This is the long one; this is the day that people want a nap during. Listen folks, you need to drink a glass of water between every beer; this can’t be news to you! We also have a number of parks in lovely downtown Peterborough, all of which have large patches of grass perfect for stretching out. This will be part one of two, because the day’s events are stacked. Stacked! I should petition to have my editor put a scissor border around these dispatches; put them in your scrapbook, on the fridge, or in your trapper keeper.
First, Broke: The Affordable Arts Fair. At this point, I think it’s correct to assume that this is now an institution. 50 artists from all over New England selling work for under $50. It’s an exciting way to shop and to see what makers are up to, and it’s nice for the artists to meet folks that connect to their work.
Most everything will be within Town Hall, but there will also be things spilling out onto the surrounding grounds. Tacos, a pizza truck, coffee and baked goods, and I hear a ramen food truck will be kicking around too! You’ll be able to visit with some of our sponsors, and there will be a huge music tent, with hopefully a beer tent, if I’m able to navigate the wild language of the liquor commission.
The tunes kick off at noon, and that show will feature some of the more mellow sounds we’re offering this year. Headlining is a group from New York City and Portland, Maine called O’Death; both ominous and gentle, Greg Jamie drives the bluegrass instrumentation with a steady hand. This is song-based work, but the way the band works it, there are also gigantic gusts propelling the lyrics along, O’Death is simultaneously ocean, boat, and wind, and the song the sails. Real nice stuff. Opening for them are a number of folks from upstate New York presenting a variety of takes on songwriting; Andy Weaver, Red Sled Choir, Alexander Turnquist, and Doug Tuttle, all capable and wonderful gentlemen.
Now, if we can dial back the clock for a moment, there will also be some heavy ideas and sounds being laid down at the Toadstool Bookshop, starting at 11am. Nat Baldwin, bassist and storyteller, will be reading short fiction, and Amanda Petrusich, past MacDowell fellow, will be reading some of her non-fiction. It’s become an annual tradition for us to have a reading, and this installment is really something.
Nat is getting more and more well known for his stories, populated with difficult and complex characters. His gentle demeanor and writing style help to keep the listener, or reader, at ease, and more comfortably absorb the conflicts that he presents.
Amanda’s work has been pretty high profile, having appeared in the NY Times, the New Yorker, The Atlantic, Pitchfork, The Oxford American, as well as her newest book, Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78 Records. Her brain is a swirling storm of insight, statistics, and love for music, history, and culture; her writing is pointed and contains a high emotional intelligence, letting her subjects maintain a familiarity, even if it’s the first time you might have heard of them.
After the readings, there will be a full batch of free performances happening outside of the Toadstool, all of them leaning toward the more experimental side of things. Headlining the afternoon is Brattleboro improv / skronk contingent Sunburned Hand of the Man, and I’m told there will be some really exciting special guests performing with them for this one.
Noise maniac songsters Curse Purse, free jazz ensemble 23, psych rockers The Land of Enchantment and Omoo Omoo, and experimental wizards Dave Seidel and John Singer, will all be on hand throughout the afternoon to delight you, and hopefully befuddle you, with a wide array of sounds and attacks. This one will be a bit of a spectacle I think, not because of anything untoward, but because there will be moments, I’m sure, that the regular person about town will encounter things that they certainly never have before. This makes me happy because these are the points that are prime for change and learning.
People spend a lot of time getting to know the assembly of variables that are likely to come up, shoring themselves against any high water or rugged winds. When something new gets through, it’s important to take advantage of it. While you may, for a moment, become a less efficient machine, you will have the opportunity to be a wonderful human being.
Eric Gagne is co-founder of The Thing in the Spring and CEO of the Glass Museum.