Sat. June 6     Josh Brooks  at 8 pm for $8 Children Free

Josh Brooks was one of the first performers to ever grace the stage at The Music Box. When I got his first recording I listened to it so often I knew all the words. Josh continues to be one of Vermont’s finest songwriters and he has a great, full, rich voice to sing them. His songs are accompanied by his solid acoustic country-honk style of guitar with his side of harmonica playing, keeping his sound authentic. I have called him a storyteller and that he is. His songs get into the hearts of the people he writes about. He also has  great melodies that pull the words together.

                His style if folk rock, roots music and Americana. This spring 2009 will see the release of his 4th album. Vermont Public Radio considers Brooks as “one of the handful of Vermont artists with the sound, the original songs and the voice to make the leap from the local to the national.”

                Come and hear why that is so true. Find out more about Josh at www.myspace.com/joshbrooksvt

Sat. July 25 at 8 PM for $10, kids free
Michele Choiniere with the Will Patton Trio

  Michele was born into a musical Franco-American family in northern Vermont. She began writing her own tunes in 1995 and performing in New England, Quebec and France. She was featured on TV5 International’s "Visions d’Amerique" and on VT Public TV’s "Rural Delivery." She is featured on the Smithsonian Folkways CD "Mademoiselle Voulez-Vous Danser: Franco-American music from the New England Borderlands." Her debut solo album, Coeur Fragile was one of the top ten Vermont Albums of 2003 for Seven Days weekly of Burlington. She is the recipient of the 2007 Governor’s Heritage Award by the VT Folklife Center and VT Life Magazine.
      During the performance, Michele also performs the seated form of Quebecois clogging, tapping a percussion line that dramatizes the music.
The Will Patton Trio will accompany her. Patton is a mandolin and all-around string instrument wizard, drawing his influences from jazz, Gypsy and Brazilian music. David Gusakov has a lifetime career as a violinist (member of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra since 1973) playing classical, bluegrass, and jazz. Dono Schabner started playing professional guitar at age 12 and hit the road at 17 and played all around the world until he decided to settle down in Vermont.
They will blend traditional Franco-American and Quebec folksongs, original compositions, jazz standards, Gypsy music and covers of well-known artists, such as Edith Piaf, for an evening with the taste of the foreign and the sublime.
Find out more at www.michelechoiniere.com and at www.wpatton.com

Sat. Aug 15 at 8 PM for $10, kids free
Rik & Bec

    Rik & Bec are two prolific Vermont songsters. Each has been at The Music Box a number of times and they are now teaming up. They draw from the deep well of American music that spans the gap from the traditional ballad, blues, and cowboy songs to the folk revival of Guthrie and Seeger, to their own roots based in original music.
While their music is traditional and low tech, the two have worked onstage as performers and behind the scenes in the edit room and video studio helping each other with their regular music-based public access television shows.
      For the past ten years, Rik Palieri has produced "The Songwriter’s Notebook" for Burlington’s Community Access Media. Rebecca Padula produces "The Instant Coffeehouse" for Colchester’s Lake Champlain Access TV.
Rik, or "Totem Pole" as his hobo pals call him, lives the life of a modern day minstrel. He plays many instruments and in this duo he brings out his banjo, guitar, uke and Native American flute. He has performed around the world: at the Kennedy Center, Germany, Australia, Argentina, and more. He has shared the stage with Pete Seeger, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Ralph Stanley and Bruce Springsteen.He is also an author.
     Rebecca, with her rich alto voice, has a degree in music and journalism from St. Michael’s College. She’s penned over 40 original songs and has three successful CDs. She has written for numerous newspapers and is a documentary filmmaker. She won the Vermont Peace Song contest in 2007 for her song, "We Are Free."
Rik has one of the MOST incredible websites, visit it at www.banjo.net
And you can find Rebecca at www.rebeccapadula.com

Sat. Sept. 19 at 8 PM for $10, kids free
Arnowitts Improvisions Trio

     Montpelier pianist Michael Arnowitt will perform with chromatic harmonica virtuoso, John LaRuche, and mandolin marvel Dan Haley in a concert of improvisational jazz.
     Arnowitt has been called "a Vermont musical tradition." He is primarily a classical pianist, best known for his personal interpretations that yield passion and clarity. Several years ago he began to explore how classical and jazz have influenced each other. In fall 2001 he co-founded the Green Mountain Jazz Series, a new organization devoted to presenting jazz concerts and special events in the Montpelier area. Over the past few years he has been working on his own jazz skills performing with a variety of musicians in Vermont including Dave Ellis, Ellen Powell, Dan Haley and Rob Morse. He organized a tribute concert at Vermont College, "Ella Fitzgerald Night," with 25 tunes from Ella’s songbook, with an all star cast of Vermont jazz musicians.
     He is the subject of a documentary film, BEYOND 88 KEYS by filmmaker, Susan Bettman. (The film is available at the Jeudevine Library in Hardwick) A favorite film at the 2004 Green Mountain Film Festival, BEYOND 88 KEYS features music by Byrd, Bach, Brahms, Ligeti, Stravinsky and Schoenberg, as well as the music of contemporary composers and jazz greats. The film reveals many facets of Arnowitt: his years as a prodigy in Boston, his political activism, his increasing interest in performing jazz, and his challenges with reduced vision.
     Then put Arnowitt on stage with John LaRuche playing chromatic harmonica. LaRuche is simply one of the best jazz harp players in Vermont. He brings so much music out of a small instrument. He was last seen at The Music Box with the New Gypsy Swing Quartet. He plays in with many bands and performers. He is the most fascinating player to watch.
Then the last touch to the mix is mandolin player Dan Haley. He is one of those Vermont musicians who is so good he has played with almost every great Vermont musician (Spencer Lewis and Mark LeGrand to name two). Dan Haley is the "secret weapon" in several Central Vermont bands. He’s teaching mandolin at the Summit School of Traditional Music and culture. He has a musical history too long for me to write about here, but you can find out all about it him at www.myspace.com/danielhaleymusic
Check out Michael at http://www.sover.net/~foodsong/

Sat. Oct. 24 at 8 PM for $10, kids free
Jeremiah McLane and Anna Patton

Jeremiah, composer, accordionist and pianist, performs with the nimble fingered, dancing clarinet player, Anna Patton (last seen at The Music Box with her father, Will Patton).
     Jeremiah and Anna play a unique blend of Franco-American, Celtic, jazz and roots influenced music that can be exuberant, introspective, tender or passionate.
Jeremiah and Anna both have been raised on music. Jeremiah’s family had musical gatherings with his mother playing piano and his father singing. He started on clarinet at 9, then took up piano at 11. In 1980 he started studying Celtic music and began playing the accordion. He helped start two bands with strong New England roots: The Clayfoot Strutters and Nightingale. In 2003 he formed the group Le Bon Vent, a sextet specializing in Breton and French music. He received a Master’s of Music in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2001. In 2005 he started the Floating Bridge Music School. He is a faculty member at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and teaches at various summer music camps including Ashokan Fiddle & Dance.
     Those who have seen Anna with the Will Patton Quartet know that she dances with her clarinet. She is often seen with bands playing at New England Contra Dances doing lively jigs and reels, but she is also accomplished at Gypsy jazz tunes, swing, Quebecois tunes, and musettes.
     The two of them playing together will bring us through several musical realms.
Find them on the web at www.jeremiahmcclane.com and www.annapatton.com

 
Sat. Nov. 21 at 8 PM for $10, kids free
PossumHaw

     PossumHaw is more than a bluegrass band: it presents diverse original music that is at the same time authentic and unique. Most of PossumHaw’s material is penned by award-winning songwriter Colby Crehan, and is brought to life through Colby’s highly praised vocals and the skilled instrumentation from all four band members. The band truly excels when all voices merge in tight harmonies to frame melodies ranging from slow and mournful to fast and furious.
    The group includes Colby on lead vocals, guitar and piano, Ryan Crehan on banjo, vocals and harmonica, Charley Eiseman on lead guitar and vocals, and Justin May on mandolin and vocals.
     They have two albums, Madtom in 2007 and Split-rail a 2005 release. They have played at the Champlain Valley Folk Festival, First Night Burlington, Higher Ground and many other venues around New England.
     Here is what Music Matter’s Review says, "Colby’s voice is front-porch real and otherworldly sweet, singing her mountain styled songs without a twang. The voices of the men in the band blend well with each other and Colby, giving PossumHaw depth and variety to the sonic palette. Sweet New England bluegrass!"
     Find out more at www.possumhaw.net

Sat. Dec. 5 at 3 PM
Clogging Workshop with Ann Whiting:

Workshop Only: $15, Workshop & Evening Concert: $25
    Those who attended the clogging workshop last year loved it. And so, by popular acclaim, we are going to do it again. You can touch up your skills or start to learn. It is great exercise, great fun with great music! Ann Whiting has been teaching clogging and dance for many years. She studying with stepdancers Lisa Beaudoin and Benoit Bourque (French Canadian), and Judy Waymouth (Ottawa Valley) and Mary Janet MacDonald (Cape Breton).
    Appalachian clogging, also known as flatfooting, is the percussive stepdancing that accompanies old-time southern music. The two main influences were the Irish and Scottish steps.
     She is endlessly active as a choreographer, teacher and stylist. She is a bright and energetic dancer who really shines in her solo performances. Her love of dance and infectious enthusiasm bring together people of all ages. She has performed with the Green Mountain Cloggers and the Kitchen Sync Cloggers. She has been dancing since 1979. Check out www.awclogger.com

Sat. Dec. 5 at 7:30 PM, $10, kids free
Ann Whiting and Friends

     With years of experience performing for audiences all over the country, Ann Whiting and Friends can't help but get you tapping your toes and singing along. There will be dancing, fiddle tunes, stories and songs - all drawn from the rich traditions of New England and Canada. Ann works with a number of different musicians. At this performance, she brings Wagtail, which includes three awesome Vermont performers: Patti Casey, Susannah Blachly and George White. Patti and Susannah are both talented songwriters. Patti has a voice like velvet and plays guitar and whistles. Susannah plays fiddle and sings like a bird. George pulls them together with his guitar and vocals. With all this talent, this is sure to be a spectacular night!
    Find Ann Whiting at www.awclogger.com, Patti at www.patticasey.com, and Susannah at www.susannahblachly.com