Music

Music section

Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block at Next Stage on February 5th

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts presents a concert with Malian balafon player and singer Balla Kouyaté and American cellist, singer, and composer Mike Block, on Sunday, February 5 at 4:00 pm. Composer, kora player, percussionist and vocalist John Hughes opens.

Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block have been collaborating for over a decade, bonding over their shared interest in music from across the world, and their commitment to innovating on their instruments. Balla Kouyate, a balafon player and singer coming out of the Djeli tradition of Mali, was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA. Mike Block is an American cellist/singer/composer, and a Grammy Award-winning musician with the Silk Road Ensemble originally trained in Western Classical music.

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem at Next Stage

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present New England’s acclaimed folk/roots quartet Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem at Next Stage on Sunday, January 22 at 4:00 pm.

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem feature 4-part vocal harmonies, indelible songs, fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and a homemade percussion kit of cardboard boxes, tin cans, caulk tubes, packing-tape tambourines, bottle-cap rattles, Mongolian jaw harps, and a vinyl suitcase. Over the past 20 years, the quartet has toured its uplifting, healing performances to concert halls, festivals, and residency engagements across North America, and has released seven CDs on Signature Sounds. From the Newport Folk Festival to California World Music Festival and beyond, this band’s steadfast brew of wit, camaraderie, and musicality leaves audiences everywhere humming and hopeful, spirits renewed.

Antje Duvekot and The Sea The Sea at Next Stage

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of contemporary folk music with Antje Duvekot and The Sea The Sea at Next Stage on Saturday, January 14 at 7:30 pm.

Antje Duvekot is a German-born, American-raised singer/songwriter whose songs have been critically praised for their hard-won wisdom, dark-eyed realism, and street-smart romanticism. Her bicultural upbringing and relative newness to English have helped shape her unique way with a song, giving her a startlingly original poetic palette. They are the keys to the powerful, even revolutionary, empathy that informs everything she writes. She has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the Kerrville Folk Festival Best New Folk Award and the Boston Music Award for Outstanding Folk Act.

Film Screening and Concert Feature Reverend Vince Anderson & His Love Choir, at NextStage On 1/7

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts presents a screening of The Reverend, a documentary feature film, followed by a Q&A with director Nick Canfield on Saturday, January 7 at 2:00 pm at Next Stage. The subjects of the film, Reverend Vince Anderson & His Love Choir, perform at Next Stage at 7:30 pm.

Monday nights in Brooklyn are world-famous because of Reverend Vince and His Love Choir,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “He’s the musician of the musicians of New York, attracting a packed house every Monday night with a who’s who list of attendees dancing. This has been a dream of ours to bring this documentary film of him, followed by Vince and the Love Choir.

THE REVEREND follows the spiritual and musical journey of Reverend Vince Anderson. After coming to New York in the 90’s to enter the seminary, Vince dropped out to follow his second calling – music. With his band The Love Choir, he has played a now-legendary weekly show for over twenty years. Reconnecting with his faith and using his intense soulful music, he began to preach a type of spirituality that meets people where they are, is open to all, and moves everyone that sees him play. Reverend Vince is also deeply involved in social activism, working with other progressive faith leaders at home and around the country to build inclusive communities. Filmed over several years and featuring Questlove and members of TV On The Radio, The Reverend is a rocking concert film as well as an intimate portrait of Reverend Vince’s inspiring personal and spiritual life. 86 minutes.

Winter Solstice Mini-Fest Featuring Matt Flinner and Low Lily at Next Stage

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an acoustic music Winter Solstice Mini-Fest featuring multi-instrumentalist Matt Flinner and folk/roots trio Low Lily on Saturday, December 17 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage. The four award winning musicians, accompanied by double bassist Steve Roy, celebrate the Solstice playing energetic instrumentals and songs for the season on mandolins, guitars, fiddle, and banjo, and singing in 3 and 4 part harmony.

Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner has made a career out of playing acoustic music in new ways. Whether it’s with his own Matt Flinner Trio or with Phillips, Grier, and Flinner, the Frank Vignola Quartet, Darrell Scott, Steve Martin, Robbie Fulks, the Ying Quartet, Leftover Salmon, or the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Flinner’s style and compositional ability have established him as one of the most accomplished and musically diverse mandolinists in the world.

Jazz Chamber Ensemble The Global Trio Performs at Next Stage Arts on December 3rd

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts presents an evening with Boston-based jazz chamber ensemble The Global Trio, featuring pianist Chase Morrin, cellist Naseem Alatrash, and percussionist George Lernis, on Saturday, December 3 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage Arts.

“Earlier this year, we hosted these musicians as part of the Berklee World Strings Ensemble,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “These three were the highlight of the show, and when we had the opportunity to bring them back, we jumped on it. They represent different cultural and faith traditions, blending elements of jazz, world music traditions, and soulful expression – we couldn’t be more proud to present this to our community.”

The Global Trio features piano, cello, and percussion, breaking boundaries in jazz, classical, and folkloric traditions from the Middle East. Seeking new sounds of inclusion and global jazz, Morrin, Alatrash, and Lernis create dynamic, energetic, and surprising compositions in order to tell stories from around the world and to bring the world of improvisation and spontaneous musical communication to the stage.

Ethiopian Ensemble QWANQWA Performs at Next Stage Arts on November 18th

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts presents an evening with Ethiopian ensemble QWANQWA on Friday, November 18 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage Arts.

“The legacy of Ethiopian music has a rich history,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “It’s amazing to watch the musicians of Ethiopia carrying and building upon that rich tapestry of cultural music coming out of Eastern Africa. Qwanqwa exemplifies the virtuosity and talent in current Ethiopia – we’re excited to host them at Next Stage.”

Brought together by a shared passion for the power of Ethiopian music, this group shines an experimentalism based in the virtuosity of rooted traditions. With swirling mesenko (one-stringed fiddle), punk krar solos (electric lyre), wah-wah-violin, bass krar boom, and the unstoppable rhythm of heavy kebero (goat-skin drum) beats, powerful traditional lead African diva vocals, Qwanqwa keeps the people wrapped in celebratory attention. After making a splash at world renowned festivals Roskilde and WOMEX, and after 2 European tours under their belt, this world traveling ensemble is hitting the road in 2018 and beyond.

AJ Lee & Blue Summit and The Stockwell Brothers at Next Stage

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of contemporary bluegrass and Americana music from far and near by California-based AJ Lee & Blue Summit and Vermont-based The Stockwell Brothers on Saturday, November 5 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage.

Although falling loosely under the bluegrass label, AJ Lee & Blue Summit generally plays without a banjo, with Sullivan Tuttle and Scott Gates on acoustic guitars, AJ on mandolin, Jan Purat on fiddle, and Chad Bowen on acoustic bass. Drawing from influences such as country, soul, swing, rock, and jam music, the band uses the lens of bluegrass as a vessel through which to express and explore the thread that binds and unifies all great music. Since their first concert in 2015, the quintet has performed around the world, released two CDs, and garnered numerous awards including Northern California Bluegrass Society’s Best Female Vocalist, Best Bluegrass Band, Best Mandolin Player, and Best Guitar Player, as well as International Bluegrass Music Association’s Momentum Vocalist Award and Freshgrass Band Contest winner.

Pierre Bensusan and Tim Sparks Acoustic Guitar Summit at Next Stage

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present an Acoustic Guitar Summit with guitar virtuosos Pierre Bensusan and Tim Sparks at Next Stage on Wednesday, October 26 at 7:00 pm. 

If World Music means the fusion of traditional, contemporary, jazz, classical, and pop music, then French-Algerian acoustic guitar legend, vocalist, and composer Pierre Bensusan is one of the most eloquent World Music musicians of our time.  Winner of the Independent Music Award for his triple live album “Encore,” voted Best World Music Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine reader’s Poll, and winner of the Rose d’Or at the Montreux Festival for his debut album, Pierre is recognized as one of the greatest guitar players of the 21st century.  Since his first performances in 1974 in France, the “The Prince of DADGAD” has sold half a million albums and given thousands of concerts around the globe, both solo and through numerous collaborations.  “Pierre can only justly be compared to someone of the stature of Keith Jarrett; so total is his mastery of the solo instrument, his dazzling harmony, his many innovations, and his deft command of counterpoint, the jazz idiom, folk expression, and all genres between and beyond.” (Guitar Player Magazine)

Next Stage Arts Project Presents Tony Trischka & Robot Plane plus Hot Mustard

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an afternoon of banjo and bluegrass with Tony Trischka & Robot Plane and Hot Mustard, as part of the 2022 Next Stage “Bandwagon Summer Series,” on Sunday, October 9 at 3:00 pm at West River Park in Brattleboro, VT. A mix of the new and the old, the concert features banjo legend Tony Trischka’s brand new quartet, while twin banjo band Hot Mustard reunites after an eight-year hiatus to open the show.

Steeped in Bluegrass, while stretching out into Celtic, Americana, and Progressive music, Tony Trischka & Robot Plane includes acoustic music all-stars Jacob Joliff (mandolin), Jared Engel (acoustic bass), and Hannah Read (fiddle). These extraordinarily versatile and talented musicians are alumni of bands such as Country Cooking, Breakfast Special, Joy Kills Sorrow, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Bela Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart.

Brattleboro’s Bethanie Yeakle to perform with Nashville’s Tiffany Williams plus Sara Trunzo on October 9 in Bellows Falls

by Mark Piepkorn | Music

BELLOWS FALLS — Nashville-based Tiffany Williams grew up in an Eastern Kentucky coal camp house, the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of coal miners. Her debut album, All Those Days of Drinking Dust, produced by Grammy-nominated Duane Lundy, is solidly in the New Appalachian Movement that tangles tradition and heritage with contemporary leanings. Her evocative voice rises like the mountains and wanders low and snaky as the creeks of the place she was born and raised.

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents Glen David Andrews, The Crown Prince of Treme and New Orleans’ Most Charismatic Live Performer

by hahrenholz | Music

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents Glen David Andrews, The Crown Prince of Treme and New Orleans’ most charismatic live performer, on Sunday, October 2nd at 3:00 p.m. at The Putney Inn, 57 Putney Landing Road, in Putney, VT.

“New Orleans music goes straight to the soul, and I can’t think of a better artist than Glen David Andrews that exudes that energy and brings it onto the stage,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director at Next Stage Arts. “When we’re curating the Bandwagon Series, energy and cultural diversity are at the forefront. This show is for the dancers. Andrews travels around the world bringing that level of New Orleans soul to audiences, and we’re incredibly excited to present this artist toward the end of our series.”

Brattleboro Women’s Chorus Open Rehearsals Thursday

by bwchorus | Music

The Brattleboro Women’s Chorus welcomes new members to come to a rehearsal on Thursday, September 15 to see if Chorus is a good fit for them. Zoom rehearsals are also an option on Friday mornings.

The Chorus welcomes anyone ages 10 and up who identifies as a woman or non-binary, and whose vocal range comfortably includes the A in the middle of the treble staff.

Next Stage Arts and Jewish Communities of Vermont Present an Evening of Ladino Music with Next Stage’s Fall Artist-in-Residence, Nani

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts and Jewish Communities of Vermont present Next Stage’s Fall Artist-in-Residence on Thursday, September 29th at 7:30 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill Road, in Putney, VT.

Noam “Nani” Vazana is one of the only artists in the world that write & compose new songs in the endangered Ladino language. In her new album Ke Haber (What’s New) she captures the spirit of the ancient, matriarchal language and culture and propels it into the 21st century with socially pertinent lyrics, celebrating migration, gender and female empowerment.

“Music serves as a portal for discovering new cultures, and Nani is one of the few artists in the world composing music in Ladino, the language spoken by her grandmother in Portugal,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “Nani lives in Amsterdam and has been frequently highlighted on BBC, performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and stages around the world. We’re honored to host her as our fall artist-in-residence and to present her in the theater.”

Next Stage Arts and the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community Present an Evening of Global Hebrew and Jewish Music with Yamma Ensemble

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts and the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community present an evening of global Hebrew and Jewish music with Yamma Ensemble on Friday, September 16th at 7:30 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill Road, in Putney, VT.

“Masters of their craft, Yamma Ensemble reflects the perfect balance between respect for tradition and making the music innovative,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “Israel is a melting pot of traditions from the Jewish diaspora living all over the world for over 2,000 years. Yamma blends language, tradition, religion, culture, and music. We couldn’t be more proud to present them in the theater.”

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series Presents an Evening of Pan-African Roots Music with Ugandan Musician, Educator and Creative Arts Producer Chinobay

by hahrenholz | Music

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents an evening of pan-African roots music with Ugandan musician, educator and creative arts producer Chinobay , on Sunday, September 11th at 4:00 p.m. at Cooper Field, 41 Sand Hill Road, in Putney, VT

Chinobay’s work has been described as “some of the most exquisite music coming out of Africa today”. Since his youth, he has captivated audiences with world-roots rhythms and melodies that emanate from the diversity of the many traditional instruments he customized to develop his unique sound. The diverse textures of Chinobay’s music make it soothing, pulsing, meditative, invigorating, and intimate —much of it a mix of original and traditional with global influences—but the sounds are uniquely his.

Next Stage “Bandwagon Summer Series” – Cantrip and É.T.É.

by hahrenholz | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of Celtic and Québecois music from Scotland, Canada, and the US by two trios – Cantrip and E.T.E. – as part of the 2022 Next Stage “Bandwagon Summer Series” on Monday, September 5 at 3:00 pm at West River Park in Brattleboro, VT.

From the strong base of its Celtic roots, Cantrip branches out into the music of other European cultures. With swirling border pipes, raging fiddle, thunderous guitar, and three rich voices, Dan Houghton, Jon Bews, and Eric McDonald take audiences on a cultural journey, putting their own spin on each musical style. Known for their innovative arrangements, high-energy songs and tunes, and dry wit, Cantrip has toured throughout Scotland and the US, expanding the boundaries of Celtic music along the way.

Guilford Chamber Singers Seeking Singers for Christmas Concert

by BusyMom | Music

The Guilford Chamber Singers, under the auspices of Friends of Music at Guilford (FOMAG), is seeking to reconstitute for their traditional concert of Christmas music the second weekend of December. Covid 19 has prevented us from performing since 2019.

All voices are welcome for singers with choral experience. Repertoire will be quite varied, from traditional to modern settings. Rehearsals will be weekly starting in September, masked, on an evening convenient to the singers; in the past, it has been on Monday evenings, but we will explore other possibilities as we recruit.

Shakers n’ Bakers Celebrate Mother Ann’s Day in Southern VT Aug 6: Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series Little (i) Music Festival

by hahrenholz | Music

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.”