Posted By Amelia Devoid on Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 9:30 AM

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Luke Awtry

Ali Evans and Amy Wild

Jessica Rabbit Syndrome took the stage for the first time in May at Waking Windows 2017. The duo was draped in black sequins and unleashed sludgy garage rock laden with an air of overcast, glamorous doom. The group now possess the power of three: Ali Evans on guitar; Amy Wild on drums and Cate Tobin on bass. Based between Burlington and Boston, Mass., the band's aesthetic reflects a fondness for Riot Grrrl, hanging out in graveyards and Simon Hanselmann's illustrated stoner witch Megg.

Tags: Jessica Rabbit Syndrome , Clever Girls , J. Bengoy , punk , garage rock , boston , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 6:30 AM

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Courtesy of David Cooper

A still from A2VT's single, 'Ghetto'

When MG Man moved to the United States as a teen from a refugee camp in Tanzania, he thought it wouldn't take long for him to be rich.

"When we were in Africa, people tell us, 'If you go to America, you will find money in the ground,'" recalled MG Man, a member of the local Afro-pop duo A2VT. Some people, he continued, had other impressions of life in the States: "Yo, you're going to live next to 50 Cent."

The truth is, even people in the U.S. struggle to pay bills, noted Jilib, the other half of A2VT. While he might have escaped the war in Somalia and left his refugee camp in Kenya, he, just like millions of Americans, have to work hard to make ends meet, Jilib continued.

Tags: A2VT , Ghetto , MG Man , Jilib , David Cooper , Video , Image , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 3:28 PM

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When Pat Laffin was four or five years old, she had a special box. If she was put in time-out, the New Haven artist and collector recalls, she would ask her parents for her box before retreating. Inside it were scissors, paper and glue.

Tags: Pat Laffin , assemblage , special collections , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 1:46 PM

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Sadie Williams

David Schein and Paul Schnabel

Last week, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts concluded its first fundraiser in two and a half years. The 65-seat black box theater in Burlington’s Old North End is an incubator for original works by theater artists of all stripes. But since it opened in 2010, it has struggled to keep its proverbial head above water, financially speaking.

The recent fundraiser was modest but successful: The OC topped its $5,000 goal by $32.68. Cofounder and director Paul Schnabel says the money was for “a general fund. Right now we don’t have a specific project [the money] is going to, just paying rent.”

Tags: Off Center for the Dramatic Arts , Burlington , theater , Green Candle Theatre Company , Saints and Poets Production Co. , David Schein , Paul Schnabel , Chris Caswell , Hour-Glass Youth Theatre , Vermont Playwrights Circle , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Jun 26, 2017 at 9:55 AM

Tags: Katie Gillespie , humor , standup , Vermont comedy , Image , Web Only

Posted By Amelia Devoid on Fri, Jun 23, 2017 at 11:37 AM

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Amelia Devoid

Hey, pals. Welcome back to my virtual couch. This week, let's check in with Tuned In, a new social activism organization calling for a shift in the power dynamic of the Vermont music industry.

Tags: Burlington , feminism , music , Katy Hellman , Tuned In , social activism , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Wed, Jun 21, 2017 at 4:42 PM

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Courtesy of '8 Borders, 8 Days'

A still from '8 Borders, 8 Days'

In the summer of 2015, Sham decided to take life into her own hands. For 16 months, the Syrian refugee and her children had been living in Lebanon as they waited for their application to be resettled in the U.S. to be approved. Finally, Sham decided to make the journey that hundreds of thousands of her countrymen had already taken in order to start a new life after fleeing the war in Syria.

Sham put herself and her two kids on a flimsy raft to cross the Aegean Sea, before landing on the Greek island of Lesvos. Thereafter, they continued their journey by ferry, taxi, foot, bus and train to reach their final destination: the German capital Berlin.

As the family went in search of a better future, Amanda Bailly was with them to document their journey. Last night on World Refugee Day, Bailly held a screening of her 60-minute documentary film, 8 Borders, 8 Days, at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland.

Tags: 8 Borders , 8 Days , Amanda Bailly , Rutland Welcomes , Amnesty International , Hunter Berryhill , Chris Louras , USCRI/ Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 6:26 PM

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Sadie Williams

Attendees at a meeting regarding the RFP for art installations

This morning, about 30 people met at Echo Leahy Center for Lake Champlain for a presentation on the request for proposals issued by the science center and Burlington City Arts earlier this month.

The RFPs are for two public art projects, both individual components of the Energy Commons project. In turn that is part of the much larger ECHO Sustainability Park — one of six Public Investment Action Plan projects (large development or redevelopment projects) announced by Miro Weinberger in 2014. (Another was the Moran Plant redevelopment project.)

Tags: ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain , Burlington City Arts , Sara Katz , Nina Ridhibhinyo , Jacob Mushlin , Community and Economic Development Office , Tyler Vendituoli , development , Tax Increment Financing , Burlington waterfront , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 11:57 AM

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Courtesy of the Pants

The Pants; L to R: Paul Jaffe, Neil Cleary, Tom Lawson, Eric Hutchins

Defunct for nearly two decades, the Pants may eventually be relegated to the clothes hamper of local rock history. But for now, precious few Burlington bands from the 1990s still garner as much adulation and acclaim as Tommy Law, Pistol Stamen, Hutch and Tad Cautious — aka Tom Lawson, Paul Jaffe, Eric Hutchins and Neil Cleary.

Tags: The Pants , High Water Mark: The Rise and Fall of the Pants , Vermont Public Television , Maine Public Television , Neil Cleary , Tom Lawson , Paul Jaffe , Eric Hutchins , Burlington , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Mon, Jun 19, 2017 at 3:32 PM

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Sadie Williams

The future Phoenix Books Essex location

Phoenix Books Essex — the flagship retailer of the Vermont bookstore company — is moving, a little. In mid-July, the store will move to 2 Carmichael Street, around the corner from its current location at 21 Essex Way.

The Essex store is one of a handful owned by Michael DeSanto and Renee Reiner — in Rutland, Burlington and Chester (Phoenix Books Misty Valley). They're also new co-owners of Vermont's oldest independent bookstore, the Yankee Bookshop in Woodstock.

Tags: Phoenix Books , Essex , business , booksellers , bookstores , Image , Web Only