Next Stage

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents Dominican jazz guitarist Yasser Tejeda, on Saturday, May 25 at 6:00 pm at Cooper Field, 41 Sand Hill Road, in Putney.

“This Bandwagon Series, we’re excited to have a lot more Latin-influenced artists like Yasser Tajeda,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “Yasser was one of the headliners at this years’ GlobalFest at Lincoln Center, and when I saw his virtuosity on the guitar, his expression, and the joy he brought to the music of the Dominican Republic, I knew he’d be a great fit for our programming.”

Yasser Tejeda is an award-winning Dominican composer, guitarist, vocalist, and producer. According to Billboard, Yasser is giving traditional folkloric music a new spin with jazz, rock, and Caribbean rhythms in “a frenzied celebration of ancestral union.” At the same time, Juan Luis Guerra, the most influential Dominican artist in the world, praised his mission, calling it a “marvelous example of what’s happening with Dominican music.” Yasser hopes to incite an awakening while inspiring new generations to explore, promote and uplift their roots.

Tejeda has released three commercial albums, La Madrugá (2023), Kijombo (2019), and Mezclansa (2009), with his group Palotré, while also surprising his followers with an acoustic EP called Interior in 2021. Mezclansa was dubbed one of the “100 essential recordings of Dominican music” by the Dominican National Association of Art Writers (Acroarte). His second album Kijombo received six awards from Dominican Republic’s Premios Indie, including Best Album. La Madrugá, which is Tejeda’s latest offering, features his latest collaboration with Vicente García, “En El Naranjo”, as well as the singles “Tu Ere’ Bonita” and “Todo Va a Marchar”.

Next Stage Arts presents an intimate encounter of voice and strings, sounds and cultures, with Duo Andalus, featuring LALA Tamar, at Next Stage on Sunday, April 28 at 7:00 pm.

“Take a trip through the Mediterranean – Flamenco, Ladino, Moroccan, Jewish, Arabic – merging together with Duo Andalus. Lala Tamar’s vocal virtuosity blends with Ofer Ronen’s flamenco guitar style and oud,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “We love the journey music brings us on, and for this show, we may ask audiences to bring a passport.”

Next Stage Arts presents Cuban quintet Espirales Project on Friday, March 29th at 7:30 pm, at Next Stage Arts, located at 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT. Tickets are $20 in advance / $25 at the door / $10 livestream. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar. Advance tickets are available at nextstagearts.org. For information, call 802-387-0102 or visit nextstagearts.org.

Newly emerging on the Cuban music scene in 2023, the Espirales Project brings together five top graduates of Cuba’s Instituto Superior de Arte performing across several genres—Cuban, jazz, world, and chamber music. Tania Haase, Olivia Rodríguez, Alejandro Aguiar, Jesús Estrada and Rodrigo García have led or contributed nationally and internationally to projects across all these styles, performing at Cuba’s International Jazz Plaza Festival and the Habana Clásica concert music festival. They are also teachers who have designed a development program on Cuban music and culture.

Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present roots and world music quintet The Gaslight Tinkers at Next Stage on Friday, March 22 at 7:30 pm. Blending African, Caribbean, Funk, Reggae, and Latin grooves with traditional fiddle music, the quintet creates the genre-bending future of the music of the past.

The Gaslight Tinkers’ mix of global rhythms creates a joyous world beat sound around a core of traditional New England old time and celtic fiddle music, merging boundless positive energy with melody and song. Drawing from their extensive musical backgrounds in traditional folk, Caribbean, old time, Celtic, and rock, I-Shea, Clara, Garrett, Elie, and Peter craft a sound that brings world traditions together.

Next Stage Arts presents the Vermont premier of works from Tasha Warren & Dave Eggar’s Grammy-Nominated album “Ourself, Behind Ourself Concealed,” on Sunday, March 17th, at 7:00 pm. The performance will be held at Next Stage Arts, located at 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT. Tickets are $20 in advance / $25 at the door / $10 livestream. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar. Advance tickets are available at nextstagearts.org. For information, call 802-387-0102 or visit nextstagearts.org.

Introducing to the Vermont area, for the very first time, the music from their Grammy-nominated record “Ourself, Behind Ourself Concealed,” classical virtuosos Tasha Warren (clarinet and bass clarinet) and Dave Eggar (cello) invite the audience on a captivating musical odyssey through the realms of classical, jazz, tango, and beyond. Joining forces with the duo is the exceptional Martha Redbone, who brings her distinctive blend of folk, gospel, and blues, accompanied by the masterful guitar virtuoso Phil Faconti. Together, they create an unforgettable evening, weaving an immersive tapestry of musical storytelling that promises to be a unique and enriching experience.

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of contemporary folk music with Antje Duvekot and Pete Bernhard at Next Stage on Sunday, October 22 at 7:00 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.

Since the release of her debut studio CD “Big Dream Boulevard,” which was voted #1 Folk Release of 2006 by the Boston Globe and was named to the Top 10 Releases of the Year by National Public Radio’s Folk Alley, Antje has been touring extensively, criss-crossing the US and Europe. She is a compelling live performer and has played at major festivals, including Newport, Mountain Stage, Philadelphia, Falcon Ridge, Great Waters, and Kerrville. This fall, Antje celebrates the September 15th release of her fifth album “New Wild West.”