Do you want to be in the Guinness World Records? Better get out the dancing shoes. This Tuesday, August 26, at the Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction, a host of local musicians will attempt to stage the largest square dance in history.
Led by guitarist Bob Wagner and featuring Phish bassist Mike Gordon, singer-songwriter Josh Panda, perennial Daysies winner Kat Wright, honky-tonk master Brett Hughes, bluegrass band Wild Leek River and tons of other area players, the “Honky Tonk Hoedown” will seek to set a new world record.
“The world record for largest square dance is only 1,600 or so people,” Wagner posted on social media. “We can DOOOO THIS YALLLL!”
While the sight of thousands of square dancers is cool in and of itself, the real aim of the show is to raise money for the nonprofit Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, whose mission is to build an economically viable, ecologically sound and socially just agricultural system. The organization has been heavily affected by Trump administration cuts, which clawed back more than $500,000 previously earmarked by Congress to help more than 55 farms across the state.
Together with Phish’s charitable arm, the WaterWheel Foundation, and Ben & Jerry’s, Wagner and his honky-tonk brigade hope to provide some much-needed funding to NOFA-VT, while maybe putting Essex Junction on the map as the site of the largest square dance in history. Yeehaw!
To purchase tickets, head over to champlainvalleyfair.org.
Straight from the “Pearl of the Black Sea,” Odesa, Ukraine, come Kommuna Lux. The folk group has achieved renown across the globe for its high-energy blend of Ukrainian folk music, klezmer and Balkan swing. With a mix of reimagined traditional songs from their home, such as the klezmer standard “Odessa Bulgar,” and original bops like their 2023 single “Pan,” Kommuna Lux have a blast shouting out their culture while it is literally under attack, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.
Besides showcasing their country’s music, they’re aiding victims of the war through their nonprofit, KMLX, which has so far raised more than $50,000 for hospitals treating frontline injuries.
“Every dollar raised brings tangible relief and every note played reaffirms the power of cultural preservation in times of crisis,” the band wrote in a press release ahead of its American tour.
That tour features two stops in the Green Mountains. On Friday, August 29, Kommuna Lux will perform in St. Johnsbury as part of the Levitt AMP St. Johnsbury Music Series. In case you miss them there, or just want an encore, they’ll travel to Waterbury Center on Saturday, August 30, for a show at Zenbarn.
One of my favorite Vermont music fests will return to White River Junction next month: the What Doth Rumble. Curated by the fine folks from co-op/indie label What Doth Life, a consortium of musicians and bands that emerged from Windsor, the annual end-of-summer festival features a massive sample of Vermont’s underground indie-rock scene, as well as talent from New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
The crew is really not messing around this year, with 34 acts across three stages, including singer-songwriter Ali T, hardcore act Dead Street Dreamers, Brattleboro synth rocker Dutch Experts, ska punks McAsh and much more. Completely free and open to the public, the fest also includes workshops on audio engineering and animated video production, as well as vendors and food options.
It all goes down Saturday and Sunday, September 13 and 14, at the Main Street Museum. For more information or to donate or enter the What Doth Rumble raffle, visit mainstreetmuseum.org.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2025.
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