Plex Arts Festival, Burlington’s Old North End, Saturday, May 24:
Last Saturday, Burlington’s Old North End was taken over by Plex Arts Festival, the Queen City’s fringe fest for performers in any type of medium — the more uncategorizable, the better. Now in its third year, Plex is always best when you embrace the weirdness, which permeates everything and captivates all the senses, if you let it — the mango Tajín cream puff I had in the Ratsmission parking lot, for example, was unexpectedly delectable. Drizzle did nothing to dampen the Brass Balagan‘s set outside of Old Spokes Home; in fact, it energized the outdoor scene in a way I’d never seen from the band before. The indoor scene was equally invigorating. Tank Recording Studio hosted performances throughout the evening, including the grooviest and smoothest Freeway Clyde set I’ve heard to date. Later on, I caught C Green (pictured), headstock in hand, improvising movements to Cam Gilmour‘s (pictured) saxophone-based looped ambient works for their piece labeled “untitled (Meeting).” Next was Juliet Paramor‘s “eulogic,” in which she mournfully balanced on top of an amplified black-and-white Fender Stratocaster laid face up on the studio floor. I always see something new at Plex, and this year, I learned that guitars are for more than just strumming.
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2025.
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