Celebrate the wonders of Vermont in May with these 31 arts-and-entertainment events
Is there a more celebratory month in Vermont than May? There are the obvious fetes, of course, including college graduations and high-school proms. But there’s also the subtler “spring is bursting out all over” vibe, when the shackles of six months of meh weather finally come off and we all head out to see the world and each other once again.
We also come out to see more and more arts-and-entertainment events, with the first outdoor performances starting to peek their heads out like daffodils, museums throwing their art-and-history-concealing doors open and theater companies making the mad dash to conclude their fall-through-spring seasons.
Yay, May! Here are 31 artsy occasions to get you feeling good about life in Vermont.
Vermont Stage goes BOOM!
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, the professional theater company Vermont Stage still has its annual “Bake Off” feature to come in June, but concludes its 2023-24 schedule of full productions with the Jonathan Larson rock musical “tick, tick… BOOM!” running through May 26, Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington. $34-$64. www.vermontstage.org
Guitars by Rodrigo y Gabriela
7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2, Mexican guitar geniuses Rodrigo y Gabriela follow OKAN in a show presented by Higher Ground at the Flynn, Burlington. $50.30-$60.78. www.flynnvt.org
Sarah Ruhl play staged in Middlebury
7:30 p.m. Thursday. May 2-Saturday, May 4, the Middlebury College Department of Theatre presents Sarah Ruhl’s “Orlando,” an adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel, Wright Memorial Theatre, Middlebury College. $5-$15. www.middlebury.edu/college/box-office
Waking Windows livens up Winooski
5:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, the three-day Waking Windows festival returns with fest favorites The Wet Ones! kicking off the live music at The Monkey House, with the centerpiece coming Saturday, May 4 in Rotary Park with performances by acts including Mikahely (3:15 p.m.), Katie Von Schleicher (4:15 p.m.), Lady Lamb (7:20 p.m.) and Death (9 p.m.), with other music at locations throughout downtown. $55 for Rotary Stage and other venues on Saturday; varying cover charges Friday and Sunday. www.wakingwindows.com
Speaking of Waking Windows…
7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, the Waking Windows festival competes with itself when its promoters present finger-style guitar player and festival alum Yasmin Williams as part of the University of Vermont Lane Series, UVM Recital Hall, Burlington. $6.50-$34. www.uvm.edu/laneseries
Camp Saint Helene sets up at Radio Bean
7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, the evocative folk rock of Camp Saint Helene, plus Katy Hellman and Mary Esther Carter, fill the space with sound at Radio Bean, Burlington. $10. www.radiobean.com
‘Gamma Rays’ shines on Essex
7:30 p.m. Friday, May 3, the Paul Zindel play “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-the-Moon Marigolds” receives a staging through May 18 from the Essex Community Players, Memorial Hall, Essex. $14-$18. www.essexplayers.com
VSO premieres Nico Muhly work
7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s spring concert features work by composers including Mozart, Missy Mazzoli and the world premiere of “Sounding” by Nico Muhly featuring fellow Vermont native Adam Tendler on piano, the Flynn, Burlington. $8.35-$59. www.vso.org
Vermont Youth Orchestra highlights achievement
3 p.m. Sunday, May 5, the Vermont Youth Orchestra ends its 2023-24 season with a concert titled “Achievement Unlocked!” at the Flynn, Burlington. $22-$25. www.vyo.org
Watch out for ‘Mean Girls’
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 7-Thursday, May 9, a touring production of the Broadway musical “Mean Girls,” based on the film written by Tina Fey, stays for three nights at the Flynn, Burlington. $64.50-$100.50. www.flynnvt.org
Higher Ground gets shoegaze-y
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, the spacy sub-genre of rock known as shoegaze arrives in the form of Florida-based group Cathedral Bells, joined by Rew in the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $12 in advance, $15 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com
Christine Jensen jazzes up Stowe
6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9, saxophone player Christine Jensen, who last year joined her sister, Ingrid, for a performance at the Stowe Jazz Festival, returns to town for the Jazz at the Lantern series, Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe. $35-$45. www.facebook.com/fireflyproductionsvt.com
Frankie Cosmos goes to Higher Ground
8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9, the indie-rock group Frankie Cosmos, led by Greta Kline, hits the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com
Burlington hosts Young Tradition Festival
7 p.m. Friday, May 10, the first of a pair of evening concerts at the Young Tradition Festival presented by the Vermont Folklife Center features Shyam Nepali’s Himalayan Dreams, with the second at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 11 pairing acoustic trio Genticorum with the Young Tradition Touring Group, Contois Auditorium, Burlington City Hall. $20 per concert. www.vtfolklife.org
Margaret Glaspy goes acoustic
8 p.m. Friday, May 10, rock musician Margaret Glaspy stages a rare acoustic concert opened by Ryan Lerman, The Stone Church, Brattleboro. $35-$40. www.stonechurchvt.com
Buffalo Nichols charges into Barre
8 p.m. Friday, May 10, acoustic blues musician Buffalo Nichols visits the Barre Opera House. $21-$42. www.barreoperahouse.org
Vermont museums back in action
10 a.m. Saturday, May 11, a couple of Champlain Valley museums – the Shelburne Museum and the Middlebury-based Henry Sheldon Museum – open for the season, to be followed a week later at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 18 by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Ferrisburgh. Shelburne Museum: $8-$25 museum admission; free for museum members, active military and children under 5, and free on opening day; www.shelburnemuseum.org. Henry Sheldon Museum: $10; free for students. www.henrysheldonmuseum.org. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum: Free. www.lccm.org
Aurora Chamber Singers showcase modern composers
7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, the Aurora Chamber Singers present their spring concert, “Seeds of Modernism,” with works by Faure, Gounod, Bruckner and Franck, College Street Congregational Church, Burlington. $10-$25. www.aurorachambersingers.org
Mother’s Day with Hinesburg Artist Series
4 p.m. Sunday, May 12, the Hinesburg Artist Series celebrates Mother’s Day with a concert featuring the Hinesburg Community Band and South County Chorus, Champlain Valley Union High School auditorium, Hinesburg. Free; donations accepted. www.hinesburgartistseries.org
Straight No Chaser sails to the Flynn
8 p.m. Sunday, May 12, the a cappella group Straight No Chaser brings its yacht-rock-themed tour to the Flynn, Burlington. $52.50-$84. www.flynnvt.org
Art at Vermont State House
3-5 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, the central Vermont-based Art Resource Association doesn’t wait until it hits the half-century mark when it holds an artist reception for its exhibition “Celebrating 49 Years!” that runs throughout May, Vermont State House Cafeteria Gallery, Montpelier. Free. www.aravt.space
Mt. Joy member heads to Mountain Road
7 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, songwriter Matt Quinn of rock band Mt. Joy performs a solo show, Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, Stowe. $75-$100. www.sprucepeakarts.org
Marc Ribot goes to the Dog
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, guitar innovator Marc Ribot and his project Ceramic Dog drop by the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $27 in advance, $32 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com
Musique en Montpelier
7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, the final performance this season by Capital City Concerts, “Far-flung French,” focuses on works by French composers including Ravel as well as a few Edith Piaf tunes, Unitarian Church, Montpelier. $15-$30. www.capitalcityconcerts.org
Big Thief member steps out
8 p.m. Saturday, May 18, Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek leads his solo band, and follows Jolie Holland, in a performance in the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com
Comedy with Michelle Buteau
7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23-Saturday, May 25, 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 24-Saturday, May 25, Netflix comedy star Michelle Buteau performs five shows at the Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington. Sold out. www.vermontcomedyclub.com
It’s Reunion time again
7 p.m. Friday, May 24, the traditional-music duo Becky Tracy and Keith Murphy plays the 22nd Farewell Reunion concert to benefit the Tom Sustic Fund that supports families with children who have life-altering conditions, Grace Church, Sheldon. $20 suggested donation; attendees are asked to bring a dessert to share at intermission. www.gracechurchsheldon.com
Higher Ground has the blues
8 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, rising blues star Christone “Kingfish” Ingram plays the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $39 in advance, $45 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com
The Ballroom Thieves, not in the Ballroom
8 p.m. Thursday, May 30, New England folk duo The Ballroom Thieves plays down the hall from the Ballroom in Higher Ground’s Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $22 in advance, $24 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com
Zenbarn welcomes Andy Frasco
8 p.m. Thursday, May 30, the rollicking blues-rock group Andy Frasco & the U.N. comes to Zenbarn, Waterbury Center. $35-$40. www.zenbarnvt.com
Charley Crockett sells out
8 p.m. Friday, May 31, country-blues musician Charley Crockett headlines a show that includes Noeline Hoffman, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Things to do in Vermont: 31 arts events worth celebrating in May
