BELLOWS FALLS — The poetic and heartfelt songs of Jenna Rice celebrate the stories of ordinary people and the highs and the lows of being alive. She grew up in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, and her lyrics on life, love, and loss are carried by her honest, haunting vocals and down-to-earth guitar.Emily Lyons is passionate, introspective, and healing-centric. She recently played before the Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio at Stage 33 Live and was called back by the audience for an encore — rare for an opening act.Suggested $10 donation at the door, or what you can. All proceeds benefit the musicians. 7:00 PM on March 8 at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The performances will be recorded and filmed. 

Weekend-after-this we've got back-to-back shows on Saturday and Sunday the 14th and 15th... two that couldn't be much more different from each other. Saturday is the penultimate session of the Second Saturday Synthfest. Then on Sunday, acclaimed singer-songwriter Dan Weber shares the stage with much-loved duo The Milkhouse Heaters. (Tickets for that one are on sale now.)Rounding out the month, a couple more Sunday shows. We said we weren't gonna clump so many together anymore because it's more volunteer time and energy than we can sustainably carry... oops. But it'll be worth it. Don & Jenn on the 22nd with sweet love and music, then a special co-bill matinee on the 29th with Kirsten Manville and Tim Foley.As always, you can find the current state of the whole schedule on stage33live.com 

OK, so, little bit of a downer for a second. It was announced yesterday that Europe’s biggest music-industry trade fair is being postponed because of COVID-19. As the first cases start showing up in our region, there's a lot of local talk ranging from dismissive to perhaps overwrought.At this point nobody knows that's going to happen. We'll be keeping our eyes and ears open. If it does go viral (to reclaim a phrase), probably the most worrisome thing is the possibility of local hospitals and clinics getting swamped to the point of not being able to provide appropriate care.People most at risk are older and/or with compromised immune systems due to medical conditions, medications, or even just poor self-care. We've got all three in our audiences sometimes. If it comes to it, we'll do what's prudent to help keep our community healthy.Wash yer hands.