharing her training as a vocalist, pianist and guitarist with other families with small children.
“We explore the fundamentals of music through play,” she says. A few years later, she expanded the idea of The Music Train to include the live concert series.
Though the concerts are designed to be family-friendly, these are not kiddie concerts filled with nursery rhymes. Each band plays a regular set of jazz, rock, folk or world music, although they do keep the volume levels lower than usual to accommodate the family atmosphere.
Today’s show features the Otone Brass Band, with a pre-Mardi Gras set of New Orleans-style jazz and funk. Next month, an Irish folk group will take the stage to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, although not every concert coincides with a holiday.
“About 50 percent of the crowd is there for every concert,” Thomson says. “The other half is there for the different styles of music.”
As for the venue, she says the D Note works well for all-ages shows as it offers pizza, sandwiches and a full bar plus displays of local art in a community-minded setting. For those who can’t attend the live concerts, the D Note also offers a Sunday-afternoon “Baby Boogie” for the under-12 crowd, with kid-friendly recordings playing 2 t0 6 p.m.
For Thomson, getting out and enjoying music is ideally a multigenerational affair.
“I love seeing a grandparent dancing with a 2-year-old, or a teenager singing with their little sister or brother,” she says. “Great music is great music, no matter what your age.”
