If you’ve kept an ear out for new indie rock in the past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Burlington, Vermont-based songwriter Greg Freeman. Maybe someone told you to check out his 2022 debut, I Looked Out, with its ragged-edged anthems bearing welcome echoes of Neil Young and Jason Molina. Or maybe you ended up at one of his unforgettable live shows — all-in, passionate performances that have made him a genuine word-of-mouth sensation among indie, classic rock, and Americana fans of all ages.
If you haven’t listened yet, go ahead and get familiar, because Freeman’s new album, Burnover, out Aug. 22, is even better than the last one. Recorded in between tour dates last year, it’s the first album he’s made in a proper studio, something that enhances his electric sound without losing any immediacy. “I taught the players the songs the day we recorded most of them,” Freeman, 26, says. “Which we did out of necessity, but we ended up getting recordings that had energy.”
Freeman is calling from Amsterdam, where he and his band are just wrapping a run of shows in Europe. “Curtain,” the new single he’s releasing today, is a great example of the energy he’s talking about — a free-flowing, brightly-hued rocker that makes his impressionistic lyrics feel like they’re written in the sky.
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He’s come a long way from where he was when he first released I Looked Out on a small Oregon-based label called Bud Tapes three years ago. “I mean, I really had no expectations for that record,” Freeman says. He was working at a bakery just outside Burlington at the time, making “sourdough, some yeasted breads, too,” and about six months went by before he realized it might be worth taking the album on the road. “I only decided to tour because people were messaging me about booking shows in other cities and stuff, and I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe we should,’” he says.
A February 2023 show at a Chicago bar called Sleeping Village, where he performed with a seven-piece band he’d brought along from Vermont, drew enthusiastic reviews. “Damn, this is a pretty good crowd for a city 14 hours away,” Freeman recalls thinking.
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A few days later, he played “this tiny show in Philly in a record store” where it felt like his band and their gear took up half of the 75-capacity space: “There were people there singing the lyrics, and that was a first for me.”
When he got back to Burlington after that first tour, Freeman took some time off from work to mull his next move. He tore through pulp crime novels by Jim Thompson, poetry by Emily Dickinson and Louise Glück, and literary fiction by W.G. Sebald, and watched old movies like the acclaimed 2001 melodrama In the Bedroom. “I was just looking for inspiration in as many places as I could,” he says.
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One thing he was wrestling with was a sense of place. “I guess I was trying to figure out how to write about New England,” says Freeman, who grew up in Maryland and moved to Burlington at age 18. “What does it mean to have that experience of not having a grounded home that’s tied to where you were born?” Ultimately, he adds, “I feel good about the record conveying that kind of complicated relationship with a complicated place.”
“Curtain” was one of the first songs he wrote, pouring out of him as a guitar riff that “was just really fun to play.” He’d been listening to “a lot of ’70s Dylan,” especially 1978’s Street-Legal, and thinking about writing a love song. He added more color and detail in the studio, building out an arrangement that blossoms with horns, keys, woodwinds, and a jaunty tack-piano part by his friend Sam Atallah.
The song runs on for more than six minutes on the album, including a perfectly gnarly guitar solo from Freeman himself. “If we had practiced the song more, it wouldn’t have been so long,” he says. “And I think in our minds, we were like, ‘Oh, we’ll just fade it out or something.’ But listening back, we didn’t want it to end.”
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He contrasts that song’s easygoing, spontaneous writing process with the one for “Gulch,” a raw, up-tempo album highlight that took much longer to come into focus. “I mean, I wrote ‘Curtain’ in maybe one day, and ‘Gulch’ took me over a month to write,” he says. “I remember not being able to sleep for many days that month, just trying to write that song and tormented by it…. I was super pissed at a certain point, after three-plus weeks of working on this song. And then I finally got it one day. I drank a half-bottle of wine and wrote it all at once.”
Freeman has a busy calendar coming up, including a one-off date in New York opening for This Is Lorelei in July, followed by more U.K./Europe shows in the late summer and fall and a U.S. run opening for Grandaddy in October. It’s shaping up to be a big year for him — don’t be surprised if he ends up on a trajectory that’s similar to MJ Lenderman’s as more and more people hear Burnover and see him in concert. Adds Freeman, “I’m just excited for more music to be out.”
BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – It was a pleasant Sunday with spring-like temperatures, but it also resulted in a few ice jams in rivers, which happened earlier than expected. The Ausable, Mad, Missisquoi and Great Chazy rivers flooded today due to ice jams. These rivers will recede tonight as temperatures get close to, or below, freezing. However, new ice jams may form, and additional rivers may flood on Monday as highs get even warmer. Expect partly sunny skies with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s. The wind may gust as highs as 40 mph. This will continue to support rapid snowmelt, which will run off into rivers and other bodies of water. Remember to never cross any flooded roads, and avoid going near river banks.
The threat for ice jams will continue into Thursday. A backdoor cold front may touch off a few showers on Tuesday, otherwise it will be partly sunny with highs ranging from the 40s north to the 50s and low 60s south. Computer models continue to bring a low pressure system in our area on Wednesday. It’s continuing to look a little warmer, though the heavier rain is now inching farther into Canada. That said, some rain is likely, and high temperatures will be at least in the low 40s, and may reach the 50s in southern parts of the region. Morning rain on Thursday will change to afternoon snow. A few inches accumulation is possible. Early highs in the 30s will fall through the 20s by afternoon, and overnight lows will be in the teens and low 20s, so everything will freeze up.
Friday will start off with some sunshine, then another, weaker system could bring a light rain/snow mix late in the day and overnight. A few inches of snow can’t be ruled out. A return to more seasonable temperatures will happen over the weekend with highs mainly in the mid-30s and lows in the teens and 20s. There’s the chance for snow showers both days, but significant weather isn’t expected.
MONTPELIER — The 20th annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS) will be held on Wednesday, March 25, at the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub. It is organized by the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV) and the Agency of Natural Resources.
VORS brings together composters, farmers, businesses, educators, policymakers, and community leaders to advance solutions to keep clean organic materials out of landfills and return nutrients to Vermont soils. Additional workshops, tours, and hands-on learning opportunities will be held across the state on March 26..
“The 20th annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit is guided by the theme, Compost! Feed the Soil that Feeds Us,” said Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Misty Sinsigalli. “This is a cornerstone gathering for Vermont’s growing organics recycling ecosystem. Whether you’re a backyard composter, a farmer, a municipal leader, or a sustainability advocate, VORS provides a critical forum for cross-sector collaboration.”
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A highlight of this milestone year will be the keynote presentation from Jayne Merner. Merner is a lifelong compost practitioner and co-owner / operator of Earth Care Farm in Rhode Island. She grew up working in compost production and now leads one of the region’s best-known large-scale compost operations. Merner also hosts The Composter podcast and has taught composting and soil stewardship around the world.
Each year, VORS fosters connections, sparks innovation, and helps translate policy and research into real-world action. The summit welcomes all who are passionate about creating healthier communities through composting.
CAV is partnering with ORCA Media to record sessions for post-event viewing.
To learn more and register for VORS, visit compostingvermont.org/vors-2026.
The Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for protecting Vermont’s natural resources and safeguarding human health for the benefit of this and future generations. Visit dec.vermont.gov and follow the Department of Environmental Conservation on Facebook and Instagram.
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The Vermont National Guard held a change of command ceremony Saturday, with a new adjutant general taking the helm.
The passing of the state’s colors marked the transfer of authority. The flag used was the Green Mountain Boys flag, which has flown around the world.
Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight stepped down after seven years leading the Vermont National Guard. Incoming Adjutant General Harder, who previously served as deputy adjutant general, has 36 years of service across multiple roles within the organization.
At the ceremony, Knight reflected on the periods when the National Guard was deployed, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 floods and current overseas deployments with soldiers in Iran.
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“Our duty is to hand both the uniform and the mission forward in better condition than when we received it,” Knight said. “The mantle of leadership doesn’t belong to us. We borrow it for a time and our responsibility is to leave it stronger for the next person who wears it.”
Harder said the role carries significant personal meaning.
“Leading this organization is the honor of a lifetime,” Harder said.
Gov. Scott, a Republican, spoke to Harder’s qualifications during the ceremony.
“General Hank Harder’s service to our nation has proven him to be a distinguished leader with the right character and curiosity to continue the work of guiding the guard into the future,” Scott said.
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Harder acknowledged Knight’s tenure during the ceremony.
“Your leadership has left the Vermont National Guard stronger, more capable and ready for the future,” Harder said.
160 Vermont soldiers are currently in Germany on a training mission with Ukraine. Several hundred more are deployed in the Middle East.
Harder addressed the deployed service members during the ceremony.
“We are so proud of what they do each and every day and we’re supporting them from afar and we know what it’s like and we look forward to them completing their mission and coming home,” Harder said.
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Harder said the guard has no control over what happens once troops are overseas but is actively providing support to service members’ families in Vermont.
The ceremony was attended by Gov. Phil Scott, members of the military and family members.
