Fall into Autumn: September Concert Preview
Ahhh, its September. The buffer before we hit full-blown Autumn: the last traces of short sleeve weather being replaced with flannel and jean jackets evening chills, the inevitable filling of shelves and coffee shops with pumpkin flavored everything and the leaves changing their colors before they soon leave their perches high above the weaving streets of Cambridge or baring skeletal structures amongst the pines in Vermont. Its my favorite time of the year and the music schedule, though festival season is coming to a close, begins to make diving into your favorite tavern for the warmth of a whiskey or your favorite filling pint and a hearty homestyle dish that much more alluring. Lucky for you all September is shaping up to be filled with quite the schedule of music. Here are a few of our picks:
Be you around the Bean then you can never go wrong with Atwoods. This month from start to finish has a killer selection of shows. The month is bookended with some of our favorite acts: RayLand Baxter playing an intimate show there on September 8th and Ian Fitzgerald and Smith & Weeden on the 29th. That whiskey and filling hearty meal thing we were talking about…yeah, Atwoods is the place to fulfill that thirst and hunger with a side of killer music most any night of the week. So get down for the dinner and stay for the tunes. Full September schedule HERE.
Looking for the best bang for your buck in Camberville? Passim’s campfire festival hits this weekend and with daily tickets at 10 bucks or a full weekend pass for only 25, you can’t go wrong. I’ll guarantee you leave falling in love with at least 5 new favorite acts and seeing killer sets from bands and songwriters that you already dig. Some our of favorites playing this time around you ask? Well, try the 8:15 PM in the round set with Jake Hill, Hayley Sabella and Jeff Butcher on Friday; Saturday sees Emily Mure amongst 3 other great songwriters in a similar set and The Wolff Sisters later on in the evening; Sunday you should just go and stay put with the kickoff being a 12 PM old time bluegrass ensemble, Plymouth’s Sparrow Blue, guitarist Jesus: Lyle Brewer, Darol Anger and then Dietrich Strause with Zach Hickman closing the evening. If you have made it until Monday, and for your own well-being you better have, then definitely check out Kellen Zakula & The Yeah Daddies, Noam Weinstein and the closing in the round with some of the best and most beautiful that New England has to offer with Aurora Birch, Rachel Sumner, Deni Hlavinka and Isa Burke’s in the round set.
Speaking of Passim and festivals. Some of the crew that have previously brought you the New England Americana Festival are reviving a festival in the heart of Cambridge and kicking the weekend off with a show at Passim on Friday September 16th. Jay Psaros and Chuck McDermott launch the newly formed North Americana Fest that evening. The following day follows the pattern of years past with free outdoor concerts in Harvard Square featuring around a dozen of the best up and coming and established acts that the umbrella of Americana holds: Tony Savarino, Lula Wiles, Citizen Slim, The Wolff Sisters, Comanchero, Julie Rhodes, Patrick Coman, Peter Parcek, Miriam and The Silks all have sets slotted for that day. Its gonna be a doozy.
That weekend is a tough one and if you are up in our neck of the woods Grace Potter’s Grand Point North is that same weekend overlooking Lake Champlain in downtown Burlington’s waterfront park. Some huge names mingled with some local Burly favs will take the stage over the course of two days. Of note: Grace herself plays both days of the fest, Old Crow Medicine Show, Blind Pilot, The Wood Brothers, Basia Bulat and more…
As if life wasn’t already full of important decisions that weekend holds another favorite for us out in the Berkshires with Freshgrass at Mass MoCa in North Adams, MA. The line up is insane and some of the best and brightest in the hybrid bluegrass-folk genre will see the stage over the course of the weekend at one of the coolest backdrops of any musical event, ever. Highlights of the weekend and must sees? Aoife O’ Donovan, Sierra Hull, Glen Hansard, The Infamous Stringdusters…uhhhhgggg man, just go check the schedule for yourself. Its stacked.
Man…I’m tired just writing all of this. Get out and see some live music this month folks…its out there, you just have to open your eyes a bit.
Others of note: 9/9 – Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys / Ruby Rose Fox / Mount Peru @ The Sinclair (Cambridge, MA) , 9/22 Ian Fitzgerald @ Radio Bean (Burlington, VT) , 9/28 Lyle Brewer / Dave Tanklefsky @ Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) 9/29 The DuPont Brothers / Tall Heights @ Higher Ground (Burlington, VT), 9/30 Anais Mitchel / Caitlin Canty @ Higher Ground (Burlington, VT)
