About Josh Ritter:
“Josh Ritter remains at the top of his game two decades into a highlight-strewn career. He’d be forgiven for loosening his grip, but his hand has never felt surer.” – NPR
Josh Ritter’s acclaimed 20-year career as a songwriter and musician reaches new heights with the release of his ninth full-length album, Gathering. In Josh’s words, “I began with an exciting sense of dissatisfaction, and what emerged, as I began to find my voice, was a record full of storms. I still can’t tell what era these stories are from. They feel part roustabout, part psalm to me.”
A songwriter, a musician, a New York Times best-selling author, a painter, and a consummate performer; Josh Ritter encompasses all of these descriptors and more. He is a true artist. One who is not afraid of growing, changing and constantly challenging earlier versions of himself. Here, two decades into his storied career, Josh Ritter is just getting started.
About Anaïs Mitchell:
“Currently a well-kept secret, Mitchell is writing material that stands comparison with the great singer-songwriters of the past few decades” – Daily Telegraph
Anaïs Mitchell is a Vermont and Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter who comes from the world of narrative folksong, poetry and balladry. She recorded for Ani Difranco’s Righteous Babe Records for several years before starting her own Wilderland label in 2012. Among her recorded works are Child Ballads, Young Man in America, and Hadestown, the latter of which she expanded – with the help of director Rachel Chavkin – into a theatre show. Hadestown debuted off-Broadway in 2016 at New York Theatre Workshop, winning a Richard Rodgers Production Award, as well as multiple Outstanding Musical nominations. The show subsequently opened in Canada, with further productions to be announced. If there’s a common thread in Mitchell’s work it’s that she’s as interested in the world around her as the one inside her. As the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Mitchell’s songs address contemporary angst with uncanny vision….a formidable songwriting talent”.
About Daniel Rodriguez:
Daniel Rodriguez is a founder of the genre defying/genre creating band ‘Elephant Revival’. Few bands have the distinction of being the creators of a whole new genre of music. The label ‘Transcendental Folk’ and ‘Progressive Edge are attempts to in some way describe the song and word that speaks of magical reality, of thought and will shaping collective and individual reality, of miracle in the everyday event, of the authority of personal vision. Rodriguez’s transcendent songwriting/poetry has played no small role in the creation of this new music.
Vermont Busker additions to the line-up are (in alphabetical order):
Dan and Modou
Dan Murphy (guitar) and Modou Ndione (percussion), the primary vocalists from the award winning band ONEoverZERO, perform a rare “unplugged” set and offer a glimpse into their songwriting process. “ONEoverZERO is a crawfish etoufee — a well-balanced meld of divergent ingredients and cultural influences, coming together as one. And it works.” Nathan Burgess – Stowe Reporter
Danza Del Fuego is a Romani inspired world music project based out of Burlington, Vt. Influenced by artists such as Paco de Lucia, Jesse Cook, Barcelona Gypsy Balkan Orchestra, and Kalyi Jag, Danza Del Fuego blends Gypsy musical traditions to create a sound all their own while paying respect to these traditions.
The Dupont Brothers are two brothers living on the indie circuit, driving around sharing their stories through songwriting. That’s life for Sam & Zack DuPont. Based out of Burlington, Vermont the sibling indie-folk-rock duo has kept busy on the road since 2013. Their two studio releases, Heavy as Lead (2015) & A Riddle For You (2016) & two live albums, Live at Beehive (2016) & Live at Deepwells (2017), have taken them all over the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, South and Midwest. The DuPont Brothers have made festival appearances at Grand Point North & SXSW & have supported a wide array of national acts of all shapes, sizes and genres including Kishi Bashi, Johnnyswim, The Lone Bellow, Gin Wigmore, Langhorne Slim, Joseph, Joe Pug, Livingston Taylor, Bahamas, Ben Sollee & Patrick Watson along with grammy award winning artists, Sturgill Simpson, Jerry Douglas, Blake Mills, Suzanne Vega & Pat Benatar.
Last Train to Zinkov is named after Zinkov, a small village in rural Ukraine, and the ancestral hometown of the Gusakov family. David and Nathan Gusakov, father and son, play original songs and old tunes about life and death and the beauty of the hills, featuring clawhammer banjo, fiddle, and family harmonies. David Gusakov arrived in Vermont in 1973, joining the Vermont Symphony that year and bluegrass/swing band Pine Island the next. Nathan Gusakov lives with his family in Lincoln, Vermont near the headwaters of the New Haven River, where he makes his living as a carpenter and musician.
Based in Burlington, VT, Reid is an acoustic singer-songwriter giving a new take on the americana genre.
Abby Sherman is a folk singer songwriter from Lamoille County, Vermont. She has been preforming since the age of 18 in 2010. Her first album named Finding Hope came out in July of 2018 and she is diligently working on the next. She finds inspiration from artists such as Sarah Jarosz, Alison Krauss and Patty Griffin to name a few. Always driven towards the more artistic and natural way of life her passion for whatever she may take on shines through with seemingly no effort. This album being no different her soulful voice and folky riffs make for a toe tapping heart felt listening experience.
The addition of Vermont Busker acts to the Spruce Peak Folk Festival 2018 was made possible through the support of: Bourne’s Energy, Fiddlehead, Rodman Insurance, and VHB.