New Year’s Eve Concerts

Becky Tracy & Keith Murphy, Stefan Amidon & Zara Bode, and Peter & Mary Alice Amidon present their 22nd Brattleboro New Year’s Eve concerts Sunday, December 31, at the Brattleboro Music Center.

Two performances – at 5 and 7:30 p.m. – are scheduled for this annual holiday “Smorgasbord of Traditional Song & Dance Tunes,” with an evening of New England, Appalachian, Irish and French-Canadian dance music, fiddling from around the world, and a feast of singing.

Keith Murphy (guitar, mandolin, piano, foot percussion) and Becky Tracy (fiddle) have been mainstays of the local traditional music scene for years, though they are known widely for the high caliber of their approach to traditional music. They have played together and separately in many configurations and have been part of dozens of highly regarded recording projects including the soundtrack for the Ken Burns Roosevelt documentary. Both have played important roles as tradition keepers and innovators in their teaching, playing, and arranging. They are founders and teachers of the Traditional Music program at the BMC.

While the dynamic pair of Zara Bode and Stefan Amidon are not known as a ‘duo’ per se, they are greatly admired as the faces behind musical sensations The Sweetback Sisters and The Devil Makes Three. Amidon is a master percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, and expressive bass singer. Bode is a powerful vocalist of rare versatility who captivates audiences year after year with her gorgeous interpretations of songs old and new. Both artists are sure to delight with their marvelous and eclectic musical selections.

Devoted to traditional music and dance, Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are freelance musicians, dance educators, choral arrangers/leaders, and publishers of music and dance materials. Mary Alice is a member of, and Peter co-Music Director of the Guilford Community Church Choir, and of Hallowell, southeastern Vermont’s hospice singing group. Their choral arrangements and compositions are sung by church and community choirs across the U.S. and UK. In June, Peter and Mary Alice were awarded the 2023 Brattleboro Unsung Hero Award by Compassionate Brattleboro for their local community work.  And in October a celebration was held honoring the two, along with their New England Dancing Masters colleagues, with the 2023 Country Dance and Song Society’s Lifetime Contribution Award.