The Latest in Vermont Fundraisers and Holiday Records

Some of the best musicians from the Green Mountains’ folk and bluegrass scene are banding together to help feed hungry Vermonters this winter.

Chad Hollister, Kris Gruen, Bow Thayer and the VT Bluegrass Pioneers headline the FEED VT benefit concert on Sunday, December 21, at the Haybarn Theatre at the Creative Campus at Goddard in Plainfield. Billed as “an inspiring evening of music, community and love to help feed Vermont families in need,” the show funnels all proceeds to the nonprofit Capstone Community Action’s Food Shelf in Barre. The organizers ask attendees to bring nonperishable food items. Find the wish list at capstonevt.org, where you can also follow a link for tickets.

Burlington punk band Violet Crimes have joined forces with singer Bri Lucas, formerly of the rock band Embers in Umbra, to release the new single “Don’t Own Me.” The hard-charging pop-punk rager is an anthem for the fight to restore and protect women’s reproductive rights.

“Does my body make you nervous?” Lucas sings on the track. “My autonomy so disturbing? Oh well, you don’t own it.”

The song came about after Lucas reached out to Violet Crimes singer Amy Klinger. Fueled by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, they joined forces to write the track with Violet Crimes drummer Jason Dean and recorded it with producer Ryan Cohen at Robot Dog Studio across the lake in Mineville, N.Y.

“I once benefited from medical intervention during a miscarriage,” Lucas wrote in a press release for the single. “I decided to write a punk-rock song about this era of women’s rights and our ongoing struggle for bodily autonomy.”

Lucas wanted to sing with another female vocalist on the track and immediately thought of Klinger and Violet Crimes.

“Working on this song literally and figuratively gives us voice at a time when it’s easy to feel powerless,” Klinger said in the press release. “Plus, having the chance to sing a great, earworm-worthy song with a powerhouse, high energy vocalist like Bri is an absolute privilege.”

All profits from “Don’t Own Me” will be donated to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global organization. Stream the track at violetcrimesvt.bandcamp.com and watch the making-of video filmed at Robot Dog on YouTube.

Snow is falling, bells are jingling — you know what time it is. And so do Vermont musicians! The wave of holiday shows and albums has started to roll in.

Kick off the festive month on Thursday, December 4, at Richmond Congregational Church with a performance from bluegrass and jazz act Mr. Sun. The quartet, led by ace fiddler Darol Anger and mandolin virtuoso Joe K. Walsh, performs its interpretation of Duke Ellington’s interpretation of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite. (Mr. Sun also recorded their version in 2023 at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Mass.) Check out valleystageproductions.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

Burlington band EmaLou & the Beat have dropped an entire new holiday album titled Simple Things. Recorded live last year at Burlington’s Tank Recording Studio — on the winter solstice, no less — the record features classics such as “Let It Snow” and “White Christmas,” alongside originals and new arrangements of traditional tunes. The band celebrates the vinyl release of the record with two holiday shows: Friday, December 12, at the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub and Friday, December 19, at the Venetian Cocktail & Soda Lounge in Burlington. Visit emaloumusic.wordpress.com to learn more.

Bull’s Head, the solo project of folk songwriter Andy Samara, has a new EP out titled Joy to the World. The album features three traditional, public-domain holiday classics; Bob Dylan’s “Must Be Santa”; and Samara’s own original yuletide composition, “Same Light as the Kings.”

“As a lukewarm fan of Christmas music, and hater of contemporary Christmas originals, it feels fun to release this small collection,” Samara wrote in an email. He compiled the songs after recording them over the years as holiday gifts to friends. Give Joy to the World a listen at bullshead.bandcamp.com.

Listening In

Playlist of Vermont jams

This article appears in Dec 3-9 2025.