The recent wave of releases from Vermont artists is only swelling, with tons of fresh music coming across my desk. Let’s check out this week’s new jams, starting with singer-songwriter Phil Cohen.
Cohen, who left Vermont for a few years in Brooklyn, is back with new music recorded at Future Fields in Burlington. He released an advance single on February 23 called “Pinchgut Town,” along with a B side, “Sugar Fire.” The video for the former is out now on YouTube, featuring Cohen and his band performing live at Future Fields. It’s a blast of high-energy power pop, and if it’s any indication of what’s coming, Cohen has one hell of an album on his hands.
Next up are Burlington indie-pop outfit Kitbash. The six-piece band touches on multiple genres on its new single, “Sprout.” A mellow groove and jazz-influenced lead guitar lines push the track toward jam band territory, but catchy vocal melodies and big swaths of synths keep the song rooted in dance and pop music. It’s an intriguing mix of sounds, marshaled expertly by one of the area’s most promising up-and-coming young bands.
To celebrate the release, Kitbash play a show on Friday, March 1, at Radio Bean in Burlington, along with fellow Burlington bands Sad Turtle and Rose Asteroid. Check out “Sprout” at kitbash.bandcamp.com.
Upper Valley singer-songwriter and onetime Noah Kahan producer Phineas Choukas is back with his second single from a forthcoming debut record. On his latest, “good dog karma,” Choukas pays tribute to a lifelong friend, his family dog, Karma, who died in December.
“Karma was a constant source of light and joy,” Choukas wrote in an email. “She taught me so much about the beauty of life, and I miss her dearly.”
A tender folk ballad, “good dog karma” drops on Friday, March 8, with an accompanying video. Look for it at phinmusic.com.
One of the most important bands of the Burlington scene in the ’90s is returning for a one-night-only show. Construction Joe were part of a thriving collection of bands such as the Pants, Guppyboy, Wide Wail and Chin Ho! in an era considered by many to be a high-water mark of Vermont indie rock.
That vibrant Queen City scene more or less dissolved around the turn of the century, as bands broke up or formed different acts: Members of Wide Wail became Swale, Guppyboy evolved into the Essex Green, and several members of Construction Joe formed the Americana outfit the Maple Run Band. Chin Ho! just broke up, but the band re-formed for a performance at South Burlington’s Higher Ground in late 2023 … that also saw the re-formation of Construction Joe.
Well, the latter band was so inspired by that night at Higher Ground that they’re doing it again. Construction Joe returns to Burlington stages on Saturday, March 2, at Radio Bean, along with surf-rockers and fellow longtime scene stalwarts Barbacoa and the Maple Run Band. Pop over to radiobean.com for tickets and more information.
Eye on the Scene
Last week’s live music highlights from photographer Luke Awtry
G.L.A.M.: Gay, Loud & Music: A Night of Musical Comedy at Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, Burlington, Friday, February 23: If this week’s cover story is any indication, standup comedy is alive and well in Burlington. But it got me thinking: Where is the musical comedy? Serendipitously, I got a call last Friday inviting me to a musical comedy showcase at the Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in the New North End, and that is how I was introduced to a new quarterly series called G.L.A.M. The evening progressed through multiple solo sets by hosts Owen Leavey and local sex educator Jenna Emerson. The hits included a tune paired with a larger-than-life slideshow about Leavey’s celebrity crushes and the premiere of a music video for Emerson’s single “Under the Sheets,” a The Little Mermaid-inspired sex-positive musical parody about lubrication. Partway through the evening, guest performers Nico Suave and Marshall Dominguez hit the stage with a copy of Seven Days and improvised jingles based on readings from the Personals section. Suave did what could be the best Alanis Morissette impersonation in the world. For real, it’s that good.
Listening In
Spotify playlist of Vermont jams
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 5, 2024.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
