On the Beat: Of Summer Cocktails and New Releases

It’s not often Hinesburg gets a shout-out for entertainment, but this weekend the town hosts an evening of music, cocktails and mocktails. The Rabbit Hole Craft Cocktail Live Music Summer Series is throwing two parties at Birch & Berry inn, reprising a similar debut event held last month.

Night one is Friday, July 18, and features Patrick McAndrew playing his repertoire of ’90s alternative tunes. The front man for Pearl Jam tribute act Yellow Lemon Sun runs through songs from Nirvana, Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers and, of course, Pearl Jam.

Saturday is a soul and jazz showcase, performed by singer, actress and Vermont Public event producer Julianna Luna, who works from the songbooks of Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone and more.

In an email to Seven Days, series founder and Hinesburg resident Jonathan Brathwaite said he hoped “to bring our Hinesburg community together to meet, sip cocktails and mocktails, sit by the fire tables, play some Jenga with your kiddos or a round of ping pong under the stars with magnificent live music to envelop you.”

Find more info about the series on Facebook.

Putting together your summer playlists? Good news: A plethora of brand-spankin’-new songs from the Vermont music scene have come out recently. You can start with indie-folk act Deep River Saints.

It’s been some time since we’ve heard from the Vermont/New Hampshire project of songwriters Patrick J. Crowley and David William Ross; their last release, For Posterity, came out waaaaaay back in 2018. The fellas are back with a new album due in October, titled A Good Place to Die.

They’ve dropped the record’s first single, an almost psychedelic-leaning slice of Americana called “Laid Bare.” The song is streaming on major services now, and the accompanying music video is up on YouTube, so check ’em out.

In celebration of their new EP, Black Crayon, Burlington garage-punk crew Dog Water have released a video for the title track. It’s a hard-rockin’ clip featuring the trio shredding on stuffed animals and drumming on toys. And don’t forget to catch the band at Radio Bean on Thursday, July 17, with fellow punks Doom Service, Vallory Falls and psych rocker Fisher Wagg for the Black Crayon release party.

Xander Naylor also has a fresh single out now: “Future Curious.” The Burlington guitarist, who plays in jazz-fusion act Breathwork and New York City’s Mwenso & the Shakes, also has an Indo-jazz fusion project, and the new tune is definitely part of that strain. Featuring Naylor’s mentor, tabla master Samir Chatterjee, as well as raga pianist Utsav Lal and drummer RapHaël Pannier, the forthcoming album on which the song appears, Children of Sound, was funded by a Vermont Arts Council Creation Grant. Check out xandernaylor.com for more details.

Finally, Montpelier artist James M. Gallagher released his latest single, a truly strange tune titled “Open Wide.” The rather amorous, bordering on full-on horny track features Gallagher stacking his vocals in towers of harmony as he sings lyrics such as “How I long to embrace the sensations of urgently experienced bliss.” To cap it off, Gallagher uses a sample of Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm from the film When Harry Met Sally, ending the track with the famous line “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Check it out at jamesmgallagher.bandcamp.com.