BRATTLEBORO — As part of its mission to help bring stimulating entertainment to Southern Vermont, Green Mountain Crossroads (GMC) is hosting a series of cultural events in April.
The new nonprofit community-building organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied communities launched in January and is already offering a full calendar of events.
GMC was formed when The Men's Program of the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont closed at the end of 2012 over the loss of federal funding. Its mission is to support the LGBTQ community in becoming stronger, healthier and more visible in southeastern Vermont and neighboring towns in southwestern New Hampshire and northwestern Massachusetts.
Tom Goss April 5
Nationally acclaimed Washington, D.C., musician Tom Goss will perform at the Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery Friday, April 5, at 8 p.m., following a VIP reception at the Backside Café on High Street at 6 p.m.
That same day, during Gallery Walk, GMC hosts an exhibit opening of artist Rob Diercks at the Hooker-Dunham Gallery beginning at 5:30 p.m.
And on Sunday, April 14, GMC presents a live solo performance by Boston-based Americana singer-songwriter Bethel Steele, followed by an open discussion about gender at the New England Youth Theatre on Flat Street at 5:30 p.m.
Alex Potter, former head of The Men's Program, is the founder of Crossroads. He speaks about these events with clear enthusiasm.
“From the very start, GMC was very committed to bringing performers to the area for the LGBTQ communities,” he says. “But since we were so new we envisioned that happening a little further down the road.
“However, a funny thing happened. People started to come to us asking GMC to sponsor their shows. Tom Goss approached us to see if we had interest in working together to produce his concert as part of his New England tour. He was a really great guy, so we were eager to do what we could. Likewise, Bethel Steele came to us to work with him to do the show at NEYT.
“Suddenly we found ourselves in the midst of a full scale April schedule of events.”
Goss is a former Catholic seminarian turned guitar-toting troubadour whose heartfelt lyrics, hooky melodies, and quirky charm have earned him a dedicated national following. His music stands at the forefront of LGBTQ equality and arts. His newest music video, “Make Believe,” generated more than 70,000 views in its first week, catching the attention of the Huffington Post for its innovative use of human time lapse and animation. He has performed in 40 states and over 100 cities, for tens of thousands of listeners.
He was a two-time finalist for the Mid-Atlantic Song Competition, named 2011 and 2012's best musician by The Washington Blade, won the 2009 Pride In The Arts award for Favorite Male Musician, and his 2009 album, “Back To Love,” was voted best album of the year by independent NYC radio station Radio Crystal Blue.
Tom's other videos, which have tackled Don't Ask Don't Tell and marriage equality, have been featured in The Advocate, on Out.com, on MTV's LOGO, and on Towleroad and AfterElton.com.
Goss also helps run Charlie's Place, a non-denominational, anti-hunger, homeless ministry of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. Charlie's Place strives to empower individuals and encourage community, health and interdependence among men and women who are homeless.
For more information on Tom, and to view his videos, visit www.tomgossmusic.net.
Robert Diercks April 5
Also on April 5, at the opening reception, the community will have a chance to meet artist Robert Diercks and view his paintings.
A professor of graphic communications at Franklin Pierce University, Diercks was born and raised in Teaneck, N.J., and has had 21 years of full-time teaching experience at the college level. He has worked in the graphics field for many years, including as a freelance illustrator, artist, calligrapher, and printer.
Michele Desabrais of the Keene Sentinel says Diercks has “a gift for breathing a sense of life into each of his pieces. He moves beyond form and engages movement as a quality to bring a sense of realism into each work.”
'The Skin You're In'
On April 14, Bethel Steele, a musician, writer and LGBTQ community activist who has released two full-length studio records and toured throughout the country, comes to town.
His most recent release, “Of Love and Whiskey,” debuted on the folk-DJ charts at No. 17, and climbed the Roots Music Report's Top Folk Album charts to No. 16.
John Apice, a reviewer for NoDepression.com, says, “Steele knows how to tell a great story, adorn it in bright musical colors and deliver confidently [with a] deep, beautiful cognac flavored voice surrounded by a wealth of original material. Bethel is confident and sings with authority... Bethel has eyes, ears and heart open, pencil sharpened and sees what many other artists seem to miss.”
Steele's performance at NEYT will be followed by a discussion entitled “The Skin You're In: Living Outside of the Gender Binary.” Bethel will lead an “open and honest conversation about gender identity, performance, and non-conformity from the perspective of a genderqueer singer-songwriter.”
GMC strengthening its community
Potter said that these three events “work great for us because it gives GMC visibility and, by going to these kind of events, our community gets a chance to meet and greet each other. I am not sure if it is because of these events, but GMC is growing by leaps and bounds. Last month, we had 280 members on Facebook. In one month, it jumped to 340.”
Potter thinks it is important to emphasize that GMC strives to make all events accessible to the whole LGBTQ community. “That is why all of our events are on sliding scale, so that we can open them to any income,” he says.
“Of course, GMC is doing more than just staging shows. Our opening party was a huge success. I expected 30 people at most to attend, but we hosted over 60. And it was encouraging to see the diversity among the people who came. It was a mixed crowed, of all ages and segments of the community.
“Our website is now fully operating, giving people access to a calendar, resources and links, and descriptions of what is happening in the community. We are hoping to have workshops every month. So far, we have had two. The first was entitled 'Theater as Community Dialogue,' and the second in March concerned peer-based mental health,” Potter says.
Later this year, GMC is planning a day-long wellness event, addressing the many health issues the LGBTQ community faces.