Arts beat for Aug. 10: Middlebury blends atmosphere and a walk

Now in its seventh season, Middlebury Arts Walk turns the downtown and historic Marble Works into a center for art, music, food and fun on the second Friday of each summer month. Participating businesses remain open, becoming galleries displaying the work of area artists. Art will turn up in restaurants, stores and in other exciting and unlikely places. Many of the venues will display their participating artist throughout the month.

The Arts Walk takes place 5-7 p.m. All exhibits are free and the Arts Walk is a family-friendly event. In addition, musicians will perform in the town’s outdoor parks whenever possible and weather permitting. The range of work on view includes paintings, photography, performances and crafts.

Wander along Main Street, Merchants Row and down in the Marble Works district by the falls in Middlebury this Friday evening and take in the atmosphere and the art.

There will be a number of opening receptions to take note of during your stroll:

PHOTO EXHIBIT AT 51 MAIN

There will be an exhibit of photography by Mike Kieran at the 51 Main Street Restaurant. Kieran is a former special educator, who after 30 years of teaching locally here in Addison County, went with his wife, Barbara Kieran, on a 14-year journey of international teaching at great schools in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and finally ending in Mumbai, India, in 2012. He has used Canon cameras for all his photography — not expensive ones, but ones with a good view finder, and a strong zoom.

Kieran loves meeting and taking pictures of people, so landscapes and scenery are not as present in his collections. The August show at 51 Main will span his three years in India, from the streets of Mumbai, to Darjeeling, to the southern state of Kerala and some from Jaipur and the nearby Amber Fort.

LINE AND SHADOW IN JACKSON GALLERY

“Line and Shadow: Cyanotypes and Drawings” by Tom Fels will be on view at the Jackson Gallery at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury through Sept. 20, the public opening for the exhibition is during the Arts Walk on Friday.

Works on display include large cyanotype prints from the Arbor and Catalpa Series from 2011 to 2014, a selection of smaller minimalist drawings from the Linea Series of 2014, and a large drawing from the recent Classics Series.

Fels is a curator and writer specializing in the history of photography, as well as a historian and writer on contemporary history. He began showing his recent art in 2013. Cyanotypes from the series on view are now represented in several museum and private collections, including the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Town Hall Theater is at the east end of Merchants Row; gallery hours are Monday through Saturday noon to five, and an hour before any public events in the building. For further information, call 392-9222 or visit townhalltheater.org.

MORE PHOTOS ON DISPLAY

There are two other exhibit openings on Friday during the Arts Walk.

The National Museum of the Morgan Horse on Main Street will be celebrating a new exhibit of Morgan horse photos by noted photographer Brett Simison. The show will be in exhibit through early September.

Also, the Vermont Folklife Center at 88 Main St. will have an opening reception for “Photo Voice: Nine Residents Share Images of a Troubled and Treasured Neighborhood.” Residents of Rutland City’s Northwest neighborhood were given cameras to reflect, record and relay what is important about where they live and the everyday matters that mean the most to them.

BLUEGRASS IN BRANDON

The Missisquoi River Band brings traditional and original bluegrass music to Brandon Music on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

The group features Patrick Murphy and Jim and Cindy Weed, the songwriting and vocal backbone of the band. Their unique three-part harmony arrangements are masterfully backed up by David Gusakov a well-seasoned picker adding to the innovative instrumentals.

The band just released its first all-original CD, “Plenty of Heartaches,” last year. Dan Bolles of Seven Days noted, “The Weeds write with all the warm nostalgia of a Norman Rockwell painting,” and that Murphy “colors his lovelorn musings with a blues hue.” Bolles goes on to say that “buoyed by plainspoken songwriting, sturdy picking and copious heartfelt odes to their home state, Missisquoi River Band offer a record that should find a place on the shelves of Vermont bluegrass fans — especially if that shelf rests in proximity to a wood stove.”

Jim Weed has been playing guitar for 30 years and was a founding member of the Backyard Bluegrass Band, along with his wife, Cindy, on rhythm guitar. Murphy (bass fiddle) has been picking and singing, mostly solo, for decades in a variety of styles including blues, rock and folk. Since 1973, Gusakov, on fiddle, has been plying the music trade in his adopted state of Vermont, pingponging between the Vermont Symphony and assorted bluegrass (Pine Island, Midnite Plowboys) and jazzy (Will Patton Ensemble, Swing Noire) outfits throughout the state.

Tickets are $20. A pre-concert dinner is also available for $20. Reservations are recommended for the show and required for dinner. Venue is BYOB. Call 247-4295 or e-mail [email protected] for reservations or for more information. Brandon Music is located at 62 Country Club Road in Brandon.

TWO BROTHERS TAVERN

There will be four live musical performances this week at Two Brothers Tavern located at 86 Main St. in Middlebury.

Join Two Brothers every Wednesday, at 9 p.m., for the Open Mic, an evening of music, comedy, or anything else. Two Brothers Lounge is a laid back atmosphere where collaborations and libations fuel creativity. Alternatively hosted by Mark Sikora and Kai Stanley, come cheer on your friends or let loose on the stage. It’s free to enter, and there is no cover charge.

Then, on Friday, Two Brothers presents The Starline Rhythm Boys, at 6 p.m. These cool cats play an authentic mix of rockabilly and country that’ll make you feel like you’re in a Texas juke joint. Two Brothers is thrilled to welcome them back for a special dinner-hour performance. Reservations and walk-ins welcome; $3 entry.

Then, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Driftwood will entertain. Driftwood consists of local musicians Ken Nordan, Jake MacKenzie and Chris Egan who play classic folk, rock and blues as well as many originals. Come catch their debut in the lounge. Free entry.

Finally, at 9 p.m. on Saturday, the Joe Moore Band return to the Tavern’s stage. The Joe Moore Band performs a wide variety of American rhythm and blues, funk and jazz, based in Joe’s life-long experience as a powerhouse sax player and vocalist. There is a $3 cover. For more information, call 388-0002.

LIVE MUSIC AT 51 MAIN

There will be two live musical events this week at Middlebury’s 51 Main. At 8 p.m. on Friday, Afinque take to the stage. Afinque (ah-feen-keh) is an 11-piece classic salsa y salsa dura band from Burlington. The word Afinque is one of many terms used to describe the quality of rhythmic and melodic interaction in Afro Latin music, particularly Salsa. Of these terms afinque means, locked in the groove.

Then, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, local favorites Cooper and Lavoie will perform. Cooper and LaVoie play a great mix of acoustic blues and folk classics, featuring Bob Recupero on guitar and Mark LaVoie on harmonica.

All ages, no cover. For additional information visit www.go51main.com or phone 388-8209.

SILENT COMEDY IN BRANDON

Stone-faced silent clown Buster Keaton returns to the big screen with a showing of his feature film “Three Ages” (1923) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center in Brandon. The program will also include Keaton comedy short films released prior to his jump into full-length features.

Live music for “Three Ages” will be performed by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer and one of the nation’s leading silent film accompanists.

Admission is free; donations are welcome, with all proceeds to support the town hall’s ongoing renovation.

DAVE KELLER BAND IN ROCHESTER

Rochester’s 2015 Summer Park Concert Series concludes on Sunday with a performance by the Steve Wentworth Band on the village green at 6:30 p.m. Come listen to some original Rock with Jimmy Goodwin on lead. The band’s new full-length album, “Good and Bad,” focuses on everyday lives and hardworking people. The performance is free.

BLUEGRASS AND AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC

There will be a concert at the Middlebury Community Music Center, 6 Main St., Middlebury of Bluegrass and American Roots Music at 7 p.m. on Saturday played and sung by the MC Ramblers, participants of a summer session at the Music Center, led by faculty member Chris Prickitt. It’s free. For more information, call 207-924-4121.