Culture

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents genre-bending ensemble Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp on Saturday, September 16 at 5:00 pm at the Putney Inn, 57 Putney Landing Rd, Putney. Mixing free jazz, post-punk, highlife, brass band, symphonic mixtures and kraut rock, OTPMD’s sound only goes beyond the limits of genre. 

Founded in 2006 by Vincent Bertholet (Hyperculte), the Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp is a large-scale project. Designed as a real orchestra, the size of the ensemble has varied over time. Now with 12 members, 14 in the past or 6 at the beginning, the ensemble has scoured the stages of Europe to demonstrate that the formula “the more the merrier” has never been more true than on stage.

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series and Twilight Music present acoustic/electric, folk-pop/Americana sextet The Slambovian Circus of Dreams on Sunday, September 3 at 5:00 pm at the SVG Multipurpose Field in Bellows Falls, VT. For over 25 years, the Sleepy Hollow, NY-based Slambovians have expanded the borders of Americana music with a rootsy rockin’ psychedelica, fantastic stories, and electrifying live performances – a mix of Washington Irving, Woodstock, and British Invasion that’s “mightily impressive and hugely original rock from the cool end of Americana” (Maverick Magazine).

The music of The Slambovian Circus of Dreams has been described as “hillbilly-Floyd,” “alt-country, roots-rock,” and “surreal Americana” – a clear indicator of its singularly indescribable uniqueness. The sextet’s melodic avant-folk conjures with an exotic instrumental arsenal (accordion, cello, mandolin, theremin) in addition to standard rock regalia, and a palette of styles ranging from dusty Americana ballads to huge Pink Floydesque cinematic anthems. Dancing freely between all existing religious and philosophical mythologies, the music is uplifting, empowering, and a lot of fun.

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents Balla Kouyaté & Mike Block Band on Saturday, September 9 at 5:00 pm at Cooper Field, 41 Sand Hill Rd, in Putney, Vermont.

Balla Kouyaté and Mike Block have been collaborating for over a decade, bonding over their shared interest in music from across the world, and their commitment to innovating on their instruments. Balla Kouyate, a balafon player and singer coming out of the Djeli tradition of Mali, was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA. Mike Block is an American cellist/singer/composer, and a Grammy Award-winning musician with the Silkroad Ensemble originally trained in Western Classical music. They have teamed up with friends from America and West Africa to create an exciting fusion of musical styles in a 6-piece band that features Sekou Dembele (djembe/vocals), Idrissa Kone (talking drum/calabash/percussion/vocals), Luke Okerlund (electric guitar) and Mike Rivard (bass/sintir).