There’s a Waking Windows-shaped hole in the Vermont music scene. Ever since the long-running indie music festival called it quits in May, there’s been a lot of hand-wringing and sky-is-falling rhetoric. Which is understandable! The fest was a supercharged spotlight on Vermont bands that put the best of Green Mountain musicians alongside killer touring acts.
Nature (and music fans) abhor a vacuum. So some of the biggest names in Vermont music, including major-label artists such as Grace Potter, are attempting to address that. (See Soundbites, page 62.)
The Burlington indie scene has not been idle, either. Musician and DIY promoter Noah Kesey has big plans for his Spirit of Vermont: A Day in the Sun festival, which kicks off on Friday, October 3, at Red Barn Gardens in Williston. The two-day event is in its second year. Unlike Waking Windows and Grand Point North, the Day in the Sun fest is pure DIY: no sponsors or well-known names. But it serves as a showcase for the city’s thriving indie and psych-rock sounds, with a big lineup full of some of Burlington’s finest.
Among them are Greg Freeman (fresh off getting a huge shout-out in Pitchfork last week), the Dead Shakers, Greaseface, Rockin’ Worms and bluegrass act Wild Leek River. Kesey, along with his fellow curator and promoter Billy Weaver, have also added a few New York City indie rockers to the bill, including Voyeur, Liz Cooper and Kitchen, as well as Ohio’s Villagerrr.
“This is all kind of a battle against spiritual malaise,” Kesey said as we sat at a picnic table in downtown Burlington last week. “To do something that is pretty dumb in some ways — everything in our culture now tells us dedicating hours of your life to music is stupid and financially irresponsible — it’s a quiet rebellion.”
Kesey and Weaver hope but don’t expect to break even. Weaver’s family owns Red Barn Gardens (where he once helped cultivate the much-loved Nightshade Festivals), and all the acts on the bill are either personal friends of the curators or friends of friends. No one was booked through agents; Kesey just called up his pals and said, “Hey, do you want to play?”
“The reason I’m a musician and I put on events is because I have a non-cerebral calling to do it. It’s a physical response, like throwing up,” Kesey said, laughing. “It’s community building through music, and that’s everything to me. I think it is insanely important for us to participate in that as a culture.”
Kesey, who was born in Woodstock, still recalls the sense of magic he felt at his first Waking Windows, in 2017, as well as attending events such as the Otis Mountain Get Down and the Mountain Jam in upstate New York.
“I’ve always idolized those kinds of fests that don’t feel exploitative of the fans,” he said. “I also loved that their settings weren’t some concrete box or a parking lot. The environment, the vibe — it’s so important.”
A Day in the Sun has that in spades. “The venue is legitimately angelic,” Kesey said. “There are grapes growing on the building that you can pick and eat on the spot! Little greenhouses you can visit. Flowers and tomatoes everywhere.”
For more on the Spirit of Vermont: A Day in the Sun festival and to find the ticket link, go to @spiritofvermont on Instagram.
When you think of a battle of the bands, you probably picture a slew of local rock acts, maybe some singer-songwriters, lots of covers and a few awkward interactions. (My favorite will always be when I was judging a battle a few years ago and the aunt of a bassist came over and wondered if I was high because I didn’t award his band the expected points. Spoiler: Maybe I was, lady.)
There’s a different kind of battle brewing in Plattsburgh, N.Y., this weekend at the Trinity Episcopal Church. This Saturday, September 13, and Sunday, September 14, the Battle of Plattsburgh commemoration will feature four programs of music that existed when the battle was fought in 1814.
On Saturday, the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir, led by Dr. Dexter Criss, will perform “From Seeds They Grew: The Roots of American Gospel Music.” Following that will be “Music of the Night: Mozart’s E-flat Major Serenade” courtesy of Daniel Gordon and the Adirondack Wind Ensemble.
On Sunday, musician Marilyn Reynolds and players from Champlain Strings perform “A Masterpiece Returned: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.” Then, capping off the series, violist Patricia McCarty, guitarist Bill Zito and flutist Robin Cameron-Phillips take on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Serenade, Op. 8, as well as a trio of sonatas by 17th-century German composer Georg Philipp Telemann.
Since these bands aren’t necessarily battling but rather commemorating the battle that ended the War of 1812, I’m guessing there will be fewer angry aunts inquiring about drug use. But you never know!
For more info, visit battleofplattsburgh.com.
Listening In
Playlist of Vermont jams
This article appears in Sep 10-16 2025.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!