Critic’s Choice
Saturday 8
Award-winning multi-instrumentalist and historian Jake Blount arrives at Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph to kick-start its 2025 concert season. Blount — a recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Prize — is known throughout musical and scholarly communities as a specialist of early Black American folk music, as well as a deft performer of blues, spiritual and string band repertoires.
Let’s Talk About…
Saturday 8
Sexologist Tyomi Morgan (pictured) sits down with Vermont Public host Myra Flynn for a live studio recording of her candid podcast, “Homegoings.” Attendees peek behind the scenes as the pair flesh out “Sex and Racism in America: How to Love Each Other Better,” followed by a thought-provoking speed-dating exercise guided by Morgan. In the mood for love? You just might find it in Colchester!
Down by the Sea
Opens Friday 7
Tenacious theater troupe the Valley Players mounts a fully staged world premiere reading of Jeanne Beckwith’s Wake Up, Gloucester at its small but mighty historic theater in Waitsfield. The Depression-era story takes place in summer 1939 — precipitously close to war — and brings to life the grievances, joys, triumphs and fears of a group gathered at a tavern in coastal New England.
Slam Dunk
Saturday 8
Tap tap — is this thing on? The annual Bill Skiff Story Slam at Williston Central School ignites friendly competition with an open-mic storytelling extravaganza à la “The Moth Radio Hour.” This year’s theme of magic adds extra sparkle as participants share inspired five-minute tales describing an enchanting, supernatural or mystic moment from their lives.
Adulting Is Hard
Saturday 8
Comedian and former Vermont state legislator Jason Lorber steps into the limelight at Burlington’s Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge to contemplate the whims of his 13-year-old self, starkly comparing adolescence to the cold reality of adulthood. Lorber’s accolades include a spot in the one-man show based on David Sedaris’ “Santaland Diaries” — and opening for TV icon Joan Rivers.
Blowing in the Wind
Sunday 9
Concertgoers cross the lake for Canadian folk music group Le Vent du Nord at Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh, N.Y. The highly acclaimed band sets the standard for Québec’s progressive francophone movement and, as Montréal alt-weekly Voir once asserted, “puts all traditional folk naysayers to shame.”
Drawn Out
Ongoing
Jesse Thompson‘s exhibit “Ganderings” at Vermont State University-Johnson’s Julian Scott Memorial Gallery showcases some seriously colossal drawings. Two of the gallery’s main walls display jaw-dropping works about 21 feet in length — and depict everyday moments in the artist’s home city of Singapore in intricate, inky detail.
This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2025.
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