BRATTLEBORO-The local music scene is getting even richer since Glenn Alper of Northampton, Massachusetts, bought the River Garden building last summer.
The space at 157 Main St., most recently the River Garden Marketplace, has reopened as Marigold, a café, bar, and live music venue.
"I see us being kind of a social hub for Brattleboro, the surrounding communities, and the creative community especially," Alper says. "I'm blown away by how much talent there is locally and want to support that and build our business around it."
Marigold offers live music and events several nights a week and does so, as often as possible, for free.
For the past three years, Alper has operated Marigold Theater, a live music and performance venue, cocktail bar, and small café, in Easthampton, Massachusetts. "Before that I had a musical instrument store in Northampton," he says, and he'll be opening a similar enterprise in the lower level of his new Brattleboro space this summer.
'Live from Brattleboro' monthly sessions
Alper has "been instrumental in getting music going there on a regular basis," says area musician Peter Siegel whose band, Gaslight Tinkers, has played at the Easthampton venue.
As he started shaping his programming, Alper asked Siegel if he'd put something together as a regular offering in Brattleboro.
"I'd been wanting to do an extension of what I used to do during the pandemic when I'd get a musician or two - mostly songwriters, some traditional musicians and country-oriented musicians - to play with me," Siegel says.
In those sessions, the musicians would "just kind of wing it and play off each other," live streaming off the porch of his Brattleboro home, he says.
And so Siegel has created a monthly session, Live from Brattleboro, on that model, free and open to the public, from 6 to 8 p.m. on the first Sunday of every month.
"The idea is to have two musicians play with me who work really well together, and we all sing with each other a little bit, do our own stuff as well, and make for a dynamic two hours of unplanned, impromptu" music that brings forth unexpected harmonies and serendipity, he adds.
"I'm not trying to have a showcase," Siegel says, even though that's what he does in other realms as a music teacher and with the annual River Jam Romp weekend. "That's all about inclusiveness."
Live from Brattleboro, on the other hand, "is more about really great musicians who I know who will put out a good show together without [much] preparation, you know?" he says. " I know when I pick these musicians, they're going to be people who could work together well."
Siegel admits that "it's a little bit self-indulgent on my part, in that I love backing up fellow musicians."
"And I also feel I have the ability to really stand behind a lot of musicians [...] and have them harmonize behind my songs, as well," he says. "So it's pretty collaborative."
Giving a "shout out" to Alper, Siegel calls Marigold's proprietor "someone who is really trying to start something in Brattleboro that has never been there before - regular music that will get crowds out there."
"I think he's pouring resources into it himself," Siegel says. "He's really behind a lot of what's happening there. [...] He's really trying to bring people in the door by having music there all the time and really have it be a place where you know something's going to be happening."
Siegel also praises Alper's food offerings, under the leadership of chef Erika Schapp.
Of his program's draw, Siegel adds: "It's hard to drum up an audience - a lot happens through word of mouth. And Brattleboro is not the kind of place you can really get people out on a Sunday night for a relatively small event like this."
Live from Brattleboro has "got to be one of those things that's going to develop momentum over time," he says.
How great it would be, Siegel says, if people could say, "Hey, look at what we've got here at Brattleboro. We have this culture of musicians. Now why don't you all just come out and understand that and be a part of it?"
For the June 1 session, Siegel will be joined by Brattleboro's Emily Margaret, a young singer-songwriter who's "the product of great parenting and [youth music festival] BrattRock. She's really wonderful." Joining in, too, will be Derek Sensale, a New England–based folk musician known for his intimate, nature-inspired singing/songwriting.
'A gem with so much potential'
"I really think of Brattleboro as kind of a gem with so much potential, especially on the social end," Alper says.
"For our part, it's great to be able to interact with so many different types of artists and be able to bring different aspects of the community together," he notes, observing that the former River Garden's "beautiful glass atrium ceiling and the deck overlooking the river make it such an ideal space to gather."
"The goal is to bring people together and encourage people of all ages to come downtown," Alper says. "[Brattleboro has] so many good people, and I want Marigold to bring some of that secret sauce that helps make downtown come alive."
Live from Brattleboro sessions are free from 6 to 8 p.m. the first Sunday of every month. For a full Marigold schedule, visit marigold.org.
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.