Ricky Small, Flo and the Left-Handed Thieves recently soothed students with their mellow jams as part of this summer’s “Keepin’ it Cool” concert series.

These performances join an eclectic line-up of local acts suited to provide live music every Monday on the Snell Library quad at 11:30 a.m. The concert series is a part of Summester 2007, a series of programs during the summer semesters sponsored by Campus Activities.

Folk and reggae rockers Flo and Ricky Small played the first show May 14. While stopping to pick up ice cream that was passed out at the event, most students didn’t pause long enough to hear a full song from the bands.

However, students who stopped to listen enjoyed the warm weather accompanied by mellow jazz and folk tunes.

Tasha Henderson, assistant director of campus activities and afterHOURS, said the summer’s line-up consisted of regional bands that were sought to play at afterHOURS through the years.

“It’s a mix of bands and genres. We were looking for some fun music,” Henderson said. “AfterHOURS entices more national bands, and the [summer concerts] get the local bands more exposure.”

Made up entirely of Berklee College of Music students, the two bands split the two-hour set Monday.

In the process of recording his first album, Small said his self-titled band is relatively new. Performing mostly at Cambridge clubs and open-mic nights at Boston’s Kings and the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Small writes the music, which is a blend of acoustic folk and reggae.

“[The concert] makes it more fun to be at school,” said Mike Costanzo, a third year pharmacy major who stopped to listen to Small in-between classes. “I have a little time and figured I would sit down and enjoy the music.”

While Small is the frontman in the band, the five-members of Flo shared the stage, alternating jazz solos and sharing vocals.

“We like to play for colleges students,” said Mike Barnett, who plays piano and sings vocals in the band.

While it was their first outdoor show, Andrew Baird, Stevo Mann, Scott Sapcariu and Ian Underwood tried to enjoy the festive atmosphere by joking and interacting with the passing crowd.

“Thanks for walking by,” Baird said with sarcasm at the end of their set.

Up-tempo funk songs like “Hold Me Down” picked up the mood with improvised guitar solos and alternating fast and slow sections. Mellower songs, like “3 Days,” showed the band’s lyrical talent and set up the jazz club feels.

Barnett said Flo has been together for about a year and recently finished a demo CD. They have been playing around Boston and “having a lot of fun.”

But Barnett stressed that Flo is a “serious band” and they would consider signing to a record label depending on the terms, he said.

“We’re not trying to become a one-hit wonder, we’re trying to make it as a career,” he said.

Left-Handed Thieves performed acoustic renderings of their harder rock songs Monday. Lead vocalist and writer Phil Grajko said he almost missed the show when his cell-phone alarm didn’t go off.

“This is the earliest show I’ve ever done,” Grajko said to the passing students. “I’m not awake yet.”

Left-Handed Thieves, 2006 Battle of the Bands finalists at afterHOURS, entertained students with an acoustic version of their normally energized rock.

“It’s very different to see them like this,” said middler entrepreneurship major Michelle Codz, who met the band in 2006. “There’s usually more screaming.”

Codz said she was impressed that the songs worked so well acoustically.

Sans the drummer, Grajko, Ethan Ladd and Kevin Sypek sat in folding chairs as they harmonized vocals and joked with the small crowd.

“Welcome to this year’s Springfest. The budget’s a little smaller this year,” joked Ladd, who graduated from Northeastern last year with a degree in music industry.

The band is not interested in making a long-term career out of their music, Ladd said. They recently recorded their debut EP, The New Blood, at the Sanctum Sound recording studio in Boston without support from a record label, he said.

“We’re pretty D.I.Y.: Do it yourself,” Ladd said.

Halfway into the two-hour set, Grajko played songs like “Madeline” solo with his acoustic guitar.

After running out of original songs with a few minutes left in the set, Ladd and Sypek rejoined Grajko to cover songs by Foo Fighters, Third-Eye Blind and Stone Temple Pilots.

Miriam Lee, a sophomore nursing major is on a four-month summer co-op at Tufts New England Medical Center. While she works at night, Lee said she found the combination of ice cream and music relaxing in the middle of the day.

“I like how [the school] still cares even in the summer,” she said.

Sophomore environmental studies major Anna Cantell said while she goes home on the weekends in the summer, she enjoys the entertainment in the beginning of the week.

“Some people could say that there is not a lot going on in the summer, but I think that there is, you just have to know how to find it,” Cantell said.