45 years of free, family-friendly music in the heart of Vermont

Schedule Of Events:

Sunday, July 7, 2024

7:00 PM - 9:45 PM - Twisted Pine

Come hear Twisted Pine present 2 sets of jazzy bluegrass, poppy indie-folk and funky grooves. This Boston-based quartet started out as a bluegrass band but now offers “a wider version of a string band, boundary jumpers akin to...Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still [The Boston Globe].” Said Jerry Douglas, dobro player extraordinaire: "They are full of hair-pin turns and stop-on-a-dime arrangements you won't see coming. Each one is an accomplished musician with lots more to show us down the road. I have only great things to say about them."

Monday, July 8, 2024

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - Magician Tom Verner

Magician Tom Verner is the Founder of Magicians Without Borders. He has toured the world entertaining children wherever a little magic and laughter is desperately needed including multiple trips recently to Ukraine. Since 2002, Magicians Without Borders has traveled to over 40 countries using magic to entertain, educate empower. They have entertained over one million of the most forgotten people in the world.

7:00 PM - 8:15 PM - Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils

Samirah Evans sultry, sometimes silken, and always smoking hot vocals and vibrant stage presence made her the toast of pre-Katrina New Orleans. She was featured fifteen consecutive years at the New Orleans Jazz and  Heritage Festival and was a fixture at the most prestigious Crescent City venues. Since then, Evans has toured throughout the world, sharing  stages with James Brown, B.B. King, Dr. John, Aaron and Charles Neville  and many others. Following Hurricane Katrina, Samirah relocated to  Vermont and she has since been performing throughout the northeast with  her band, Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils.

8:30 PM - 9:45 PM - Eureka Shoes

Eureka Shoes is a new songwriting power group of Jean Rohe, Charlie Burnham and Skye Steele. Plan on hearing delicious three-part harmonies, other-worldly twin fiddling and lyrics “that will break your heart and put it back together again better.” Longtime friends and collaborators, each of whom have achieved notoriety in their respective worlds of jazz, folk, and pop music, these talented musicians now join forces, along with bassist Rashaan Carter, to bring you an entirely new sound. (photo credit: Marika Hughes)

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - Troubadour Jon Gailmor

Songs to make people feel alive! Music for humans prenatal through prehistoric, spanning the entire emotional spectrum. Humor and audience involvement are integral parts of every live performance.  Jon’s performances, regardless of where or for whom, are designed to fit the audience and to leave them feeling renewed, hopeful, and emotionally charged. His originals are filled with childish illogic, profound feelings, and absurd humor.

7:00 PM - 8:15 PM - Bread and Bones

Bread and Bones is a harmony driven acoustics trio that plays original music with a strong traditional-roots foundation. Richard Ruane’s playing drives the songs whether he is playing guitar, ukulele or an octave mandolin. Mitch Barron joins in on fretless, fretted and upright basses and Beth Duquette completes the trio with her rich alto voice.  Formed in 2003, the band toured and recorded for 10 years. They reunited in 2017 and have continued to play ever since, touring throughout New England and beyond. The trio has appeared at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, on Folkstage (WMFT, Chicago), Bound for Glory (WVBR, Ithaca, NY), Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY and many other venues. Bread and Bones has recorded two albums: “I Know Stories” in 2008, and ”Could Have been a Dream in 2011 and Richard has a solo record titled “Things That Strangers Say”.

8:30 PM - 9:45 PM - Le Winston Band

Le Winston Band is a one-of-a-kind Montreal based ensemble that blends its French-Canadian roots with Zydeco and Cajun music. Since 2012, due to a sound that is derived from both the rich musical traditions of Louisiana and their own identity as Montrealers, the group has been sharing their joie de vivre with audiences across North America and Europe. After many pilgrimages to Louisiana, the group’s album Zig zag Zydeco Zoo was nominated for best world music album at both the ADISQ and GAMIQ galas in 2019. In 2022, their EP Enwèye à Lafayette won best world music album at the GAMIQ gala. That same year, the five musicians teamed up with producer Erik West-Millette and recorded Winston Express, a new record filled with original material that was released during the 2023 Mardi Gras festivities. United by their shared passion for Zydeco music, the five musicians intermingle sassy compositions and their own take on well known traditional songs from Quebec and Louisiana. The powerful sound of the diatonic accordion supported by a typical “modern zydeco” lineup, electrifies audiences and ensures a warm and festive atmosphere that is guaranteed to get you off your feet and dancing.

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - No Strings Marionettes

Puppeteers Dan Baginski and Barbara Paulson's traveling stage transforms any space into an intimate theater, where the seamless blend of movement, music and masterful manipulation captivates young and old alike. These Vermont artisans lovingly hand craft the marionettes, props and scenery, whether for an original tale or an adaptation of a classic. Shows begin with an interactive song featuring audience members, and finish with demonstrations sparked by the audiences' curious questions. Once the mind believes there are no strings...this realm becomes real.and the Adventure begins!

7:00 PM - 9:45 PM - Bon Debarras

Bon Debarras unites the worlds of music, dance and poetry through a collaboration between Montreal artists Dominic Desrochers, Jean-François Dumas and Véronique Plasse. Over the years, Bon Débarras has developed an entirely original repertoire steeped in poetry and rhythmic sounds, with unambiguous Quebec flavors. On guitar, banjo, violin and harmonica, the group carries an identity, a style and an energy-filled zest for life,  quite unique and beautifully served by the versatility of the musicians as well as their daring jigging and vivid body percussion. Bon Débarras’ energy ventures boldly on the multi-faceted road that transcends boundaries and ages.

Thursday, July 11, 2024

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - Stephen Gratto

A New  York State school superintendent by day, Stephen Gratto moonlights as a physical comedian and circus performer.  His performances are fast-paced and include exciting displays of many classic vaudeville and circus skills including juggling, uni-cycling, rope walking, object  balancing and many other feats of daring, bravery, and side-splitting foolishness. The  high point of each performance is invariably the audience   participation.  Almost every portion of the Stephen Gratto Variety Show involves  audience volunteers, both young and old.  This continual interaction keeps everyone involved and laughing.

7:00 PM - 8:15 PM - Matt LaRocca and Friends

Matt LaRocca is a cross-genre composer, performer, and educator. You're as likely to see him playing with a rock band as conducting an orchestra. For example, he is the Special Project Conductor for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra and performs on the electric viola in Freeway Clyde, Michael Chorney's psych-rock improvisation ensemble. Matt has written arrangements for and performed with Guster, Kat Wright, Francesca Blanchard and Matt Flinner. With a love of improvisation and crossing disciplines, it’s no wonder that his “friends” quartet includes Laura Markowitz, an avid fiddler in Swedish and Celtic styles who also has a career playing violin in several orchestras;  John Dunlop, the Principal cellist with the VSO; and Ben Lively, who plays rock, jazz, tango and classical music and whose collaborations include writing string arrangements for psych pop band Madaila, playing electric violin, mandolin, and guitar with the Grift and Josh Panda’s Wilykat and exploring Astor Piazzolla’s music with La Rebelión Del Tango. And you can expect a few special musical guests to join Matt LaRocca and Friends on stage as well!

8:30 PM - 9:45 PM - Myra Flynn Band

Singer/songwriter Myra Flynn, half Irish and half African American, crafts her original indie/soul songs in a blend of soulful vocals. She has headlined the Burlington Jazz Festival and shared the stage with Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk), Mike Gordon (Phish), Gabrielle  Gordon (Natalie Merchant), Sonya Kitchell, Anais Mitchell, Lee “Scratch” Perry and many others. Crooked Measures, her 2009 debut album, earned Flynn a solid spot in the  singer/songwriter circuit as well as much deserved media recognition.  She was named "Best Up-and-Coming Performer" by Seven Days Newspaper  (2010 and 2011) and "New England Artist of the Month" by The Deli Magazine New England. New England Deli Magazine wrote about For The Record, her newest release, “the album is crafted  with a self-assured sense of commitment and what seems like another lifetime of reasons to sing.”

Friday, July 12, 2024

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM - Tjovi Ginen

Tjovi Ginen is an ensemble of seasoned performers rooted in Haitian music and the sounds of Africa. Their songs tell of struggle and triumph, pain and power with Reggae and Ska rhythms and Jamaican dub poetry. “…positive energy keeps you moving all night long…” says the Boston Globe. “Tjovi Ginen’s rhythm section is just spectacular” -Time Out New York. “… innovative music fuses Haitian Roots Rhythms, Reggae, Funk and Ska… this is a band to  watch” -New York Times. Come move and be moved with Tjovi Ginen.

8:30 PM - 9:45 PM - Krishna Guthrie Band

The Guthrie family story is interwoven into the fabric of American music. While Krishna Guthrie incorporates elements of his lineage, from the folk roots of his great-grandfather, Woody, to the masterful storytelling of his grandfather, Arlo, he’s not afraid of adding influences from his own generation as he carves his own initials on the family tree. While never leaving behind the roots of his family’s music, Krishna’s style turns it up a notch, infusing rock, blues and modern influences. The Krishna Guthrie Band is a collection of like-minded individuals, each with influences of their own, who value what music offers to the world and strive to make each show better than the last. Bobby Maguire (fiddle), Nicky Fitz (drums), Josh LaFave (bass, vocals) and Josh Cote (guitar, vocals) blend their varied musical experiences together to create a musical tapestry on which Krishna weaves his stories.

Saturday, July 13, 2024

7:00 PM - 9:45 PM - Street Dance with Vermont Jazz Ensemble

Vermont's premier big band, swingin' for over 47 years! Bringing the swing music of Sinatra, Basie and more to the streets of Middlebury to dance, dance, dance!

Date: July 7-13,2024

Location: Middlebury Festival On The Green, 3 Main street Middlebury, VT 05753

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