In the opening moments of her new album, Songs From the Well, Miriam Bernardo sings, “I’ve got a well that won’t run dry.” Airy, yet throaty and rooted, the Montpelier singer’s voice spills over misty layers of piano, cello and a patter of drums, as well as choral background voices and electronically manipulated resonator guitar.…
Burlington-born mother of two was ‘one of the best pie makers in all of creation’
Berklee grad went from singing to nursing, Vermont to Rhode Island
Megan Angelina Webbley, 31, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, September 29. Specifically, she died of an overdose, finally losing her battle with addiction. She was in Manchester, N.H., seeking treatment for her addiction. We have no clear picture of what went wrong. Megan leaves behind her mother, Dorothy Provenzano, of Boca Raton, Fla.; her father,…
John Matusz’s Waitsfield studio sits so close to Vermont Route 100 that passing motorists can’t help but notice his outdoor sculptures. Just feet from the road, they beckon like eager emissaries of art. Occasionally people turn around and come back, he says. Maybe even buy something. The shop, about the size of a double garage,…
There’s an amazing moment in The Sound of Silence as surprising, revelatory and simply inspired as anything I’ve seen this year. In fact, I can’t recall seeing anything last year that approaches its canny psychological clout. Peter Sarsgaard plays a sort of sonic scientist, a tweedy, bearded type who’s made what he believes to be…
The latest from DreamWorks Animation, Abominable is the third animated yeti movie to hit theaters in roughly a year (after Smallfoot and Missing Link). If the concept of a cuddly abominable snowman (perfect for merchandising!) doesn’t exactly feel fresh, the movie is a landmark in another sense. A Chinese coproduction with Pearl Studio, Abominable takes…
In 2014, when Seven Days toured the renovated Strand Theatre in Plattsburgh, N.Y., things were looking up for the Greek Revival performance space. With a Swarovski crystal chandelier, a rare Wurlitzer organ and freshly painted walls, the rechristened Strand Center for the Arts was almost ready to receive patrons. Leigh Mundy, president of the center’s…
This August, as I do every August, I hit the Church Street Marketplace for the Sidewalk Sale, a five-day shopping extravaganza. This year, I walked away with a new butter knife for 99 cents and a couple of throw pillows at two bucks a pop. Woo-hoo. Which brings me to Michael Kehoe — not the…
Dear Reverend, A good friend of mine broke up with her verbally and physically abusive boyfriend earlier this year, but she’s been spending time with him again. She says she has forgiven him and he’s changed, but I don’t believe it. She’s a grown woman and can do as she pleases, but I’m afraid she’s…
A new cow has come to Vermont’s capital city — or Moo-ntpelier — and it’s for a good cause. DJ Barry, a 34-year-old Middlesex artist, painted a massive cow on the back of a building at Allen Lumber, visible to drivers across the river on Route 2. He also raised more than $1,300 on GoFundMe…
Comedian Joe Gingras has a joke about his lack of hair: “I save a lot of money on stuff like haircuts, shampoo, dates.” Self-deprecating, admittedly awkward and shy, the Essex Junction-based comic explains in his sets that he’s been bald most of his life. He makes himself the butt of the joke across his material…
Shrewsbury poet Joan Aleshire’s latest book, Days of Our Lives, is a memoir in poems strung together like beads on a rosary or an abacus, both of which are ways of marking the passage of time. Set against the backdrop of the social and political upheaval of the ’60s and ’70s, the book is a…
When it surprises, theater gives us fresh eyes. When it repeats patterns, theater nudges us to make connections. The Weston Playhouse production of Paula Vogel’s Indecent is stuffed with surprises in its inventive staging, and it makes the most of a script that sneaks up on viewers by repeating elements until they snap into sharp…
The past few years have not been great for print magazines. The list of glossies that have dramatically reduced or ceased print publication since 2017 includes Nylon, SELF, Teen Vogue, Redbook, Glamour, Seventeen, Mad, Brides, Ebony, Money, ESPN the Magazine and Pacific Standard. In September, the nonprofit feminist quarterly Bitch took to social media with…
Gospel Truth I want to express my appreciation for the tone of Chelsea Edgar’s article entitled “Good News?” [September 25]. As a native Vermonter and evangelical Christian who knows some of the people and churches mentioned in this article, I have sometimes felt like the only time churches are in the news is when they…
Singing in the Rain? Who’s feeling protest-y? Anyone? Because you have the chance to make your voice heard in a special collaboration with multidisciplinary artist, composer and musician Daniel Bernard Roumain. Also known as DBR, the violinist will become something of a fixture in Burlington over the next several months. In association with the Flynn…
Burlington City Council President Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) thought his resolution was a no-brainer. During a September 23 meeting, the council’s lone Republican offered a straightforward message of support for Burlington police officers, writing that the council “recognizes the difficult but incredibly important work they perform on a daily basis.” Rather than sailing through, the…
In 2012, Dan Caddy created a Facebook page as a tribute to the drill sergeants who, years earlier, had transformed him from an aimless 18-year-old into a combat-ready soldier. Called Awesome Shit My Drill Sergeant Said, the page began as a recounting of hilariously brutal takedowns that Caddy and other soldiers had heard drill instructors…
With a few keystrokes, anyone can find a trove of online information about physicians licensed to practice in Vermont: their specialty, where they work, their license status and whether the state has ever disciplined them. But a cancer patient in search of a reputable Vermont medical marijuana dispensary will find such information much harder to…
(Self-released, digital) Dating back to his days with Pariah Beat, Vermont songwriter Nick Charyk has never been shy about wearing his country influences proudly on his tattered-denim sleeves. On The Clearlake Conspiracy, the recently released debut album by his new band Western Terrestrials, Charyk unapologetically lays bare the artists who conspired to inspire him. In…
Since the 2013 announcement that F-35 fighter jets would be based at Burlington International Airport, the planes’ noise impact has been heavily debated. Through it all, Ed and Gail Garvey decided to stay in their pale green ranch-style home a few hundred feet from the runway as bulldozers demolished the houses all around them. The…
The “wheels of justice turn slowly,” as the old maxim goes. Less well known is how long the federal government can take to fulfill a public records request. Almost three years ago, in December 2016, Seven Days asked the federal Air National Guard for emails from Vermont Air National Guard officials about Lt. Col. John…
(Self-released, digital) Sabrina Comellas is a gifted Burlington-based singer-songwriter. She has been honing her songs and chops, as one does, through steady gigs at mainstay venues such as Radio Bean and ArtsRiot. While her live show is generally a raw, powerful spectacle, her debut album, Sabrina, is a much different animal: This is lush, slickly…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Every time my birthday season comes around, I set aside an entire day to engage in a life review. It lasts for many hours. I begin by visualizing the recent events I’ve experienced, then luxuriously scroll in reverse through my entire past, as if watching a movie starring me. It’s not…
Seated in the dining room of Sweetwaters on a recent afternoon, the Burlington restaurant’s executive chef, Jessee Lawyer, pulled two tribal identification cards out of his wallet. One had a photo of Lawyer’s serious, bearded face in the top left corner. Text printed to the right said: “The card certifies citizenship in the St. Francis/Sokoki…
Remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books, best sellers in the 1980s and ’90s and still published by Vermont’s own Chooseco? You’re the protagonist, making important choices every few pages to reach one of a multitude of potential endings. That was all I could think about as I made my way through the menu at…
Leanne Kinsey, whose ancestors helped settle Craftsbury more than two centuries ago, is set to open a restaurant in that Orleans County town. Blackbird Bistro will occupy part of the Craftsbury Farmhouse at 1037 South Craftsbury Road, which is also the site of Whetstone Wellness. When it opens toward the end of October, it will…
Maudite Poutine, a Burlington food cart known for creative, locally sourced spins on the classic pile of crisp fries topped with gravy and cheese curds, will not renew its lease to run the restaurant at Orlando’s Bar & Lounge, Maudite co-owner Joe Collier confirmed. Maudite Poutine is in its third year of business and its…
Over this summer’s gardening season, Julianne and Didier Murat’s Vadeboncoeur café was ensconced at Red Wagon Plants in Hinesburg. Now that it’s fall hiking season, the café is popping up in a new seasonally appropriate location: across from the trailhead of Snake Mountain in Addison. The couple, who sold Vergennes Laundry in 2017, are offering…
