Upcoming Events

Haitian music bursts at the seams with joy. Although the country has seen more than its share of trouble and misery in the past decade, its music is defiantly joyful; an act of communal healing; a smiling face against adversity. Lakou Mizik was founded in 2010 in the wake of the Haitian earthquake as just such an act of musical resilience. Described as Haiti’s “Buena Vista Social Club” by the New York times, this all-star inter-generational collective electrifies their audience with hours-long concerts that blend the soulful spirit of a church revival, the social engagement of a political rally, and the trance-inducing intoxication of a vodou ritual.

This Friday night dance party is also a fundraiser and awareness-raiser for Brattleboro’s own Haitian Orphanage Sponsorship Trust (H.O.S.T), whose mission is to support an orphanage of 35 children forever changed by the 2010 earthquake. Co-founded by two Brattleboro educators, HOST is a vehicle of compassion that directly supports the lives of a new generation of Haitians.

Tickets are available at a sliding scale:

• $15 Music Lover: Your ticket covers cost of event, but no proceeds to HOST.
• $25 Strong Supporter: Proceeds from your ticket help buy food, medical care, and other essentials at the orphanage! Includes 1 raffle ticket.
• $40 World Changer: Proceeds from your ticket support education at the orphanage! Includes 1 raffle ticket and 1 beer.

The Boston Globe hails The Ghost of Paul Revere as being “the type of music for which festivals are made.” with sing-along hooks and densely layered harmonies that stick with you long after the lights go down.

“We grew up listening to Radiohead and the Beatles and Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd,” says Griffin Sherry, guitarist/singer in The Ghost Of Paul Revere. “Everyone assumed we were a bluegrass band because we were playing these traditional instruments, but we weren’t writing traditional music. We were just writing songs with the instruments we had.”

The result is a sound that the Portland, Maine-based band describes as “holler folk,” not because it involves a lot of hollering, per se, but because it invokes the rich communal tradition of field hollers, with their call-and-response melodies, sing-along hooks, and densely layered harmonies. Hitting listeners straight in the feelings has been the band’s M.O. since its inception in 2011, and they’ve used their powerful stage show to convert the masses at every stop along their long and winding journey, which has included shared stages with artists like The Avett Brothers, The Travelin’ McCourys, Brown Bird, The Revivalists, the Infamous Stringdusters, and more.

Don’t miss a passionate evening of music and dance with three of Granada’s most promising young flamenco artists who come together to create a show steeped in tradition and elevated by impeccable musical and dance technique.

These artists – as the trio’s name suggests – are the heart of Granada’s flamenco scene. The product of a rich heritage and years of formal and informal study fuse
together in Flamenco Joven y Jondo (Young and Deep), proving that the purist roots of flamenco music and dance rest in the capable hands of this new generation of artists. The trio made its U.S. premiere in in October 2017 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. They have performed as featured artists at the Richmond Folk Festival and the Aga Khan Museum’s Duende Flamenco Festival.

Join us for a FREE, day-long celebration that brings a world of joyous music, art, play, delectable food, and craft beverages to the banks of the Connecticut River in South Hadley Falls. The festival is FREE for your car too, with complimentary parking available onsite and shuttle service from nearby lots.

This year’s world-wide lineup includes Lakou Mizik from Haiti; Corazón de Granada from Spain; New York’s Salsa sensation, Ola Fresca; North Carolina’s Chatham County Line, known for their bluegrass roots and cowboy boots; StompBox Trio; When You Got The Blues; and the maestro of melodies for little people, Mister G. The evening culminates with a New Orlean’s all-star get-down featuring Charmaine Neville, Glen David Andrews Band and Khalif Neville, who will bring the Crescent City funk to the banks of the Connecticut River.

Savor delicious local food, beer, and wine; browse a curated selection of handmade crafts; explore a wide array of kid’s activities; and cool down in the splash park.

Learn more at: https://fallsfest.live/fallsfest-2018/

There’s probably a band in New York City for every sub-genre of music that exists out there — but lets be thankful, and let us jump and dance, because there is in fact a NY band playing the music of Addis Ababa in the 60s-70s. The sound of American jazz and James Brown-style funk rocketed through the clubs of so-called Swinging Addis, combining with Ethiopia’s own exotic scales and rhythms to produce the golden age of Ethiopian pop. The NY-based 7-piece band Anbessa Orchestra are going to take you there with loping grooves, buoyant brass lines, moody organ, crisp guitars, and solid percussion.

Its another retro-African Jazz session of World Music Insider. So get ready to boogie again! Anbessa will play two hard-hitting sets of Ethiopian Groove, starting at 8PM. As part of our Open Passport program, if you’re Ethiopian you get in free!