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A founding member of the Brattleboro Literary Festival, TIM MAYO’s poetry has been widely published and he’s received Pushcart Prize nominations and fellowships to the Vermont Studio Center. For many years, he worked at the Brattleboro Retreat as a mental health worker. He’ll be reading from his latest collection of poetry at this year’s Literary Festival.
The activist singer/songwriting duo Emma’s Revolution will return to All Souls Church at 29 South Street, West Brattleboro, on Saturday October 17 at 7 p.m. for Songs of Hope and Resistance, a benefit concert for the Movement Voter Project. On this nationwide No Kings Day of Action to “help voters make a plan,” come and get recharged, inspired and energized in community, justice and song. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door or by donation. Tickets may be purchased at Everyone’s Books on Elliot Street in Brattleboro or online at tinyurl.com/OctBrattleboro .
ARCHER MAYOR in conversation about his life, travel, emergency work, adventures, and new woodworking livelihood. Tune in for possible clues as to the whereabouts of Joe Gunther….!
On October 4 at 4 P.M. the Brattleboro Labor Film Festival will bring two films about labor history to the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St., Brattleboro. “The Flint Sit-Down Strike” is a short film about auto workers at GM’s Fisher Plant who, in 1936-37, locked themselves inside the plant to get the company to recognize their union and bargain a first contract. It will be paired with “The Wobblies,” a full-length documentary about the International Workers of the World (IWW), the first union to welcome workers who were were excluded from other unions that for reasons of race, gender, type of work, or migrant status.
The film will be followed by a panel moderated by local labor historian and musician Tom Juravich, who will also teach several labor songs. The panel will feature Terry Tapp, author of “A Serf’s Journal: The Story of the United States’ Longest Wildcat Strike,” and a representative of the Green Mountain Democratic Socialists of America.
Who has time for literary festivals? Who has time for books at all? Nobody. And until now, nobody has had time to fix that.
Introducing the Cliff Notes Readers Club: join us and explore your hatred of great literature. Colonizer favorites like Ichabod Crane, Macbeth and Moby Dick will be discussed in full abbreviated form, in a guilt-free space.
PUTNEY — Western Massachusetts artist Kimaya Diggs brings her Green album-release celebration to Next Stage Arts on Friday, October 30, at 7:30 p.m. Road Dogs opens the evening. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
Diggs’ third studio album, Green, is a love note to the New England landscape: twelve tracks of glittering, genre-bending indie pop carried by her powerful, honeyed vocals and honest, attentive lyricism.
For this special release show, Diggs will be joined by a band of longtime Western Massachusetts collaborators, including members of LuxDeluxe, Cloudbelly, and more. Together, they celebrate the local music scene, boundless creativity, and the connections that grow from making music together
Many Guilford residents own a copy of “the green book,” the Official History of Guilford, published for the town’s bicentennial in 1961. The marvelous characters and stories, from the time of the first settlers — Micha and Silence Rice in 1761 — to the town we know and live in, now come to life in a new way.
On the first weekend in October, Guilford Center Stage will present the premiere of a new full-length play, “Vermont Mythos—a small town fable,” written & directed by Michael Nethercott. Think of it as “The Unoffical History of Guilford.”
Several months ago, the theater company asked Nethercott, a Guilford playwright and longtime GCS collaborator, to create a play which in some way would recognize the town’s backstory. The play blends local legends, historical figures, and imaginative storytelling into a theatrical fable exploring the human experience with humor, mystery, and heart.
PUTNEY, VT—Next Stage Arts will present Buddhadeva, a solo performance by Akaina Ghosh, on Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. at 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
Both a love letter and a conjuring, Buddhadeva is Ghosh’s deeply personal work in conversation with their great-grandfather, the prolific Bengali writer and poet Buddhadeva Bose. Set along the Ganga River, the performance moves through poetry, music, ritual, memory, and translation as Ghosh attempts to awaken the presence of an ancestor whose language they cannot speak.
An artist and printmaker, JAMES PRIMROSE shares his skills, enthusiasm and good will at The Wonky Press. He’s created a retail and maker space here on Main Street right across from the library – it’s also a haven for the underground music scene.
Tune in to hear about this unique and successful combination!
On September 27 at 4 P.M. the Brattleboro Labor Film Festival will screen Strength of the Storm, which tells the story of residents of Weston Mobile Home Park as they organize for their rights after losing their homes in Tropical Storm Irene. This film was an official selection at the Vermont international Film Festival, the Green Mountain Film Festival, and the White River Indie Film Festival. The screening will take place at the Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St., Brattleboro
The Guilford Chamber Singers have openings for all voices for its annual Christmas concerts on December 12th and 13th. Music is mostly older lyrics set by modern composers. Rehearsals are weekly on Mondays from 6 to 8, starting September 21st.
These concerts consist of unaccompanied choral music, a Christmas story, and a carol sing. All musical selections are taught, supplemented by study recordings of each voice part. Director Tom Baehr is in his thirteenth season leading this experienced ensemble of singers.
PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts’ Local & Global Performance Series presents Tony Vacca and Fusion Nomads, with special guest Massamba Diop, on Saturday, October 17 at 6:00 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. Doors open at 5:15 p.m.
Led by innovative percussionist and balafon player Tony Vacca, Fusion Nomads brings together musicians whose paths through jazz, global traditions, and improvisation create a richly textured, boundary-crossing sound. The ensemble features Jo Sallins on electric bass and percussion, Charles Langford on saxophone, and John Sheldon on harp-guitar.
PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts invites the community to celebrate 16 years of programming and the 10th anniversary of the major renovations that transformed its historic Putney church building into the vibrant community and performance center it is today.
Next Stage’s Sweet 16 takes place Friday, October 9, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney. The free event will feature cake, popcorn and snacks, a live instrumental trio, and a cash bar, followed by an upstairs DJ dance party beginning at 7:30 p.m.
PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present the Alasdair Fraser Band on Thursday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $26 in advance, $30 at the door, and $10 for the livestream.
This new family collaboration brings together legendary Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser with his sons, Galen and Cameron Fraser, and Galen’s Castilian wife, María San Miguel. Rooted in the Scottish repertoire that has shaped Alasdair’s musical life, and enriched by a deep connection to the Iberian Peninsula, the quartet creates a vibrant, contemporary sound that moves between fiery dance tunes, lyrical airs, original compositions, and unexpected musical journeys.
PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present a Singer/Songwriter Showcase featuring The Clements Brothers on Saturday, October 3, at 7:30 p.m. The evening begins with an in-the-round set by Charlie Chronopoulos, Leaf Silver & B.E. Farrow, and Talley Summerlin, before identical-twin duo George and Charles Clements take the stage.
The Clements Brothers bring a distinct blend of close vocal harmonies, instrumental virtuosity, and deeply felt songwriting. George, on guitar, and Charles, on bass, first entered the Americana scene in 2012 as members of the internationally touring grassroots band The Lonely Heartstring Band, which released two albums on Rounder Records. Since then, George has portrayed Paul Simon in the national production The Simon & Garfunkel Story, while Charles has performed in the bass section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Next Stage Arts wraps up its 2026 Bandwagon Summer Series with Kotoko Brass on Saturday, September 26, at Putney Inn Field, 57 Putney Landing Road in Putney. The final show of the series begins at 3:00 pm, with gates opening at 2:00 pm.
Described by The Boston Globe as “propulsive, infectious party music,” Kotoko Brass delivers an electrifying sound that bridges continents and traditions. The band blends the intricate rhythms of Central Ghanaian drumming with the deep grooves of Caribbean bass and keys and the exuberant punch of New Orleans-style horns.
Formed by brothers Ben and Brian Paulding, Kotoko Brass brings together master Ghanaian percussionists Attah Poku and Kwame Ofori alongside a powerhouse rhythm and horn section. Every musician plays an essential role, but the heartbeat of the music lies in the drums. Rooted in the Asante tradition, where rhythm and dance are inseparable, the band’s performances invite audiences to feel the music as much as hear it.
Mid Autumn Moon Festival Monday September 28, 6-8pm, Kiwanis Shelter atop Living Memorial Park for further information contact (802) 416-1027 or (802) 579-9008 or visit accvt.org.
Mid Autumn Moon Festival Monday September 28, 6-8pm, Kiwanis Shelter atop Living Memorial Park for further information contact (802) 416-1027 or (802) 579-9008 or visit accvt.org.
On Sunday September 13 at 4 PM, the Brattleboro Labor Film Festival will screen two films depicting the lives of immigrant dairy workers in Vermont. La Liga opens the set, showing how sport fosters community among immigrant workers in Vermont, as well as spotlighting the workers’ struggle for economic justice. It is followed by Hide, which shows the lives of several migrant workers from Latin America who sustain Vermont’s dairy farms as well as organizing for their human rights. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Migrant Justice. They will be joined by a representative from AFT-VT’s Bargaining for the Common Good, and Mac Christopher, co-director of La Liga and a Guilford resident. The panel will be moderated by John Field of Putney.
Faces of Mexico, a photography exhibit by Norm Oakes and Ann Newsmith, is on view at All Souls Church UU in West Brattleboro. The images portray the ordinary people the couple has met throughout Mexico over the past two decades…street vendors, artists, musicians, and families, at work and at play. They hope to convey the warm, open, accepting, dignified, and hard-working character of the Mexican people.
