PUTNEY-Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present contemporary folk singer-songwriters Crys Matthews and Sam Robbins at Next Stage on Friday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m.
Nashville-based Matthews is part of the new generation of social justice music makers. An award-winning, lyricist and composer, Matthews blends country, Americana, folk, blues, and bluegrass into a performance steeped in traditional melodies. She says he's on a mission to "amplify the voices of the unheard, to shed light on the unseen, and to be a steadfast reminder that hope and love are the truest pathways to equity and justice."
A daughter of the South by way of Nashville and North Carolina, and the self-proclaimed "poster child of intersectionality," Matthews recently released her album Reclamation. As "a preacher's kid, a black woman, a butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner," she "is not only reclaiming space for black artists in country and Americana, for LGBTQ voices in faith communities, and for women's autonomy over their bodies, but she is also reclaiming the South that raised her," wrote organizers in a news release.
Robbins is often described as an "old soul singer-songwriter" - a storyteller troubadour with a modern, upbeat edge. Touring across the U.S. with a new acclaimed album So Much I Still Don't See, named one of Atwood Magazine's 2025 "Artists to Watch," leading songwriting workshops, and performing a Jim Croce song on The Voice, Robbins has gained a reputation as "one of the brightest rising stars in the national folk music community," said organizers.
HALIFAX-The Halifax Union Society will begin its 134th year of interdenominational worship in a service led by the Rev. Bert Marshall on Sunday, July 13, at 5 p.m. Marshall is the first of three guest ministers who will bring diverse religious perspectives to four services in July and August.
WALPOLE, N.H.-Along with more advanced workshops, award-winning author Pam Bernard will offer a special workshop for new writers this summer. This is a great opportunity to dive in for those who have been curious about the process or worried that a lack of writing background will be disqualifying, according...
BRATTLEBORO-Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) will be hosting its Youth Career Bootcamp this summer for high school students from July 14 though 18 at the Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro. This is the third year BDCC has run the program at Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro. Students who register this year for the Career Bootcamp will also receive a free one-year membership to the club. Also new this year is a longer format, with more field trips. Students...
College news • Julianne Liebow of Townshend received a Master of Science degree from Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. • Kiera Noble of Guilford receieved a Bachelor's degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. • Lindsey Weaver of Brattleboro graduated with a post-graduate degree in PMH nursing from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. • The following local students were honored for academic achievement in the spring 2025 semester at Vermont State University. Named to the President's List were...
A powerful new documentary, Gone Guys, will premiere with a series of community screenings across Vermont, inviting viewers into "a timely, necessary conversation" about the challenges facing boys and young men today, wrote organizers in a news release. Produced by Well Told Films and made possible with leadership support from the Richard E. & Deborah L. Tarrant Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation, Gone Guys explores the growing disconnection many boys face in school, work, and community life - and...
BRATTLEBORO-Retreat Farm brings live music and local food truck fare back to 45 Farmhouse Square this summer with its Food Truck Roundup. This outdoor concert series takes place every Thursday through Aug. 21, from 5 to 8 p.m. With a packed lineup of local and regional artists, Food Truck Roundup performances range from bluegrass and honky tonk, to funk and classic rock, and generally last about three hours. The artist lineup includes: • July 10: The Rear Defrosters. • July...
PUTNEY-On Friday, July 11, Yellow Barn opens the doors for its 56th Summer Music Festival. More than 70 musicians representing 17 countries will travel to Putney for five weeks of extraordinary chamber music, including 19 concerts and five masterclasses in the Big Barn. This season's repertoire spans 300 years, from Couperin to new works composed specifically for this season. For Opening Night, Artistic Director Seth Knopp has programmed Sounds of Earth, live and recorded performances from The Golden Record, which...
-It looks like another exciting July for the Brattleboro Little League All-Star teams as both the 10U and 12U stormed through the first round of round-robin play in District 2 to clinch the top seed and home field advantage for the best-of-three elimination round for the district championship. The 12U team is scheduled to host Rutland on July 8 at South Main Street Field in game 1 of that series, while the 10U team is set to host Bennington in...
BRATTLEBORO-Sam Mercurio has been a regular at the Tuesday Morning Veterans Coffee Group at American Legion Post 5 since its inception six years ago. "Sam's been a very loyal member of our group here," said Dr. Robert Tortolani, one of the group's organizers. "And we can't be more honored to be nominating you, Sam, for the Quilt of Valor." Mercurio was honored for his Army service by his fellow veterans on June 24 and presented with the handmade quilt by...
BRATTLEBORO-Haptic Pictures and Latchis Arts present Braiding A New Life on Saturday, July 12, 4:30 p.m. in the main theater at the Latchis Theatre. Screening followed by a talk-back with local Guilford directors Willow O'Feral and Brad Heck, as well as Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) staff. Tickets at the door are $20+. Braiding A New Life: From Ghana to the Green Mountains is a 36-minute documentary portraying an asylum seeker, Sarah, as she navigates life in Southern Vermont. The...
BRATTLEBORO-On Saturday, July 12, at 7 p.m., Under the Maple concerts presents an intimate evening of music and lore with Matthew Olwell, musician, dancer, and journeyman "fluthier." Blending traditional music from Ireland, Brittany, and North America with original material, Matthew's performances weave historical threads and personal experiences expressed through wooden flute, percussion, and song. A founding member of the group Maivish, Olwell began his professional career touring with Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble, including a run in the original London production...
GUILFORD-The passage of the disastrous mega-bill. The opening of the detention centers designed to keep fellow human beings in cages, or worse. The flagrant use of hard drugs in the White House, and no accountability, from Congress, from the Supreme Court. It does feel like it's all over, but the reality is, this is just the beginning of what will be an historic fight, by the people, to save our United States.This fight will be long, more than likely continuing...
BRATTLEBORO-Five new exhibitions open at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) on Saturday, July 12, at 10 a.m. Later that day, at 5:30 p.m., all are welcome to an opening party with the exhibiting artists and curators, featuring DJ Okyn, free food by The Porch Cafe and Catering, and a cash bar by Stone Church. Doors open to BMAC members at 5 p.m. Among the new exhibitions is "Making Space," featuring paintings, drawings, ceramics, sculpture, and installation work by...
MARLBORO-Chilean vocalist Natalia Bernal and guitarist Jason Ennis present a selection of music from the Americas, including Brazilian bossa nova and samba, Chilean and Argentinian folk songs, boleros, and jazz standards at Thrush Hill Stage, 314 Upper Houghton Rd., on Saturday, July 12, at 7 p.m. Bernal hails from Iquique, a city nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Desert. Jesse Lepkoff, who is the host of Thrush Hill Stage and also dabbles in Brazilian music, has performed with...
BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is about to begin a nearly $19 million night paving project on sections of Routes 5, 9, 30, and 142 within the town. VTrans says motorists this week "should be vigilant for daytime sign installation and crews with uniformed traffic officers accessing the shoulders along all approach routes to the project." Sign installation crews will continue to work on installing construction signs on all project and approach routes and will also be conducting project...
First floor of Transportation Center closed for repairsBRATTLEBORO - As of July 7, the Brattleboro Transportation Center has fully closed the first-floor deck of the parking garage and Flat Street vehicle entrance to allow for the replacement of the deck's protective membrane. This closure, which affects all parking spaces and any vehicle and pedestrian access on the first floor, is expected to continue through the first week of August. The remainder of the parking garage will be open via the...
BRATTLEBORO-Much of Windham County depends for its health care services on Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH), which has been weathering what already was a financial crisis. And then everything changed on July 3, when Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, may cause some 45,000 people in Vermont to lose their health insurance over the next several years, according to initial estimates from the Vermont Agency of Human...
BROOKLINE-I hope this piece will show people why popular pushback against a hurried, poorly-thought-out educational "reform" bill is so needed. The bill passed with a tripartisan legion racing Gov. Phil Scott to see who can be the lead lemming leaping off the cliff. For folks in rural districts like mine, the request for years has been to strengthen our schools, to recognize our value, to meet us where we are. Instead, the writing is on the wall that our interests...
BRATTLEBORO-What a depressing time to celebrate Independence Day, as No. 47 and his obedient and manipulated Republicans agreed to strip away support and sustenance for the less fortunate here with the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Those whose states were promised benefits ought to be ashamed and feel tricked. Has this president followed through on any of his pre-vote promises? Only to Project 2025 has he been loyal and dedicated. Many are counting on the...
Nick Biddle is a retired professor of Latin American history who lives in Brattleboro and works with nonprofits in Vermont and Ecuador. BRATTLEBORO-For the health of Vermont and the Democratic Party, Treasurer Mike Pieciak needs to declare his intentions. While I am not thrilled with the Democratic Party and its tepid response to either Gov. Scott or President Trump, I urgently call for there to be a strong opponent to the governor in the next election. Scott's recent actions show...
Dan DeWalt, a frequent contributor to these pages and one of the founders of this newspaper, writes that if he didn't love his country, he "wouldn't spend so much time trying to get it to live up to its purported principles." WILLIAMSVILLE-It is now painfully clear that our worst fears have been justified: Donald Trump has emerged as a fully formed nightmare of chaos and destruction. He has one purpose, and one purpose only: to become a dictator of the...
BRATTLEBORO-The annual Brattleboro Goes Fourth! parade on July 4 featured plenty of vehicles from all the town departments, not many politicians, and lots of protesters. Perennial participants included bands from the local American Legion and Brattleboro Union High School, and various veterans, civic, and youth groups. Local personality Alfred Hughes Jr. capped the event, wearing a red dress, white feathers, and a blue mesh shawl wrap. The tradition of free speech was represented by approximately 200 marchers from Invisible Brattleboro,
BRATTLEBORO-When the Vermont Legislature adjourned on June 16, it had run more than a month longer than expected. The reason was the controversial and complex reform bill that will, as written, drastically change the way education is delivered in Vermont. Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, who many would say instigated the changes by presenting his own more-drastic educational reforms before the session began, signed the bill into law on July 1. The final 155-page bill, H.454, does two major things:
WEST CHESTERFIELD, N.H.-In Donald Margulies's Collected Stories - the latest production of Actors Theatre Playhouse (ATP) - grad student Lisa is thrilled to be under the tutelage of her literary idol, Ruth Steiner. Over the years, Lisa becomes Ruth's personal assistant and gradually her friend, as Ruth helps her hone her writing abilities. But as Lisa's career begins to flourish and Ruth's begins to fade, can the tenuous relationship between mentor and mentee survive ambition, rivalry, and possible betrayal? Collected...
DUMMERSTON-In the wake of cuts to education and the Horrendously Cruel Bill, Trump's enemies list: • Children • Children too poor to have housing • Children who are learning English • Children who don't have enough to eat • Children who can't afford to see a doctor • Children who have special needs • Children who can't spend the summer at the country club pool • Children who aren't white • Children who want to go to summer school •
GUILFORD-A term often used regarding a military action is "collateral damage." This term masks the cold, hard truth of killing the innocent and destroying an environment. Honest reporting would entail the use of words that openly describe the reality of what occurred, which might help more of us to be outraged and motivated to fight against it. Use of unbridled power, at all costs, may produce short-term military gains, but the price we pay as a people, by sacrificing our...
They threw her in Yellowstone to save it– to control the deer, work unpaid, change rivers, supply some lower class, but hey, top of the food chain, return vegetation, moss, bio- diversity, genuine hunger. She ran wild currents and as soon as she strayed, they turned off the safety and set gunmen out like toys. This Arts was submitted to The Commons.
BRATTLEBORO-Analysis of Brattleboro's Charter Revision Survey reveals growing dissatisfaction with the current Representative Town Meeting (RTM) system. In Districts 7, 8, and 9, significant majorities - 66%, 78%, and 62%, respectively - expressed concerns about the RTM's effectiveness, transparency, and ability to represent the will of the people. Many respondents described the RTM as unaccountable and increasingly dominated by a small group of activists or individuals with personal agendas. Several pointed to key votes - especially on budget priorities and...
Sarah Ellis is a writer and mental health advocate who grew up in Brattleboro and now calls Burlington home. She publishes a newsletter, "Composted Mayhem," about mental illness, resilience, and hope, which can be found at sarahrebeccaellis.substack.com. BURLINGTON-Well, it has happened. The reign of absolute chaos is upon us, bringing with it grief and terror and overwhelming uncertainty. But even as formerly reliable regulations are blasted apart and essential services are gutted, I think your disabled friends have something to...
PUTNEY-Emma Paris is a creative force. The 19-year-old from Putney has been named Youth Poet Laureate of Vermont. This position was established in 2024 by Sundog Poetry (sundogpoetry.org), a nonprofit that supports poets and poetry in the state, in partnership with Urban Word, a New York City organization that founded the National Youth Poet Laureate program. Paris's honor comes with a $500 award, an invitation to a regional competition, and the opportunity to participate in virtual workshops led by renowned...
BRATTLEBORO-With this month's effective end to the state's motel voucher program on July 1, a community art space has transformed into an oasis of sorts for people who are without shelter as demand for resources and needs have increased drastically. According to data from VTDigger sourced from the state Department for Children and Families (DCF), 73 adults and 34 children in the Brattleboro district were evicted from motels last week. They are among more than 800 people statewide who were...