On the Beat: The Summer Festival Season Kicks Off and a New Video From Night Protocol 

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• Courtesy
• Dawes

Between Waking Windows announcing a weekend mini fest (Pile!) and Tuesday's big announcement from the folks at the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival (Kamasi Washington!), I'm starting to feel a lot more optimistic about the upcoming summer of music. And a few more events have been announced, so whip out those calendars, folks.

First up is the inaugural Imagine Zero Music Festival, on Saturday, May 13, at the SolarFest grounds in Brandon. If the name didn't already give it away, the Imagine Zero fest's goal is to leave no carbon footprint and zero waste.

"That means having the show entirely powered by renewable energy and [having] no trash," festival cofounders and Woodstock residents Cliff Johnson and Ben Kogan explained in a press release. "We know it's unlikely to get all the way there for now, but we think it's worth a shot to try and see how close we get."

The fest features performances from folk rockers Dawes; Vermont artists Kat Wright and Myra Flynn; and Kogan's own band, the Ben Kogan Band.

"I've performed at so many festivals with trash overflowing, compostables that aren't getting composted, feeling guilty that the festival is using gas-powered generators and everyone [is] driving fossil fuel cars to get there," Kogan recounted. "I'm grateful that we have the chance to imagine something different and put it in motion."

Next up is Field Day, a one-day fest on June 3 at the Guilford Fairgrounds. Presented by Brattleboro's Stone Church and Urgent Message Music, the show features sets from LA indie pop act Inner Wave; Portsmouth, N.H., native Lady Lamb; Brooklyn indie rockers Sunflower Bean; and plenty of Vermont talent, including THUS LOVE, Robber Robber and Greg Freeman.

Nothing quite beats a one-day fest in the Vermont summer. You get a gorgeous drive and great music, and if you don't feel like sleeping in a tent, you can be home in your own bed that night. Pop over to stonechurchvt.com for more info and tickets.

While it's not a festival per se, Zenbarn in Waterbury Center is throwing its annual 420 party this Thursday, April 20, in honor of the stickiest of ickies — the first year the party has gone down since weed dispensaries started popping up all over the state.

The Waterbury Center restaurant, venue and dispensary will celebrate the Mary Jane with sets by reggae act Etana & the rawsoul Rebels Band, Philadelphia hip-hop duo Kuf Knotz & Christine Elise, and local Afro-Latino fusion act Mal Maïz. Proceeds from ticket sales go to Zenbarn's Generation Equity Fund, which supports members of the BIPOC community gaining access to the legal cannabis industry.

Watch this space for more summer festival and event announcements, coming soon!

Burlington synth pop act Night Protocol have released a new music video for the song "The Fear," from their 2022 album Static. Featuring the band members performing in front of a 20-by-60-foot XR LED wall that bathes them in lights and animations, the video is part of an EP release including four different remixes of the song, including versions by local producers Genderdeath and tip/toe.

"These remixes explore the song through drum n' bass, dancehall dream pop, and even house music, all produced here in Vermont," the band wrote in a press release.

Eye on the Scene

Last week's live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry

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• Luke Awtry
• Eastern Mountain Time at Radio Bean

Eastern Mountain Time at Radio Bean, Burlington, Tuesday, April 11: Burlington musician Sean Hood is great at making things up. That's most obvious in his talent for songwriting and storytelling. But after I first saw him perform, I couldn't stop thinking about the name of his band. I was pretty sure that it wasn't an actual time zone, but it sounded legit. (It's not.) That's the thing about Sean and his songs: They make you believe — or, at the very least, make a cynic like me want to believe. The highlight of the More Buses & Trains album release show for me was "Down in My Own Way," a Nick Drake-evoking Americana ballad. The right voice paired with the right instrument can be so powerful. Sean wields both with such confident tenderness, and that's something not even he can make up.

On the Air

Where to tune in to Vermont music this week:

• "Wave Cave Radio Show," Wednesday, April 19, 2 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: DJs Flywlkr and Gingervitus spin the best of local and nonlocal hip-hop.
• "Exposure," Wednesday, April 19, 6 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Jazz-rock act Fossil Record play live in studio.
• "Rocket Shop Radio Hour," Wednesday, April 19, 8 p.m., on 105.9 the Radiator: Poet and composer Toussaint St. Negritude joins host Tom Proctor.
• "The Sounds of Burlington," Thursday, April 20, 9 p.m., at wbkm.org: Host Tim Lewis plays selections of local music.
• "Cultural Bunker," Friday, April 21, 6 p.m., on 90.1 WRUV: Host Melo Grant plays local and nonlocal hip-hop.
• "All the Traditions," Sunday, April 23, 7 p.m., on Vermont Public: Host Robert Resnik plays an assortment of folk music with a focus on Vermont artists.

Listening In

Spotify playlist of local jams