27-05-2025
Have some hot fun in the summertime with these outdoor concerts in Vermont
We've been through a stretch of cold, wet weather this spring that makes it easy to wonder if summer will ever arrive.
Have faith. Summer will be here. Chronologically it arrives June 20, but psychologically it starts Memorial Day weekend, when many of us have three days to relax, gather with friends and family and contemplate all the fun we'll have when the days are long and the weather is warm.
Some of that fun can – and probably should – involve music, especially music that happens outside. The summer-concert season in Vermont offers a little something for everyone, from pop to rock to reggae to jazz to country to hip hop and more. This list starts with the day after Memorial Day and covers those glorious warm months until that crisp fall air makes its presence known four months later.
7 p.m. Tuesday, May 27, a busy season for outdoor shows presented by Higher Ground starts with pop-rockers Vampire Weekend joined by Geese, midway lawn, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $80.96, free for children 12 and under.
5 p.m. Friday, May 30, central Vermont soul-blues act the Dave Keller Band plays the spacious green at Camp Meade, Middlesex. Shows to follow this season include Brett Hughes and That Bluegrass Band (3 p.m. Sunday, June 1), Freeway Clyde (3 p.m. Sunday, June 22), D. Davis and the Bent Nails House Band (5 p.m. Friday, July 11), KeruBo (3 p.m. Sunday, June 29), & the Fire Below (3 p.m. Sunday, July 6) and the All Night Boogie Band (5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29), among many others. Free.
12:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 4, the first day of the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival (see below) includes the Bruce Sklar Trio, part of Burlington City Arts' summer concert series that features (all at 12:30 p.m.) Brett Hughes (Wednesday, June 18), Moondogs (Wednesday, July 9), Red Hot Juba (Wednesday, July 16) and Skylark (Friday, Aug. 15), among many others, City Hall Park, Burlington. Free.
4:30 p.m. Friday, June 6, the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival begins June 4 with performances including student bands on the Church Street Marketplace through June 6, but the big outdoor shows kick into gear with this event featuring A Celebration of The Meters with Dumpstaphunk featuring George Porter Jr., Okan, Kat Wright, the Roy Hargrove Big Band and DJ Tad Cautious, Waterfront Park, Burlington. The same site gets busy again at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 7 with a bill highlighting The Soul Rebels with special guests Rakim and Talib Kweli as well as Butcher Brown, DJ Taka and Sabouyouma. Free.
4 p.m. Saturday, June 7, the Twilight Block Party that Burlington City Arts presents at 4 p.m. Saturdays begins with The Discussions with Jon McBride's Big Easy, followed June 21by a Juneteenth celebration, July 5 with Copilot with Leddy Moss, July 19 with Cold Chocolate with Emma Cook, Aug. 16 with The Albany Sound with Sheepskin, Aug. 30, Kitbash with Baby Fearn, Sept. 20 an evening of Latin music and Sept. 27, the Jesse Taylor Band with The Leatherbound Books, City Hall Park. Free.
6 p.m. Saturday, June 7, a summer-long series of outdoor concerts has this night of bluegrass and empanadas with Beg, Steal or Borrow as well as shows from the appropriately named Vermont group High Summer (7 p.m. Friday, June 20), singer-songwriter Ali T (6 p.m. Thursday, July 3), pianist-singer Myra Flynn (7 p.m. Saturday, July 12), folk-rocker Audrey Pearl (6 p.m. Saturday, July 26) and Vermont neo-bluegrass band (6 p.m. Thursday,. Aug. 28), among many others, Shelburne Vineyard. Some shows are free, others are ticketed.
6 p.m. Sunday, June 8, the Bandwagon Summer Series by Next Stage Arts in southern Vermont features the Afro-futurist ensemble Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, and includes among its many acts the Haitian group Lakou Mizik (6 p.m. Saturday, July 5), a tribute to bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs by Tony Trischka's EarlJam and Vermont group the Stockwell Brothers (6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9) and a Celtic and Quebecois mini-festival with Cantrip, Keith Murphy & Yann Falquet and Cecilia, (3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1), various outdoor locations across Windham County. Ticket prices vary; free for children under 12.
8 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, Higher Ground presents a night of music featuring rock band Mt. Joy, midway lawn, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $80.64, free for children 12 and under.
6 p.m. Saturday, June 14, Jamaican reggae singer Luciano performs for a crowd on the green at Essex Experience. $35 in advance, $40 at the door, $75 VIP experience.
7 p.m. Monday, June 23, singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee, follows Kevin Morby in a Concerts on the Green performance presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. $64.90, free for children 12 and under.
7 p.m. Tuesday, June 24, eclectic rock trio Khruangbin joins John Carroll Kirby in a Concerts on the Green show presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. Sold out.
6 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, a third consecutive night of Concerts on the Green presented by Higher Ground has a night of indie sounds co-headlined by Peach Pit and Briston Maroney and also featuring Bnny, Shelburne Museum. $70.31, free for children 12 and under.
8 p.m. Thursday, June 26, this summer concert series begins with the Adam Ezra Group and continues at 8 p.m. Thursdays (unless otherwise indicated) with Morgan Evans (July 3), Amos Lee (July 10), The Record Company (July 17), Trampled By Turtles (July 24), The Elovaters (July 31), Kaleo (Aug. 7), Grace Bowers (Aug 14), Andy Grammer (Aug. 21) and Dawes (Sunday, Aug. 31), Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee. Free.
5 p.m. Friday, June 27, the new Maloney Performing Arts Plaza is officially launched by Twiddle co-founder Mihali and continues to host shows all summer, including performances by the Connor Young Quartet (5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 5), folk-blues-rocker Sarah King (5:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2), retro rockers Atom & the Orbits (5:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16) and Australian/Samoan musician Bobby Alu (5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, among many others, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury. Free.
6 p.m. Friday, June 27, the Romany jazz sounds of the Devonian Hot Club begin the monthly 'Music in the Alley' series presented by TURNmusic and Blackback Pub that also has (both at 6 p.m. Fridays) the New Orleans-based Noah Young Trio (July 25) and Belgian-born singer-songwriter/cellist Helen Gillet (Aug. 15), Jack's Alley on Stowe Street, Waterbury. Free.
7 p.m. Friday, June 27, the Levitt AMP St. Johnsbury Music Series debuts this summer with local country band Ashley Jane's Hootenanny, Railroad Street, St. Johnsbury. Free.
7:30 p.m. Friday, June 27, guitarist Gary Clark Jr. brings his blues-and-beyond style with opener Grace Bowers in a Concerts on the Green show presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. $70.60.
Saturday, July 5 (time not yet announced), Vermont favorites The Samples play a rare concert, on the green at the Essex Experience. Ticket prices not yet announced.
5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10, the new concert series Party on the Bricks begins with Vermont folk-pop-rockers Troy Millette & the Fire Below, followed (all at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays) by Moonbird (July 17), The Blue Dahlia (July 24), The Tenderbellies (July 31), Rachel Ana Dobken (Aug. 7), Barbacoa (Aug. 14) and High Summer (Aug. 21), Church Street Marketplace, Burlington. Free.
Friday, July 11-Sunday, July 13, the Grateful Dead vibes of The Dead of Summer Music Festival will be conveyed by acts including Melvin Seals & JGB, The Wailers, Steely Dead, Talking Dreads, Bearly Dead, Jatoba, Organ Fairchild, Deadgrass, Krishna Guthrie and Bow Thayer and many more, Hunter Park at Northshire Civic Center, Manchester. $30-$250.
7 p.m. Friday, July 11, sometimes he rocks, sometimes he croons, but Father John Misty usually surprises, as he likely will with legendary opener Lucinda Williams in a Concerts on the Green show presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. $68.01, free for children 12 and under.
Friday, July 11-Saturday, July 12, the 10th Jeezum Crow Festival offers music from Dark Star Orchestra, Mihali, The National Parks, LaMP, Charlie Parr, Zach Nugent's Dead Set, Taj Farrant, Rigometrics and Dan Weintraub, Stateside Amphitheater, Jay Peak Resort. $45-$75.
2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, the annual event known as Summervale offers a day of live music, local food and more, Intervale Center, Burlington. Details to be announced.
2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, the annual Do Good Fest this year offers The Fray, Plain White T's and Sammy Rae & the Friends, the lawn at National Life Group, Montpelier. $5 minimum donation with all proceeds to go to the Vermont Foodbank.
6 p.m. Sunday, July 13, Jakob Dylan leads The Wallflowers onto the green at Spruce Peak Arts, Stowe. $48.34-$63.85.
7 p.m. Sunday, July 13, the Middlebury Festival on the Green begins its week-long run with Durham County Poets and includes Caitlin Canty (7 p.m. Monday, July 14), Honey & Soul (8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 15), Ali McGuirk (7 p.m. Wednesday, July 16), Dobet Gnahore (8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17), (8:30 p.m. Friday, July 18) and a festival-ending street dance featuring the Vermont Jazz Ensemble (7 p.m. Saturday, July 19), Middlebury Village Green. Free.
Friday, July 18-Sunday, July 20, the Frendly Gathering (remember, there is no 'I' in Frend) returns with a lineup including the Gubbuldis Orchestra, Little Stranger, Fruition, Moon Hotch, Satsang, the Hayley Jane Band, Myra Flynn, Madaila and lots more, Timber Ridge, Winham. $287.68.
Friday, July 18-Sunday, July 20, the annual Stowe Jazz Festival hasn't announced its lineup yet (other than to say all mainstage bands will be led by women), but it has announced a new location, moving from The Alchemist brewery to the Stowe Events Field. Free.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19, Higher Ground brings Les Claypool and his eccentric rock band Primus, plus opening act Ty Segall, back to the midway lawn at the Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $70.60, free for ages 12 and under.
6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 20, the folk-flavored sounds of Iron & Wine and I'm With Her top a bill that includes Ken Pomeroy in a Concerts on the Green show presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. $70.60, free for children 12 and under.
6 p.m. Thursday, July 24, the funk-pop band Ripe plays the village green at Spruce Peak Arts, Stowe. $43.52-$58.50.
Saturday, July 26, details are scant so far, but the annual event known as The Ramble has set this date for its day of music and other activities across the Old North End of Burlington. Free.
7 p.m. Saturday, July 26, jazzy hip-hop legends Digable Planets follow E-Block at the Stateside Amphitheater, Jay Peak Resort. $50; free for ages 6 and under.
Noon Saturday, July 26, the fifth-annual Maple Roots Music Festival goes on all day with music from DJ Logic, Freeway Clyde, Michael-Louis Smith, Lara Cwass, HiFi, the Vermont Jazz Ensemble, Parker Shper, the Jaded Ravens and more, Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works, Montpelier. Free; $25 parking fee.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, country-Americana musician Lyle Lovett and his Large Band return in a Concerts on the Green show presented by Higher Ground to the Shelburne Museum. $64.39-$70.60, free for ages 12 and under.
7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, another veteran of Higher Ground's Concerts on the Green series, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus, joins Jay Som at the Shelburne Museum. $70.60.
6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, Los Angeles rockers Phantom Planet play the village green at Spruce Peak Arts, Stowe. $43.52-$58.50.
7:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, folk-rockers Mumford & Sons head out on their 'Railroad Revival' tour joined by guests Trombone Shorty, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lucius, Madison Cunningham, Leif Vollebekk, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, Chris Thile and Celisse in a concert presented by Higher Ground, midway lawn at the Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $152-$403.
Friday, Aug. 8-Sunday, Aug. 10, then on-again, off-again music-and-renewable-energy event known as Solarfest is on with tunes from Donna the Buffalo, Into the Fog, Bow Thayer, the Ray Vega Quintet, Phil Henry & the News Feed and more, Solarfest Center, Brandon. $50-$100; free for children 12 and under.
1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, the Strawberry Hill Jam 2025, co-presented by Zenbarn, is headlined by The Wood Brothers and includes Mononeon, Karina Rykman, The Rumble, Phish bass player Mike Gordon with daughter/vocalist Tessa Gordon, Mal Maiz and Bob Wagner, among others, Strawberry Hill Farm, Stowe. $86.91.
8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, big-name Grateful Dead tribute act Joe Russo's Almost Dead headlines the Stateside Amphitheater, Jay Peak Resort. $60-$100; free for ages 6 and under.
Thursday, Aug. 14-Sunday, Aug. 17, the Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots festival offers a lineup including Watchhouse, Molly Tuttle, Steeldrivers, Peter Rowan, Bonny Light Horseman (featuring Vermont native Anais Mitchell), Tommy Emmanuel & Michael Cleveland, Fruit Bats and many more acts, Hunter Park, Manchester. $50-$650; free children under 12.
8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, country-folk musician Oliver Anthony of 'Rich Men North of Richmond' renown plays the Vermont State Fair, Rutland. $45-$55.50.
Friday, Aug. 22-Saturday, Aug. 23, '90s jam-rock favorites Strangefolk return for their annual Garden of Eden Festival with help from the Seth Yacovone Band (Friday) and Pink Talking Fish (Saturday), Stateside Amphitheater, Jay Peak resort. $40-$65.
7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, '80s hitmakers 38 Special and Loverboy share a bill on opening night of the Champlain Valley Fair, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $39-$69.
2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, the that ruled Vermont summers a generation ago has been revived with acts including Barrington Levy, John Brown's Body, Lambsbread, The Skatalites and the Channel 2 Dub Band, Switchback Brewing, Burlington. $75-$150.
Saturday, Aug. 23, the time, prices and musical acts haven't been announced, but the Fledge Fest has set the date for its day of music at Fledgling Farmstead, Tunbridge.
7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, country-rock performer Brantley Gilbert takes the outdoor stage at the Champlain Valley Fair, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction, $39-$69.
7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, singer-songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov follows Ocie Elliott in a Concerts on the Green series performance presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. Sold out.
6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, singer-songwriter Katie Pruitt plays the village green at Spruce Peak Arts, Stowe. $43.52-$58.50.
7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, country musician Dustin Lynch makes some noise at the Champlain Valley Fair, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $39-$69.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, folk-rock legend Ani DiFranco joins Hurray for the Riff Raff in a Concerts on the Green show presented by Higher Ground, Shelburne Museum. $64.39.
7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, hip-hop veteran Lil Jon helps conclude this year's Champlain Valley Fair, Champlain Valley Exposition, Essex Junction. $39-$69.
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy headlines a Concerts on the Green show presented by Higher Ground that includes Evan Honer, Jonah Kagen and Kyle Schuesler, Shelburne Museum. Sold out.
Friday, Sept. 5-Sunday, Sept. 7, the Green Mountain Reggae Festival includes acts such as Jesse Royal, 10 Ft. Ganja Plant, Sister Nancy, Giant Panda, Guerilla Dub Squad, Sundub, Mighty Mystic, Signal Fire, Dub Apocalypse, Kotoko Brass and many more, Bradford Fairgrounds. $143.66; free under age 12.
7:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, bluegrass favorites Alison Krauss & Union Station share a bill with Jerry Douglas, bringing an end to Higher Ground's Concerts on the Green series – as well as an unofficial end to the outdoor music season – with help from Willie Watson, Shelburne Museum. Sold out.
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Summer concerts in Vermont, from big-name headliners to local heroes
