Victoria Chertok
‘It’s three hours of pure mayhem’
BRATTLEBORO-Banned from Utopia, a Frank Zappa tribute band featuring more of the late musician's former band members than any other group currently touring, will roll into the Stone Church for a throwdown on Saturday, Aug. 3.
"I know of another four Zappa tribute acts - they are all over the place," Scott Thunes, Zappa's longest-tenured bassist who served from 1981 to 1988, said in a recent phone call with The Commons.
Collaboration at its best
Deadgrass plays inaugural Stone Church show to celebrate Jerry Garcia and 'the days between'
BRATTLEBORO-The members of the band Deadgrass - a group of seasoned musical pros exploring the life works of Jerry Garcia on the instruments that first inspired him - will play their inaugural Stone Church show on the second night of their The Days Between tour with their show on...
‘The lights go on in the circus tent, and it’s magic’
Brattleboro’s Kevin O’Keefe, who has brought circus arts to children and families around the world for almost four decades, will open his suitcase at Living Memorial Park
BRATTLEBORO-This summer's One-Man Circus-in-a-Suitcase tour - the work of performing artist and circus teacher Kevin O'Keefe - rolls into Living Memorial Park on Friday, July 12, at 10 a.m. According to publicity materials, this free show, sponsored by the Brattleboro Parks and Recreation Department, has been performed more than...
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‘You will find a lot at this little market’
PUTNEY-The Putney Farmers' Market - "a localvore marketplace, located in the heart of downtown Putney," as described by its manager, Jill Green - celebrates its 15th season as a place for customers to connect directly with food producers and farmers from the region. Green, who has sold goods at farmers markets for 14 years and has served as an assistant manager and co-manager of the Brattleboro markets, describes her role in Putney as "truly my dream job." The 40 vendors...
Music that’s ‘much more part of the public consciousness’
PUTNEY-Keith Murphy's latest release, Bright as Amber, self-released nearly one year ago, will be played in its entirety by a special band of musicians for its debut performance at Next Stage Arts. For many years, the artist, who has lived in Brattleboro for 30 years, has been "forging a distinctive sound in the world of traditional song." Murphy grew up in Newfoundland surrounded by the rich musical traditions of the British Isles. "The songs that I often sing are songs...
Vendors offer produce, crafts, other products
Morse Brook Farm This is our third year at the Putney Farmers' Market. We like it because it is truly local and we are vending next to our neighbors. It has a very relaxed and welcoming feel and we have a very pleasant group of vendors who support the market and each other. We are a hill farm on the eastern slope of the highest ridge in Westminster, with a view of the Connecticut River Valley. We have 80 open...
For young harpists, a chance to ‘stop time, just for a brief bit’
MARLBORO-The famed Marlboro Music Festival is not the only musical event happening on the former campus of Marlboro College - now called Potash Hill - this summer. From May 31 until June 9, world-renowned concert harpist Yolanda Kondonassis brings the American Harp Institute to Potash Hill, along with six concert harps and six harp students ages 14 to 24, for an intensive training experience. Kondonassis held similar retreats the past two summers in Ohio and Maine for larger groups. Participants...
Honoring the darkness, unearthing the joy
BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro School of Dance's annual spring show, "Shadows & Glimmers: An Evening of Dance," will feature more than 50 dancers, ages 6 to 72, who live, work, and attend school in the community. "Evoking themes of shadows, where light and darkness meet, and glimmers, where inescapable joy bursts forth in our everyday lives, this show reflects and transforms our daily experiences, both individually and collectively, into works of art," says Bridget Struthers, in a recent phone call with The...