with special guest Meow Meow

Monday, October 21, 7:00 pm

Location:
Fuller Hall
St. Johnsbury Academy
1000 Main St.
St. Johnsbury, VT

Tickets: $58, $48, $38, $15, students are free
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by September 21st. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

With Special Guest Meow Meow
16 Musicians on stage
PLUS two added new Pink Martini singers
PLUS founding singer China Forbes
PLUS Kingdom All-Stars teen prodigy as guest artist

Even the wildly diverse, euphoric crowds emerging from Pink Martini performances would be hard pressed to define the genre-busting band’s ecstatically fun music. Their mix of styles ranges from Latin jazz, Brazilian samba and Afro-Cuban rumba to Japanese film noir and sultry ’30s cabaret songs, creating an exhilarating sound that drapes a global perspective on romance. The 14-piece band performs on an array of orchestral instruments including violins, trumpets, trombone, cello, harp, congas – and features Thomas Lauderdale at the piano and China Forbes singing.

Pink Martini is a "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Lauderville, who was joined a year later by Forbes. The band draws inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and classic pop. Featuring a dozen or more regular musicians, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Australia and New Zealand, South America and North America. The band made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998. Since then, the band has played with more than 25 orchestras around the world, including multiple engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the San Francisco Symphony and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Other appearances include three sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Governor's Ball at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 2008. the opening of the 2008 Sydney Festival in Australia, and the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's new Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year's events from 2004 through 2007. All five Pink Martini albums have gone gold in France, Canada, Greece and Turkey, and have sold well over 2 million copies worldwide.

"All of us in Pink Martini have studied different languages as well as different styles of music from different parts of the world," says bandleader Lauderdale. "So inevitably, our repertoire is wildly diverse. At one moment, you feel like you're in the middle of a samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, and in the next moment, you're in a French music hall of the 1930s or a palazzo in Napoli. It's a bit like an urban musical travelogue.”

"We're very much an American band (with a hint of Mad Men), but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America - the America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world composed of people of every country, every language, every religion."

The band has collaborated and performed with numerous artists, such as Jimmy Scott, Carol Channing, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Michael Feinstein, filmmaker Gus Van Sant, and the original cast of Sesame Street. Pink Martini has appeared on “Late Night with Conan O'Brien,“ “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and NPR’s “Toast of the Nation.” They have been featured in films including “In the Cut,” “Shanghai Kiss,” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Also TV programs including “The West Wing” and “The Sopranos.”

“Swiftly intoxicating…elegantly chilled.” -- London Times

“Impeccably suave…combining class and kitsch, swooning nostalgia, and delirious romance.” - London Telegraph

Post-post-modern diva Meow Meow has hypnotised and inspired audiences globally with unique creations and sell-out seasons from New York’s Lincoln Center and Berlin’s Bar Jeder Vernunft to London’s West End and the Sydney Opera House.

Named One of the Top Performers of the Year by The New Yorker, the spectacular crowd-surfing tragi-comedienne has been called “Sensational” (TheTimes), “diva of the highest order” (New York Post), and “The Queen of Chanson” by the Berliner Zeitung. Her award-winning solo works have been curated by David Bowie, Pina Bausch, and Mikhail Baryshnikov and numerous international arts festivals.

She has just performed at the Berlin Philharmonic with Pink Martini, then conjured a bespoke creation for Liverpool Culture's "Sgt Pepper at Fifty" involving the city's brass bands. She appears in NY in July, joins PInk Martini in Madrid and Monte Carlo, then for the entirety of Edinburgh International Festival with her show "Meow Meow's Little Mermaid."

“There are not many women who can stun an audience into pin-drop silence with an exquisitely delivered torch song one moment and rock the rafters with laughter the next. Meow Meow... is that rare combination - devilish funny bones and heavenly vocal chords...no one now does it better than Meow” - EVENING STANDARD UK

"There is, in fact, nothing that this woman cannot do." - THE TELEGRAPH UK

World-renowned Renaissance music vocal ensemble

Sunday, November 10, 7:00 pm

Location:
United Community Church (formerly North Church)
1325 Main St.
St. Johnsbury, VT

Tickets: $43, $33, $16. Students are free.
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by October 11. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

“An ensemble of breathtaking freshness, vitality and balance.” – Steve Smith, NY Times

“Perhaps the most ravishing sound I have heard all year.” – Alex Ross, The New Yorker

Stile Antico is firmly established as one of the world’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles, renowned for vibrant and expressive performances of music from the Renaissance. Working without a conductor, its twelve members have thrilled audiences on four continents with their fresh, vibrant and moving performances of Renaissance polyphony. The group has received three Grammy nominations, and performed live at the 60th Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden.

Based in London, Stile Antico has appeared at many of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals. The group enjoys a particularly close association with the Wigmore Hall, and has performed at the BBC Proms, Buckingham Palace, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Cité de la Musique, Luxembourg Philharmonie, and Leipzig Gewandhaus. Stile Antico is frequently invited to appear at Europe’s leading festivals: highlights include the Lucerne Easter Festival and the Antwerp, Bruges, Utrecht and York Early Music Festivals. Also Washington’s National Cathedral and Library of Congress, Vancouver’s Chan Centre, and the Quebec Festival of Sacred Music.

Stile Antico’s performances are often praised for their immediacy, expressive commitment, and their sensitive and imaginative response to text. These qualities arise from the group’s collaborative working style: members rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing artistically to the musical results. The group is also noted for its compelling programming, which often draws out thematic connections between works to shine new light on Renaissance music.

Legendary country-bluegrass star with 15 Grammys!

Friday, November 15, 7:00 pm

Location:
Northern Vermont Universtiy - Lyndon Stannard Gym
1001 College Road
Lyndonville, VT

Tickets: $49 and $39, students are free.
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

“It’s pretty much an accepted fact that Ricky Skaggs is one of the most naturally gifted musicians to ever perform.” – American Songwriter

“A shining paragon of bluegrass and country traditionalism.” – NY Times

A life full of music. That's the story of Ricky Skaggs. By age 21, he was already considered a "recognized master" of one of America's most demanding art forms, but his career took him in other directions, catapulting him to popularity and success in the mainstream of country music. His life's path has taken him to various musical genres, from where it all began in bluegrass music, to striking out on new musical journeys, while still leaving his musical roots intact.

Ricky was born on July 18, 1954 in Cordell, Kentucky, and received his first mandolin at the age of five after his father, Hobert, heard him harmonizing with his mother from across the house as he played with his toys. When the legendary Bill Monroe came to Martha, Kentucky for a performance, the crowd wouldn't let up until "Little Ricky Skaggs" got up to play. The father of bluegrass called six-year-old Skaggs up and placed his own mandolin around his neck, adjusting the strap to fit his small frame. No one could have imagined what a defining moment that would be in the life of the young prodigy.

In the late 1970s, Ricky turned his attention to country music. Though still in his 20s, the wealth of experience and talent he possessed served him well, first as a member of Emmylou Harris' Hot Band and later as an individual recording artist on his own. In 1982, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the youngest to ever be inducted at that time. Renowned guitarist and producer, Chet Atkins, credited Skaggs with "single-handedly" saving country music.

As a musician, Skaggs is a brilliant traditionalist but is also willing to mix genres, recording and touring with many different artists such as Bruce Hornsby and Ry Cooder. With dates in 2015, Ry Cooder, Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs embarked upon the critically acclaimed 'Cooder-White-Skaggs - Songs for the Good People' tour that featured the trio singing gospel, blues and country along with superior musicianship. Stops crossing the country included Berklee Performance Center in Boston and Carnegie Hall in New York.

2018 was a stellar year for Skaggs, with the addition of three more Hall of Fame inductions: the National Fiddler Hall of Fame, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and country music’s greatest honor, the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Ricky Skaggs has often said that he is "just trying to make a living" playing the music he loves. But it's clear that his passion for it puts him in the position to bring his lively, distinctively American form of music out of isolation and into the ears and hearts of audiences across the country and around the world. Ricky Skaggs is always forging ahead with cross-cultural, genre-bending musical ideas and inspirations.

A thrilling blend of ballet, hip-hop and jazz/modern dance

Saturday, November 16, 7:00 pm

Location:
Dibden Center for the Arts
Northern Vermont University - Johnson
337 College Hill Road
Johnson, VT

Tickets: $45, $35, $25
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

Save 20% when you buy by October 17. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

“A marvel of speed, precision, and invention. When they’re finished, the audience is whooping” - Dance Magazine

“Delectably clever partnering and buoyant musicality” - Time Out Chicago

“Quijada has lost none of his originality nor the sheer physical excitement of his street dance signature” - The Globe and Mail

Internationally acclaimed and innovative choreographer Victor Quijada and his company, RUBBERBAND Dance have opened a new vocabulary in dance, combining the energy of hip-hop, the refinement of classical ballet, and the angular quality of contemporary dance.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, the child of Mexican parents, Victor first danced in the hip-hop clubs of his native city. In 1996 he moved to New York to join dance superstar Twyla Tharp and, after three years, moved to Montreal to join Les Grands Ballets Canadiens In 2002, he founded RUBBERBAND, throwing himself into deconstructing the principles of ballet, hip-hop and jazz and modern dance, blending them with his raw street dance origins. His creations are distinguished by a powerful theatricality, the energy of improvisation, and certain codes of film language, the whole sculpted with an incomparable precision of movement.

With both humorous and serious moments, Vic’s Mix is a kind of “best of” spanning the immense creative territory explored by Quijada, extracting jewels from the choreographer’s repertoire. In a remix of his own work, orchestrating the clash between urban pop and classical composition, Quijada goes further in his experiments defying notions of theatricality and audience expectations, while making sure that each body gravitating onstage in the highly athletic segments exemplifies the RUBBERBAND Method.

Five-time Grammy Award-winning masters of a cappella

Saturday, December 14, 7:00 pm

Location:
Fuller Hall
St. Johnsbury Academy
1000 Main St.
St. Johnsbury, VT

Tickets: $52, $42, $32, $15. Students free.
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by November 14. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

“Stunning reinventions of songs with subtle beatboxing and audacious harmonies... superhero singing to truly raise goosebumps.” – The Guardian (London)

“The legendary Swingle Singers navigated the dauntingly virtuosic terrain with breathtaking and often quite beautiful results.” – Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco)

“The Swingle Singers pitched those mysteriously lovely chords with laser-like precision... a triumph” – The Daily Telegraph (London)

The festive season hasn’t truly begun until you’ve spent an evening wrapped in the warm vocal magic of The Swingles. With folk and jazz-inspired a cappella originals alongside traditional carols and holiday favorites, the five-time Grammy winners evoke ice-bound worlds, blankets of snow and fireside sing-alongs.

For more than half a century, The Swingles have pushed the boundaries of vocal music. The seven young singers that make up today’s London-based group are driven by the same innovative spirit that has defined them since they first made waves in the 1960s. At a time when a cappella music is more popular than ever, The Swingles are recognized as masters of their craft.

The Swingles have appeared on numerous film and TV soundtracks, including Sex and the City, Wedding Crashers, Grey’s Anatomy and Glee. In 2017, they co-wrote and performed a song for the end credits of Alexander Payne’s film Downsizing. Their prolific output of music videos has also earned them millions of views online and new audiences around the world.

The Swingles display their uncommon range and diversity through dozens of collaborations, performing to great acclaim around the world, including recent performances at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall with Michael Tilson Thomas, London’s Royal Festival Hall with Vladimir Jurowsky, and Milan’s La Scala with John Axelrod.

New Vermonters share their stories of migration.

Saturday, January 18, 7:00 pm

Location:
Northern Vermont Universtiy - Alexander Twilight Theatre
1001 College Road
Lyndonville, VT

Sunday, January 19, 3:00 pm
Presented in association with the Highland Center for the Arts
Location:
Highland Center for the Arts
2875 Hardwick St.
Greensboro, VT

Tickets: $26. Students are free
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by December 19. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

The story of displacement is a universal human story. Whether displaced through forces beyond our control, through choice, or even through the acceleration of cultural and technological evolution around us, all humans are marked by adaptation and re-orientation. Understanding this helps us understanding ourselves.

In 2019, after working for years with military veterans and their stories, The Telling Project officially launched this new initiative, “The Same Moon,” creating performances in which immigrant and refugee populations had the opportunity to tell their stories to their communities. Whether generations past, or in their own lifetimes, every American citizen bears the legacy of displacement – an experience that has impacted, and unites, us all.

During the late summer and early fall KCP Presents will work with the nationally acclaimed Telling Project to meet with Vermonters who have power experiences of migration to share. Through a series of dialogues, we’ll create a documentary theater script. Then we’ll rehearse the performance to present this evening-length show.

Spectacular and exhilarating display of virtuosity and endurance.

Thursday, January 30, 7:00 pm

Location:
Lyndon Institute Auditorium
168 Institute Circle
Lyndon Center, VT

Tickets: $54, $44, $34, $15. Students $15.
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by December 31. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

“A genuinely theatrical experience, delivered with balletic grace and infectious humor.” Times of London

“This is a show of unbridled enthusiasm, much humor and great musical variety.” – The Scotsman (UK)

Yamato was founded by Masa Ogawa in 1993 in Nara, ‘the land of Yamato” which is said to be the birthplace of Japanese culture. Presently based in Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture, Yamato travels all over the word with Japan’s traditional Wadaiko drums, putting its very souls into the unusual instruments, whose sound stirs the hearts of people everywhere.

In the village of Asuka, a place with more than a thousand years of history and culture, Yamato seeks new expression with Wadaiko as its backbone. They think of the sound of the drums – made of animal skin and ancient trees, some of which are more than 400 years old – as a pulse or heartbeat (Shin-on), the center of life and the source of power which pulsates within the human body.

Like the strong and sturdy heartbeats of a lonely runner with a sleek and powerful body, Yamato attempts to create the energy of life, which envelops the audience and performers. What one feels when surrounded by the sound of Wadaiko, brought out by these highly trained performers, is what the Japanese call “Tamashy”, translated as soul, spirit, and psyche – the basic elements of life. It is something which is invisible and intangible but whose existence is certainly felt. The pulse, carried down from antiquity, will resonate within all the bodies gathered at any given performance.

“Loose and goofy…a brilliant ad libber.” - Variety

Friday, February 7, 7:00 pm

Location:
Dibden Center for the Arts
Northern Vermont University - Johnson
337 College Hill Road
Johnson, VT

Tickets: $45, $35, $25
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

Save 20% when you buy by January 8. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Paula Poundstone is one of our country’s preeminent comedians, known for her smart, observational humor and legendary spontaneous wit. Writes Nick Zaino for The Boston Globe, “You know that she is a great comic, the way you know any fine performer when you see one—there’s a disarming ease in her craft, an immediate sense that she’s so quick on her feet you need never worry about the possibility of something going wrong.”

Paula is a popular panelist on NPR’s # 1 show, the weekly comedy news quiz, Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Paula’s guest appearances include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Star Talk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Late Night with Carson Daly, The Montreal Comedy Festival/Just for Laughs, Nerdist with Chris Hardwick, and she was a clue in a New York Times crossword puzzle.

She’s filed commentaries for CBS Sunday Morning, and for NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Paula voices the character, “Forgetter Paula,” in Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out, winner of the 2017Academy Award for Bes

Combining dazzling surrealism, poetic movement, and sheer physical strength

Friday, February 21, 7:00 pm

Location:
Lyndon Institute Auditorium
168 Institute Circle
Lyndon Center, VT

Tickets: $54, $44, $34, $15. Students $15.
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by January 21. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

“It’s as if we’re being given a fleeting glimpse of the inner workings of the universe.” - Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times

“Grace meets physical agility to create movement that is as lyrical as it is astonishing.” - The Sunday Oregonian

“Pilobolus embodies a large part of what the best in contemporary dance is all about: discovery. Making something new with the same standard body parts the rest of us have.” - The Washington Post

Pilobolus—named after a barnyard fungus that propels its spores with extraordinary speed, accuracy and strength—is a dance company founded by a group of Dartmouth College students in 1971 – among them Lyndon Institute grad Moses Pendleton who later went on to his establish his company, Momix. Of note: The evening’s performance will include a signature piece from those early years, choreographed by Pendleton and his partners. It’s title – Walklyndon.

Pilobolus continually forms diverse collaborations that break down barriers between disciplines and challenge the way we think about dance. Physically and intellectually, the company engages and inspires audiences around the world through performance, education and consultation.

Pilobolus propels itself in a variety of directions to reach these goals. The original company, Pilobolus Dance Theater, has been touring its 115 pieces of repertory to more than 64 countries over the last 42 years. To date, the Pilobolus Lab has produced collaborations with Penn & Teller, the MIT Distributed Robotics Laboratory, Art Spiegelman, Maurice Sendak, OK Go, Radiolab, and many others.

Four of the nation’s top a cappella sensations – on stage

Tuesday, March 10, 7:00 pm

Location:
Fuller Hall
St. Johnsbury Academy
1000 Main St.
St. Johnsbury, VT

Tickets: $54, $44, $34, $15. Students free.
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by February 8. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

Built on the classic Motown review tour model and guaranteed fun for all ages, this high-energy musical celebration of contemporary a cappella, was conceived and arranged by Deke Sharon, vocal producer of the 2012 hit comedy/musical film, Pitch Perfect and the television musical competition show, The Sing-Off.

This concert will feature four internationally recognized, award-winning, rising star ensembles. They will include 1) The charming boy band sound and moves of The Filharmonic; the rich harmonies of gospel/r&b legends Committed; chart-topping lead vocals and live-looping beatbox by Blake Lewis; and internationally-inspired songstresses Women of the World.

Don’t miss this rare treat – to hear and enjoy four acts of this caliber, together on the same stage on the same night. Audiences will have an opportunity to hear each group perform their greatest and best-known hits as well as large-scale production numbers featuring all four groups, plus some additional special surprises.

Jaw dropping artistry and grace.

Wednesday, March 25, 7:00 pm

Location:
Dibden Center for the Arts
Northern Vermont University - Johnson
337 College Hill Road
Johnson, VT

Tickets: $45, $35, $25
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

Save 20% when you buy by February 23. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

“THE PEKING ACROBATS push the envelope of human possibility, combining agility and grace in remarkable feats of pure artistry.” - Clive Davis, New York Post

For the last thirty two years, THE PEKING ACROBATS have redefined audience perceptions of Chinese acrobatics. They perform daring maneuvers atop a precarious pagoda of chairs and display their technical prowess at such arts as trick-cycling, precision tumbling, juggling, somersaulting, and gymnastics. They push the limits of human ability, defying gravity with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility, and control.

THE PEKING ACROBATS are often accompanied by live musicians who skillfully play traditional Chinese instruments; the time-honored Chinese music coalesces with high-tech special effects and awe-inspiring acrobatic feats, creating an exuberant entertainment event with the festive pageantry of a Chinese Carnival.

Since their founding in 1986, THE PEKING ACROBATS have been featured on numerous television shows including Nickelodeon’s Unfabulous, Ellen’s Really Big Show (hosted by Ellen DeGeneres), The Wayne Brady Show, That’s Incredible, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and NBC’s Ring In The New Year Holiday Special.

THE PEKING ACROBATS set the world record for the Human Chair Stack on FOX Network’s Guinness Book Primetime television show in 1999: they balanced six people precariously atop six chairs twenty one feet up in the air without safety lines, astounding audiences with their bravery and dexterity.

THE PEKING ACROBATS have also made their way onto the silver screen – company members were featured in Steven Soderbergh’s hit film Ocean’s Eleven playing alongside Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

Sizzling and smoldering blues with his peerless band

Saturday, April 4, 7:00 pm

Location:
Fuller Hall
St. Johnsbury Academy
1000 Main St.
St. Johnsbury, VT

Tickets: $48, $38, $28, $15. Students free
Ticket prices do not include any applicable fees or sales taxes.

Save 20% when you buy by March 5. Discount is automatically reflected when you choose your seats.

Seniors and Catamount Arts members save $3.00 when ordering in person with id at the box office.

For Americana music godfather, David Bromberg, it all began with the blues. Bromberg’s incredible journey spans five-and-a-half decades, and includes – but is not limited to – his adventures with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jerry Garcia, and music and life lessons from seminal blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis, who claimed the young Bromberg as a son.

A musician’s musician, Bromberg’s mastery of several stringed instruments (guitar, fiddle, Dobro, mandolin), and multiple styles is legendary, leading Dr. John to declare him an American icon. Bromberg’s many other collaborations constitute a Who’s Who in music: Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jorma Kaukonen, Tom Paxton, Richie Havens, Carly Simon, Sha Na Na, John Prine, Gordon Lightfoot, Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, Ringo Starr, The Eagles, Commander Cody, Country Joe McDonald, Leon Redbone and many others.

Bromberg’s guitar work remains a marvel; amped electric lead – both slide and fretted – and delicately powerful acoustic fingerpicking propel these songs with the same force that made him the go-to guy for acts ranging from the Eagles to Link Wray to Phoebe Snow. This is a man who can go full-on Chicago gutbucket with “You Don’t Have to Go” (a Bromberg original), then slay with the jazz inflections of Ray Charles’ “A Fool for You,” rendered here intimately solo.

Although Bromberg points out he’s not the same guitarist he was before his two decades away from performing and recording. “I play differently,” he says. “I can’t play as fast, but playing slower gives me more time to think about what I’m doing.”

“He’s always able to plug into the emotion of a song,” fellow multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell says. “He’s incredibly inventive as a player. Sometimes restrictions can be good.”

Bromberg’s vocals cover a broad range: impassioned, vibrato-laden testifying; pew-jumping soul shouts; soft, confident, crooning; and, of course, his peerless raconteur chops (particularly in “You Been A Good Old Wagon”).

“When I first started,” Bromberg says, “singing was something I did between guitar solos. But during the period I did so little performing, I took some voice lessons, and now, I know more what I’m doing. I love singing now. Love it.”

Campbell was impressed at Bromberg’s newfound vocal chops, too. “He is a better vocalist than ever,” he says. “He’s strong, and present. None of the songs (on his new blues album) took more than three takes. And he was able to take the old folk song ‘900 Miles’ [a “railroad song” made famous by Odetta and Woody Guthrie], and turn it into an electric blues that’s a real high point.”

Although he remains the proprietor of the beloved David Bromberg Fine Violins in Wilmington, Delaware – “I love my shop,” he says – Bromberg makes time to tour with his quintet. As ever, he brings his characteristic devotional intensity to the music, invigorating his surprise third act with the same passion he felt as a teen, spinning those blues 78s, just before the road called.