User blog:BZMM/The Music Scene in the NEK.

As a flatlander coming to the NEK for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the wonderful scenery and supportive community here in NE Vermont.

I quickly became aware of some of the local bands in the area and joined one myself, impressed by how welcoming venues were to new bands, especially coming from an area with hundreds of bands fighting over the same time slot at the same venue.

Once I got plugged into the Stage, a restaurant in Lyndonville, VT, that featured a great deal of local music acts, I was exposed to a much greater range of local music. It seemed like everyone in the area was a phenomenal musician.

The best part of all of this was the interaction between musicians in the area. It seemed as if there was a lot more comraderee and teamwork, and it benefitted everyone. This was much unlike the situation I had seen in the big city.

The musicians with whom I have crossed paths here in Vermont (and in NH, too) are just some of the best I've seen. Whether it's blood-curdling heavy metal or old school country fried folk music, everybody here seems so honest with their music, keeping things fresh and unique, that there is just so much to enjoy.

Coming up to 2017 soon, we lost the Stage a year ago, we lost the Packing House a few months ago, and we lost so many other local venues in the NEK, and so many other favorite hangouts are talking about closing their doors soon, I am a little frightened of the future, not that I think local music will go away, but that I will lose touch with where to go to find it, maybe not next year, but at some point in the future.

I created this wikia as a sort of shot in the dark. I'm not sure if it will become a thing, but since it cost me nothing to start it, I figured the cost of the opportunity was nothing, and if it does turn into something cool from other people's information contributions, then I have a cool place online to go and learn new things about the music community here.

Cheers!