Cou ntry nt Sam mo Free p er le V r June 2013 • Statewide Calendar of Events, Map • Inns, B&B’s, Dining, Real Estate • Plenty of Good Reading! Vermont at it’s Very Best! Montague Golf Club and ~ 100th Anniversary ~ Randolph,Vermont 18 Holes for Only $49/pp, Including Golf Cart “Best Bed & Breakfast in Central Vermont” x Abeautiful,6,300Ͳyardlinksgolfcoursewithmanyholes frontingontheThirdBranchoftheWhiteRiver. x Enjoy“TheSportingLife”onour1,300acres. x 2013Dues:Couple$1,470~Adult$885~Senior$770 x Golf,tennis,biking,fishing,swimmingpool,sauna, hot tub and Fitness Center. Air conditioned guest rooms with luxury baths and EarlyBirdSpecial–AllSeason x highͲspeedwirelessInternetaccessavailable. TeeOffBetween7:30and9AM! x Theperfectgatheringplaceforweddings,familyreunions Mon.ͲFri.•18Holes:$30incl.cart•9Holes:$20incl.cart andbusinessconferences. Saturday:•18Holes:$35incl.cart•9Holes:$25incl.cart x Centrallylocatedonly2milesfromExit4,IͲ89. PressedforTime?Play9Holes The Sammis Family, Owners www.MontagueGolf.com - 802-728-3806 • www.ThreeStallionInn.com - 802-728-5575 “A fun, friendly, private golf club open to the public” Dutton’s Strawberries Pick-Your-Own At our fi elds on Rt. 30 in Newfane, VT. Starting late June. Call for conditions (802) 365-4168. Already-picked will also be available at our farmstands in Newfane, Manchester, and W. Brattleboro, VT. Flames Stables Route 100 South, Wilmington, VT (802) 464-8329 Scenic Year-Round Trail Rides Children Over 6 Can Ride Alone Pony Rides for Younger Children ~ by reservation ~ Great Family Fun at the Lowest Prices Around! Teacher Treasures A Teacher Resource Store & More! Scrapbooking Materials & Gently Used Books/Lending Library Sam Amidon wil be performing at Putney’s Next Stage on June 18. “A Hands-On Store” School year hours: Album Release Concert 2–5 pm Wed–Fri and 10–5 on Sat (802) 365-4811 • (802) 365-4426 fax Sam Amidon Performs Radically Reworked Folksongs Cynthia W. Nau • [email protected] With Chris Vatalaro at Putney’s Next Stage Right on Rt. 30—just north of Newfane Village Sam Amidon sings his radically reworked folksongs, ac- is these folk tunes. I guess, partly, that singing these songs companying himself on banjo, guitar and fi ddle, Tuesday, was just comforting. You’re new to New York, you’re singing June 18 at 7 pm at Next Stage in Putney, VT in a concert these lonesome tunes, it feels good. But, at the same time, you Open Fridays celebrating the release of his fi rst album on the Nonesuch have to pay attention to what people respond to. You have to TOWNSHEND 4-7 pm label: “Sweet Sunny South.” Amidon is joined by multi- fi nd what’s meaningful to you, and you fi nd out what that is FARMERS’ June 7 through MARKET instrumentalist Chris Vatalaro. Alessi’s Ark will start the by being with friends. I found that this is what I could bring October 11 evening. to the table, to other musicians, to Nico, to Thomas, to Bill West Townshend Country Store Sam Amidon was born and raised in Brattleboro, VT by Frisell, all these collaborations. The element I can bring that folk musicians Peter and Mary Alice Amidon. His brother is meaningful for a musical dialogue has been folk songs.” At Rt. 30 & Windham Hill Rd., W. Townshend Stefan is percussionist and singer with the reknowned Amidon’s particular gift is not to compose new songs, (802) 869-2141 or [email protected] Sweetback Sisters. but to rework and repurpose traditional melodies into a Local farm fresh produce, eggs, grass-fed meats, Sam Amidon had already released three albums of roots striking new form that makes them feel very much his own. plants, breads, baked goods, and dinners. American music: “But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted,” He delivers these songs in a hauntingly plainspoken voice, Plus handmade soaps, blown glass and more. recorded at his then-home of Harlem in 2006 with Thomas one that encompasses sadness and stoicism, vulnerability Bartlett; followed by “All Is Well” in 2008 and “I See The and wisdom. EBT and Farm to Family coupons welcome Sign” in 2010 both recorded in Iceland with producer Val- “Amidon reinterprets traditional material with a quiet in- geir Sigursson with added orchestrations by wonderkind tensity that makes ancient songs sound contemporary,” writes American composer Nico Muhly. Pitchfork said of Ami- the LondonTelegraph. “There’s a quality of understatement don’s music: “In bridging the very old and the very new on to his vocal delivery but all kinds of shades of nuanced Vermont Country Sampler a handful of albums and collaborations, he has managed to emotion emerge in arrangements where strange things shift June 2013, Vol. XXIX meld the rural and the urban, the organic and the synthetic, beneath delicate acoustic surfaces, washes of lateral jazz and the oral tradition and the written score.” Amidon’s upcoming startling fl ourishes of experimental rock.” The Vermont Country Sampler is distributed free over-the- counter in and out of Vermont. Back issues, $2 per issue, fi rst “Bright Sunny South” is his fi rst album with the prestigious Sam has toured throughout the United States, the UK, Eu- class. Subscriptions $24/year. Nonesuch record label. rope and Australia, performing solo and collaborating with Sam spent his childhood immersed in traditional music a myriad of artists including Nico Muhly, Thomas Bartlett, Calendar of Events published free of charge. Mail your information to us by the 10th of the preceding month. as a fi ddler and singer, and at the age of 13 co-founded the Beth Orton, Shahzad Ismaily, Glen Hansard, and Bill Frisell. infamous contra dance band Popcorn Behavior with his Tickets, $18/16, are available online at www.brownpap- Advertising rates available upon request. Deadline the 10th of the preceding month. brother Stefan and his long-time friend Thomas Bartlett. ertickets.com and in person at Everyone’s Bookstore, Elliot By 17, Sam had taken up the banjo and fallen in love with St., in Brattleboro, VT. Vermont Country Sampler free jazz, Miles Davis, early indie rock, drone minimalism, PO Box 197, N. Clarendon, VT 05759 • (802) 772-7463 mountain ballads and Buster Keaton fi lms. Then, in 2002: “I Next Stage is located inside 15 Kimball Hill in the center [email protected] moved to New York to get away from folk music and to start of Putney, VT. For updates and more information go to www. vermontcountrysampler.com playing the music that I was listening to. To try improvising, amidonmusic.com or contact Peter Amidon at (802) 257- to play in rock bands, whatever, and now what I do largely 1006. [email protected]. www.amidonmusic.com. aylor F it T ar ~ Homemade Pies ~ is m 24 Delicious Assorted Varieties! V Fresh Baked or Oven Ready ANDM Take One Home Today! R A Apple • Apple Crumb • Cherry • Cherry Crumb G pies pastries Strawberry-Rhubarb • Raspberry-Apple • Pecan M SINCE 1994 Blueberry • Summer Berry • Raspberry-Peach “Have a cup I ' S L L E R 29+ Varieties of Homemade Pies! of coffee or tea and a Pies also available at: pastry in Woods Market Quiche, Soup and Other Dinner Specialties in Brandon, VT Chicken Pot Pie & Shepard’s Pie. our cafe area The Colonial House and enjoy A New Vermont Tradition! Coffee Cake, Sticky Buns, Cookies, and Breads. Inn & Motel in Weston, VT the view!” Visit our Farm Store for Vermont Wayside Country Store Special Orders Welcome (802) 824-4032. in West Arlington, VT cheeses, raw milk, baked goods, Sheldon’s Market honey, syrup and more. in Salem, NY Come Visit Our Retail Store The Market Wagon Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides! At Hearthstone Village, Rt. 100, 2 mi. S. of Londonderry, VT David Nunnikoven in N. Bennington, VT Open Monday–Saturday, 8 am – 5:30 pm Baker & Owner 825 Rt. 11 West, Londonderry, VT (20 min. from Manchester or Stratton) (802) 824-5690 • www.taylorfarmvermont.com Page 2 Vermont Country Sampler, June 2013 photo by Billings Farm & Museum Phil Warren, teamster for Billings Farm, is driving Billings’ Percheron draft horses Lynn and Sue, and a wagon full of visitors, around the farm in Woodstock, VT. Woodstock, VT Summertime at Billings Farm & Museum Billings Farm & Museum is celebrating it’s 30th Anni- July 3 through September 25 — Wagon Ride Wednes- more than 50 quilts made exclusively in Windsor County versary this year. Over these past 30 years, over one million days. Horse-drawn wagon rides featured each Wednesday will celebrate 27 years of quilting excellence at the Billings visitors – hailing from every state in the U.S. and over 40 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Farm. Quilting demonstrations, programs, and activities for foreign countries – have made the farm an important part July 4 — Old Vermont 4th. A patriotic family celebration children and adults. of their visit to Vermont. Whether you are a visitor or make featuring the reading of the Declaration of Independence, August 3 — Heritage Chicken Day. We’ll feature a Vermont your home, plan a trip to Billings Farm this summer. historic debates, wagon rides, making 1890 fl ags, spelling variety of breeds of chickens to see their similarities and You’ll have a great time! bees, the egg toss, and lots more. differences, plus baby chicks. Fun facts about chickens and Billings Farm continues a tradition of agricultural excel- July 10, 17, 24, 31 — Farm Programs for Preschoolers. eggs, plus the egg toss and games. lence including the care, breeding, and daily milking of the 9–10:30 a.m. Each program features a different farm theme August 11 — Antique Tractor Day. Tractors made be- Jersey dairy herd, in-depth use of the farm’s draft horses, with a story, special visit to the farm, hands-on activity, and tween 1930 and the 1960s will be displayed by the proud care of the sheep, oxen and chickens, feed production, and snack.