Ignite Church Event at Higher Ground Canceled

On Sunday, South Burlington music venue Higher Ground was scheduled to host something called Praise Party, a free event targeted at young adults. Organized by Ignite Church in Williston, a conservative Christian institution co-led by senior pastor Todd Callahan, the evening was billed as “a night of praise & worship” on the event flyer.

A story last week by local online media outlet the Rake Vermont highlighted the church’s connection to slain far-right activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk. Callahan had hosted Kirk on his podcast, and Ignite helped organize an appearance of the Turning Point USA cofounder in Burlington in 2021. The church held a vigil for Kirk after he was assassinated last month.

The Rake story also prominently mentioned the Higher Ground event, which ignited outrage toward the nightclub on social media. Why, people wondered, would the area’s biggest and most prominent music venue, particularly one that hosts the annual Winter Is a Drag Ball and posted support online for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020, book an event with an organization with such ties and admiration for Kirk — who, by comparison, referred to Floyd as “a scumbag”?

As online ire crescendoed last Friday, the show was canceled and removed from Higher Ground’s website. It’s not clear who pulled the plug — the nightclub or the church. Higher Ground did not respond to requests for comment. A representative of Ignite refused to comment, citing displeasure with previous Seven Days coverage of the church and its pastor.

Sweet Jesus.

Burlington hard-rock outfit Phantom Suns have dropped a new single, “Out of Body,” and an accompanying video. The video features the band jamming out on the shores of Lake Champlain beneath pink clouds as the sun sets. It’s a gorgeous, idyllic setting that somehow doesn’t feel incongruous with the heavy drama of the track. The song is off the band’s latest LP, Radiolaria. Check out the video on YouTube.

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader extraordinaire Avery Cooper has released a trio of new singles under his solo project, COOP. “I Don’t Need Noboday,” “Fly-a-Funk” and “Orange Crocs” all hit streaming services recently as sort of an unofficial mini EP.

Cooper, who performs with a ton of local acts such as the Discussions, Satyrdagg, All Night Boogie Band and Chicken Fat Injection, comes flying out of the gate on the tracks, vacillating between rootsy jam rock, big-band funk and jazz-inflected soul.

All three are available now on Spotify and other major streaming services. Cooper next performs with his jazz trio on Thursday, October 9, at Foam Brewers in Burlington.

Vermont hip-hop producer Rico James has once again teamed up with rapper MRKBH to drop the single and video “Ishmael (Pt. 2).” Taken from MRKBH’s EP Righteous Gemstones, Pt. 2, the track is one of five James produced for the Rhode Island rapper. They’re all streaming on major services, and the video is up now on YouTube.