Simba will perform a public concert in Dummerston, Vermont, near Brattleboro, on or around June 20. The concert will probably be at the Grange hall at the corner of East-West and Middle roads in Dummerston. At a recent Simba concert, at least 100 people danced for hours. The band plays reggae and funk, among other kinds of music.
January 03, 2012
Legendary Folk Singer Charlie King Concert To Aid Valley Nuke Foes
Charlie King, Karen Brandow, and Rebel Voices will perform an evening concert in Greenfield on January 21. It’s a benefit for the Safe and Green Campaign, which works to replace the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor with solar panels, energy efficiency programs, windmills, geothermal energy, and other renewables. Safe and Green works closely with www.nukebusters.org and www.vpirg.org
Vermont Yankee is three miles from Massachusetts and a stone’s throw from New Hampshire.
Pete Seeger said, "Charlie King is one of the finest singers and songwriters of our time."
October 23, 2011
Alchemystics to Perform on October 29 in Northampton
The Alchemystics, a local reggae band that tours nationally, will perform on October 29 in Northampton. The band sounds like a mixture of Bob Marley and Michael Franti and Spearhead. The Alchemystics played an outstanding, sold-out concert at the Arts Block in Greenfield on September 25. Almost everyone at the concert danced.
A video of the Alchemystics performing is at
www.YouTube.com/watch?v=zDLqJjIk-cc
In the video, the sound quality is good; the image quality is literally shaky.
Details about the concert are at
September 24, 2011
Review: Nationally Known Bands Played Near Brattleboro
Seven local bands, some of which tour nationally, played at a festival whose mission was to close the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The music festival was on September 17 in Newfane, Vermont. The bands were outstanding. Among the highlights were Simba and Pulse Prophets. Hundreds of people attended; many danced. The autumn weather was sunny and comfortable.
Here are the web sites of the bands that performed:
April 16, 2011
Concert Review: Red Molly
Red Molly performed an excellent public concert in Putney, Vermont on April 17. Putney is 10 minutes by car from Brattleboro. There's a bus between the two towns.
According to the Boston Globe, "Red Molly may be from New York, but their bluegrass and old-time gospel sounds and buoyant three-part harmonies are so down-home it's as if their notes are carried to you on the crisp air of the Ozarks."
March 18, 2011
Habib Koite in Amherst
Habib Koite, a singer and guitar player who lives in Bamako, Mali, in west Africa, performed a stellar public concert in Amherst on March 2. Koite (pronounced KWA-tee) possesses an unusually warm voice and guitar skills that inspired Bonnie Raitt to famously tell him after one concert, "I would drink your sweat."
February 17, 2011
Vusi Mahlasela in Northampton
Vusi Mahlasela, a singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist who lives in South Africa, performed an outstanding public concert in Northampton on February 16. Mahlasela was active in the movement that overthrew the apartheid government in South Africa. In 1994, he performed at Nelson Mandela’s presidential inauguration.
"Vusi has a sort of profound beauty about him. He has a light on," said two-time Grammy award winner Dave Matthews.
November 19, 2010
Amy Ray in Amherst Nov. 17
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers founded the the Grammy Award-winning band the Indigo Girls. The first few seconds of Ray's latest CD, Didn't It Feel Kinder, are taken up by her voice alone. Throughout the album, Ray's voice is direct, unsentimental and free of irony.
This record sounds more like the Indigo Girls than Ray's first three solo recordings, which were more punk. The best song on the new CD is "Cold Shoulder," a celebratory rocker: "See that girl over there, she's gonna give me the cold shoulder/ she may be straight tonight, but last night she let me hold her."
September 22, 2010
Legendary Folk Singer Charlie King Concert Will Benefit Valley Post
Charlie King will perform a benefit concert for the Valley Post on October 2 in Hadley, Massachusetts, near Northampton. Pete Seeger said, "Charlie King is one of the finest singers and songwriters of our time."
September 07, 2010
Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars Will Play in Northampton Sept. 14
The Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars band will play its soulful, dance-able reggae and Afro-pop music at the Iron Horse in Northampton on September 14 at 7 p.m. The members of the band lived in Sierra Leone until they fled the civil war there in the late 1990s. The uplifting story of their meeting in a refugee camp in Guinea is told in a documentary film that's named after the band. The DVD is available at your local public library, video store, or from Netflix. The band's new CD was released by the Vermont record label www.cumbancha.com Tickets to the concert are available from www.iheg.com