Spruce Peak Summer Concert Series: RIPE with special guest G. Love

5pm | Village Green Opens
6pm | G. Love and The Free Label
7pm | Ripe!

Join us on the lawn at Spruce Peak Wednesday, August 7 for RIPE with special guest G. Love and The Free Label for the Spruce Peak Summer Concert Series, featuring amazing music by celebrated artists in a magical green mountain setting.

Ripe’s newest album Bright Blues is a collection of 12 songs full of sleek grooves and bold melodies that the Boston quintet put together to help ride out tough times, an anthem for better days ahead. This is a RAIN or SHINE event on the Village Green.

“The wildest thing for me is that the record simultaneously sounds like it has the scars of everything we’ve been through and also that it doesn’t — it’s joyful music, which is very exciting given that it was made in the middle of getting hit in the stomach,” says singer Robbie Wulfsohn, who came together with guitarist Jon Becker, drummer Sampson Hellerman, and trombonist Calvin Barthel while they were all studying at Berklee College of Music.

The band drew acclaim from the likes of the Boston Globe, Huffington Post and WXPN with their first full-length, Joy in the Wild Unknown. Their streams on Spotify surged past 56 million as they conquered stages at festivals including Bonnaroo, Firefly, SweetWater and Bottlerock, and sold tens of thousands of tickets across the US, including selling out the iconic House of Blues Boston and Brooklyn Steel. Bright Blues is their first release after signing to indie powerhouse Glassnote Records and their first release working with outside co-writers. Teaming up on production with Noah Conrad (BTS, Niall Horan) and Ryan Linvill (Olivia Rodrigo, Dermot Kennedy) helped bring the high-energy, freewheeling stage show to the recording studio, with the result being an album that shows the full scope of the band’s abilities as writers and performers. The live show has always been at the core of who Ripe is, and now the recorded music can stand alongside it as an all-encompassing representation of who the band is and where they are going.

“I’ve been in the game a long time, but I’ve always considered myself a student,” says G. Love. “Finishing this album with Keb Mo’ felt like graduation.”

Recorded in Nashville with a slew of special guests including Robert Randolph, Marcus King, and Roosevelt Collier, ‘The Juice’ is indeed diploma-worthy. Co-produced and co-written with GRAMMY-winning icon Keb Mo,’ it’s an electrifying collection, one that tips its cap to more than a century of blues greats even as it offers its own distinctly modern pop spin on the genre, mixing programmed beats and hip-hop grooves with blistering guitar and sacred steel. G. Love’s lyrics are both personal and political here, artfully balancing his appreciation for the simple joys in life with his obligation to speak out for justice and equality, and his performances are suitably riotous and rousing to match, with infectious call-and-response hooks and funky sing-along choruses at every turn. Easy as it is to succumb to cynicism these days, the songs on ‘The Juice’ refuse, insisting instead on hope and determination in the face of doubt and despair.

“I’ve always tried to make music that’s a force for positivity,” G. Love explains. “It was important to me that this album be something that could empower the folks who are out there fighting the good fight every day. I wanted to make a rallying cry for empathy and unity.”

The Free Label comprises six multi-instrumentalists and vocalists from Toronto, Canada. Their music is a unique fusion of 70s disco, 90s R&B, and high-energy funk, resulting in a captivating, dance-focused show.

Their 2019 single “All Night” propelled them to new heights, enabling them to tour internationally. Since then, they have independently toured Europe, North America, and Australia, garnering fans along the way.

Noteworthy Canadian festival appearances include Mariposa Folk Festival, Canadian Music Week, Wapiti, and the Calgary Stampede, where they opened for internationally acclaimed artists T-Pain, Aqua, and Lupe Fiasco. They have sold out shows nationwide, from Montreal to Vancouver.

The Free Label’s 2023 European tour included performances in the Netherlands, England, and Luxembourg, where they opened for legendary soul group Incognito and R&B/Jazz virtuoso Mono Neon.

In the studio, the band has collaborated with Grammy-nominated artists such as saxophonist Braxton Cook, featured on their 2022 release “Shine,” and Grammynominated producer Aaron Paris (Drake, Kanye West, Kali Uchis), who composed and recorded strings for their latest single, “Real Love.”

The Free Label’s natural chemistry and captivating live performances have made them instant favorites with audiences worldwide. Their blend of technical prowess and crowd engagement leaves a lasting impression on concert-goers everywhere. This band will get you moving.