Culture

Those around Brattleboro who remembeer the Chelsea House will remember Sparky Rucker from his many visits there in the ‘70s. The Chelsea House may be gone, but Sparly and his wife, Rhonda, are back for a house concert on Nov. 5.

Sparky and Rhonda’s music includes a variety of old-time blues, Appalachian music, slave songs, and spirituals as well as originals, and they accompany themselves with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, blues harmonica, old-time banjo, piano, spoons, and bones.

The Ruckers also weave American history, traditional storytelling, and humor into their concerts, and they have been featured tellers at the International Storytelling Center and Festival.

The Estey Organ Museum will host an “Organ Spooktacular with the Phantom” on Friday, October 30, at 7:00 PM at the First Baptist Church, 190 Main Street, Brattleboro. The event will feature two shortened silent films, “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Nosferatu”. The “Phantom” features Lon Chaney, and “Nosferatu” includes Max Schreck in the lead roles. Both will receive appropriate accompaniment on the church’s Estey pipe organ.

In addition there will be live performances of songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “The Phantom of the Opera” as well as appropriate spooky music played on the organ.

Organist for the event will be Mark Andersen from Lumberton, NC. Mark began his education at East Carolina University in North Carolina where he studied organ, harp, voice and carillon. His graduate studies carried him to Chicago and the American Conservatory and then on to a full scholarship at the Paris Conservatory where he studied organ with Marcel Dupre and composition with Nadia Boulanger.

Renowned folk musicians Tony Barrand and Keith Murphy will perform a benefit concert in the Main Reading Room of Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main St., Brattleboro, on Friday, November 6 at 7PM.

Barrand and Murphy will feature songs and ballads composed by James Atwood and family members during the mid19^th century in West Dover, Vermont.

The Atwood collection includes dramatic ballads, romantic and funny songs about domestic life and marriage, and children’s songs.  Tony and Keith will sing “Jubilee Jim Fisk,” a song about Brattleboro’s own Jim Fisk, notorious Robber Baron of the Gilded Age.

Over the years the Estey Organ Museum in Brattleboro, VT has received a number of reed organs which are no longer needed for the museum’s permanent collection. As a way to free up storage space as well as pass some of these instruments on to those who would have a use for them, the museum is holding a Reed Organ Re-Homing Weekend on October 24 & 25, 10 AM to 4 PM, at the museum, 108 Birge Street, Brattleboro, VT.

These instruments range in condition from just dusty to requiring complete re-building or re-purposing. Also available are parts for reed organs, pipe organs, and early electronic organs.

On Saturday, October 17th, the Vermont Jazz Center will present world-class drummer Carl Allen with his group “The Art of Elvin.” This working band includes Tivon Pennicott, saxophones; Freddie Hendrix, trumpet; Xavier Davis, piano; Dezron Douglas, bass, and group leader Carl Allen on drums. Allen states: “The group is a tribute to Art Blakey and Elvin Jones and features music performed by both Art Blakey and/or Elvin Jones as well as some original music. In the tradition of both Art and Elvin the music is hard bop, gospel infused, hard swinging music that is designed to make one feel good. It’s high energy as well as toe tapping.”

“Guy Davis. He’s out of New York, and he’s America’s greatest link to the blues right now.” ~ Windsor Star, Ontario, Canada. July 31, 2015.

Guy Davis last played Brattleboro in 2008, alongside Pete Seeger in a memorable, sold-out concert at the Lathis.

Friday night, you have a chance to hear him, solo, at the River Garden.

Seating is limited to 200, all seats are just $20. Tickets and information: .

Here he is playing one of the songs on his brand new album, Kokomo Kidd:

This will be acoustic music at its finest with Barbara Higbie (piano), David Cullen (guitar), Jill Haley (oboe & English horn), David Lindsay (guitar), and Tom Eaton (piano)! The concert is presented by Will Ackerman, (Grammy winner and founder of Windham HIll Records), who has been praised for producing some of the best acoustic instrumental music in the world in recent years at his Imaginary Roads Studio in West Dummerston. 

 The Gathering Concert will be at The Centre Congregational Church this Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets $20 – available at Hermit Thrush Brewery, 29 High Street, at the door, and at at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1990848