Culture

The iconic Christian Rock/Free Jazz band “Shakers n’ Bakers” will be spending the most sacred day on the Shaker calendar in the Brattleboro/Putney area Aug 6. “Mother Ann’s Day” is the date which recognizes the arrival of Mother Ann Lee, founder of the Shaker community, to the United States in 1774. The Shakers were a utopian community with progressive social and artistic values that thrived during the mid-1800’s. This celibate Christian group lifted up the values of humility, simplicity and an ecstatic sense of spirituality through their music, visual arts, architecture, and vision of “Heaven on Earth” in many Shaker communities throughout New England and the Midwest.

“Ecstatic Shaker music infused with jazz, soul, and funk doesn’t happen every day. Shakers-N-Bakers is something truly original and unique,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “The lineup of the group is jaw dropping, pulling from masters in numerous genres. The show is going to be something memorable.”

PUTNEY – Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present Vermont-based singer/songwriters Ali McGuirk and Michael Roberts with their bands, as part of the 2022 Next Stage “Bandwagon Summer Series,” on Friday, July 8 at the Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, VT.

With a total of seven Boston Music Award nominations, Ali McGuirk is recognized as one of New England’s most compelling artists.  Blending classic soul power with a folk music lyricism, she captivates audiences with her powerful, sultry voice, heartfelt songwriting, and a style rooted in improvisation.  In 2016, Ali was named by the Boston Globe as an “artist to hear,” along with Lake Street Dive and Haim, and, a year later, her debut album “Slow Burn” made rock critic Steve Morse’s “Top Ten albums of 2017.”  In 2018, she won Boston Music Awards’ “Blues Artist of the Year” and “Live Residency of the Year” for her monthly First Fridays at Bull McCabe’s Pub, and was nominated for New England Music Award’s “R&B Act of the Year.”  Ali’s latest album, penned from her home in Burlington, VT during the pandemic, is scheduled to be released on Signature Sounds Recordings this summer.