Montpelier has had a rough go of it lately. Between floods and fires, some of the Capital City’s businesses have taken a beating in 2023. Even before the natural disasters, the city has had a guitar-shaped hole in it since GuitarSam shuttered its doors in May. With the only musical instrument shop in town out of business, central Vermont musicians were left with nowhere to buy, sell or trade their gear.
Fear not, for the Naive Melody Instrument Exchange is here! Launched by area musicians Nate Ingham, Mandy Przybylak and Jeff Thomson, the business aims to fill the void and become a brick-and-mortar consignment-based outlet for the scene’s musical community.
“We are still some ways out from opening our doors,” Ingham wrote in an email. “In the meantime, we’re looking for people with instruments to sell — guitars and basses are welcome, but we’d love to see some orchestral, folk or exotic instruments come through as well!”
If you have gear to consign, email the folks at Naive Melody at naivemelodyinstruments@gmail.com and help them get up and running. Just in time, too — my partner is starting to glare at the pile of gear in our basement. I wonder if they want a beat-up B.C. Rich guitar with a faded Slayer sticker on it?
While singing the praises of Vermonters Noah Kahan and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for snagging Grammy noms, I missed one! Jericho’s own Erin Bentlage, a member of the Los Angeles-based jazz vocal group säje, has been nominated for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for the track “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.” The tune is a collaboration of säje and singer-songwriter Jacob Collier and appears on säje’s self-titled debut LP, which was released in August.
I’m not going to lie: I’ve checked out on paying much attention to the Grammys in recent years, but I’m enough of a homer to tune in come February to see if Vermonters can go three for three. Good luck, Erin!
It’s the holiday season, so even as the rest of the world grapples with Mariah Carey‘s seasonal godesshood, Vermont has its own winter classics. Few are as redoubtable as the Kat & Brett Holiday Show, featuring vocalist Kat Wright and guitarist Brett Hughes. Now going strong in their 10th year, the two musicians have made a tradition of doing a mini Vermont tour throughout December, singing nondenominational holiday tunes, many of which Hughes wrote himself. Joining the duo are longtime bassist Tyler Bolles (Rough Francis, Swale, approximately 549 other bands) and, new this year, luthier Will Seeders on pedal steel, fiddle and banjo.
The tour kicks off at Next Stage Arts Project in Putney this Friday, December 1, and runs nearly all the way to Christmas Eve with a performance at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater on December 22.
Listening In
Spotify playlist of Vermont jams
Doomsbury.
by Chris Farnsworth and Ethan Slayton
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2023.
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