Indigenous Peoples’ Day Rocks!
Saturday, October 9, 2021 from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Concert 3:30 – 6:30 p.m.
(Rain Date Sunday, October 10, 2021)
Town of Stowe Stowe Events Fields, Weeks Hill Rd.
Stowe Vibrancy will celebrate the second Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Stowe. It promises to be a daylong event of culture, education, and music, including blessing by Chief of the Abenaki Nation, Abenaki drummers, Native American singers, authors and storytellers, vendors and artisans. Read here for more details.
As the day winds down the rock performances begin and Blues Hall of Fame inductee Joe Louis Walker takes to the stage. Purchase tickets for the concert here.
A HUGE thank you to our sponsors and partners, the generous contributions of our 2021 donors, the amazing Joe Louis Walker, members of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe, musicians and performers, and you the attendees of this event.
Fire Keepers (Gifts of $1000+)
The Alchemist
Barr Law Group
The Green Mountain Inn
Stowe Aviation
Stowe Music Center
Allies (Gifts of $500 – $1000)
Jon Manitouabe8ich
Edelweiss
Everybody Water
Guayaki Yerba Mate
Carol Schaal
Friends (Gifts up to $500)
Elise Limoge
Patty Jacob
“a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues.”
Jesse Bowman Bruchac, is a Nulhegan Abenaki citizen, traditional storyteller, musician, and Abenaki language instructor. As one of the last fluent speakers of Western Abenaki, he works vigorously to revitalize the language and culture. His efforts have led to the creation of a Western Abenaki website, Youtube channel, Facebook group, and a number of bilingual publications.
As a musician he has produced several albums of Abenaki music, including traditional drum, rattle and flute. He has opened for The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and performed at Woodstock ’94. He won the Best Storyteller Competition at Indian Summer in Milwaukee in 1995. Jesse has also acted as consultant, translator, composer, and language coach for programs on AMC, National Geographic, and PBS.
Jesse began learning stories, songs, and language as a child from elders and his father Joseph. He has traveled throughout the United States visiting schools and universities to share Northeastern Native American traditional stories, music, language, history and culture for over two decades. He continues to learn and teach the language, including at the University of Southern Maine.
earning two nominations for a Blues Music Award for Best Soul/Blues Album, winning the International Blues Challenge ‘Best Self-Released CD Award’, and being chosen for Downbeat Magazine’s ‘Best Recordings of the Year’.Bella Sances, hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and East Montpelier, Vermont,
a singer and songwriter since she could talk surrounded by her musical family. She is classically trained and majored in jazz studies at the University of Vermont. Bella has performed nationally as a back up vocalist, including a performance at the Montreal Jazz Fest. She performs locally in Vermont with her band Bella and the Notables, with Remi Savard, with the Vermont Jazz Trio, solo at jazz or blues jams, at Burlington Discover Jazz Fest, and holds a monthly residency at The 126 with her band beginning September 2021. She has studied with Amber DeLaurentis, Tom Cleary, Tom Stewart, Patricia Julien, Ray Vega, Sheila Jordan, Dominique Eade, Karrin Allyson, Don Trennor, Madeline Cole, John Proulx, Michael Zoldos, and Elaine Dame to name a few. In addition to her music she works with children with autism spectrum disorder while studying to become a music therapist.
Peter Schmeeckle, music director of IPD Rocks,
is a native of Barre, Vermont. He performs regularly with Vermont Jazz Trio and produced their debut album ‘On The Scene’. He has studied with Marc Seales, Tom Collier, Gary Hobbs, and performed w/ Seattle Arts Trio, Joe Santiago and Tor Dietrichson. Peter has been active in the jazz scenes of Honolulu, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego. Pete returned to Vermont in 2014 and has run his own teaching practice out of Stowe Music Center for the past six years, teaching a plethora of instruments. Besides being active on the local jazz scene, he has performed on percussion with the Vermont Mozart Festival, Vermont Philharmonic, and numerous theater productions in Burlington and Stowe. Recently Peter has been active with Vermont jazz greats Paul Asbell and Ray Vega, and is proud to be endorsed by Bosphorus Cymbals.
Jeremy Hill, bass player for the Vermont Jazz Trio, is one of central Vermont’s busiest musicians. He is a rhythm section regular for many groups including those led by Ray Vega, James Harvey, Alex Stewart, Bruce Sklar, Gabe Jarrett, Marty Fogel, Jake Whitesell, Shane Hardiman, Dan Ryan, Dan Silverman, and Vermont Jazz Trio. Jeremy also plays with Vermont’s contemporary chamber music ensemble, TURN Music. He “cut his teeth” during the ‘90’s in the New Hampshire seacoast area as one of the founding members of the rock band Percy Hill, and through his time at UNH where he played steadily with the Seacoast Big Band and took advantage of many opportunities to work directly with some of the planet’s finest jazz musicians including Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, “Slide” Hampton, Kenny Werner, Hal Galper, Fred Haas, Tom Cleary, and many more. Playing jazz is Jeremy’s main goal, but he also has extensive experience with orchestral, chamber music, musical theater, rock, and the blues.
and local to Burlington, Vermont. He performs with various groups across Vermont, including perform
