Rickie Lee Jones - singing between the sweet spots of folk, jazz and pop- in Stowe on Saturday, September 8!

Stowe, Vermont – The Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center is thrilled to present two time Grammy award winner, Rickie Lee Jones on Saturday September 8 at 7:00 pm.

Rickie Lee Jones exploded onto the pop scene in 1978 with the hit song “Chuck E’s in Love”, and has made a career of fearlessly experimenting with her sound and persona over 15 critically acclaimed albums.   Rickie is both a character in the songs and the songwriter singing, defying convention with her sometimes brazen sexuality and the mixed bag of jazz, rock and what has come to be known as ‘confessional’ songwriter performances.

Her latest album The Other Side of Desire was written, recorded and rooted in the city of New Orleans, where Rickie lives on the opposite side of the street made famous by Tennesse Williams.  Produced by John Porter (of Roxy Music) and Mark Howard, this is the first new music Rickie has written in over a decade. Come hear the songs inspired by her New Orleans experience and other timeless favorites.

“This work is inspired by many years of sitting with all the events of my life until I had something to paint with,” says Rickie.  “I came to New Orleans to write and to live a different way than what I have known on the west coast….here is another record then, made of my imagination, and whatever else that has no words, using the clay of this place and the shapes of my eyes to form some kind of picture of my life or my heart, that I alone can understand, and hopefully that others can enjoy.”

Tickets for Rickie Lee Jones are $40 to $85. Spruce Peak Arts Members receive a 10-20% discount off purchases and an array of other Member benefits on select events. Memberships start at just $75, become a Member today! To purchase tickets visit SprucePeakArts.org or by calling 802-760-4634.

Bluegrass Sensation STEEP CANYON RANGERS Coming to Stowe on Saturday, February 16, 2013

Stowe, Vermont - The Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe is pleased to present Grammy Award nominated bluegrass band, THE STEEP CANYON RANGERS, for one performance only on Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 8:00 pm.

The North Carolina quintet has a reputation for smooth vocals, smart songwriting, ferocious instrumentals and jaw-dropping harmony.  The 2010 their Deep In The Shade album remained in the Bluegrass Top 10 on Billboard for 18 weeks.  Their 2011 collaboration with Steve Martin, Rare Bird Alert, and their 2012 solo project Nobody Knows You have both received Grammy Award nominations for “Best Bluegrass Album”.

The Steep Canyon Rangers have toured extensively around the United States and have lit up the festival circuit with appearances on the stages at MerleFest , Bonnaroo, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and RockyGrass.  They have also performed on ”A Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor, ”Late Night With David Letterman”, ”The Colbert Report”, and ”Austin City Limits.”

The band has earned critical acclaim and accolades, including being described by the Boston Herald as “Absolutely smoking.” And Examiner.com has stated, "True bluegrass, when done well, is a thing of art and the Steep Canyon Rangers are the genre's current Rembrandt."

Each member of the Rangers is known for his musicianship.  Upright bass player Charles R. Humphrey III has played since middle school and also studied classically at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where the Steep Canyon Rangers were formed. Charles has released two side projects of original compositions, Songs from the Road Band and Songs from the Road Band: As The Crow Flies.  He was selected by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) as a showcase songwriter two times, and

SINGER-SONGWRITER MARTIN SEXTON COMES TO STOWE ON JANUARY 18, 2013

Stowe, Vermont - The Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe is pleased to present Martin Sexton, on Friday, January 18 at 8:00 pm.

Martin Sexton has been described by Rolling Stone, as having a “soul-marinated voice” and Billboard has called Sexton “The real thing, people, a star with potential to permanently affect the musical landscape and keep us entertained for years to come.”

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., and the tenth of 12 children, Martin Sexton grew up in the ’80s. Uninterested in the music of the day, he fueled his dreams with the timeless sounds of classic rock ’n’ roll. Sexton eventually migrated to Boston, where he began to build a following singing on the streets of Harvard Square. His 1992 collection of self-produced demo recordings, In the Journey, was recorded on an old 8-track in a friend’s attic. He managed to sell 20,000 copies out of his guitar case.

From 1996 to 2002 Sexton released Black Sheep, The American, Wonder Bar and Live Wide Open. The activity and worldwide touring behind these records laid the foundation for the career he enjoys today with

"Autumn in Vermont"

Stowe, Vermont - This fall in Stowe, October 6, 2012, from 5 - 7 PM, Vermont Fine Art Gallery celebrates autumn in Vermont with “Autumn in Vermont” Art Show & Masquerade. The show will feature Vermont artists Jane Ashley, Gary Eckhart, Evelyn McFarlane & Hunter Eddy.  Also featured at the opening will be live music by Peter Mix.  Everyone who comes in costume as your fave artist or artwork will get a gift certificate and be included in a drawing for artwork.  10% of the evenings show painting sales will go towards classes at the Helen Day Art Center.
       
Congratulations are in order for one of our feature gallery artists Hunter Eddy.   Hunter was recently honored & featured in an article by International Artist Magazine, September 2012.  Both Hunter and his wife Evelyn McFarlane, both feature artists in the show, were trained and taught Renaissance techniques at the Florence Academy in Italy.  After a recent move back to Vermont, Evelyn is now teaching classes in Stowe at the Helen Day Art Center.  Hunter was born grew up in Vermont and decided to pursue a career in art after years of drawing in his childhood. He attended the Art Institute of Boston and graduated with the honor of an “Excellence in Illustration” award from the College. He spent time in Italy studying landscape painting and drawing with the Boston Visual School.  He then made his decision to undertake fulltime study at The Florence Academy of Art under the direction of Daniel Graves. After the first year he was made an assistant teacher in the program and has been with the academy ever since. He has taught the advanced painting and drawing courses, and was co-Director of the painting program. His work has been exhibited & sold in galleries internationally including: Peel Gallery, Vt., Hirschl & Adler Gallery, NY, Gallery Americana, Carmel, Ca., W. H. Patterson LTD, London, England.
       
Vermont artist, Gary Eckhart will also be joining us and is in outstanding form with the exceptional new paintings he has brought this season.  Retired professor of theatrical Stage Design at Fredonia in New York, Gary Eckhart now lives and paints in Vermont.  While attending Kutztown University of Pennsylvania he studied drawing and oil painting as part of his B.S. Degree in Art Education.  At that time he became interested in watercolor.  In 1974 he became professor of stage design at the State University College and began designing for regional theater and opera companies.  He continued to develop his watercolor skills through the teaching of rendering and painting techniques for the design students.  In 1997 he again took up watercolor with a more serious approach.  Gary has, over the last few years, had work in several national exhibitions including the American Watercolor Society, Adirondack National Exhibit of America, the Pittsburg Watercolor Society, the Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society, where Gary won Best in Show, and the National Red River Watercolor Society Juried Show.
       
“With each painting my hope is to capture the varying effects that shifting light and changing seasons have on natural forms, colors and textures.” says Jane Ashley of her work.  Ashley, daughter of marine artist and author, Clifford W. Ashley, spent her early childhood in Delaware, before moving with her family to Massachusetts.  She attended Rhode Island School of Design, graduated from the Swain School of Design and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with High Honors from the California College of Arts and Crafts.  She was a finalist at the 1986 Annual Awards Competition sponsored by the Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York.  Since 1961 she has made her home in and painted the rural landscapes of the Vermont countryside.  Jane has participated in exhibitions and solo shows, including museums and galleries throughout New England.  Her paintings are also a part of numerous collections both private & corporate nationally.
       
Join us in the celebration, this weekend, Saturday, October 6, 2012, from 5 - 7pm.  Meet the artists and enjoy hors d’ oeuvres, live music & inspirational artwork with fellow art lovers and friends.  For more information on the show contact Vermont Fine Art at 802-253-9653 or visit the gallery in the Gale Farm Center, 1880 Mountain Rd Ste.#3, Stowe Vt, and at www.vermontfineartgallery.com.

Vermont: A Place Apart, New works by Charlie Hunter and Susan Abbott

Show Dates: August 25th- October 13th

Stowe, Vermont - The work of two distinctly different painters brings to life the forgotten, overlooked and subtly beautiful scenes of Vermont’s captivating landscape at the West Branch Gallery, August 25th in “Vermont: A Place Apart”.  This exhibition will feature new works by Charlie Hunter and Susan Abbott, with a gala reception August 25th from 6:00-8:30 pm in Stowe. These painters are celebrated for their ability to capture the striking mood and evocative strength of the landscape.

Hunter ‘s paintings capture a surprising beauty in the worn and faded corners of Vermont. He forces the viewer to consider the purpose or life behind each image. Using a muted color palette, Hunter creates a subtle yet evocative depiction of the rural Vermont landscape.

Abbott combines the classical with the contemporary to create a unique approach to landscape painting. She uses vibrant color to capture aging outbuildings, old trucks and tractors, small town store fronts, and village
fairs. These qualities combine in her work for a fresh and moving vision of the venerable Vermont landscape.

This exhibition continues West Branch Gallery’s nine year reputation for exhibiting outstanding works by contemporary emerging and mid-career artists. By showing two artists who approach a similar subject in decidedly different ways, “Vermont: A Place Apart” invites viewers to reflect on how they come to understand and relate to the familiar scenes that depict life in Vermont.

“Vermont: A Place Apart” will be on view August 25th- October 13th and opens August 25th at 6:00 p.m. with a gallery talk by Tom Slayton, editor-emeritus of Vermont Life Magazine. West Branch Gallery & Sculpture Park is located at 17 Towne Farm Lane in Stowe, Vermont. The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 – 6, and by appointment. For more information, please visit the gallery website, www.westbranchgallery.com