BELLOWS FALLS — The poster sums it up this way: “It's time for a Perfect Train Wreck in Southern Vermont.”
No, Bellows Falls music promoters are not hoping for a lapse in railroad safety. What they are hoping for is to introduce Bow Thayer to Windham County on April 5.
“Bow is a pretty big deal up north and in Boston,” said Vermont Festivals' Producer Ray Massucco, “but down here, people are only just starting to become aware of him.”
Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck create music that is rooted in the densely forested mountains of Vermont, a combination of no-nonsense traditionalism and forward-looking individualism with influences as diverse as Fugazi, classic 1960s soul a la Stax/Motown, Little Feat, Buffalo Tom, Jerry Garcia, and Ali Farke Toure.
Around the turn of the century, Thayer put down the slide guitar-he'd been in a number of Boston-based blues/rock bands-and picked up the banjo, playing, as he said, “a form of bluegrass that the traditionalists abhor but the rest of us cannot deny.”
Perfect Trainwreck formed around the nucleus of Thayer's songwriting and banjo, and former Boston band-mates slowly emigrated north.
“Our lack of practice and the inability of some to embrace modern communication techniques could have spelled doom,” said Thayer.
But as the band played gigs throughout the area, including Midnight Rambles at Levon Helm's barn in Woodstock, N.Y., and a stint opening for Phish's Mike Gordon, the energy and spontaneity of their shows “convinced us that rehearsal is overrated,” said Thayer.
They have now released three full-length CDs, and with each one, their reputation grows.
“I think Bow Thayer is one of the more exciting acts in the Northeast right now,” said Flying Under Radar's Charlie Hunter. “Some of our regular patrons have been urging us to bring Bow here, and it just feels like the time is right. We really believe in Bow, and to prove it, the Flying Under Radar 100-percent money-back guarantee will be in effect for this show.”
The next show in the series is the highly-anticipated appearance by New England icon Cheryl Wheeler on May 3.
Shows are scheduled for the Bellows Falls Opera House Lower Theater, and can easily be moved upstairs to the main auditorium should sales warrant. Doors open at 7 pm, with showtime at 7:30. Beverage service is provided by Pleasant Valley Brewing Company.
General admission tickets for Bow Thayer are $15 in advance or $25 for front row “Angel” tickets. Advance tickets are available at Village Square Booksellers and Fat Franks in Bellows Falls, in Chester at Misty Valley Books, in Brattleboro at Turn It Up!, and online at brattleborotix.com. For further information, call 802-463-9595 or visit flyingunderradar.com.
The series is co-presented by Flying Under Radar and Vermont Festivals, LLC, in association with WOOL 100.1 FM, and Kicking & Screaming. The shows benefit the Friends of the Bellows Falls Opera House.