Vermont

Guster’s Ryan Miller talks new album, Vermont show, ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ musical

Published

9 months ago

June 26, 2024

Guster’s Ryan Miller talks new album, Vermont show, ‘Safety Not Guaranteed’ musical

Ryan Miller is proud of “Ooh La La,” the new album from his long-running rock band, Guster. He’s excited at the prospect of Guster’s concert this weekend at the Shelburne Museum, not far from Miller’s home in Williston.

Recording albums and playing concerts are, of course, what Guster does. “Ooh La La” is the band’s ninth studio album. The Shelburne concert will be the latest of a couple thousand shows Guster has played since forming more than three decades ago.

Miller is, however, taking on one big project unlike any he’s done before. He’s writing the music and lyrics for an off-Broadway musical based on the 2012 film “Safety Not Guaranteed” that will open in previews in September at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Miller wrote the soundtrack for that movie and has followed with more than a dozen film scores. But a musical? That’s uncharted territory.

Miller called himself a “51-year-old dude/neophyte” in the world of New York musicals who doesn’t fully know what he’s doing as he works with seasoned Broadway and off-Broadway veterans. He said he’s had nightmares about the musical failing. He likes to stretch himself for projects that keep him occupied for weeks or months at a time, but a musical that might take years to fully develop sounds daunting.

And exciting.

“It’s a fascinating process,” Miller said. “I am just learning so much in real time.”

The flow of ‘Ooh La La’

Miller spoke June 21 with the Burlington Free Press on his houseboat on Lake Champlain. If a houseboat sounds like another case of rock-star excess, know that it’s a 57-year-old houseboat Miller bought with three friends for $3,000. It’s also more house than boat; like most abodes, it is incapable of locomotion.

The scruffy floating retreat fits Miller’s persona to a T. For his chat with the Free Press, he wore a cartoonish T-shirt touting the Hudson Valley, flannel pants festooned with floral prints and vibrant socks bearing the logo for the soft drink Topo Chico. His hair maintained its perpetually tousled status.

Nothing about Guster is so haphazard. “Ooh La La,” which came out May 17, is a meticulous-sounding record, brimming with brightly toned tunes with soft edges of melancholy. Miller said the lyrics reflect his own experiences but ideally bypass the “hyper-personal” to let the listener in on his perspective.

Miller, who’s married with two teenagers, has heard from fans who say it’s amazing that Guster can still relate to where they are in life after three decades.

“When that happens, that has something to do with why we’ve been able to maintain our place” of popularity with fans, Miller said, noting that the band sold out the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in one day and the Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre outside Denver in three days. “I do think we are in conversation with people.”

“Ooh La La” is a very Vermont-y record, and not just because Miller and bandmate Luke Reynolds, an Addison County native, live in Vermont. Grammy-winner Rich Costey, a Waterbury native, mixed, co-engineered and co-produced the songs “When We Were Stars” and “All Day.” University of Vermont graduate Peter Katis mixed most of the album’s songs and played keyboards. Part of the album was recorded in southern Vermont at Guilford Sound.

The Shelburne Museum performance will be very Vermont-y as well. “Let’s go full Vermont as much as possible,” Miller said of his approach to the concert.

Guster will be joined onstage by James Kochalka Superstar, the Burlington band led by the big personality of the vocalist/cartoonist, and the Zeno Mountain Band from Zeno Mountain Farm in Lincoln that supports people with disabilities. Miller is counting on nice weather as opposed to last summer, when Guster’s plans to perform on the Shelburne Museum lawn were continually washed out.

“We need to go back to the scene of the crime,” he joked.

Music for “Safety Not Guaranteed’

Miller will spend much of the summer cramming to get “Safety Not Guaranteed” ready for its BAM run from Sept. 17-Oct. 20. He became involved with the film a dozen years ago after striking up a friendship with Colin Trevorrow, the director of that time-travel-themed movie who at the time lived in Burlington. (Trevorrow, a Guster fan who would go on to direct films including “Jurassic World,” now lives in London.) That well-received film and score launched Miller’s career in writing music for movies, most recently for the Ilana Glazer comedy “Babes,” which came out the same day as “Ooh La La.”

Another Guster fan, Nick Blaemire, approached Miller with the idea of contributing music for a stage version of “Safety Not Guaranteed.” “My answer was, ‘Sure,’” Miller said, though he had no real idea what writing the songs for a musical might entail.

He traveled to New York and found that Blaemire, who’s writing the book for “Safety Not Guaranteed,” assembled several Broadway and off-Broadway actors and a guitar player to present a version of the production with Guster songs as placeholders. Miller said he was impressed by the narrative of the story but didn’t want “Safety Not Guaranteed” to be a jukebox musical framed by Guster songs, so he chose to write more than an hour’s worth of original songs for the production.

Miller said he’ll work on a film soundtrack for four to 12 weeks, but a multi-year musical is a different animal for someone who likes to take on a variety of projects. “I respect the medium,” he said, “but it’s not my workflow.”

He’s getting into the flow now as “Safety Not Guaranteed” makes its way to BAM’s 875-capacity Harvey Theater. Miller would like to see the show move to Broadway one day. “We’re not trying to be done with it at BAM,” he said.

“Safety Not Guaranteed” has already influenced Miller’s work with Guster. He said the band’s recent “We Also Have Eras” tour, which told the story of Guster in a theatrical-styled musical performance, was shaped in part by the work he’s doing on “Safety Not Guaranteed.”

“I almost felt like maybe we’re more of an art project than a band,” Miller said. “This sort of theater experience I’m having will remain conversant with the band.”

His work on film scoring, off-Broadway shows and presenting “super-special” shows with Guster “gets kind of gooey,” blending in one creative pot, according to Miller.

“It helps me to recontextualize what the band can be,” he said.

If you go

WHAT: Guster with James Kochalka Superstar and the Zeno Mountain Band

WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, June 29

WHERE: Shelburne Museum

INFORMATION: $55 in advance, $59 day of show; free for children 12 and under. www.highergroundmusic.com

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.

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Vermont

VBCA names players of the year at annual all-star event at Windsor

Published

2 hours ago

March 22, 2025

Press Room

VBCA names players of the year at annual all-star event at Windsor

After leading their teams to state championships earlier this month, West Rutland’s Peyton Guay and Burlington’s Abdi Sharif collected more hardware on Saturday: the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association players of the year honors.

Guay was named the top girls player for the second time in three seasons, while Sharif was recognized as the state’s best on the boys side during the day-long celebration of hoops highlighted by four senior all-star games at Windsor High School.

Guay, who set the state’s all-time girls scoring record (2,279 points) this winter, helped West Rutland to a fourth straight Division IV title. Sharif was the leading scorer on a Burlington team that captured the program’s first D-I crown since 2016.

Coaches who are members of VBCA are allowed to vote on the POYs.

During Saturday’s competition, the North and South split the four games. The North now leads the all-time series 59-33.

The results:

Division III-IV girls: North 56, South 47

BFA-Fairfax’s Abba Villeneuve (10 points), Windsor’s Sophia Rockwood (nine) and Twinfield/Cabot’s Kendall Fowler (eight) powered the North, which pulled away from a three-point halftime lead.

For the South, West Rutland’s Bella Coobs scored nine points and Oxbow’s Maggi Elsworth tossed in seven.

Windsor’s Rockwood won the 3-point contest with a record-tying 18 3-pointers in a minute.

Division III-IV boys: South 82, North 81

Windsor’s Tanner Crane and White River Valley’s Zander Clark each scored 13 points and White River Valley’s Brayden Russ struck for a dozen points as the South built a big lead before holding off a North comeback bid.

Hazen’s Brendan Moodie (23 points) led the rally attempt from a 14-point deficit. Danville’s Andrew Joncas scored 11 points, Williamstown Evan Bailey added nine and Thetford’s Dylan Vance and Richford’s Jerrick Jacobs each had eight.

White River Valley’s Wyatt Cadwell won the 3-point contest on a tiebreaker.

Division I-II girls: South 65, North 62

In a tight finish, Fair Haven’s Izzy Cole sealed the win with a pair of game-sealing foul shots. Spaulding’s Taylor Keel led the winners with 14 points, followed by Mount Abraham’s Louisa Painter with eight points and Springfield’s Macie Stagner with seven.

For the North, Burlington’s Nylah Mitchell scored nine of her team-high 12 points in the second half. Mount Mansfield’s Bella Schultz-Mitchell scored seven.

Mount Anthony’s Madi Moore was the 3-point contest winner, matching Rockwood’s record 18 3s.

Division I-II boys: North 106, South 86

Burlington’s Abdi Sharif scored 17 points and Mount Mansfield’s Tommy Brockmeyer scored 14 as the North outlasted the South in a shootout.

St. Johnsbury’s Rex Hauser scored 13 points and Rice’s Dallas St. Peter put up 11 points.

On the South side, Rutland’s Dez Krakowka totaled 17 points and Montpelier teammates Atif Milak (14) and Carter Bruzzese (13) also reached double figures.

St. Peter captured the 3-point contest with 21 treys from distance.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

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Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State live score: Updates, how to watch March Madness

Published

14 hours ago

March 22, 2025

Press Room

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State live score: Updates, how to watch March Madness

Players in March Madness to watch before the WNBA draft

Mackenzie Salmon and Meghan Hall give a guide on what players to look out for in the March Madness tournament before the WNBA draft.

Sports Seriously

The 15th-seeded Vermont women’s basketball team officially returns to March Madness today in a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup vs No. 2 North Carolina State.

The Catamounts (21-12), who captured the America East Conference championship last week, are making their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons and eighth in program history.

But they have a tough assignment in today’s 2 p.m. tip-off at Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina: The Wolfpack (26-6) are ranked ninth in the Associated Press top-25 poll and are coming off a run to last year’s Final Four.

Watch Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State on Fubo

NC State is also undefeated (16-0) at home this season.

For live updates and how to watch, see below.

What channel is Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State on today? Where to watch, stream live?

Vermont women’s basketball will tip off vs NC State on ESPN. Streaming options include the NCAA March Madness Live app and Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State start time, TV channel, location

Start time: 2 p.m. ET
TV info: ESPN
Location: Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State odds, betting line, spread

Odds according to BetMGM.

Spread: -20.5
Over/under: 124.5
Moneyline: +1900

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State prediction, game picks

NC State 70, Vermont 52: The Catamounts’ highly ranked defense won’t be enough to slow the Wolfpack’s high-scoring group of guards.

Vermont women’s basketball vs NC State stats

VERMONT

PPG: 61.1
PPG allowed: 52.2
FG% 46.4
3PT%: 33.7

NC STATE

PPG: 76.8
PPG allowed: 65.4
FG% 44.9
3PT%: 32.9

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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

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Vermont

NC State vs. Vermont predictions, picks for 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament first round

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2025

Press Room

NC State vs. Vermont predictions, picks for 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament first round

Day 2 of the Round of 64 for the women’s NCAA Tournament is nearly underway, and among the games on tap is a battle between No. 2 NC State and No. 15 Vermont.

The NC State Wolfpack finished the regular season with a 26-6 record, ranking seventh in the nation in RPI, and fifth in strength of schedule. The Vermont Catamounts, meanwhile, finished 90th in RPI and were 13-3 in America East play. Vermont won their conference with a 62-55 win over Albany in the America East conference finals.

Here’s how our experts see Saturday’s Round of 64 clash playing out. Be sure to check out USA TODAY’s complete March Madness bracket predictions to see our team’s picks for every game. While you’re at it, don’t forget to read our tournament bold predictions and upset picks.

NC State vs. Vermont picks and predictions

Our experts from across the USA TODAY Network are unanimous (8-0) on who will win this game, No. 2 seed Wolf Pack or No. 15 seed Catamounts. NC State does have the edge in efficiency statistics. Take a look at their full bracket predictions.