October leaves are nice, but arts-and-entertainment events really bring color to Vermont

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the status of the Jazz at the Lantern series.

October is when gaggles of tourists descend on Vermont to gawk at our lovely maple trees as the leaves transition from green to red, gold and orange and then, eventually, forest mulch.

Yes, those leaves are super-gorgeous this time of year. They’re art in their own right. But there’s a whole bunch of other art to be seen (and heard) in Vermont during the first full month of fall.

October is perennially a busy time on the local arts-and-entertainment scene. (And that’s not even including Halloween events, which you’ll find soon in a separate Free Press article.) Do you want music? Theater? Visual art? Poetry readings? All of the above? Then go ahead and read about all of the arts events listed below.

‘Murder’ in Essex

Through Oct. 8, the Essex Community Players continues its run of “Murder in the Studio,” a trio of one-act radio plays by Agatha Christie, Memorial Hall, Essex. $14-$16. www.essexcommunityplayers.com

‘Ghosts’ appears in Vergennes

Through Oct. 31, an exhibit by Connecticut artist Chelsea Granger that opened Sept. 22 and is titled “The Future Belongs to Ghosts,” remains on display, Northern Daughters Fine Art Gallery, Vergennes. Free. www.northerndaughters.com

Oil paintings displayed in Shelburne

Through Nov. 4, the exhibit “Inside & Out: Landscapes to Relics,” featuring oil paintings by Johnson artist Joseph Salerno, continues its run that began Sept. 15, Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery, Shelburne. Free. www.fsgallery.com

Concert benefits Pitchfork Farm

2-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, a concert presented by Waking Windows to benefit Pitchfork Farm, which was severely damaged in the July floods, features The Bubs, Laces, Delta Sweet Duo, Luis Betancourt and more, Pitchfork Farm, Intervale Road, Burlington. $15-$30 suggested donation. www.wakingwindows.com

Words Out Loud concludes

3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, this fall’s Words Out Loud series of readings by Vermont poets ends with Nadell Fishman and Sydney Lea, Old West Church, Calais. Free; donations suggested. www.kentscorner.org

Ethel Cain fills Higher Ground

8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, singer-songwriter Ethel Cain, joined by 9Million, visits the Higher Ground Ballroom. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com

Flood relief from Franti

6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, touring musicians Michael Franti & Friends stop in Vermont to play a flood-relief benefit concert, with 100% of proceeds benefitting the Vermont Flood Response and Recovery Fund with The Vermont Community Foundation, Spruce Peak village green, Stowe. $10-$40; free for children 5 and under. www.sprucepeak.com/vtfloodrelief

UVM offers ‘Bright Half Life’

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4-Saturday, Oct. 7, 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, the University of Vermont School of the Arts Program in Theatre and Dance presents the Tanya Barfield love story “Bright Half Life,” Royall Tyler Theatre, UVM, Burlington. $10-$22. www.uvm.edu/cas/theatreanddance/

Time to thrive at Higher Ground

8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Pride Center of Vermont presents the ballroom/vogue-scene-themed Thrive Ball with host Jasmine Rice Lebejia, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $30 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Andy Frasco brings the rock

8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, freewheeling rockers Andy Frasco & the U.N. follow Cool Cool Cool, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $25 in advance, $29 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Lost Nation Theater returns home

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, Lost Nation Theater returns to its home stage (nearly three months after the building suffered significant flood damage) to present “Sam & Jim in Hell,” a play by Jeanne Beckwith (running through Oct. 22) that imagines writers Samuel Beckett & James Joyce conversing in the afterlife, Montpelier City Hall Arts Center. $10-$30. www.lostnationtheater.org

The Flynn votes for ‘Napoleon Dynamite’

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, three stars of the 2004 cult film “Napoleon Dynamite” – Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez and Jon Gries – take part in a discussion following a screening of the film, the Flynn, Burlington. $27-$47. www.flynnvt.org

A dog pile at Higher Ground

8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, rising jam-rockers Dogs In a Pile headline the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $18 in advance, $20 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

‘Glass Menagerie’ on display

7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, the Valley Players continue the Tennessee Williams’ classic “The Glass Menagerie,” which began Sept. 29 and runs through Oct. 15, Valley Players Theater, Waitsfield. $14-$18. www.valleyplayers.com

West African music at UVM

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, the University of Vermont Lane Series continues with the West African sounds of Senegalese kora player Ablaye Cissoko paired with French accordion musician Cyrille Brotto, UVM Recital Hall, Burlington. $6.50-$39.50. www.uvm.edu/laneseries

Higher Ground gets jazzy

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, Burlington vocalist Andriana Chobot combines with Joe’s Big Band for a jazz/blues/funk-flavored evening, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $20 in advance, $22 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Ben Harper, innocent criminal

8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, Grammy-winning multi-genre musician Ben Harper and his band the Innocent Criminals follow The Jack Moves in a show presented by Higher Ground, the Flynn, Burlington. $85.-$105.75. www.highergroundmusic.com or www.flynnvt.org

The Grift adds Josh Panda

9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, veteran Vermont band The Grift – newly improved with the permanent addition of Burlington vocalist and ”American Song Contest” competitor Josh Panda (“It’s kind of like if Michael Jackson had a jam band,” Panda, speaking of his joining the band, told the Burlington Free Press in a recent email) – plays Nectar’s, Burlington. $15. www.liveatnectars.com

Stowe celebrates Indigenous culture

Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, the fourth Indigenous Peoples’ Day Rocks event features Indigenous music with the Nulhegan Drummers, Jesse Bowman Bruchac, Morgan Lamphere and Chief Donald Stevens, plus blues from Joe Louis Walker and the Dave Keller Band, Mayo Farm Fields, Stowe. Free. www.ipdrocks.com

Circus comes to Middlebury

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, the Nordic threesome Dreamers’ Circus presents its acoustic music as part of the Middlebury Performing Arts Series, McCullough Student Center, Middlebury College. $5-$25. www.middlebury.edu/college/arts/performing-arts-series

Vermont native plays Lincoln

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, Proctor native Caitlin Canty, a singer-songwriter now based in Nashville, plays the new Burnham Presents series, Burnham Hall, Lincoln. $15-$25. www.burnhampresents.org

Twiddle comes back to Burlington

8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, Vermont-born jam-rock favorites Twiddle – heading toward what the band calls an “indefinite hiatus” that starts later this year − plays a show presented by Higher Ground at the Flynn, Burlington. $43.25-$53.50. www.highergroundmusic.com or www.flynnvt.org

Humbird at P.M. Sundays

4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, folk-Americana act Humbird performs at the monthly P.M. Sundays series, Richmond Congregational Church. $17.50-$27.50. www.valleystage.net

Devendra Banhart visits Vermont

8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, psychedelic-folk musician Devendra Banhart, following opening act Le Ren, plays the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $30 in advance, $35 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Songs with Jawny

8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9, singer-songwriter Jawny performs, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $18 in advance, $20 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Grammer at the Flynn

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, pop musician Andy Grammar, with opener Patrick Martin, visits the Flynn, Burlington. $39-$274. www.flynnvt.org

Wooten hootenanny at Higher Ground

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, bass player extraordinaire Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers follow the Rebirth Brass Band, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $35 in advance, $39 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

‘Selling Kabul’ in White River Junction

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, Northern Stage opens its 2023-24 season with the Sylvia Khoury war-themed thriller “Selling Kabul,” Byrne Theater, Barrette Center for the Arts, White River Junction. $19-$69. www.northernstage.org

Kitchen Dwellers hit Vermont

8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Montana-based bluegrass/Americana group Kitchen Dwellers joins Fireside Collective for a show at the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $23 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Courtney Barnett plays Brattleboro

8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, Australian rocker Courtney Barnett, touring in support of her new instrumental album, “End of the Day,” plays The Stone Church, Brattleboro. Sold out. www.stonechurchvt.com

Burlington brings in Loreena McKennitt

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, Canadian/Celtic musician Loreena McKennitt performs, the Flynn, Burlington. $64. www.flynnvt.org

GWAR invades Higher Ground

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, messy noisemakers GWAR, with Negative Approach and Cancer Christ, return to the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $36 in advance, $40 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Live show from Live

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, ‘90s alt-rockers Live play the Paramount Theatre, Rutland. $65-$95. www.paramountvt.org

Akwesasne Mohawk artist in Johnson

6-7 p.m. Friday. Oct. 13, an exhibit of recent artwork by northern New York native Margaret Jacobs, a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk tribe, takes place at the Red Mill Gallery, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson. Free. www.vermontstudiocenter.org

Chandler has North African blues-rock

7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, the Moroccan blues-rock group Bab L’Bluz plays the Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph. $10-$45. www.chanlder-arts.org

‘Pie’ creator at Paramount

7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, singer-songwriter Don McLean of “American Pie” fame plays the Paramount Theatre, Rutland. $59-$79. www.paramountvt.org

Handsome Devils come to Middlebury

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, the soulful jazz and blues singer Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils play the Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. $27 in advance, $32 at the door. www.townhalltheater.org

Sister act at UVM

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, twin sisters Christina & Michelle Naughton perform as part of the University of Vermont Lane Series on the two Steinway concert grand pianos at the UVM Recital Hall, Burlington. $6.50-$45. www.uvm.edu/laneseries

Rock with Rough Francis

9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, Burlington rock favorites Rough Francis get noisy with Dead Street Dreamers and Robbery, Nectar’s, Burlington. $15. www.liveatnectars.com

‘Whale Aid’ lands in South Burlington

7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, musicians including Stephen Marley, Chadwick Stokes (Dispatch), Ruston Kelly and Ryan Miller (Guster) take part in “Whale Aid,” a concert series that raises money and awareness for the endangered North American right whale, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $57.50. www.highergroundmusic.com

Pianist leads Vermont Jazz Center show

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, the piano-driven Cyrus Chestnut Trio performs at the Vermont Jazz Center, Brattleboro. $26-$61. www.vtjazz.org

Lovett and Hiatt in the house

8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, venerable Americana musicians Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt bring their road show (presented by Higher Ground) to the Flynn, Burlington. Sold out. www.highergroundmusic.com or www.flynnvt.org

Iliza Shlesinger has ‘Hard Feelings’

7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, comedian/author Iliza Shlesinger brings her “Hard Feelings” tour to the Flynn, Burlington. $42.50-$182.50. www.flynnvt.org

Folk-pop at Higher Ground

8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, young folk-pop musician Peter McPoland, joined by Stephen Dawes, plays the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $20 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Soulful trio hits South Burlington

8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, the soulful trio Say She She follows local stalwarts Honey & Soul and DJ Disco Phantom, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $22 in advance, $25 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

A new ‘Odyssey’ in Burlington

7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, The Acting Company presents an updated version of “The Odyssey” – set in a refugee camp – at the Flynn, Burlington. $25-$45. www.flynnvt.org

Constant Smiles at The Monkey House

8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, the indie-folk-pop-rock act Constant Smiles plays with Wren Kitz and The Pilgrims at The Monkey House, Winooski. $10-$15. www.monkeyhousevt.com

Kratts gone wild at the Flynn

3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, the animal-oriented animated TV show “Wild Kratts” goes live in two performances, the Flynn, Burlington. $26-$56. www.flynnvt.org

St. Michael’s hosts art exhibit

5-6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, an artist talk featuring Vaughn Bell – whose new exhibit, “We Are the Weather,” runs through Dec. 15 – leads to a gallery reception from 6-7 p.m., McCarthy Art Gallery, St. Michael’s College, Colchester. Free. www.smcvt.edu/mccarthy-art-gallery/

Jazz at the Lantern continues

6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, the run of Jazz at the Lantern continues with the Chris Peterman Quartet, the Brass Lantern Inn, Stowe. $25-$45. www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076823272310

Barn dance in Williston

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, Hinesburg musician Rik Palieri presents “The Great Vermont Barn Dance Show” featuring Palieri as well as music from Guy Davis, Jen Larson, Phil Henry & Mitch Barron and Mama Tried, plus storytelling by Bill Shubart, comedy from Helen Weston and clog dancing with Ann Whiting & Friends, Isham Family Farm, Williston. $15. www.ishamfamilyfarm.com

Fever-ish night at Higher Ground

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, the eccentric Burlington indie-rock act Fever Dolls headlines a show with Copilot and Jake Swamp & the Pine, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $15 in advance, $18 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

‘Hangover Square’ kicks off film festival

6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, a screening of the film noir “Hangover Square” starts the Vermont International Film Festival (which runs through Oct. 29), with the movie followed by a catered reception and, at 8:15 p.m., “Theremin Noir,” a concert by Rob Schwimmer, Uri Caine and Sara Caswell featuring the music of renowned film-score composer Bernard Herrmann, University of Vermont Recital Hall, Burlington. $61.50. www.uvm.edu/laneseries or www.vtiff.org

VSO offers music, visual art

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s Jukebox series of chamber performances on this occasion includes “Color Theory,” a collaborative presentation with Vermont-based abstract painter Julio Desmont, who will paint as the quartet plays, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $15-$35 “pay what you can” model. www.highergroundmusic.com

Middlebury hosts Easter Island pianist

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, pianist and activist Mahani Teave, a native of Easter Island, performs in Robison Hall, Mahaney Arts Center, Middlebury College. $5-$25. https://www.middlebury.edu/college/arts/performing-arts-series

One last party with 99 Neighbors

8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, the Burlington-born hip-hop collective 99 Neighbors plays its farewell show, Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $30 in advance, $35 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

New England hu-mah with Bob Marley

8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, Maine-based comic Bob Marley takes the stage, the Flynn, Burlington. $44.75. www.flynnvt.org

Ramblers celebrate ‘The Mighty Pickle’

4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, the Vermont-based country-flavored group Rick & the All-Star Ramblers celebrates the release of its new CD, “God Bless The Mighty Pickle” – a tribute to the band’s now-departed and legendary tour bus – with an intimate concert at Juniper Hall, Hotel Vermont, Burlington. $25-$100. www.rickandtheallstarramblers.com

California Honeydrops drop into Vermont

8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, soulful group The California Honeydrops play the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $30 in advance, $35 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

MOMIX dances to ‘Alice’

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, the dance troupe MOMIX, founded by Vermont native Moses Pendleton, offers a piece inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland,” the Flynn, Burlington. $19-$59. www.flynnvt.org

Higher Ground hosts Disco Biscuits

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, electronic jam-rockers The Disco Biscuits follow Lazy Bird in a concert in the Higher Ground Ballroom, South Burlington. $45 in advance, $49 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Brian Posehn goes for laughs

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26-Saturday, Oct. 28, 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27-Saturday, Oct. 28, comedian and actor Brian Posehn settles into the Vermont Comedy Club, Burlington. $30. www.vermontcomedyclub.com

Rutland welcomes folk-rocker Cockburn

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, Canadian folk-rock veteran Bruce Cockburn plays the Paramount Theatre, Rutland. $35-$45. www.paramountvt.org

Wind ensemble at UVM

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, the young wind quintet WindSync plays as part of the University of Vermont Lane Series, UVM Recital Hall, Burlington. $6.50-$39.50. www.uvm.edu/laneseries

Higher Ground sees Better Things

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, local alternative-rock band Better Things reunites for a show with Suburban Samurai, Ghastly Sound and Remi Russin, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $10 in advance, $15 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Wood Brothers will play Burlington

8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, roots group The Wood Brothers follows Maya de Vitry in a performance presented by Higher Ground, the Flynn, Burlington $43-$53.50. www.flynnvt.org or www.highergroundmusic.com

Nectar’s has Magic Beans

9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27-Saturday, Oct. 28, the eclectic group Magic Beans plays two nights (Friday with opening act Dizgo, Saturday with Squeaky Feet), Nectar’s, Burlington. $15. www.liveatnectars.com

SolarFest tries again

11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, the music and climate-change-themed SolarFest, postponed by July’s flooding, makes another go of it with a series of speakers, followed at 4:30 p.m. with music from Gammy Moses, Louise Mosrie Coombe, Pamela Means and Lara Herscovitch & the Highway Philosophers, with headliners Dar Williams and the Ray Vega Band starting at 8 p.m., Grace Congregational Church, Rutland. $10-$30. www.solarfest.org

Salvation Farms fundraiser pays tribute

7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, the fourth benefit concert for Salvation Farms, a Morrisville-based nonprofit organization that helps distribute surplus agricultural products, features three Vermont acts paying tribute to renowned, late musicians – the Grippo Funk Band (James Brown), Al’s Pals (Tom Petty) and the All Night Boogie Band (B.B. King), Double E T-Rex Theater, Essex Experience, Essex. $40. www.essexexperience.com

Acoustic double bill in Northeast Kingdom

7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, the acoustic groups Hawktail and Vasen play a double bill, Fuller Hall, St. Johnsbury Academy. $16-$51. www.catamountarts.org

Vermont band Chin Ho! reunites

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, ‘90s Vermont stalwarts Chin Ho! return for a reunion show with the Maple Run Band and Danny and the Parts, Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington. $10 in advance, $15 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Staples supplies soul at the Flynn

7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, rhythm-and-blues/soul singer Mavis Staples returns to the Flynn, Burlington. $35-$69. www.flynnvt.org

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Arts events in Vermont in October: Ben Harper, Michael Franti, theater