LEBANON – In August 2021, after a year of forgoing live entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic, Lebanon Opera House Executive Director Joe Clifford launched what he referred to in a recent interview as the venue’s “COVID baby,” a free, three-day outdoor music festival packed with performances from Upper Valley and regional artists.
In subsequent years, Nexus Music and Arts Festival has continued to be a site of free summer entertainment, and a welcoming stage for fledgling artists of all stylistic persuasions.
Now the fifth iteration of the festival is slated to start this Friday. Even as the pandemic years grow ever-distant in the rearview mirror, the goal for the festival remains largely unchanged.
“It’s to bring everyone together in community, and having the arts at the center of that,” Clifford said in a Friday phone interview.
With that said, the big change this year is that the main stage will be set up on the west side of Colburn Park, opposite Salt Hill Pub, instead of in the parking lot behind the Opera House. This way the entire festival team can be together, and concertgoers can seek refuge from the heat under the park’s broad trees, rather than sweating it out in the parking lot, Clifford said.
With the park’s bandstand being used as the second stage, the new configuration also means that “all you’re going to need to do really is just turn your chair or move yourself on your blanket” to see the next act, Clifford added.
On Friday, pop singer-songwriter Ali T, of Royalton, will get the festival started at 4 p.m. with a set on the second stage, followed by a performance from blues player Buffalo Nichols.
Last year, Clifford booked Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Joan Osborne in honor of the opera house’s 100th anniversary. This season, the spotlight has swiveled back to focus on burgeoning talent, with a roughly 50-50 split between Twin State artists and those from farther afield. Some acts, such as Waahli, a Haitian funk and Afrobeats musician, have been on Clifford’s radar for years.
Based in Montreal, Waahli was slated to perform at Nexus a few years back, but complications with his visa forced him to pull out at the last minute. Now he’s set to headline Friday night with an 8 p.m. show on the main stage.
Following Waahli’s performance, the first night will finish up with a silent disco in the park at 9:30. Attendees will be given individual headsets, which will have three music channels, including two streaming live sets from Lebanon’s own DJ GenderEnder and DJ Sean, of Quechee.
With headset rentals set at $20, the silent disco is the only festival event that isn’t free.
Another silent disco for families is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is by donation.
Capacity for both events is limited, so Clifford encourages those interested to register early on the Opera House’s website.
A handful of food trucks, including Sweet K’s Lemonade and hot dog cart Upper Valley Dogz and Catering will be on site throughout the three days, but Clifford emphasized that “it’s really important for the architecture of this festival that it’s not a farmers market that we add music to.”
“The whole vibe of Nexus is that we’re trying to have creativity at every turn,” he said.
To that end, a smaller Busker Stage will operate near Three Tomatoes on the pedestrian mall during the weekend. On Saturday, the Upper Valley’s East Bay Jazz Ensemble will kick things off at noon, followed by The Lion Sisters, a New England folk duo whose debut self-titled EP came out in January.
After The Lion Sisters’ wrap up their set, the pair will host an open-mic for anyone who wants to play a song at the Busker Stage. No need to register beforehand, Clifford said. The open-mic operates on a first come, first served basis.
At 3 p.m. on Saturday, teen band Momentum, of Tuck’s Rock Dojo in Hanover, will play a selection of ’80s and ’90s rock hits on the second stage. Afterwards, juggler and street performer Brent McCoy, aka the Real McCoy, will break up the musical lineup with an hour of circus arts.
“It’s basically a musical festival, right? But I want to incorporate elements of musical theater where we can,” Clifford said.
Following McCoy’s circus antics, Quebecois jazz quartet Christine Tassan et les Imposteures and Upper Valley rocker Brooks Hubbard will usher the festival into the evening. Headliner Nefesh Mountain, a New York-based contemporary Americana band, will finish out the night with a mixture of Appalachian bluegrass, Celtic melodies, and Jewish folk music.
On Sunday at the Busker Stage, Upper Valley singer-songwriter Lisa Piccirillo will perform tracks from her latest record, “Radiate.” Other artists on Sunday’s lineup include New Orleans brass band Catnip Junkies, Nashville-based country singer Denitia, and the Krishna Guthrie Band, of Vermont.
Finally, the festival will end in a crescendo with Green Day tribute band Whatsername performing a slew of covers from early 2000s pop punk groups like blink-182, Weezer and Fall Out Boy.
Last year, Friday’s performances had to be relocated inside the Opera House due to inclement weather. This year, the forecast calls for bright and sunny days, but even if that should change, Clifford is determined to keep entertainment outside.
“The reason I think (the festival) is successful is because it’s outdoors, and because it’s free,” he said. “We’re trying to capture the peak of New England summer, right?”
Lebanon Opera House’s Nexus Festival runs from Friday, Aug. 8 through Sunday, Aug. 10. For more information, and tickets to the silent disco, visit lebanonoperahouse.org.
In the Dog Cone
On Saturday at the Norwich Bookstore, New Hampshire author Billy Sharff will give a reading of his latest children’s book “Joan in the Cone,” about a lively pooch whose world is turned upside down when her family sticks her in the plastic headgear all canines fear: the dog cone. The event is slated for 2 p.m. For more information, visit norwichbookstore.com.
Mural-making
Also on Saturday, Red Osier Farm in West Corinth will host a mural painting event from 4 to 8 p.m. in collaboration with artist Matthew Denton. The event is open to adults and children of all skill levels. Live music will be provided by Upper Valley band the Pillsbury Slow Boys. The farm is at 1098 Ryder Road.
Fiddle on a Sunday
Third-generation fiddler and Vermont artist Ida Mae Specker is scheduled to perform at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10, at the Summer Concert Series at the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish. For tickets to the park ($10; free for kids ages 15 and under) and for more information, go to nps.gov.
Swinging in the summer
Hartland swing band The Moonlighters will perform a free concert at the Lyman Bandstand on Bridge Street in White River Junction at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 13. A second concert is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at the Canaan Green as part of the town’s summer concert series. Both events are free and open to the public. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs.
CORRECTION: The East Bay Jazz Ensemble will perform at the Busker Stage during Lebanon Opera House’s Nexus Music and Arts Festival at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9. A previous version of this story provided an inaccurate description of the performance.
