By Gen Louise Mangiaratti, Vermont Country and Anne Archer, Vermont Country correspondent.
For Brattleboro musician Zara Bode, preparations for her winter holiday-themed shows begin as soon as the previous season ends.
“My tradition is to, after every Christmas season, I go around and I buy all the clearance Christmas items in town and at various box stores, and kind of plant ideas for the following year,” Bode said.
She said last year’s loot has inspired a “Christmas Island” theme for this season’s shows.
“I’ve got some pink flamingos and AstroTurf planned,” she said with a laugh. “So we’ll probably go for some more tropical Christmas vibes this year.”
Bode, a member of the Sweetback Sisters, will take the lead on the group’s annual Christmas show while fellow frontwoman Emily Miller stays home with her young children. On Dec. 17, the “Country Christmas Singalong Spectacular with Zara Bode” comes to The Stone Church in Brattleboro.
“It’s gonna be a lot of the same joy and trivia and schmaltz and tons of harmonies and all about the singalong,” Bode said. “We’ve always had a slogan. We say: ‘Nothing’s too much trouble for Christmas.’ Honestly, that is the idea I’m taking with me through this tour.”
Bode is among many local musicians gearing up for holiday-themed concerts this winter. Though winter brings dark days and icy temperatures, there is still live music to lift our spirits. Southern Vermont is home to several concerts this winter, with songs that of course celebrate Christmas, but also that honor big feelings and the human condition. Shows include Bode’s family-friendly singalong, a classical music concert in Brattleboro, an emotional journey at Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, and for the more low-key audiences, an intimate coffeehouse show in Bennington.
As well as the show at The Stone Church, Bode is also gearing up to bring her singalong to Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Dec. 18, to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, and to the Academy of Music in Northampton, Mass., on Dec. 22.
“Every year, there’s some point in the show where you feel an authentic sense of Christmas spirit. It happens every year, without doubt, no matter how hard a year it’s been, how difficult the rehearsals were, or how bad the traffic was,” Bode said. “At some point, I feel so deeply connected with the audience as we’re all singing together. I’m just really looking forward to feeling that again. That kind of joy is really, really special.”
For more information on Bode and her band’s holiday show at The Stone Church, check the venue’s website, stonechurchvt.com.
For a classical take on the holiday season, Windham Philharmonic brings “Beethoven in December with Holiday Treats” to Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro at 7 p.m. Dec. 9. Admission is by donation.
Music director Hugh Keelan said the show at the Latchis follows the success of last December’s concert at Winston Prouty, which featured the Fifth Symphony by Beethoven along with seasonal favorites such as “Sleigh Ride” and “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker.
That concert was so popularly attended, Keelan recalls, that several carloads of hopeful attendees had to turn around and go home.
“I mean, it was awful — and the most wonderful, awful problem to have. We were busting at the seams and people were just so enthusiastic about it,” Keelan remembers.
This year, he said, the plan is to ride on this success with Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, which he describes as far more boisterous than last year’s selection. “It doesn’t go into tragedy or darkness,” he said — though maybe at times, irony. “It’s simply enjoyable.”
When asked if he considers classical pieces more inclusive than traditional holiday music, which may fall along religious or cultural lines, Keelan agreed.
“Beethoven is more challenging than doing the simplest form of holiday fare, and it’s inclusive, yes, because it completely avoids kind of siding with one religious or even secular tradition or another,” he said. “It’s quite the expression of the human spirit, and you know, let’s relate that to the holidays — why not, right? It gives something that is really, really in favor of us celebrating our experiences, you know, being alive.”
Connie Green, flutist in the group, noted that the Beethoven symphonies are both familiar to people who follow classical music, and enjoyable and accessible to everyone else.
Then, there is the experience of performing these classical pieces.
“There’s no feeling like sitting in the midst of a lot of musicians performing a work together. The music is wonderful, and we’re all working together to form a whole that’s much greater than than each one of us individually,” Green said. “I enjoy the challenge of learning the part and trying to perform it as best I can, and the outcome of it is very satisfying. We have people come up to us afterwards and just express how much it means to them. And that’s really a special part of it.”
For more information on “Beethoven in December with Holiday Treats,” visit windhamphilharmonic.org.
Over in Manchester, a new Vermont tradition has begun as Maxine Linehan, a renowned concert and recording artist, returns to Southern Vermont Arts Center after three years of sold-out performances to entertain music lovers with her critically acclaimed holiday concert “This Time of Year.”
Named for Linehan’s holiday album “This Time of Year” that came out in 2020, the songs performed during her show conjure memories of loved ones — past and present — in a passionately beautiful voice that opens her soul to audiences.
According to Linehan, the majority of the concert’s set list will be tracks from the album, consisting of holiday classics like “Silent Night,” and “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and some not-so-obvious holiday songs such as Maroon 5’s “Memories,” and Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal’s “I’ll be Seeing You.”
The well-rounded collection creates a treasure chest of mixed emotions.
“It’s not just all twinkling lights and frosty snowmen, and sugar cookies,” Linehan said, explaining her vision for the concert. “We have those moments in the show where we sing about presents and gifts and the joy of the season, but I also love to share with people the other side of the holidays, which can be profoundly different for some people, and I think it’s important to recognize that.”
On a stage decorated with fragrant pine trees, Linehan leans into the bittersweet feelings brought on by the holidays with the help of a 10-piece concert orchestra.
Linehan’s accompaniment includes an enriching array of instruments, a special guest or two, and a string quartet featuring Taconic Music’s Joana Genova on violin and Ari Rudiakov on viola — a combination sure to embrace Arkell Pavilion in a rich, full sound.
To experience the event to its fullest, Linehan recommends coming early to enjoy a festive dinner at CurATE Café (on Southern Vermont Arts Center campus) or to imbibe in a cocktail before the show in the Arkell Pavilion lobby.
After the concert, Linehan’s holiday album and trees from the set will be on sale, allowing audience members to bring a touch of this Vermont tradition into their homes.
“This Time of Year” kicks off the holiday season on Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.) with a live performance held in the Arkell Pavilion at Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester.
Tickets, ranging from $40 to $125, are on sale at svac.org. Attendees are advised to purchase in advance as the show is expected to sell out.
For those who prefer the banter of a coffee shop over the grandeur of a theater, the Kat & Brett Holiday Show, featuring popular Vermont musicians Kat Wright and Brett Hughes, comes to The Coffee Bar in Bennington at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30. For more information and tickets, which are $20, search for “Kat & Brett” on eventbrite.com.
Gen Louise Mangiaratti, is editor of Vermont Country magazine and is arts & entertainment editor for Vermont News & Media. She lives in Brattleboro with her cat, Theodora, and welcomes your post-idyllic holiday music recommendations at gmangiaratti@reformer.com.
Anne Archer lives in Manchester, Vt. She is a regular contributor to the Manchester Journal.
