Lara Cwass Band at Nectar’s in Burlington Credit: Luke Awtry

Lara Cwass Band, Nectar’s, Burlington, Wednesday, April 23:

After seeing Burlington guitarist Lara Cwass perform as a supporting member of countless groups over the years, I finally caught the Lara Cwass Band at Nectar’s last Wednesday. With Daniel Bishop (Matthew Mercury, Troy Millette & the Fire Below) on bass and brothers Paul Lyons (Nico Suave & the Mothership) on keys and Sam Lyons (Hayley Jane, No Showers on Vacation) on drums, the band ripped through a set of originals interspersed with covers by guitar heroes such as Jeff Beck, George Harrison and Shuggie Otis. Cwass’ original songs showcase an infinitude of influences that have been boiled, fully ingested, broken down, dissolved together and then poured out directly from her heart. On her red Gibson 335 semi-hollow body electric guitar, Cwass takes the listener on a journey through her entropic compositions with dynamite precision, regularly stepping back to share the spotlight. This shows a bandleader doing it for the right reason: the love of the song.

This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2025.

Luke Awtry took the long way to becoming a professional photographer, with a path through music, technology and engineering, and he remains active in each. His first Seven Days assignment was on Town Meeting Day in March 2018, and he has since supported...