Go the Distance
Tuesday 2
Higher Ground Presents invites fans to don a short skirt, a long jacket or both for California alt-rock legends Cake at the Champlain Valley Exposition’s Midway Lawn in Essex Junction. The ’90s staple — with a sound described by the New Yorker as “deadpan brilliance” — pulls from its catalog of hits to deliver an unforgettable performance of nostalgic earworms such as “Never There.”
Good Pickings
Friday 29
Samantha Fish
Credit: Courtesy of Alysse Gafkjen
Formidable blues-rock talent Samantha Fish — notably, the powerhouse opener for the final show of the Rolling Stones’ most recent tour — brings her Paper Doll World Tour to New Hampshire’s Lebanon Opera House. The Grammy-nominated guitar guru brings down the house with emotionally charged anthems from her new album and her rowdy, entirely justified swagger.
Play It by Ear
Wednesday 3
Savion Glover Credit: Courtesy of Lois Greenfield
“The Beat Beneath Us” opens the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival with a bang at the Flynn Main Stage. Renowned tap dancer Savion Glover (pictured), pianist and composer Jason Moran, and visionary drummer Chris “Daddy” Dave helm an explosive, improvisational exploration of Black creative power, featuring a tribute to legendary percussionist Max Roach.
You’ve Got a Friend
Thursday 28
Montshire Museum Credit: Courtesy
Making new friends as an adult can be hard, amirite? Norwich’s Montshire Museum of Science has the elixir: the Montshire After Dark: Friend-Making Mixer. (Heads up, singles: This is not a dating event!) Locals ages 21 and up spark fresh connections at an evening of engineering challenges and chemistry-themed science experiments designed to promote bonding.
Perfect for Ewe
Saturday 30
Family Sheep & Wool Celebration Credit: Courtesy
From herding demos and wagon rides to natural dyeing and hands-on crafting, Billings Farm & Museum’s annual Family Sheep & Wool Celebration serves up something to bleat about in Woodstock. Fiber fanatics spin a yarn of their own with activities tracking the transformation of raw fleece into finished product, followed by cheese samples and locally made ice cream.
The Birds and the Bees
Saturday 30
Credit: © Graham Prentice | Dreamstime
North Branch Nature Center beckons bug and bird enthusiasts to experience the wonder of the natural world at the Biodiversity Jamboree in Montpelier. Guided field walks, avian encounters and insect exploration stations connect all ages with actionable ways to protect at-risk species in our backyards. Stick around after for live music and cake at the org’s 30th birthday fête.
Place Based
Ongoing
“The Road Home” by Rory Jackson
Credit: Courtesy
At Middlebury’s Edgewater Gallery on the Green, Vermont artist Rory Jackson’s exhibit “To Belong” showcases a new body of landscape paintings honoring the two distinct places he calls home: Vermont and Ghana. Breathtaking scenes juxtapose the sprawling, pastoral fields and big skies of our region with the tropical palm trees and cerulean waters of West Africa.
