Middlebury Festival on the Green
  • home
  • 2020 Festival t-Shirts for sale!
  • MCTV Schedule
  • 2020 Festival performer lineup
  • About
  • Please Donate
  • Contact
  • Sponsors-Thank you!
  • Festival photos
  • Parking
  • Middlebury Alcohol /Tobacco policy
  • Area restaurants
  • Free Raffle Festival week!

​42nd ANNUAL MIDDLEBURY FESTIVAL ON THE GREEN
JULY 12-17 2020

We were about to announce our 2020 lineup when we needed to cancel. They were going to be:
The Big Takeover, Chris Yerlig, Mimealot, The Oshima Brothers, Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem, Jon Gailmor,
Bruce Molsky, Tony Trishka and Paula Bradley, Beg Steal or Borrow, No Strings Marionette Company, Kobotown, VickiKristinaBarcelona, Kolonien, Middlebury Music Camp, Tom Verner, 
Paul Asbell Quintet, Les Royal Pickles and É.T.É

WE hope to have some of these artists with us in 2021!
Next Year's Festival will be held July 11th-17th 2021

2019 festival performer lineup is below


Picture
Sam Reider is an American accordionist, pianist, composer, and singer-songwriter. He’s been featured at Lincoln Center and on NPR and collaborated with pop stars, jazz and folk musicians around the world. Reider is the leader of a “staggeringly virtuosic band” (RnR Magazine) of bluegrass and jazz musicians based in Brooklyn called The Human Hands.
Following the release of their critically-acclaimed record Too Hot to Sleep (2018), Sam and the Human Hands have appeared at major festivals and venues throughout the US and the UK and performed live on the BBC. Irresistible melodies, fiery improvisation and otherworldly sounds collide in what Songlines Magazine has dubbed "mash-up of the the Klezmatics, Quintette du Hot Club de France and the Punch Brothers.”
Too Hot To Sleep features Eddie Barbash (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jon Batiste and Stay Human), Alex Hargreaves (Turtle Island Quaret, Live From Here, Sarah Jarosz), Dominick Leslie (Hawktail, Ricky Skaggs Band, Deadly Gentlemen), Roy Williams (Stephane Wrembel), Grant Gordy (David Grisman Quintet) and Dave Speranza.

Reider grew up in San Francisco, the son of a musical theatre composer and klezmer musician. He began performing at a young age, and was interviewed on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz” on NPR when he graduated high school. At Columbia University, he fell in love with American folk music. While writing his senior thesis comparing the songwriting of Woody Guthrie and Ira Gershwin, Sam began studying bluegrass and old-time, transcribing the fiddle melodies for the accordion and learning to sing the songs. This set him off on a journey that has taken him from back porches and dive bars to concert halls and major festivals in practically every state in the country.
Representing the U.S. Department of State as a musical ambassador, Sam has travelled to China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Estonia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, carrying his accordion on his back everywhere he goes and collaborating at with international artists. Sounds and stories from these travels frequently serve as the inspiration for Reider’s compositions, which together form an ongoing musical travelogue.
As a side-man, collaborator and recording artist, Reider has worked with artists including Sierra Hull, Jorge Glem, Phoebe Hunt, Courtney Hartman, Jon Batiste and Stay Human, T-Pain, David Amram, Nellie McKay Ranger Doug, the Brother Brothers and more. A passionate educator, Reider leads ongoing performances for public school students throughout the New York City area in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has designed curricula and taught courses at the Stanford Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz, and other private institutions around the country.


Picture
Monday July 8th
Noon Brown Bag
Rik Palieri
​
​
Rik Palieri- is a talented singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist, storyteller and member of "The Mythical Order of The Rose Tattoo", who lives the musical life to the fullest.
He is a very energetic performer who captivates audiences of all ages with his stories and songs. In a typical performance Rik will sing an old ballad with a fret less banjo, stomp out a Lead belly style blues on the 12 string guitar, squeeze an exotic instrumental on the Polish bagpipes, spin out a wild and wooly story of his travels, pluck out a tune on the Ozark mouth bow, blow a mournful melody on the Native American flute and end the evening with an original Yodel-sing-a-long.

Picture
Monday July 8th
7:00 pm

​Windborne

Internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble Windborne is a group of vocal chameleons who specialize in close harmony singing, shifting effortlessly between drastically different styles of traditional music within the same concert. Their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk singing traditions.
Praised for “the purity of their voices, strength of their material, and attention to detail in their arrangements,” Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share a vibrant energy onstage – their connection to each other and to the music clearly evident. They educate as they entertain, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing.

Picture
Monday July 8th
8:30 pm

Bon Débarras
Bon Débarras unites the worlds of music, dance and poetry through a collaboration between Montreal artists Dominic Desrochers, Jean-François Dumas and Véronique Plasse. The group brings together a fusion of Quebecois folk music, traditional step-dancing and global influences, for a show that is full of fun and inventive energy. On guitar, banjo, violin and harmonica, the trio opens a door to their recollections of America and their music is at the intersection of various traditions. Bon Débarras’ energy taps into the rhythms of today and ventures boldly on the multi-faceted road to tomorrow’s dreams, in an atmosphere that transcends boundaries and ages.

Picture
Tuesday  July 9th
Noon Brown Bag Concerts
Jon Gailmor
​
Songs to make people feel alive!. Music for humans prenatal through prehistoric, spanning the entire emotional spectrum. Humor and audience involvement are integral parts of any Jon Gailmor performance.“Jon's way with an audience is nothing short of genius. He had us in stitches and in tears, with a seamless array of humor, nostalgia, and especially wisdom. One comes away from Jon's house concert with a renewed dedication to the things we value. We are all encouraged to be a little more of who we are when we're with Jon.”
— Jean Eisele, Edmonds, WA

Picture
Tuesday July 9th
7:00 pm

The Small Glories 
​
Roots powerhouse duo The Small Glories are Cara Luft & JD Edwards, a musical tour-de-force partnership planted on the Canadian Prairies.  Thrown together purely by accident for an anniversary show at Winnipeg’s venerable West End Cultural Centre, The Small Glories is a partnership that could almost make you believe in fate. With a stage banter striking a unique balance between slapstick and sermon, these veteran singer-songwriters have a way of making time disappear, rooms shrink, and audiences feel as they are right there on the stage with the band — writing the songs, living the songs, performing the songs. It’s not uncommon for listeners to find themselves laughing, dancing, crying, or caught up in a good ol’ fashioned sing-along.  “We’re folk singers, we try to write stuff that people can relate to,” says the multi-instrumentalist Edwards, whose looming stage presence and penetrating eyes find him the yin to Luft’s petite, snort-laughing yang. The material of a Small Glories concert is rootsily welcoming in terms of subject, folk-pop melody and instrumentation — songs of love, loss, and environment, delivered with soaring, interwoven vocals on various combinations of stomping clawhammer banjo, guitar and harmonica.
Luft, an original member of harmony sweethearts The Wailin' Jennys and whose parents were folksingers influenced by the great activist Pete Seeger, knows that sometimes a song is all you need to bring people together.  But often, it is more. “(Seeger) was the king of uniting people through singing,” Luft says. “There’s so much animosity and divisiveness in our world these days… as artists, part of our job is to somehow create unity.”
“Some things just work together: the Lennon and McCartney syndrome – and to witness a performance by The Small Glories is a rare opportunity to experience that indefinable quality that creates perfection... ”— David Allen, Americana UK

Picture
Tuesday July 9th
8:30 pm
Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio

The Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio features Shawn Nadeau on upright bass and Davy Sturtevant on, as Heather often puts it from stage, "everything else" - guitar, mandolin, dobro, fiddle, cornet.   Originally hailing from Erie, PA, Davy Sturtevant is a veteran touring artist, producer, engineer, songwriter, and performer who now makes his home in the western foothills of Maine.  Armed with a gorgeous tenor voice and a mighty arsenal of instruments ranging from dobro to fiddle to cornet that come to life in his capable hands, Davy is at once a witty, thoughtful, and engaging stage presence.   New Hampshire native Shawn Nadeau brings a rock solid thump and nearly two decades of performing experience to the trio, informed by a wide spectrum of unique rhythmic and melodic sensibilities ranging from rockabilly to reggae to jazz.  In their able hands, these three veteran musicians have catapulted Heather's live performances of her deep well of Americana originals - folk, jazz, blues - with intricate instrumental arrangements and stirring three-part vocal harmonies.   
"Heather is like two great acts in one, sliding from sweet acoustic Appalachian old-timey vibe with Patty Griffinesque lyrics to brassy New Orleans blues piano with a bone thrown to Bessie Smith."-DC Bloom | Lone Star Music Magazine
"If you're one of those people who likes any style done well-- old-school jazz, folk, pop, classical--you'll love this prodigiously talented threesome. Keyboards, brass, all sorts of strings, and beautiful singing make for a dynamic show packed with energy and surprises."
Sarah Craig | Caffe Lena | Saratoga Springs, NY
Photo credit- Ray McGregor

Picture
Wednesday July 10th
Noon Brown Bag
No Strings Marionette Company 
​
Nick of Time

The creativity of puppeteers Dan Baginski and Barbara Paulson reaches into every aspect of the production from script writing and puppetry to costumes, soundtracks and set production. They perform in full view of their audience, having found that children are as interested in how the puppets work as they are in the stories unfolding before them. 

The No Strings Marionette Company invites you to enjoy the wonders of traditional puppet theatre. Come join these intriguing puppets as they journey through the lavish settings and enchanting stories into a world of imagination, enlightenment and laughter. This timeless art form engages young and old alike in virtual reality the old fashioned way....LIVE! With puppets! We spare no whimsy creating one-of-a-kind puppets sparkling with spirit. Masterful manipulation of rod, string and control animates these figures, channeling thought into gesture, transforming wood into being. Given our miniature actors' proven hold on audience attention, we avail ourselves of this golden opportunity to impart social awareness, environmental consciousness, scientific curiosity, respect for self and others, as well as zany humor to tickle the funny bone.

Picture
Wednesday  July 10th 
​7:00 pm

Joe Davidian Trio featuring Amber deLaurentis

 The Joe Davidian Trio (“JD3”) is an American jazz trio comprised of some of the nation’s hottest up-and-coming young lions. Bandleader and pianist Joe Davidian lives in New York City where he performs regularly with many of the greatest names in jazz, including appearances with jazz legends Chester Thompson, Ira Sullivan, Joe Lovano, and Duffy Jackson. Davidian's passion for jazz education has landed him professorships at University of Vermont, Belmont University and Middle Tennessee State University, and he also maintains an active roster of private piano students in NYC.
The Joe Davidian Trio performs a mix of original works and jazz standards. They have been touring internationally since 2000, presenting concerts and giving masterclasses on improvisation and ensemble playing. In 2008, JD3 released the critically acclaimed album “Silent Fire,” featuring each trio members’ compositions. JD3 has since released two live albums, Live at the Jazz Cave: Volumes One and Two, which document a six-year span of performances at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. Joe will be with bassist John Rivers and drummer Conor Elmes.
​

"Amber 
deLaurentis' performances are also drawn to artists like Natalie Merchant, Joan Osborne, Sheryl Crow, Patty Griffin, and Melissa Etheridge -- in other words, female singer/songwriters who are soulful and bring a lot of blues feeling to their work."

"Pianist Davidian's trio explorations are exquisitely swinging and elegantly expressive. World class jazz…!"  Fred Wilbur, The Spiel

"With loving care they take the haunting melody and build a priceless masterpiece. In Davidian’s playing the strength of a Keith Jarrett comes through clearly…" – Paul J. Youngman, jazzreview.com

Picture
Wednesday July 10th
8:30 pm
Matt Flinner Trio

In 2006, three musical pals decided to get together to play a few gigs; since then, the Matt Flinner Trio has been exploring new pathways and setting new standards for the bluegrass trio sound all around the U.S. and Europe.
Mandolinist Matt Flinner, guitarist Ross Martin and bassist Eric Thorin cover a wide variety of musical styles—all with the common ground of American roots music. Bluegrass, jazz and old-time music are all present here in their ways, along with a dose of classical chamber music composition and arrangement, as the members all draw from their wide array of musical loves, experiences and influences.  These influences boil down into the trio’s own organic sound of New Acoustic music, or Modern String Band music, or Chamber Grass (music is getting harder and harder to label these days, isn’t it?).  Whatever label you put on it, it is guaranteed to be fresh and original, and definitely something you’ve never quite heard before.

“Flinner continues his reign as perhaps the most exciting and creative mandolin player on the scene today.”—Jazz Times
“One of the best mandolin players ever…”—Downbeat
“(Flinner) blurs the lines between jazz and bluegrass, traditional and avant-garde.”—Associated Press
“Flinner provides the next logical evolutionary step to David Grisman’s unique ‘Dawg’ style, and does it with a nod to the past and a vision of the future.”—Bluegrass Now
“Matt Flinner can play the mandolin as fast as anyone, but is also one of those rare virtuosos who knows that sometimes it’s the notes you don’t play that makes the melody great.”—Associated Press

Picture
Thursday July 11th
Noon Brown Bag 
Chris Yerlig
Mimealot!

"One of the funniest, best executed mime routines I've ever seen. He captures the hearts of our audiences....his timing and rhythms are flawless; he maintains the children's attention whether they are 3 or 13.....you can't take your eyes off him. Our visitors ask when he will return; our staff beg me to book him again soon.” K.L. Providence Children's Museum, RI"An outstanding artist who performs his craft flawlessly and dazzles the audience. By far one of the best."
J.M. & Long Island Fair NY

Chris has had the privilege of performing all over the world since his European beginnings in France, Spain and England. He now makes his home in New England, in Massachusetts, USA and travels all over the USA and the world. Other countries he has performed in are Bangladesh, Benin & Cameroon (in Africa), Canada, China, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Japan, Morocco, and Switzerland.

"
He is one of the most talented mimes I have ever 
seen perform.  He is brilliant." Tom Verner, Magician

Picture
Thursday July 11th
7:00 pm​
OKAN

Taking its name from the word for heart or soul in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria, OKAN fuses Afro-Cuban and other global rhythms with jazz, folk and classical forms. Embracing genres and roles that have historically been dominated by men, co-leaders, composers and multi-instrumentalists Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne bring a fresh perspective to Latin and world jazz fusion through their powerful vocals, incredible musicianship and potent lyrical content.
Born in Havana, Cuba, Elizabeth Rodriguez is a classically trained violinist who served as concertmaster for Havana’s Youth Orchestra. Magdelys Savigne hails from Santiago de Cuba and graduated with honours in orchestral percussion from Havana’s University of the Arts.  Both are JUNO-nominees for their work with Battle of Santiago and Grammy-nominees for their contributions to Jane Bunnett and Maqueque of which they are former members.
Living and collaborating in the intensely multicultural city of Toronto has enriched OKAN’s compositions with influences from Brazil, Spain and New Orleans.
 "One of the most exciting Cuban projects to have emerged out of the Toronto Latin scene,  OKAN brings powerful vocals and high-level musicianship to their fusion of traditional rhythms, jazz and soul. Backed by some of the country’s top players, OKAN’S charismatic leaders, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne are ready to take their project to the international stage".Jose Ortega, Co-Artistic Director, Lula Lounge Toronto.
OKAN performs as a quintet.

Picture
Thursday July 11th
8:30 pm
LowDown Brass Band
LowDown Brass Band deftly synthesizes the gritty sounds of Chicago with the high energy street beat of the Crescent City. LDB brandishes a powerful brass frontline of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, with a funky backline of drums and sousaphone. Combining the poetic ferocity of Billa Camp with stellar vocal harmonies, adventurous improvisation, movement, and grooves, LDB creates an infectious and diverse sound that has something for every listener.

“Get up everybody, clap your hands and stomp your feet – it’s time to get funky!” I kid you not, these guys woke me up with a tuba keeping the main beat/rhythm for the first good portion of the song. There’s no way to be lazy when somebody is working this hard to be happy. Fun fun way to start the week – thanks! Foot tapping or body swaying, doesn’t matter which – the week is started with a smile."-eartaste.blogspot.com
“People have been dancing to New Orleans parade brass and drum bands for more than a century, and with Low Down Breaks, the LDB shows that this genre can bend contemporary styles to its will and keep the second line dancing well into the future. Strongly Recommended.”-Soul Tracks

Picture
Friday July 12th
​Middlebury Community Music Center House of Rock Campers! 11:30

Picture
Friday July 12th
Noon Brown Bag
MagicianTom Verner
​
Addison County based  magician Tom Verner's Magicians Without Borders performs magic shows for children in refugee camps, orphanages and hospitals around the world–often in war torn places where love, laughter and magic are desperately needed. Tom says, “I like to think that the magic brings not only laughter and surprise, but on some deeper level perhaps, magic plants seeds of hope. Hope that the impossible is possible. Hope that after years of waiting in refugee camps, the waiting will end and the people will go home again.” Since 2002, Magicians Without Borders has traveled to over thirty countries using magic to entertain, educate and empower.

Picture
Friday July 12th
7:00 pm
Soule Monde
Soule Monde is avant funk erupting from the syncopated minds of power drummer Russ Lawton + B3 wizard Ray Paczkowski. An ideal union of swagger and raw talent, the duo is cemented into an indestructible pocket, where bold improvisational leaps by either player are met by a near-telepathic response from the other. This is fluid funk, crafted for the dance floor but supported by an extensive grasp of jazz improvisation. Paczkowski has an intrepid knowledge of the Hammond B3, playing it as fearlessly as Han Solo flies the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field, while his left hand lays down bass lines on the clavinet with the ferocity of the meanest four-string, soul-cat.
Lawton is constantly responding to his partner’s attacks – pushing the groove further and deeper while holding the pocket like he’s handcuffed to the snareDon’t expect the beat to drop with Soule Monde, and at the same time don’t expect to get stuck in one groove. Quite simply, this is the jazz-duo your parents warned you about. Russ Lawton has been a staple of the Vermont music scene for years. He’s collaborated with a vast array of VT acts, including Mike Gordon, The GrippFunk Band, and Strangefolk, and has been touring and recording with T.A.B. since 1998. He’s credited with co-writing the Grammy-nominated song “First Tube” which appeared on Phish’s 2000 album, Farmhouse.
 Ray Paczkowski has been involved with a number of lauded acts over the years, first gaining recognition in the mid 90’s as a member of the legendary Vermont act, Viperhouse, and later on with his power trio, Vorcza. He toured and recorded with Dave Matthews & Friends for 3 years, and has been the keyboardist for T.A.B. since 2001.
 Members of Soule Monde have appeared at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, onSaturday Night Live, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon, and have shared the stage with Carlos Santana, Rolling Stones, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews, Victor Wooten, Mike Gordon, Viperhouse + Strangefolk.

Picture
Friday
July 12th
8:30 pm
Big Night
​
Inspired by past and current music and dance from southwest Louisiana and Texas, and dedicated to the idea that every person deserves an opportunity to two-step, Big Night is a group of Burlington-based musicians playing a mix of Cajun, western swing, Zydeco and classic country.
Come out and dance to one of the hottest new bands making it's way through New England!

Picture
Saturday July 13th 
7:00 pm
 Street Dance with

The Vermont Jazz Ensemble

With musicians hailing from all corners of the Green Mountain State, the 17-member Vermont Jazz Ensemble performs music in the jazz and “big band” styles, and also plays selections in rock, fusion, Latin and popular music styles. Its extensive library includes music by Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and others. In 1996, VJE celebrated 20 years of jazz with several special artistic projects, including monthly performances live and on the air with Steve Young on Vermont Public Radio. Get out your dancing shoes, bring the entire family, and enjoy a special festival finale on New England’s most unique dance floor. Come right at 7 p.m. to learn a few dance steps with Jim Condon!

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.