stage33live

Tom Pirozzoli is celebrating Reckon by the Light, the newest CD in his 40-years-and-counting career. He got his start busking on street corners and performing at anti-war rallies, eventually finding his way into the coffeehouse scene. His Fast Folk Music recordings are now part of the Smithsonian’s collection. He was named a winner in MUSICIAN magazine’s Best Unsigned Band Contest in the early ’80s, and has shared stages with artists like Greg Brown, Jesse Winchester, and Doc Watson. “Pirozzoli’s observations and travels bring seemingly dissimilar elements to harmony.” — Boston Globe

An electronic music performance series celebrating synthesizers, circuit-bending, and sound manipulation on the second Saturdays of January through April at Stage 33 Live in Bellows Falls. Each session hosts up to five acts for individual performances followed by a group improvisation. Players will be in the center of the room, with the audience in the round. Sounds are expected to range from cinematic and lush to computeresque and urgent.

The series dates are January 11, February 8, March 14, and April 11, 7:00 PM at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Suggested $5 donation at the door.

BELLOWS FALLS — After wowing the audience with his energetic set last August, multi-instrumentalist Owen Nied returns as the main event to the Stage 33 Live listening room in Bellows Falls on January 5.

Here’s a 60-second taste of last time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBBvQkxvolQ

His original music careens from edgy pop to jazz to blues, rock and hip hop, influenced by artists as diverse as Wes Montgomery, Les Paul, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jack White, Jeff Beck, Brian Wilson, B.B. King, Dick Dale, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Chet Atkins, and Ella Fitzgerald. In addition to playing solo, Owen fronts the guitar- and horn-driven indie trio The Onlys; plays lead guitar in the jazz-grass band Cats in the Limelight; and is half of the UK-based indie-jazz duo Spooky Tricycle.

Innovative guitarist and composer Hiroya Tsukamoto will bring his fusion of folk, jazz, and world music to Stage 33 Live in Bellows Falls on December 22 in a special matinee performance for a well-timed break from the holiday rush.

Eclectic and immersive, Tsukamoto takes audiences on an earthy, organic odyssey. In addition to original compositions, his repertoire travels the world of traditional music. While his instrumental abilities are breathtaking, he also connects to audiences with his engaging personality.

The Bellows Falls community radio station, WOOL-FM, welcomes back guitar duo John Stowell & Draa Hobbs for a return engagement of world-class jazz at Stage 33 Live. There will also be a musician’s master class on improvisation preceding.

John Stowell, based on the West Coast, is influenced as much by pianists and horn players as by guitar players, and his original take on harmony, chords, and improvisation sets him apart. He tours, records, and teaches internationally, and has been a contributing columnist for Downbeat, Guitar Player, Soundcheck (Germany), Guitar Club (Italy), and other influential publications.

The Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio burst into the national folk scene with their 2015 EP, Still She Will Fly, and the title track was that year’s #2 single on folk radio. Their 2017 CD, Singin’, debuted at #1 and was the #11 folk charting album of the year. Heather’s new solo album, Lines and Spaces, came out this month and is her twelfth CD release.

The trio will bring their “traveling music store” of instruments — piano, acoustic guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele, melodica, cornet, dobro, fiddle, mandolin, bass, and maybe more — to Stage 33 Live in a special 2:00 PM matinee performance on November 24. Local up-and-comer Emily Lyons will open.