Music

• Youth Music Night at Head Room Stages: A youth music night, “The Revival,” organized by Youth Services, is taking place at Headroom Stages (formerly The Tinderbox) at 17 Elliot St., Brattleboro on Friday, March 25, from 6-10 p.m.

Designed to give youth ages 15-21 a place to gather, this substance free event will be headlined by the Southern Vermont heavy rock band Atlatl, known for their high energy live performances. Swamp Queen and the Little Piggies of Brattleboro, an alternative melodic rock band will also be performing. The evening will be rounded out by two acoustic performers, Maggie Bernhard and Addison Rice from Brattleboro.

Ataltl, whose name refers to an ancient spear-thrower tool of the Mayans that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity, has three band members: Graham Brooks of West Dover on electric guitar; Jon Kelley on bass; and Dylan Blake of Jamaica on drums.  Brooks is a senior at Leland & Gray Union High School and the other two band members are alums of the school's esteemed music program. They were the winners of  Youth Services' Battle of the Bands last fall.

According to Allyson Villars, executive director of Youth Services, this music night, which will be chaperoned by Youth Services staff, celebrates the entrepreneurial nature of young musicians forming bands and expressing their musical inspiration in a business endeavor. In addition to musical entertainment, “The Revival” will feature youth vendors and artwork made by young people.  The cover charge is between $3 and $5 and pays for the bands and refreshments. For more information, contact Youth Services at 802-257-0361 or visit www.youthservicesinc.org.

• Dave Keller Band in BF: Stone Church Arts presents The Dave Keller Band, performing original soul and blues, on Saturday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Immanuel Episcopal Church, 20 Church St., Bellows Falls.

Dave Keller has been called one of the finest soul and blues men of his generation. After being discovered by legendary guitarist Ronnie Earl (at a Stevie Wonder concert, no less), Keller appeared as a singer and co-writer on Earl's BMA-nominated CD, Living In the Light. Next, blues and soul fans got to hear Keller with his own band on his all-original critically-acclaimed release, Play for Love. And now, Keller is preparing to releasean album of deep soul songs recorded with The Revelations, one of the hottest soul bands on the scene today.

Admission is $17 for adults ($13 for seniors and children under 12) in advance and $20 ($15) at the door. Tickets are available at Village Square Booksellers in Bellows Falls, Toadstool Bookshop in Keene, N.H., Brattleboro Books, Misty Valley Books in Chester, at www.brattleborotix.com or at the door. For more information, call 802-463-3100.

• Radioke returns: WOOL-FM 101.1, Black Sheep Radio, announces the return of its popular Radioke series, a live on-the-air karaoke competition that awards cash prizes to winners in a singing talent contest, beginning on Saturday, March 26 at WOOL's studios on 33 Bridge St., Bellows Falls. 

The success of Radioke last fall demonstrated the wide array of talent in the Connecticut River Valley, as well as the profound bravery of those less skilled in the musical arts. More than 500 tickets were sold over the five broadcast episodes and untold numbers visited the website at www.wool.fm or listened on the air at 100.1 FM.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for the first round. An hour of fun karaoke singing continues until 9 p.m., when the airwaves open to contestants in “Radioke II.” Semifinals will proceed every other Saturday - April 9, April 23, May 7, and May 21. Each round brings 10 contestants to the air, of which two will be selected to compete in the finals on June 4. The winner takes the big prize of $500, while second place wins $150, and third place wins $100. 

Contestants are scored by a panel of three judges based on pitch, accuracy of lyrics, and stage presence. Contestants are chosen on a first-come, first chosen basis until  10 have signed up. Music is provided and Radioke host John Michael “The Juice” Maciejewski presides over the event. Admission is $5 at the door only, and all proceeds support operations at WOOL. For information, go to www.wool.fm, or email kristen@blacksheepradio.org.

• Mud Season concert: The Old Tavern at Grafton is holding a Mud Season party in Phelps Barn on Saturday, March 26. As the last day of operation before its two week mud season close, the party will include food and drink specials and live music by virtuoso fiddler John Specker.

Phelps Barn is The Old Tavern's carriage house pub, and will be open from 5 p.m. on Saturday; the live music starts at 8 p.m. No cover and all ages are welcome. Roads to the Old Tavern are paved as is the parking lot; so while the mud may be all around, getting to the inn is not that messy. Full details can be found online at OldTavern.com.

Books

• Jacques d'Amboise at The Book Cellar: The Book Cellar hosts world-renown dancer and arts activist Jacques d'Amboise for a discussion of his new autobiography, I Was A Dancer,  on Sunday, March 27, at 4 p.m. 

D'Amboise, one of America's most celebrated classical dancers and a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet for more than three decades, tells the extraordinary story of his life in dance, and of America's most renowned and admired dance companies. 

In 1976, he founded the National Dance Institute, a nonprofit arts education organization. He has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, among them the Kennedy Center Honor, the National Medal of Arts, and fellowships from the Academy of Arts and Sciences and the MacArthur Foundation. He has won an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and the Peabody Award.

For more information, contact The Book Cellar at 802-254-681o or info@bookcellarvt.com, or come by the store at 120 Main St. in downtown Brattleboro to reserve your place.

Performing arts

• Triangle fire centennial marked with poetry reading: On March 25, 1911, a fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City, leaving 146 dead, mostly immigrant young women who worked at the factory. Because the owners locked the doors, preventing the workers from escaping safely, they were tried for murder, but were acquitted.

This tragedy mobilized the labor and women's rights movements and led to modern day fire codes. While New York City will be honoring the victims with a march and numerous events, in Brattleboro, the anniversary will be commemorated with a poetry reading on Friday, March 25, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the Dianich Gallery, 139 Main St.,  in the Hooker-Dunham Building. Donations will be accepted for the Women's Freedom Center. For more information: call Diana at 802-254-4313.

• Poetry reading at Union Institute: Union Institute & University's Brattleboro Academic Center will host a poetry reading with Susan Berlin along with UI&U graduates Vince Cioffi and Ben Mitchell on Saturday, March 26, from 3-4 p.m. at the Brattleboro Academic Center located at 3 University Way.

A five-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, Berlin was recently awarded First Prize by the Rhode Island Council on the Arts in the Galway Kinnell 16th Poetry Competition and was named International Publication Prize Winner in the Atlanta Review 2006 International Poetry Competition. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Ploughshares and the Harvard Review.

A 1996 graduate of Union's Arts, Writing & Literature B.A. program, Cioffi was the 1999 winner of the Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. He has published two books through March Street Press and has his work has also been published in magazines, including Ploughshares and the Alaska Quarterly Review. 

A 1995 graduate of the UI&U's B.A. program, Mitchell is now an affiliated faculty member. Mitchell has published poems in magazines throughout the United States including The Cold Mountain Review, Studio One and The Cherry Blossom Review. His first book, Only The Sound Itself, was published in 2010 by Cod Hill Press.

For more information about the poetry reading or UI&U's programs, contact the Brattleboro Center at 802-257-9411 or brattleborocenter@myunion.edu.

• L&G Players present Footloose: The Leland and Gray Players continue the celebration of their 15th season with the musical Footloose by Tom Snow, Dean Pitchford, and Walter Bobbie on April 7-10 in the Dutton Gymnasium on the Leland and Gray campus on Route 30 in Townshend.

The musical, which opened on Broadway in 1998, is an adaptation of a 1984 film of the same name. It is the story of a city boy, Ren McCormack, who moves with his mother to Beaumont, a small Texas town where dancing is prohibited. Throughout the play, Ren struggles with the fact that his father has abandoned him and also with the loss of the privilege to dance. He is determined to change the laws in Beaumont so dancing is no longer prohibited, and Ren and the teens he gathers need to find a way to convince the reverend that dancing is not a crime.

The show features hit songs from the 80s with rocking music and exuberant dancing.  Ann C. Landenberger is director; Ron Kelley is music director; Terrie Robinson, choreographer. Robinson, a dance professional with extensive experience on Broadway, in film and abroad, began teaching the L&G Players dance in December to prepare them for the rigors of this dance-focused show.

In the players production, Chris Lasch is Ren McCormack, Melissa Soule is Ariel Moore, Will Bass is Reverend Shaw Moore, Gia Casella is Ethel McCormack, Cassidy Anderson is Vi Moore, Jesse Newton is Chuck, Addie Mahdavi is Rusty, Ruby Defelice is Urleen, Zoe Soule is Wendy Jo and Patrick Hauer is Willard.

The cast also includes Maddi Etman, Tyler Gervais, Jesse Cannella, Anna Cashman, Rachael Turner, Giannina Gaspero-Beckstrom,  Madison Cannella, Caitlin Hamm, Rachel Daigneault, Greg Holland, Arik Clark, Remi Tilkin, Maezie Cramp, Nathaniel Van Osdal, Gable Rak, Reilly Hamm, Mary Thompson, Natalia Thorsson, Erica Flanagan, Maibret Joneleit, and Caitlin Persa.

The pit band, directed by Ron Kelley, includes Graham Brooks, Jonah Ulman, Fabian Gaspero-Beckstrom, and Quinn Darrow. Sarah Dickson is graphic designer and sound captain; Cassidy Anderson is lighting captain with Max Cramp, Bailey Whelchel, and Trystian Carbonera as staff.  Running crew captains are Ashley Meyer and Phoebe Gunther-Mohr leading a crew including Lauren Scott, Alexa Litchfield, Nicole Winot and others. 

Production assistant is L&G staff member and 2002 Players' alumna, Abby Hadden; assistant director is Emmet Mahdavi. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors; available at the door. Performances are Thursday, at 7 p.m.; Friday, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 3 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 3 p.m. Information and reservations: verbatim@svcable.net;  802-365-7355, ext. 204.

• Trivia contest at Brooks: Teams are sought for the second annual “SAY! What Do You Know Trivia Contest” at the Brooks Memorial Library Main Room in Brattleboro on Sunday, April 10, at 2 p.m.

Get six members together for a team, complete the registration form (which you can find at http://www.brooks.lib.vt.us/pdf/TriviaForm.pdf) and send in a check for $100. The deadline to register your team is April 3.

Last year, 15 teams tried to best one another in a game of trivia. The quiz this year will consist of five rounds of five questions each in the following categories: History, Literature, Popular Culture, Sports, and the Arts. The library is planning some different events, such as a “What is the REAL Story?“ story quiz where contestants must guess the true story among several bogus entries.

Bring an audience to watch and cheer you on. The event will raise funds to benefit the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library, whose mission is to help support services and programs at the library.