Since 1995, a procession of Seven Days music editors — that’d be cofounder Pamela Polston, Ethan Covey, Casey Rea, Dan Bolles, Jordan Adams and now Chris Farnsworth — have covered the best, worst and decidedly pretty OK of Vermont’s bustling music scene. From the rise of Phish, Anaïs Mitchell, Grace Potter and Noah Kahan to long-forgotten bands and songwriters playing their hearts out on the smallest stages in the most remote corners of the state, we’ve heard it all in our collective three decades on the job.
To celebrate the scene that’s entertained us, challenged us and kept us employed, Seven Days music editors past and present have racked our rock-addled brains to compile a Spotify playlist of Vermont music from the past 30 years. And let us tell you: It’s been a blast revisiting older bands like the Pants, Belizbeha and Five Seconds Expired alongside newer acts such as Rough Francis, THUS LOVE and Lutalo. We hope you’ll give it a listen. But before you do, there are a few caveats:
- The list is necessarily weighted toward Vermont acts from the past 20 or so years, since that’s largely what’s available on Spotify, which was founded in 2006. So bands from the 1990s and early 2000s are underrepresented, aside from those who’ve uploaded music to Spotify — which several have!
- This is not a “best of” list. Inclusion on the playlist is not an endorsement. By the same token, exclusion doesn’t mean we hate your band. Thirty years of music is a lot to keep track of — we included what was most memorable to us.
- We’ll be adding to the list through the end of the year, so keep checking back. And if you have a fave local track we missed, feel free to let us know at music@sevendaysvt.com.
The original print version of this article was headlined “The Ultimate Vermont Mixtape | Check out a Seven Days playlist celebrating 30 years of local music”
This article appears in 30th Birthday Issue.
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