Burlington singer-songwriter Ian Steinberg is releasing a new single and accompanying music video on Friday, February 7. “Onions” is a gentle ballad, featuring softly plucked acoustic guitar, mournful cello and Steinberg’s reverb-heavy vocal. In this song of powerful longing, the artist pleads for someone to “hold me close and hold me dearly.”
The track is something of a tonal shift from Steinberg’s previous work, specifically the folk sounds on 2019’s Guidance and 2020’s Three-Fold Moment EP. Steinberg is pushing into indie and ambient territory, or what he dubs a kind of “masculine Weyes Blood” in a press release.
The video shows Steinberg turning over tarot cards at a table, then emerging from a lake, then waiting at a bus stop and ultimately sleeping alone on a wood floor. The hauntingly solitary clip perfectly captures the vibe of “Onions.”
The single is an advance release from LP The Bleeding Days, which drops on April 4.
Looking for that perfect winter soundtrack? Vermont musician Michael Crain has you covered. The Essex Junction-based ambient and world music composer and producer, who operates a fully equipped Dolby Atmos studio, continues his Pangaea Projekt with the release of Winter Vol. X. An ambient collection of icy synths and glacially slow chord progressions, the album is well suited to watching windows frost over as snow steadily falls.
Crain, who worked with fellow Vermont ambient musician Tom Pearo on his Love Wave project in 2021, has been crafting his Winter series for more than a decade now.
“It’s a reflection of my deep connection to the season,” Crain wrote in an email. “I wanted to honor the series’ journey while creating something that feels timeless and connected to this special anniversary.”
Check out Winter Vol. X at pangaeaprojekt.bandcamp.com.
I’m guessing everyone is pretty exhausted with politics, but here’s some news about happenings at the Vermont Statehouse that won’t cause anxiety — unless you have some strange allergy to the piano. In which case, I’m terribly sorry about what Ben Folds did to you.
With the legislative session back on, so is Farmers Night. A tradition going back more than a century, the series features 12 weeks of music and entertainment every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on the floor of the House Chamber, all free and open to the public. In this age of insurrectionists storming government buildings, it’s nice to know that something as wholesome as Farmers Night exists and persists.
Highlights of this year’s programming include a visit from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra on February 12, Afrofuturist poet and musician Toussaint St. Negritude on February 26, traditional Irish band One More Time on March 19 and the Evans/Asbell/Stats Trio playing jazz on April 9. For more information, visit legislature.vermont.gov.
Eye on the Scene
Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry
GROUNDHOG FEST, VARIOUS VENUES, BURLINGTON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, TO SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2: I don’t pay much attention to Punxsutawney Phil and the adorable poppycock surrounding Groundhog Day, but only because I already know Vermont winter is going to last longer than I want. But I did notice when Roost.World and the Burlington Electronic Department predicted three days of live music in downtown Burlington at the inaugural Groundhog Fest. The near-zero temperatures that persisted over the weekend seemed to confirm Phil’s 2025 forecast of six more weeks. I admit that the cold kept me at home with the cats on Saturday night, but I still caught varied acts each day: a rock-and-roll takeover of Burlington City Hall Auditorium by Greaseface on Friday; levicheng, Dari Bay and Two Sev deejaying in single-digit temps during Saturday’s rail jam in City Hall Park; and Luisa Mei (pictured) live-coding audio synthesis, with the code projected behind the dais of the First Unitarian Universalist Society, in real time on Sunday. This little festival cast a big shadow, and I predict — and sincerely hope — we do it again next year.
Listening In
Playlist of Vermont jams
This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2025.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
