Eavesdropping on a husband and wife: “The dogs have been ignoring me all day.”

“Come on doggies, throw daddy a bone.”

Some of the nation’s most beloved musicians will take the stage at a variety of Denver events this summer, including Zac Brown Band playing the first-ever show at Coors Field and the Red Rocks Summer Concert Series at the nation’s No. 1 outdoor music venue.

Visit Denver, the city’s biggest booster organization, compiled a list of summer music festivals and concerts to celebrate the Mile High City.

“Tour buses have been bringing the best musicians to Denver long before the Beatles took stage at the Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre in 1964,” said Richard Scharf, president and CEO, Visit Denver.  “The residents and visitors to this city appreciate all forms of music and all types of venues, making Denver more than a regional draw, but rather a music destination.  It not only hosts the world’s biggest stars, it’s also a magnet for up-and-coming talent, alternative musicians and artists of every category.”

Coming up on its 75th anniversary in 2016, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre annually churns out a lineup of sell-out-worthy performances and 2015 is no different, securing more than 100 concerts featuring every genre from pop (Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith) to rock and country (Neil Young, Wilco and Tim McGraw), from alternative (Decemberists and Avett Brothers) to top EDM shows (Bassnectar and Pretty Lights).

The Westword Music Showcase on Saturday welcomes Flume, The Black Angels, MisterWives, Robert DeLong, Wave Racer, Roadkill Ghost Choir plus more than 100 local bands and artists. Colorado is home to internationally renowned experimental bands, pioneering folk artists and Grammy winners.

Ushering in the July Fourth weekend, three-time Grammy winner and multi-platinum artist, the Zac Brown Band, will play the first-ever Coors Field concert.  The country music group brings its “Jekyll + Hyde” tour to Denver on July 3 for one show only.

East Colfax, which has seen a live music boom in the last few years, is looking to join the list of Denver’s many neighborhood music events with the first-ever Bluebird District Music Festival. Its initial 2015 lineup will bring A. Tom Collins, Dragondeer and the Blue Rider to Goosetown Tavern, Southside Bar Kitchen, Park House, Park House Outdoor Stage, Lost Lake Lounge and Bluebird Theater from July 10 through 12.

July 23 through 26, brings the Underground Music Showcase, Denver’s premier indie music festival, now in its 15th year. This year’s incarnation showcases more than 400 local and national act performances across four days in nearly 20 venues including headliners STRFKR, DIIV and Tennis.

Now in its 11th year, Riot Fest & Rodeo comes to Denver again Aug. 28 through 30 with all performances at the National Western Complex. Early bird tickets are now available.

A modern take on a 1940’s supper club, where the art of music, drinking, and dancing collide, RiNo’s Nocturne celebrates America’s rich cultural heritage through the art of hospitality.

In the downtown corridor, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox is a new restaurant-bar-music venue sandwiched between Larimer and Lawrence streets.  Ophelia’s, which opened in April, now occupies a large portion of the historic Airedale building, which first opened in 1889 as Kopper’s Hotel and Saloon.

The Syntax:Physic Opera is becoming a staple for the hipster South Broadway crowd, with Wash Park corporate professionals rubbing elbows with Baker neighborhood artists. Thursday through Saturday, The Syntax offers three to four local indie bills. Tuesdays are a Songwriter’s Open Mic, Wednesdays the Comedy Open Mic with Denver comics working-out new material and every Thursday features live jazz after supper.

Colfax, the longest business street in America, is also considered the “wickedest” due to the number of live music venues, bars and clubs along its 26-mile stretch.  1 Up on Colfax is a newer venue known most days for arcade games and music performances, most of which welcome guests 18 and older.

Classic venues still welcome music aficionados. The Fillmore Auditorium at Colfax and Clarkson was completed in 1907. The Fillmore Auditorium has risen to be one of the most prominent forces in the Denver music scene, hosting a number of concerts by big names such as Rise Against, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Umphrey’s McGee, Marilyn Manson, Nelly Furtado, Joss Stone, James Blunt, Erykah Badu and Five Iron Frenzy.

The Ogden Theatre, three blocks west on Colfax, was built in 1919 by the same designer as the Bluebird Theater. Originally hosting live performances such as weekly organ recitals, dances, lectures and vaudeville acts – most notably, the legendary Harry Houdini – by 1937, it had been converted to a movie theater that featured everything from the classics to the avant garde. In the ’80s it also featured the cult movie classic, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. Today, the theater found its niche and has become Denver’s premier concert venue featuring approximately 150 concerts per year. The Ogden Theatre is an official Denver landmark and a national historic landmark.

Two hours outside Denver in Rye, the Sonic Bloom Festival amplifies the blossoming local electronic music scene and has garnered national attention for its curated lineup of international artists.  Held Thursday through Saturday, the musical festival also features performance and installation art, live painting, yoga movement, speakers and workshops.

The 2013 floods of Colorado demolished many venues, stores and homes in Lyons, but the rain didn’t wash away this city’s heart. Its passion for bluegrass is back with a rebuilt venue for The Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, Aug. 24 through 26.  Sujan Stevens opens the festival, just an hour outside downtown Denver.

To learn more about Denver’s diverse music scene, go to www.visitdenver.com.

(Evan Semon photo)

No wonder Milk & Honey chef/owner Michael Shiell had the luxury of touching each table as eager diners filed into cozy two-tops Thursday at the newest Larimer Square venue.

Shiell, a brilliant chef in his own right who brought Denver diners Michael’s of Cherry Creek a few years back, could confidently schmooze with customers knowing that chef de cuisine Lance Barto had Shiell’s back. Barto is a seasoned chef having opened Central Bistro and, more recently, Brazen.

The subterranean spot in the old Lime space – a year in the making due to myriad construction delays – has emerged as a hip gathering spot for diners and drinkers. The menu brings a level of sophistication to Larimer Square that has room to elbow its way into the Square’s impressive restaurant lineup.

Not to miss: the foie gras balls rolled in cashew brittle. Also worth noting: the Asian-style black bass and the heavenly halibut.

For reservations, call 303-997-7590.

Foie gras balls rolled in crushed cashew brittle at Milk & Honey. Below, Halibut at Milk & Honey. (Penny Parker photos)

The team at ViewHouse (2015 Market Street- www.viewhouse.com) is putting a summer twist on movies in the park with its Thursday night “Flicks for Chicks.” Every Thursday night this summer, ViewHouse is hosting an evening under the stars out on The Green, downtown Denver’s own backyard.

Grab your gal pals, some blankets, and settle in to watch a movie on the giant, outdoor 147″ LED TV.  Movies start at sunset for guests 21 and over. Free popcorn and free drinks for the ladies from 9 p.m. till midnight.  Screenings include “Pitch Perfect,” “Mean Girls,” “Legally Blonde” and other tried and true chick flicks. Not ready to leave when the movie’s over? Stay for the DJ and dancing afterward.

The editors at Draft Magazine included Denver’s Argyll Whiskey Beer, 1035 E. 17th Ave., in a feature listing the 14 Best New Beer Restaurants nationwide alongside restaurants in San Francisco, Portland, New York, among others. Argyll is the only restaurant from Colorado.

Here’s what the editors said:

“Make no mistake: Denver’s Argyll Whiskey Beer is whiskey-first. More than 250 two-ounce pours grace the menu, including 10 from Japan. But you can also globe-trot via the eclectic beer list (20 on draft), some of which may end up in your dinner. (Chefs might, for example, steal of pitcher of Ommegang Glimmerglass to pour into a pan of littleneck clams.) Tucking into a plate of housemade sausages feels just right in this noisy, casual gastropub trimmed with appropriately rustic plaid curtains.

“ORDER: The Scotch egg with fennel-apple salad and mustard orange aioli, and a classic Trumer pils.”

See the rest of the Best Beer Restaurants at www.draftmag.com/14-best-new-beer-restaurants/.

There’s a new kid on the food truck block.

Lobster Bliss, Colorado’s new source for ultra-fresh, sustainable lobsters and seafood from local fishermen and responsible suppliers around the globe, recently launched its food truck and wholesale business. The Lobster Bliss food truck joins the rest of the food truck bunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays at Civic Center Eats in Denver’s Civic Center Park at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway Street in downtown Denver.

“We’re tremendously excited to be bringing the Lobster Bliss experience to Denver,” said Rich Manzo, co-founder of Lobster Bliss, along with his business partner Jeff Reebie. “Denver has never had an outlet like this for whole live Maine lobsters and other fresh, sustainable seafood, and we’re really looking forward to introducing Coloradans to an authentic ocean-to-plate experience.”

Manzo and Reebie have close to 60 years of combined experience in the culinary world in New York and all over Colorado. Working in some of the top restaurants in the country, Manzo and Reebie realized the need to provide fresh, affordable and sustainable seafood to Colorado consumers and businesses. In 2014, Manzo and Reebie signed an agreement to bring innovative lobster tanks to Colorado that recreates the ideal ocean experience for seafood.

Inside Lobster Bliss’s 2,500-gallon tank, the crystal clear water remains a constant 45 degrees and is completely filtered every 15 minutes, creating a stable, controlled and clean environment for the lobsters to thrive. The unique filtration system mimics the water-cleaning action of the ocean, naturally eliminating bacterial buildup. There are only 300 such tanks in North America, and Lobster Bliss is the exclusive provider for the state of Colorado.

“You can really taste the difference this low-bacteria, sustainable environment brings out in the seafood. There’s a sweet taste and succulence you only find in lobsters fresh off the dock,” Manzo said.

The Lobster Bliss food truck will be serving authentic lobster rolls and scallop rolls served on a brioche bun, homemade lobster bisque, lobster tacos, and a fresh ahi tuna sandwich served on a brioche roll with red onion marmalade and scratch-made coleslaw. The truck will be participating in Civic Center Eats, and will be attending events around Colorado. The partners are also planning to open a Denver restaurant in early 2016 based on a traditional New England lobster eatery.

For more information, call 303-437-3282, or visit www.lobsterbliss.com.

Eavesdropping on a Facebook post: “Raining like a sumbitch here right now. On the plus side, the rice paddies in the backyard seem to be doing pretty well.”

Stop by The History Colorado Center at 1200 Broadway this morning to watch multi-media artist Kyle Banister demonstrate his skill in chalk as a prelude to the opening Saturday of the traveling exhibit Toys of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

Referred to as “Papa Bat” because of his love of baseball, Banister will draw in chalk Miss Piggy in her Pink Cadillac, one of the pieces in the museum’s own toy collection, on the front plaza of the HCC.

Denver is the first city to receive the TOYs exhibit from its home base at the Minnesota History Center, where the exhibit was originally developed.

For more information, go to www.historycolorado.org.

Hundreds of food lovers will gather in Denver’s oldest neighborhood during LoDo Bites, the annual stroll, sip and snack fest, from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The $35 ticket gets attendees samples of fine fare from more than 20 restaurants, pubs and cafes in LoDo. Participating venues include: Stoic & Genuine, Tavern Downtown, Backcountry Delicatessen, Ted’s Montana Grill, Terminal Bar, Tom’s Urban, Machete Tequila + Tacos, LoDo’s Bar and Grill, Vesta Dipping Grill and more.

Music and entertainment accompany your stroll through this popular event. Many venues also include drink specials for LoDo Bites participants.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to www.lodobites.com.