Hop over the border to these five music festivals just outside Vermont
When the weather starts turning nice in Vermont each spring it can be hard to leave the state. Why go somewhere else when there are hikes, swimming holes and Lake Champlain sunsets to be had?
Music can be one of those enticements to cross the border. The song of the siren is a powerful one that can lure many a live-music fan to places near and far from Vermont.
This article focuses on the near – five music festivals just over the border from Vermont in the states of Massachusetts and New York and the province of Quebec. A couple of them have significant local ties, which might help assuage your guilt over leaving Vermont for another state or even another country.
Green River Festival, Greenfield, Massachusetts
Friday, June 21-Sunday, June 23, this Americana-leaning festival a smidge over the Vermont border at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in northern Massachusetts opens Friday, June 21 with acts including Cake, Lawrence, Cimafunk, The Nude Party and Combo Chimbita. The Saturday, June 22 headliner, Fleet Foxes, takes the stage after Joy Oladokun, Bonny Light Horseman (featuring Vermont native Anais Mitchell), Mdou Moctar, Speedy Ortiz, Willi Carlisle, Burlington band Dari Bay and more. The final day, Sunday, June 23, has Gregory Alan Isakov, Flipburn, Josiah and the Bonnevilles, Joseph, Dobet Gnahore and others. $79.99-$199.99. www.greenriverfestival.com
Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, Quebec
Thursday, June 27-Sunday, July 6, the 44th edition of this sprawling metropolitan party goes big with Andre 3000 (7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 30, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier/Place des Arts), Norah Jones with Martha Wainwright (7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 2-Wednesday, July 3, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier/Place des Arts), Laufey (2 p.m. Saturday, June 29, Maison Symphonique de Montreal; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29 with Grace Enger, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier/Place des Arts), Killer Mike (8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 3, MTELUS), Pink Martini (7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 4-Friday, July 5, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier/Place des Arts), Future Islands with Ed Schrader’s Music Beat (8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 6, MTELUS), Orville Peck (9:30 p.m. Friday, July 5, TD stage/Place des Festivals), Kurt Vile and the Violators with Myriam Gendron (7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29, MTELUS) and jazz favorites including Al Di Meola with Frank O’Sullivan (8 p.m. Saturday, June 29, Theatre Maisonneuve/Place des Arts), Joey Alexander (9 p.m. Friday, June 28, Theatre Jean-Duceppe), Joshua Redman Group featuring Gabrielle Cavassa (8 p.m. Tuesday, July 2, Theatre Maisonneuve/Place des Arts) Julian Lage (9 p.m. Thursday, June 27, Theatre Jean-Duceppe), Kenny Garrett (9 p.m. Thursday, July 4, Theatre Jean-Duceppe), Stanley Clarke N-4Ever (8 p.m. Thursday, June 27, Theatre Maisonneuve/Place des Arts) and skatey-eight gazillion more acts. Prices vary per show; outdoor concerts are free. www.montrealjazzfest.com
Solid Sound, North Adams, Massachusetts
Friday, June 28-Sunday, June 30, this sweetly-sized festival organized and headlined by Jeff Tweedy and his band Wilco (produced and promoted in conjunction with South Burlington’s own Higher Ground) takes over the grounds of a world-class contemporary-art museum with performances at MASS MoCA by, on Friday, June 28, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Courtney Marie Andrews, Horsegirl, Mikaela Davis and more; Saturday, June 29, acts including Dry Cleaning, Nick Lowe & Los Straightjackets, John Hodgman’s Comedy Cabaret, Ratboys, Young Fresh Fellows and Fenne Lily; and Sunday, June 30, Iris DeMent, Wednesday, Mary Halvorson & Tomas Fujiwara, Miracle Legion and others. $69-$299. www.solidsoundfestival.com or www.highergroundmusic.com
Saratoga Jazz Festival, New York
Saturday, June 29-Sunday, June 30, considering its chronological and geographic proximity to the jazz festival in Montreal (see above), there is some overlap in the schedule at this two-day event at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center that features, on Saturday, June 29, Lake Street Dive, Samara Joy, the Joey Alexander Trio, Cimafunk and more, and, on Sunday, June 30, Norah Jones, Laufey, Stanley Clarke N-4Ever, the Terence Blanchard Sextet, Cory Henry, the Pedrito Martinez Group, the Miguel Zenon Quartet and others. $89.75-$894.75. www.spac.org
Osheaga Festival Musique et Arts, Montreal, Quebec
Friday, Aug. 2-Sunday, Aug. 4, this festival with more of a youthful party vibe than those above takes over Parc Jean-Drapeau, starting Friday, Aug. 2 with the headliner - some guy from Vermont named Noah Kahan who’s apparently had quite a bit of success of late – joined by Melanie Martinez, Lil Tjay, Two Door Cinema Club, Sleater-Kinney, Blonde Redhead, Arlo Parks, The Japanese House and more; Saturday, Aug. 3 has Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins, Renee Rapp, T-Pain, Denzel Curry, Chappell Roan, Brittany Howard, The Linda Lindas and others; and, Sunday, Aug. 4, the festival concludes with acts including SZA, Hozier, Alvvays, Stephen Sanchez, Amyl and the Sniffers, Ash. DIIV and Cadence Weapon. $165-$2,000. www.osheaga.com
Canceled – Field Day, Northampton, Massachusetts
Brattleboro music venue The Stone Church planned to move its Field Day festival, which debuted in southern Vermont last year, to the Three County Fairgrounds in downtown Northampton, Massachusetts, for a two-day run Friday, May 31-Saturday, June 1, with performances by Indigo De Souza, Nation of Language, Dehd, Geese, The Heavy Heavy, The Nth Power, Thus Love and more. The Field Day website recently announced the event’s cancelation. “Despite our strong vision, a stellar lineup, and a dedicated team, ticket sales, and sponsorship have not met expectations, leaving us to face the very real possibility of devastating financial loss,” leading to the decision to cancel, according to the announcement. www.fieldday.rocks
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Music festivals just outside Vermont include Osheaga, Solid Sound
