MONTPELIER – The ninth performance of the 2023 Farmers Night Concert Series on Wednesday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m., will present Abenaki singer-songwriter Bryan Blanchette and the Black Bears, featuring Padraic Smith on bass, and Darell Brown on Djimbi/Keys. The ensemble will perform both contemporary and traditional Abenaki songs, featuring traditional social dance demonstrations. Nikwôbi is the Abenaki word for “now.” These new Abenaki songs demonstrate that Abenaki culture is vibrant and alive. Blanchette plays multiple instruments, writes his own music and lyrics, and sings with a Abenaki warrior voice.
Blanchette is a New England native and member of the Nulhegan Band of the Abenaki Nation.
He studied music at the Berklee College of Music. In 1996 he founded a pow-wow drumming group which has toured internationally to critical acclaim.
Bryan currently lives in N’dakinna, the Abenaki homeland, in Graniteville.
The Farmers Night concert series is a long-standing State House tradition of over a century. Artists from around the state, in genres ranging from classical music to bluegrass to barbershop, perform at 7:30 pm in the well of the House Chamber each Wednesday night during most of the legislative season, through mid-April. All performances are free of charge.
For additional questions, please contact David Schutz, Vermont State Curator at [email protected], or (802) 279-5558.
