To help newer local and regional performers and presenters get their foot in the door by recording and filming them in front of an attentive and appreciative audience — produce reasonably OK documentation that could win them some extra credibility, and hopefully help them land bigger and better gigs. Nothing super high-fi and high-res, but better than bad cellphone clips.We honestly never expected the bigger fish... the impressive national and international touring performers who somehow found out about us, and recognized that what we're doing is rare and special and important. Their participation gives the project legitimacy and visibility, and that light reflects on everybody who does time on our stage. Plus we get to present unexpectedly high quality intimate shows for the community at lower-than-normal ticket prices, so it's a good deal all around. (A rare instance where trickle-down actually works outside the laws of physics.)There's still one part that's not sustainable. The project doesn't make any income from hosting shows. Everything goes to the players — they earned it!, distilling years of honing and hard work for our entertainment. Having a talent is just the wee start.We're not willing to mess with the formula; it could start the unintended domino cascade that borks the whole thing. That's not a risk we're into taking. In the meantime, our operating costs are covered by small donations. There's a plan to eventually earn our own keep through underwriting and sponsorships of the media programming, but there's about sixteen tons of production work that needs to get done between here and there. A stopgap theory we cling to (despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) is that the better we serve the community, the more attractive we'll be to arts funding foundations. Convincing those foundations of that is a trick we haven't learned yet though.Anyhoo... along with shows by folks who have more recognition, we're super-pleased to be hosting listening events this winter and spring featuring up-and-coming area musicians. The root of the mission! Owen Nied already gave a terrific performance; Jenna Rice and Emily Lyons have a co-bill coming up (Emily, with sideman Josh Maiocco, just warmed up for the Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio in our room — and they got called back for an encore by the audience, which almost never happens for openers); there's a triple-header with Jay Simon, Jake McLaughlin, and Bill Brink on the way. Imagine the hipster cred of having seen these people play a little unassuming room in Bellows Falls back before they became legends.

This Sunday, January 26 at 7:00 pm, we've got Gibson. Smart, geeky, enthusiastic, often earnestly dark but always with an impish grin. No cover; tipping encouraged; $3 CDs will be available."I write songs, and I play guitar while singing those songs," Gibson says... but it's more complicated than that. Think Jonathan Coulton plus Tom Lehrer times two minus satire; hyper-strummed, yet somehow deeply rooted in throwback coffeehouse folk. There's not an easy way to describe his music, but he's smart and a load of fun. Get your weird on.This is Gibson's canvas, and we don't really know what he's got up his sleeve. 7:00 PM start on January 26 at 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. He's not a big name yet, so chances are this show won't get anywhere near the amount of press that lots of the ones we run do. We've learned that good advance press often doesn't amount to a hill of beans in terms of attendance, but it's still nice to get noticed.C'mon out! A trendsetter, ahead of the curve, smart, foresightful, a dream-maker. It's free.