PUTNEY — Southern Vermont Sister District presents an afternoon concert with local favorites The Seymour Sisters and Jon Bliss at Next Stage, 15 Kimball Hill, on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m.
Tickets are available at the door on a sliding scale $15-50 or at www.nextstagearts.org. In a news release, organizers said the event was a way to “channel your midterm excitement (or anxiety) by supporting Sister District, a national, volunteer based organization working to flip or hold strategic races Blue in the 2020 elections.”
After the music, homemade soup, salad, and bread will be served. There will also be a cash bar as patrons enjoy a live auction led by Stewart McDermet.
Prospective bidders can check out the short-term vacation housing being offered by “like-minded property owners” and get a jump on bidding right now at SaveOurNationVacation.org. The auction features over a dozen opportunities to vacation in such places as Portland, Maine, the Berkshires, Boston, or the Northeast Kingdom.
According to the news release, the Seymour Sisters started as a couple of friends who got together weekly for dinner and music. Later they played in the Northeast Kingdom during summers on Lake Seymour and then branched out to house concerts.
The band features Kate Wolff on dobro, Laura Williams on guitar and lead vocals, Betsy Williams on bass, and Beth Spicer on banjo, mandolin, and guitar.
Specializing in synchronized rhythm and harmony, the friends quartet found music had a healing effect and helped them find and spread joy in difficult times. They play a blend of bluegrass, old time, gospel and folk music. They especially enjoy playing tunes by Red Molly and Gillian Welch, as well as their own original compositions.
At the age of 9, Jon Bliss was captivated by Pete Seeger's 12 string guitar, and he's never looked back. He loves a good Appalachian murder ballad, a mashup of funk and Americana, and everything in between. Most of all, he looks forward to helping create the living-room feel of this November afternoon, sharing songs that shine a light and lead the way.
Southern Vermont Sister District is a local group of community-members-turned-activists who are raising money by connecting progressive property owners with like-minded folks looking for short-term vacation housing.
They say they have had such success with their first project, the Sister District Soup Subscription, that they decided to try their hand at something with even more impact. They hope to raise $50,000 by the 2020 presidential election.
Proceeds from the Next Stage event will help with operating expenses for the national group, which connects teams of volunteers in blue states with “sister” communities in swing districts across the country to support strategic state races that matter.
Sister District focuses on critical, down-ballot, state races. Organizers say the races are “strategically chosen to flip Republican-held state chambers, hold fragile Democratic majorities in state chambers, and make blue inroads in badly gerrymandered states.”