Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 1:06 PM

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Courtesy of Henry Jamison

'The Rains EP,' Henry Jamison

Burlington-based indie-folk songwriter Henry Jamison is set to unveil a new recording, The Rains EP, next month. Ahead of that release, he's recently leaked a second single from the project, "Through a Glass."  

If the song is any indication, The Rains EP would seem to build on the lush, multilayered soundscapes that Jamison forged with his Bowdoin College band, The Milkman's Union — which was also his pseudonym as a teenage songwriter. "Through a Glass" plays like the fleeting remnants of a disjointed fever dream. And it was, as Jamison recently told Consequence of Sound, in fact written in a fever. 

Tags: Henry Jamison , the Milkman's Union , Francesca Blanchard , Vetiver , Image , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Fri, Sep 16, 2016 at 3:08 PM

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Rachel Jones

"Monarch Release" by Brian Collier

In her 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History,  New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert  chronicles the present-day realities of a very unsettling topic: human-induced mass extinction. Her book was assigned by the University of Vermont to the incoming class of 2020. In conjunction with this Summer Reading Program, UVM hosted Kolbert on campus on Wednesday, September 14.  Her lecture at Ira Allen Chapel was followed by a new kind of art event: a "howl." 

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Rachel Jones

"6X HOWL" sandwich board

Immediately following Kolbert's talk, and housed in the nearby Billings Student Center, the "6X HOWL" pop-up exhibition featured visual art, performance and interactive works meant to complement the urgent environmental concerns raised by Kolbert  — and to give audience members a place to decompress.

Tags: elizabeth kolbert , sixth extinction , uvm , champlain college , saint michael's college , basta! , adrian ivakhiv , Image , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 4:18 PM

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Courtesy of Burlington City Arts

"Voices of Home" painting by Corrine Yonce

Burlington City Arts has announced the winners of its first-ever round of Community Fund grant awards. Sixteen arts initiatives were awarded a grand total of $35,000, with individual grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. Winners were chosen from 64 total applicants, a number that BCA assistant director Sara Katz suggested during a phone interview "is only going to go up" in coming years. 

Funded projects include theater, music, media and visual and interdisciplinary art, and most contain a strong element of direct community engagement. "There was definitely a desire to ensure that disciplines were represented from across the board," said Katz, "and to ensure that there were as many people as possible benefiting from each project." 

Tags: burlington city arts , burlington , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 12:56 PM

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Courtesy of Jarv

Jarv

A new monthly hip-hop series debuts at ArtsRiot in Burlington on Thursday, June 30: Sound Affects: A Community Event. The Sound Affects team introduced itself to BTV with a Waking Windows 6 showcase in May. But the ArtsRiot event marks the first shindig in the crew's permanent home. So, who are these guys?

According to local rapper Mertz, SA is a group of local rappers and DJs dedicated to raising the profile of hip-hop in Vermont and throughout New England by fostering a sense of community within a sometimes  splintered scene. It's kind of a "high tide raises all boats" theory.

Tags: hip-hop , Sound Affects , Mertz , Jarv , Bless the Child , SkySplitterInk , Budnick , Sticky Brand , Image , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Thu, Jun 23, 2016 at 12:40 PM

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Jill Badolato

Six new art sails

Dealer.com has not been shy about its intentions of putting art everywhere — including Lake Champlain. This past Tuesday, six new art sails donated by the company debuted at the Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center's Love Your Lake event. Works were commissioned by Matt Douglas, Jozie Furchgott Sourdiffe, Tara Goreau, Nick Heilig, Max Hodgson and Sarah-Lee Terrat. 

Tags: dealer.com , public art , community sailing center , lake champlain , max hodgson , tara goreau , jozie furchgott sourdiffe , sarah-lee terrat , nick heilig , matt douglas , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Jun 9, 2016 at 12:07 PM

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Thomas Freteur

Lakou Mizik

In January 2010 a 7.0 earthquake struck the small Caribbean nation of Haiti. Yet, amid the devastation, something surprising emerged: hope. During the day, volunteers from around the world worked to clear the wreckage. At night, the sounds of singing and drumming could be heard floating above the din. This resiliency in the face of tragedy inspired the formation of Lakou Mizik.

The band emerged in the wake of the Haiti quake, bringing together several generations of Haitian musicians of diverse spiritual, cultural and musical backgrounds.  Led by guitarist Steeve Valcourt, the group is a dynamic (and danceable) reflection of the vibrant Caribbean, African, French and American influences that inform Haitian culture.   

Touring in support of their debut album Wa Di Yo — released on Charlotte's Cumbancha and produced by Montréal's Chris Velan (Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars) and Iestyn Polson (David Bowie, Patti Smith, David Gray) — Lakou Mizik perform with Antibalas and locals Barika at the Waterfront Tent in Burlington on Saturday, June 11, as part of the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. Seven Days recently caught up with Valcourt via email — with some translation and editing from the band's manager, Zach Niles.

Tags: Lakou Mizik , Burlington Discover Jazz Festival , Cumbancha , Barika , Antibalas , Image , Video , Web Only

Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Mon, Jun 6, 2016 at 2:15 PM

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Courtesy of SEABA

Digital mock-up by Marie Davis and Tara Goreau

Burlington's South End Arts and Business Association announced their selection of a winning proposal for a South End street-level mural:  Vermont artists Marie Davis and Tara Goreau will transform the Pine/Howard Street crosswalk into a honeycomb buzzing with bees. The hive will be surrounded by red clover, Vermont's state flower, and the official South End Arts District logo will be scattered throughout individual cells of the honeycomb. 

"It is easy to imagine our collective energy as an animated hive of bees," Davis and Goreau wrote in their proposal. "Busy at work in our studios, offices and company floors, we work individually and as a whole, cross-pollinating ideas and skills, creating our collective honey to share with our communities here at home and around the world."

Tags: seaba , public art , marie davies , tara goreau , vermont community foundation , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Sun, Mar 6, 2016 at 1:20 PM

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John James

BCA Center behind a pile of money

On Friday, March 4, Burlington City Arts made a big announcement. Acknowledging the city's growing number of artists and their financial needs, the organization has created a fund to support locally produced works. 

It's a new move for BCA, which has been criticized for exhibiting out-of-state contemporary artists at its Church Street gallery. (Though it's noteworthy that half of the artists in current ceramic exhibit "Dysfunction" are based in Vermont.)

For this pilot year,  $35,000 has been allocated for the Burlington City Arts Community Fund. The BCA board raised $15,000, and the City of Burlington contributed $20,000. Both are outside of BCA's annual operating budget. 

Tags: Burlington City Arts , art , arts funding , grants , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams on Tue, Nov 10, 2015 at 4:55 PM

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Courtesy of Generator

Jae Rhim Lee

Vermont, prepare yourself for death and decomposition — the good kind. On Thursday, November 12, in Burlington, Jae Rhim Lee and Mike Ma will discuss their work creating a sustainable, eco-minded "death suit." Their presentation is the second installation of Generator’s "Big Makers" series, to be held at the Champlain Ballroom (163 South Willard Street). Drinks at 7 p.m., talk at 7:30.

Tags: death , burial , ecology , Coeio , Infinity Burial Project , jae him lee , mike ma , Generator , Big Maker , Champlain College , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 10:05 AM

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Courtesy of Ash LaRose

Kat Wright & the Indomitable Soul Band

There was a notable omission in this week's Soundbites column, which ran down some of the most interesting local rock-and-roll happenings on and around Halloween. Namely, Kat Wright & the Indomitable Soul Band's headlining show with the Rooks at Nectar's this Saturday, October 31.

In a recent email to Seven Days, Wright notes that the band has been keeping details of its Halloween set close to the vest. But as All Hallow's Eve draws nearer, members have started dropping some hints. It appears the band is planning a Star Wars theme. (That sound you're hearing is local drummer and supreme Star Wars buff Frankie Zee giggling like a schoolboy. Settle down, Frank.) 

Fittingly, Wright will be dressed as Princess Leia — in a costume sewn by her mother, no less. And the rest of the band will be similarly decked out in Star Wars regalia, including Storm Troopers and robots. We have no other inside info here, but guitarist Bob Wagner pretty much has to be Chewbacca, right? 

Tags: Kat Wright & the Indomitable Soul Band , Star Wars , Jake Whitesell , Brett Hughes , Halloween , Image , Web Only