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.

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 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.

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.

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present a contemporary folk singer/songwriter twin bill with Antje Duvekot and Mark Erelli at Next Stage on Friday, February 11 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $20 advance / $24 door / $5 livestream.

“Antje and Mark have been central figures in the New England, contemporary folk music scene for the last 20 years,” says Twilight’s Barry Stockwell. “They’ve headlined so many memorable Twilight Music shows in that time that I jumped at the chance to bring them together for a twin bill – two of the finest singers and songwriters that I know on our stage for one night only.”