BELLOWS FALLS — Ray Massucco, Vermont Festivals producer, announced that this year's nonprofit partner for the 16th annual Roots on the River Festival is Meeting Waters YMCA.
The southern Vermont music festival will be held this year from June 4 to 7, at numerous venues throughout the town and will feature nearly two dozen acts, including John Fullbright, Sam Baker, The Black Lillies, and Mary Gauthier.
Each year, a new nonprofit partner is announced, offering an opportunity to spread public awareness about the organization, and to raise money on its behalf.
This organization is near and dear to Massucco as he served on the board of directors there for 17 years from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s.
“It was a time of expansion and thinking ahead toward the future,” Massucco said.
During that time, the organization instituted new programs such as a storefront branch in Springfield, began an exchange program with Germany, and raised more than $75,000 to purchase the former Bryant property, which soon after became the Lewis Day Camp.
Meeting Waters YMCA has deep roots in this community. It was organized in 1895, offering job training, photography classes, Bible studies, and recreational needs. Through the decades, spanning three centuries, the Y morphed through several incarnations, at many locations, with a diverse set of partners in the community from local civic groups to private and public schools.
The four-day late spring festival is held throughout the town at a mix of venues: an old mill building at 33 Bridge St., Popolo's Italian restaurant, the Bellows Falls Farmers' Market, under the “Big Tent” at the Rodeway Inn, and a Sunday concert at the landmark Rockingham Meeting House.
This year's lineup features a mix of acts that have appeared in the show in previous years, as well as some new talent.
Thursday will see the opening of the festival with Josh Brooks. Also on Thursday's schedule is Ida Mae Specker & The Honest Mistakes, and returning local group The Once Hollow.
Friday has a sprinkling of free concerts in Bellows Falls during the day at Popolo and the farmers market. This year, look for Domenic Cicala, The Wiles, Lara Herscovitch, and Davey O.
Friday night, action moves under the “Big Tent,” featuring The Black Lillies, Caitlin Canty, and The Meadows Brothers.
Saturday is a full day and night of music. The show kicks off with The Young Novelists, followed by Pesky J. Nixon. Hayley Reardon returns, as does Roger Marin and Heather Maloney. Marin is the only artist who has performed at every Roots festival. The No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow adds a harmony-filled performance to the afternoon.
Saturday's lineup also includes the first appearance this weekend of Sam Baker, along with Carrie Elkin.
The evening concludes with Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter John Fullbright, featuring selections from his new album Songs.
After the flurry of entertainment, the weekend winds down on Sunday, beginning with an all-acoustic show at the Rockingham Meeting House, featuring festival sweetheart Mary Gauthier, and Baker.
The festival will draw to a close at Pleasant Valley Brewing in Saxtons River with Pretty Girls Sing Soprano, and Clyde's On Fire.
For more information, the complete lineup of acts, to volunteer, and, of course, to purchase tickets, go to vermontfestivalsllc.com.