Chapel Hill, NC multi-instrumentalist duo Violet Bell co-bill Stage 33 Live with The Milkhouse Heaters on Sunday, June 19 in a 4:00 PM matinee. Limited seating. Special low ticket price: $10 in advance, $15 at the door. 33 Bridge Street, Bellows Falls, Vermont. Read the press release.
Violet Bell with The Milkhouse Heaters in Bellows Falls
BELLOWS FALLS — The Chapel Hill, NC-based multi-instrumentalist duo Violet Bell will co-bill the Stage 33 Live listening room with The Milkhouse Heaters on Sunday, June 19 in a limited-seating 4:00 PM matinee with a special discounted ticket price of $10 in advance through stage33live.com or $15 at the door.
Violet Bell is re-wilding Americana with a lush, sinuous sound woven from folk, soul, bluegrass, and jazz with notes of blues, world, and classical.
Omar Ruiz-Lopez was born in Panama and raised in Puerto Rico, and Lizzy Ross was born and raised in Maryland and NYC — each brings a unique perspective on the traditions and influences that inform the music. Prior to forming Violet Bell in 2016, Lizzy was a two-time Kerrville New Folk finalist and won Floydfest’s On the Rise contest and a Carolina Music Award, while Omar toured with Jonathan Byrd, Crystal Bright, Steph Stewart, and Chocolate Suede, and composed several pieces for the Durham Symphony Orchestra. The combination of Ross’ singer-songwriter strengths, Ruiz-Lopez’s wide range, and their individual and combined muses and passions is a powerful intersection.
They’ve honed a smoldering, magnetic onstage chemistry playing hundreds of shows from Montreal to Miami, and have been featured at festivals across the country including Americanafest, Rooster Walk, Grassroots, Shakori Hills, Ocrafolk, Charleston Bluegrass, Campfire, Beaufort, and more.
In addition to touring, both are passionate about music education for underserved communities, active in several organizations that engage communities of all ages.
“Ross channels the spirit of Eva Cassidy, and Ruiz-Lopez’s violin performance is chocolate… earthy, acoustic music, with some of the best arrangements I have heard on this show… Absolutely gorgeous.” — Michael Johnathon, Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour
Jan and Mike Sheehy of The Milkhouse Heaters are refugees of the Boston music scene, where they were nominated for a Boston Music Award and shared the stage with The Black Crowes, Corey Glover, Fuel, Feeder, and Hum, and their songs are on compilations alongside the likes of G. Love and Special Sauce, Jack Johnson, Burning Spear, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Their music has been licensed to television shows on ABC, VH1, MTV, ESPN, and ESPN 2.
They moved to southern Vermont in 2003, rolled Americana into their punk roots, and became The Milkhouse Heaters. They’ve opened for Fred Eaglesmith and closed for Billy Bragg, had two songs featured on The Shoulder to the Plough CD, and were repeat invited performers at the Roots on the River Festival.
They’re beloved not just for their strong writing and performing chops — they’re also ardent supporters of local music and activists-by-example for considered, considerate living.
This is a limited-seating listening room show on Sunday, June 19 at 4:00 PM, at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont, and through a special arrangement with the performers the tickets are just $10 in advance, or $15 at the door. Advance tickets are available through stage33live.com and double as best-in-house chair reservations. The performance will be recorded and filmed.
In addition to it being Father’s Day, it’s also Bellows Falls Alumni Weekend — there will be a small-town parade featuring floats designed, built, and populated by Bellows Falls Union High School graduating classes through the years running right through downtown, a couple blocks from Stage 33 Live’s front door. Cars won’t be allowed through downtown from around 1:00 to sometime before 3:00… concert attendees may arrive early and enjoy the parade, or plan to arrive after 3:00.
The COVID-19 protocol in the room will be the community guidelines in effect on show day. Currently the guidance is that masks are optional, although that may change without notice. Respect those who choose to mask. Seating will be a minimum of eight feet from the stage and set up in pods. Those who wish to make a custom pod for their party may. People who have already arrived and have arranged their seating will not be expected to move, and their perimeter should be honored.
Stage 33 Live is a casual and intimate industrial-rustic listening room in a former factory hosting local, regional, and national performances and presentations of original material. No bar or kitchen, the stage is the mission; coffee / soda / juice / water and weird snacks available by donation. More info about the nonprofit, all-volunteer project, and this and other upcoming events, online at stage33live.com
Stage 33 Live gratefully acknowledges the help of so many individuals without whom none of this would be happening, and institutional support this season from The Island Corporation, the Vermont Arts Council, Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, Covered Bridge Cookies, the Bellows Falls Opera House, and the Rockingham Arts & Museum Project that’s helped fund improvements and maintenance, and generally smooth out a lot of the rough edges. Stage 33 Live is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and all donations are deductible to the fullest extent. Volunteers run the thing from stem to stern.
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