Ontiveros instrumental in bringing summer concert series to Sterling
It’s become a summer staple, the sweet sounds of music filling the air at the Logan County Courthouse Square. Every Friday in July, over 1,000 people gather around in their lawn chairs for the July Jamz concert series and it wouldn’t happen without the efforts of Richard Ontiveros.
When Ontiveros first came to Sterling in 1996, he went to a Sterling Arts Council event during the performing arts season and after that he decided to join the council, now known as the Logan County Arts League (LOCAL).
“It was something I felt I needed to get involved with. I enjoy the arts — performing arts, visual arts of any kind, art in general — and I wanted to be a part of it,” he said.
July Jamz was his brainchildren, “It had always been a dream of mine to utilize the gazebo for outdoor concerts,” Ontiveros said, but it was another board member who picked up the ball and got the concert series going in 2004. That board member organized the series for three years, then Ontiveros took over when they left. He has been running it for 16 seasons now.
“The community has been good to me, this is my way of giving back and I can’t do it without the sponsors,” Ontiveros said. “I love to watch people have fun and enjoy what we bring. I don’t do it for myself; I do it for the community.”
What started with just three concerts has now expanded with LOCAL trying as much as possible to provide five concerts a year starting the last weekend in June. Along with a free concert, guests are also able to enjoy food trucks, a beer garden and various vendors.
It’s an event that everyone looks forward to, with some out-of-towners even planning their vacations around it and Ontiveros has loved seeing the excitement for it.
“If I can’t perform, if I can’t provide the entertainment myself, I like to organize. I like to see people have fun. I’m pleased that the community has embraced this concert series.” he said.
Ontiveros not only takes care of booking artists but when it’s time for the concerts, he’s on-site every Friday, meeting them and helping them set up and he is often the master of ceremonies. He has done everything from setting up to cleaning up.
While the concert series started with a blues-based genre it didn’t take long to decide there needed to be a variety of music featured. Now, each year you’ll see performers from a wide variety of genres including rockabilly, Celtic rock, blues, jazz, rustic roots and country, who take the stage rain or shine.
“We want to focus on variety and not focus on the same thing. I think you’re going to see that this year, I’m excited about this year,” Ontiveros said and while he’s not ready to release the lineup yet as it’s not set in stone, he did mention that the July 12 concert will be one you won’t want to miss.
This year will mark the concert series’ 20th year (it would be 21 but there were no concerts in 2020 due to COVID) and while that’s a significant milestone Ontiveros isn’t planning on anything to elaborate to celebrate. As always, he just
wants to “make it a series that people can enjoy.”
He is proud of the artists they’ve been able to bring to Sterling over the last 20 years, who come not just from Colorado but Texas, Nebraska, Arizona and even California. July Jamz is even so popular that artists are contacting Ontiveros and LOCAL, knowing that will be passing through the area during that time and wanting to see if they can get scheduled to perform.
It’s not just artists though, Ontiveros also has lots of businesses contacting him asking about sponsorships and how they can help, and without that these concerts wouldn’t be able to happen. It also takes volunteers.
“People enjoy music but it takes work to put these concerts together and that work requires more people to help with the little things,” Ontiveros said.
If you would like to volunteer your time, as little or as much as you’d like, contact Ontiveros.
This year’s concert series runs Fridays starting June 28 through July 26. Follow the Logan County Arts League Facebook page for details on who will be performing.
“It’s been a dream, I’m happy to where it’s gotten,” Ontiveros said.