Seth Knopp, Artistic Director of the Yellow Barn & Festival in Putney and critically acclaimed pianist will be speaking at an “Open Ears” evening on Tuesday, June 18 in Grafton at 7 p.m. The event, presented by the Grafton Music Festival, includes discussion and demonstration of contemporary classical music in an intimate setting. The Grafton Inn’s Cricketers room, located on Townshend Road in Grafton (across from the Grafton Inn) will be home to this intimate event, which is FREE and open to the public. Space is very limited; please call 802-843-2447 to reserve.

Saturday & Sunday June 15 & 16 2013, 5pm at Sandglass Theater, Kimball Hill Rd, Putney, VT
$15 ($10 students) For tickets visit http://www.trianglepuppetplay.com/events or call 802-579-6400

Triangle is a multimedia play that explores the legacy of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in which 146 women died, many jumping to their deaths. While vocalists perform Keppel’s haunting text, puppets act as silent, spiritual incarnations of the story’s dream-like metaphors, woven together by Kemp’s richly layered improvisatory soundscape. In the libretto, the forewoman Joan tells three younger seamstresses her story of the Triangle workers’ strike and of her survival of the subsequent fire. At the same time, the former owner of the Triangle factory, Blanck, presents his own version of the strike and fire, teetering among feelings of anger, grief, guilt, and eager complacency.

Twilight Music begins its 11th annual Twilight On The Tavern Lawn series of folk, world beat, rock, jazz, zydeco, Celtic, swing, blues and bluegrass summer concerts on Sunday, June 2 with Planet Zydeco.  The seven concert series continues every other Sunday through August 25. All concerts begin at 5:30 pm in downtown Putney on the Putney Tavern lawn (bring a lawn chair or blanket) or at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill in case of rain. The series is sponsored by the Town of Putney, Putney Food Co-Op, Putney Paper Company, The Putney Inn, The Stockwell Brothers and many other Putney businesses and organizations.  The concerts are free to the public (donations are accepted) and food will be available.

This Saturday, May 25, the East Putney Contra Dance at Pierce's Hall is bridging the generations, pairing one of the region's most celebrated and accomplished callers with the youth band that grownups are raving about.

Our caller will be Peter Amidon, who for the past twenty years has dedicated himself to traditional song, dance and storytelling. Renowned for his teaching, Peter is a familiar face at the major northeast U.S. music and dance festivals, at teacher conferences, and at summer folk camps of traditional dance and song. He last appeared at Pierce's Hall anchoring the packed fundraising dance that helped make the hall's new roof possible. Learn more at http://www.amidonmusic.com/home/about-the-amidons

Twilight Music presents California-based, world music quartet Fishtank Ensemble at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 pm. The dynamic, virtuosic and fiery band plays a high-energy mix of Romanian, Gypsy jazz, flamenco, Balkan, Turkish, Greek and tango influenced music.

Fishtank Ensemble includes two explosive violins, the world's best slap bass player, musical saw, flamenco and gypsy jazz guitar, trombone, opera, jazz and gypsy vocals, accordion and one little banjolele. Formed in 2005 and playing everywhere from the hippest LA clubs to festivals, cultural centers, museums, parades and even on the street, the band tackles everything from French hot jazz to wild Serbian and Transylvanian gypsy anthems, flamenco and oddball originals.

On Memorial Day weekend, more than 250 performers will again bring many styles of Morris Dancing to Windham County.
The 38th annual Marlboro Morris Ale (look for us on Facebook) will have 3 large en-masse 2 hour presentations; on Saturday May 25th: 10:15 am at Marlboro College, and 5pm on Elliot Street in Brattleboro, also Sunday May 26th at 5pm beside the Newfane Courthouse.
Specially for Putney, on Sunday, May 26th, three teams will arrive by bus to dance beside the Farmer's Market, at 12:15-1:15. This event is free, but we do pass a hat!
For more information, see the poster (attached), for questions, call 802-380-3455

Next Stage Arts Project, in collaboration with Strong Coffee Stage, is pleased to present PUTNEY VAUDEVILLE on Friday, May 24, 2013, at 7:30pm at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT. General Admission tickets are $12 / $6 for children under 12, and are available at http://www.nextstagearts.org and Offerings in Putney. For more information, contact Next Stage Arts at (802) 387-0102 or nextstagearts@gmail.com.

PUTNEY VAUDEVILLE is the creation of Rebecca Waxman, Bronwyn Sims, Patrick Donnelly and Peter Siegel who hope to launch an ongoing showcase for old time entertainment and community talent. The night will include a stellar professional act, a rousing live band, assorted friends and neighbors displaying skills you may never have seen, beer and wine service and good-natured audience engagement.

Marking Armed Forces Day, the highly acclaimed film “SERVICE: When Women Come Marching Home” (http://servicethefilm.com/) will be shown on Saturday, May 18th at 7:00 p.m. at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill, in Putney, Vt.

The film portrays the courage of several women veterans as they transition from active duty to civilian life, following them as they overcome psychological trauma, severe physical injury, military sexual assault and the challenge of receiving care and benefits.

“From the deserts of Afghanistan to rural Tennessee, from Iraq to New York City, we follow these women as they wrestle with prosthetics, homelessness, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Military Sexual Trauma. The documentary shares their stories through their own voices as they speak from kitchens, bedrooms, grocery stores and therapy sessions. The pictures and videos they shot in Iraq and Afghanistan are included and they speak volumes,” say co-producers Marcia Rock and Patricia Lee Stotter.

Twilight Music presents International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year Tony Trischka and his band, plus Putney-based banjoist Bruce Stockwell at Next Stage on Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 pm.

Tony Trischka is perhaps the most influential banjo player in the roots music world. For more than 35 years, his stylings have inspired a whole generation of bluegrass and acoustic musicians, including Bela Fleck – one of his early students. Trischka has been a key figure in opening the banjo and acoustic music in general to wider influences, having shared the stage and studio with the likes of Steve Martin, David Grisman, John Denver, The Boston Pops, Jorma Kaukonen, Sam Bush, Chris Thile, Peter Rowan, Earl Scruggs and countless others. He has appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman,” Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Mountain Stage," and is featured on the soundtrack of the film “Driving Miss Daisy’ and the theme song of the NPR show “Books on the Air.”

The All-Comers Band will be sharing their big, exuberant sound at the East Putney Contra Dance this coming Saturday the 27th at Pierce's Hall in East Putney. Jim Fownes will call, starting with a beginners' session from 7:30 to 8:00, and then dancing until 10:30. All ages and skill levels are welcome, no partner is necessary, and all dances are taught.

The suggested donation is $7. To reach Pierce's Hall, go north from Putney Village for 2 miles on Rt. 5. Turn right onto East Putney Falls Road and go 1/2 mile until you come to the driveway to the hall on the left. For GPS users, the address is 121 East Putney Falls Road, though there is no address marker at the driveway. For more info, call 802-387-5357.