From Bluegrass to 'Yazz,' These Seven Offbeat Vermont Summer Music Festivals and Series Offer Something for Everyone 

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• Thus Love

If there's one thing Vermonters know intrinsically, it's that you can't waste a second of summer. Once the flannel comes off, it's all about mainlining vitamin D during our oh-so-brief window of sunshine. And seeing live music outdoors is key to that mandate. Vermont weather only gives would-be promoters a few months to throw a music festival, so it's no surprise that summer fests come fast and furious between now and October.

We all know about the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, coming up in June. (And believe me, we've got lots more to tell you about that party in the coming weeks.) But there are all kinds of unique festivals and series across the state for curious music fans to add to their summer calendars. Below are just seven destinations to check out in a stacked season of Vermont music.

Next Stage Arts Bandwagon Summer Series

Windham County; May through October; nextstagearts.org/bandwagon-23

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• Underground System

The Next Stage Arts Bandwagon Summer Series started as a response to the pandemic. Now in their third season, the weekly shows feature a diverse and musically eclectic barrage of artists through October 21. "The Bandwagon Summer Series is an opportunity to cultivate friendships, experience new music, and bask in Vermont's outdoor beauty," Next Stage Arts executive director Keith Marks said in a press release.

Roaming from Putney to Brattleboro, the series welcomes different artists every week, starting with a performance this Friday, May 19, by New York City Afrobeat dance outfit Underground System at Cooper Field in Putney. Subsequent headliners include Colombian accordionist Gregorio Uribe, Afrobeat Grateful Dead tribute group Sia Tolno & Afro Dead, and New England funk outfit Soggy Po Boys.

Field Day

Guilford; Saturday, June 3; fielddayvt.com

The folks at Brattleboro's Stone Church are throwing a proper indie rock festival down in Guilford. That's great for a number of reasons, not least of which is that other than Waking Windows — which pulled off a late-game mini-fest in early May — there aren't a lot of indie rock-centric fests on the calendar in Vermont this year. Los Angeles indie pop act Inner Wave headline the one-day festival, while Lady Lamb and Sunflower Bean add out-of-town heft to a lineup glittering with some of Vermont's best young rock bands. Thus Love, Robber Robber and Greg Freeman are just a few of the highlights. Throw in plenty of food trucks, craft beer and actual field games — think egg toss and three-legged races — and it sounds like a perfect Vermont summer day.

BTV Yazz Fest

Burlington; Wednesday, June 7; ofsound.community

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• Jo Bled

"I can't stand the word 'jazz,'" BTV Yazz Fest organizer JB Ledoux wrote in a recent email. "Like, what does it mean? And how does that work?"

These are some of the tough questions being asked by Yazz Fest, an experimental noise alternative to the behemoth that is the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. Following in the footsteps of the infamous Other Music Festival, a 2011 Winooski fest held in response to the jazz fest — which later evolved into Waking Windows — the Yazz Fest is here to offer music fans a healthy dose of WTF?! Featuring dadaist improviser Adam Arritola; the Adam Ploof Ensemble; RJ Myato; and Ledoux's musical alter ego, Jo Bled, this is a lineup meant to stimulate and confuse the brain at once. If you've ever wondered, What is jazz? and summarily responded to yourself, It means nothing; all is chaos, the Yazz Fest, held at the Community of Sound in downtown Burlington, is for you.

Do Good Fest

Montpelier; Saturday, July 15; dogoodfest.com

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• Plain White T's

You have to love a festival with a heart. The Do Good Fest, held annually in Montpelier, was founded by National Life Group as a means of fundraising for the Central Vermont Medical Center's Branches of Hope Fund. Since its inception in 2014, the festival has raised more than $345,000 for the organization, which provides financial support for cancer patients.

As has been the festival's model, the lineup pairs a nationally touring act with some of Vermont's hottest performers. This year, Chicago rockers Plain White T's headline, along with Burlington blues rippers the All Night Boogie Band.

Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival

Tunbridge; Thursday, June 22, to Sunday, June 25; jennybrookbluegrass.com

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• The Gibson Brothers

It would be hard to find a higher concentration of bluegrass in one place than at the Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival in Tunbridge. Established in 2001, the fest welcomes a massive collection of musicians and fans, and it's often impossible to tell the difference between the two. Camp-side jams are the norm as bluegrass mainstays, such as the Gibson Brothers and the Atkinson Family, lead four days of foot-stompin', flat-pickin' hoedowns at the Tunbridge World's Fair grounds.

Cabot Arts and Music Festival

Cabot; Friday and Saturday, July 28 and 29; cabotarts.org

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• Kat Wright

The folks at the nonprofit Cabot Arts are throwing their annual festival again, featuring tons of music, art projects, organized dances, kids' activities and, of course, plenty of food trucks. Held on the Cabot Village Common, the event draws some of Vermont's best musicians, including Kat Wright, Barika and the Larkspurs. There will also be a tribute to folk musician Pete Sutherland, who died in 2022, as musicians Patti Casey, Dana Robinson, Colin McCaffrey and Oliver Scanlon perform a selection of Sutherland's songs.

While most of the tunes happen on Saturday, Friday's festival launch is a giant Cajun dance party with the Pointe Noir Cajun Band at the Willey Building Auditorium.

Spruce Peak Summer Concert Series

Stowe; June through August; sprucepeakarts.org

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• Natasha Bedingfield

It's hard to find a more idyllic setting than the outdoor stage at the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe. Nestled in the mountains and surrounded by natural beauty, the spot plays host every summer to a great lineup of music. This year is no exception, featuring Boston funk-pop band Ripe, Toronto folk act Wild Rivers, and Nashville indie rockers the Brook & the Bluff. The series kicks off on June 29 with a performance by British pop star Natasha Bedingfield.