Posted By Dan Bolles on Wed, Jan 12, 2022 at 11:44 AM

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© Victor Lucas | Dreamstime

The start of a year is a time for renewal. Out with the old, in the with new! And so, as the calendar turns to 2022 we're moving on from our trusty Live Culture blog.

Since 2013, Live Culture has been Seven Days readers' go-to resource for breaking arts and culture news, quirky series and extended interviews, and … well, whatever the hell else we felt like tossing up here.

From concert and festival previews to awards announcements to rolling updates of coronavirus closures in March 2020 to that time we interviewed hirsute VPR host Joel Najman's beard — hey, it was a slow news week — this blog has offered a potpourri of content both offbeat and serious.

But it's time to Marie Kondo things a bit, to streamline and declutter our online space for optimal enjoyment.

The fun, creative content isn't going away, it's just moving to different spots on the website. Now you can head to the Arts + Life, Music or On Screen sections in between weekly issues for everything we write about arts and culture, whether it was in print or not.

And fret not: The NOW newsletter will still land in your email inbox every Thursday to hip you to can't-miss weekend happenings. And Sunday Best will arrive each Sunday morning highlighting editors' favorite stories of the week. Subscribe to all of our newsletters here.

Posted By Chris Farnsworth on Sun, Jan 9, 2022 at 11:16 AM

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Jordan Adams ©️ Seven Days

Radio Bean

Radio Bean will be closed for at least the next month due to rising cases of COVID-19 in Vermont.

The Burlington coffee shop and nightclub announced Saturday via social media that its doors would close following that evening's performances by Barbacoa and DJ Taka.

Tags: Barbacoa , DJ Taka , Honky Tonk Tuesday , Manhattan Pizza and Pub , Covid-19 , Wu-Tang Clan , Inspectah Deck , Cappadonna , Web Only , Image

Posted By Chris Farnsworth on Wed, Jan 5, 2022 at 6:08 PM

courtesy of Sally Pollak ©️ Seven Days

Arts Riot

As of Friday, January 21, ArtsRiot in Burlington will require customers to provide proof of a vaccine booster shot against COVID-19 for entry. The South End restaurant, bar and music venue announced the new policy on Monday via social media "for all events  moving forward, unless otherwise noted."

Tags: Arts Riot , Covid-19 , vaccination , Town Hall Theater , Ali McGuirk , All Night Boogie Band , Web Only , Image

Posted By Sally Pollak on Tue, Dec 14, 2021 at 1:00 PM

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Sally Pollak ©️ Seven Days

Buoy tree in North Ferrsiburgh

Christmas is coming / The buoys are on the tree / Let's raise a glass / To ole Nick Patch / For skillfully making it be

This little riff on the traditional Christmas round, “Christmas is Coming,” is an ode to Nick Patch of North Ferrisburgh. Patch crafted a holiday riff of his own: constructing a Christmas tree from buoys in his backyard.

Buoys have been piling up in Patch’s barn for 17 years — a colorful collection of souvenirs from the Maine coast that his family gathered during vacations at Penobscot Bay. On annual summer trips, Patch and his wife and daughter pick up plastic trash that washes ashore. As part of this effort, they collect lobster-trap buoys that have been run over and cut loose by motor boats, or untethered in stormy weather.

Tags: Christmas Tree , buoys , lobster traps , lights , North Ferrisburgh , Nick Patch , Lake Champlain Maritime Musuem , holiday decorations , Saturn , reindeer , moon , Web Only , Image

Posted By Chris Farnsworth on Wed, Dec 8, 2021 at 5:03 PM

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast

Waking Windows has released the initial lineup for its 2022 festival. Boston rock legends Dinosaur Jr. and Philadelphia indie rockers Japanese Breakfast headline the bill, with Japanese psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo and North Carolina folk-rock act the Nude Party joining as well.

Tags: Waking Windows , Dinosaur Jr. , Japanese Breakfast , Kikagaku Moyo , the Nude Party , Vagabon , Alex Cameron , Yasmin Williams , Rough Francis , Ivamae , Omega Jade , Roost.World , the Cush , music festival , indie rock , Winooski , Web Only , Image

Posted By Chris Farnsworth on Tue, Dec 7, 2021 at 10:42 AM

Courtesy Photo

William Metcalfe

William Metcalfe, who cofounded the Vermont Mozart Festival, and conducted the Oriana Singers and the Gilbert & Sullivan Singers of Vermont, died in Shelburne on November 22.  He was 86.

Tags: William Metcalfe , Vermont Mozart Festival , University of Vermont , Oriana Singers , Web Only , Image

Posted By Sally Pollak on Mon, Dec 6, 2021 at 1:52 PM

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Phillip Godenschwager's proposed insallation

Now is the time to voice your opinion — or at least take a survey — about public art that will be exhibited in Burlington. Four works of art are finalists for a $43,000 commission at the John Zampieri State Office Building at 108 Cherry St., which houses the Vermont Department of Health and offices of the Vermont Agency of Human Services.

Preliminary design concepts and descriptions of the artworks, each made by a Vermont artist, are posted on the Vermont Arts Council's website. The public can view the proposals and comment until December 14.

Tags: Public art , Burlington , installation , Vermont Department of Health , public comment , Phil Godenschwager , Dan Gottsegen , Kathryn Wiegers , Noa Younse , Web Only , Image

Posted By Sally Pollak on Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 2:07 PM

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Elizabeth M. Seyler ©️ Seven Days

SIte of new library at Ethan Allen Shopping Center

A satellite branch of the  Fletcher Free Library in Burlington will open December 15 in office space at the Ethan Allen Shopping Center, library director Mary Danko said.

The new library in the New North End will have books, periodicals, computers and internet service. Perhaps most importantly, Danko noted, it will also have a librarian.

Tags: Fletcher Free Library , Burlington , New North End , Burlington Telecom , librarians , books , internet , Web Only , Image

Posted By Jordan Adams on Mon, Nov 15, 2021 at 4:25 PM

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Courtesy of Kyle Tansley

Highlight 2019

Fireworks, a tropical oasis, a circus, bonfires, ice bars — all are promised on the poster for Highlight, Burlington's New Year's Eve celebration on Friday, December 31. Presented by Burlington City Arts, the citywide event features live music, comedy, performance art, arts and crafts and local foodstuffs at a slew of locations all over the Queen City and online.

Posted By Sally Pollak on Mon, Nov 8, 2021 at 3:21 PM

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Courtesy of Clayton Clemetson

Larry Gordon

Note: This story and headline was updated after Gordon died.

A community radio station in Plainfield, WGDR, will broadcast a live show in tribute to Gordon on Sunday, November 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. The show will feature Village Harmony music and stories about Gordon's life; people can call the station at 454-7762 to share stories. Tune to 91.1 or 91.7 on the FM dial to listen to the show, stream it online at WGDR.org.

Larry Gordon had a deep bass voice and a love of singing — and he devoted much of his life to joining with others in song. Gordon, 76, had a particular fondness for shape-note singing, a tradition he worked to revive in central Vermont and beyond through Village Harmony, the group he founded in 1989.

On November 1, Gordon was in a bicycle accident (with no car involved) near his home in Marshfield, said Sinead O’Mahoney, a Village Harmony staffer and singer. Gordon suffered a brain injury and was on life support before he died on Tuesday, November 9.

“Shape note is a singing tradition that started here in New England and almost died out here in New England,” O’Mahoney, 28, said. “Larry was really the one who revived the tradition around here. Now it’s very strong.”

Tags: Larry Gordon , Village Harmony , shape-note singing , Vermont , music , Web Only , Image