A little year-end humble-brag, and what's on tap for 2020.
Notwithstanding the out-of-control bizarre and often horrifying things that keep happening out there in the real world, Stage 33 Live had a great year last year. Better than we dared imagine. And the next one is poised to take it up a notch or two. We're still a financial disaster, but artistically it's been amazing.
That's the gist of things. And now, far too many words.
We're kicking off the new year by featuring
. That's just a few days from now. He blew everyone away in August at
, and we're thrilled to have him back in the room headlining his own event. More info on that a couple scrolls downscreen.
We're booked weirdly far in advance... there's only one open date on our every-three-Sundays-with-summers-off 2020 calendar, and not a dud in the bunch. There's also a few deviations from the normal schedule, including
; the make-up date for the snowed-out
show; a special
; and a
.
Y'know, we'd intended to have a lot more spoken word, but for the time being the room has mostly (but not totally!) defined itself as acoustic-Americana. And that's OK. We're continuing to build out the infrastructure to be ever more capably appropriate for stuff other than music. It'll come, and we'll be ready for it. It'll be great.
F'rinstance, a projector — 3600 lumens, 15000:1 contrast ratio, 1080p! — and screen — 150" 16:9! — are on the way... our great gratitude to the Fonda Family Foundation for the help and the nudge. Not only will it be an outstanding asset for certain presentations, we can show movies and stuff. (We may have been totally skunked by the Vermont-based granting foundations this year, but there was an Atlanta one with the imagination to grok why what we're up to is important.) (Was that snarky? Yeah, guess so. Did we just cut off our nose to spite our face? Maybe.)
Inching closer to reality:
And while we're shouting-out, a hearty shout-out to The Island Corporation, which owns and operates 33 Bridge Street. They continue to quietly be Stage 33 Live's biggest supporter. We share a vision of community service, which is darned nice. With their help, we're currently closing loops on several half-deployed and partially-delayed items. And through their wheel-turning, we also now have access to a proper and dignified podium, plus there's a good possibility that a responsive smartboard system is going to happen. If we can get it going. It was retired from a school district, apparently in working condition, so we're hopeful and excited.
Anyway... currently on tap for the rest of the year:
(Summer is documentation production season)
12/13/20, Sunday: Nothing currently scheduled for this, the last remaining open date of the year on our regular calendar
There's something we really want to stress here... it isn't our intention to be in competition. We want to support, not supplant, the library, the Opera House, the bookstore, Stone Church Arts, Main Street Arts, Next Stage Arts, and all the fine places that are hosting great music and excellent presentations (and in particular, the ones offering opportunities to our local and nearby performers and presenters). It's true that there always seems to be too many things going on all the time... but it's kind of a nice problem for a community to have though, isn't it? Maybe that's a little too easy for us to say as a volunteer-run, unpaid community service. (In all buzzkill honesty, how long we can keep up like this remains to be seen... it's fulfilling, but the way things stand it ain't at all sustainable. At all.)
Geez, Debbie Downer! Rewind!
Stage 33 Live had a great year last year. Better than we dared imagine. And the next one is poised to take it up a notch or two.
Multi-instrumentalist Owen Nied performs in Bellows Falls
BELLOWS FALLS — After wowing the audience with his energetic set last August, multi-instrumentalist Owen Nied returns as the main event to the Stage 33 Live listening room in Bellows Falls on January 5.
His original music careens from edgy pop to jazz to blues, rock and hip hop, influenced by artists as diverse as Wes Montgomery, Les Paul, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jack White, Jeff Beck, Brian Wilson, B.B. King, Dick Dale, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Chet Atkins, and Ella Fitzgerald. In addition to playing solo, Owen fronts the guitar- and horn-driven indie trio The Onlys; plays lead guitar in the jazz-grass band Cats in the Limelight; and is half of the UK-based indie-jazz duo Spooky Tricycle.
Performing since he was nine, he was awarded featured slots at the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain in 2011 and 2012, and has since toured the U.S., England, France, and the Netherlands. This is impressive for anybody, but Owen is just 21 years old and in his senior year at Hampshire College studying music and film.
“You played the hell out of that thing. What was your name again?” — Loudon Wainwright III, singer, songwriter, comedian
No opener, this is Owen’s canvas. 7:00 PM start on January 5 at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Suggested $5 donation at the door. The performance will be recorded and filmed.
Clips from Owen's appearance in August.
Along with more veteran performers, Stage 33 Live is pleased to host listening events this winter featuring up-and-coming area musicians. When success knocks on their doors, you can impress your friends by telling them you saw them play an odd room in Bellows Falls before they got big.
Stage 33 Live is an intimate, industrial-rustic listening room in a former factory located at 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, VT, documenting live performances and presentations of original material on a simple stage. Coffee, soda, water, and snacks by donation. Find more info about the nonprofit, all-volunteer project, and this and other upcoming events, online at stage33live.com
