Chandler Center for the Arts revived the beloved community event known as the Mud Season Variety Show last season after a several-year hiatus and it was so immensely re-enjoyed that it’s happening again. Enjoy talented folks from nine communities throughout the Randolph region and even Lebanon NH, as they serve up classical piano solos, storytelling, line dancing, hilarious comedy, clogging, improv comedy, dramatic reading, top level whistling, and much singing – jazz, rock, pop, blues bluegrass, indie, folk, and country – including some original compositions.

In the lineup for the evening are familiar faces and new ones. Included in this community showcase are, from Bethel, classical pianist Mark Alexander and Bob Crino singing with his ukulele; Evan Warner from Northfield singing blues; Sea Shanty Ladies doing a bit of comedy (i.e. Kristin Chandler, Shelley Dimick, Ramsey Papp, and Nancy Wuttke of Randolph and South Royalton); the Step’n Time Line Dancers of Randolph; Martin Young from Sharon/South Royalton singing jazzy rock from the piano; the singing duos Andy & Hillary Leicher and Jennings & McComber from Randolph and Brookfield; the Tunbridge Mountain House Cloggers; Randolph’s storyteller, Bobbi Hislop; Trifolium, the ambidextrous Randolph/Barnard trio of Andy Mueller, Justin Park, and Chloe Powell with a trunk full of fiddles, cellos, guitars, mandolins and singing voices bringing some bluegrass; Jim Weatherbee from Sharon singing folk with his guitar; Randolph’s Marla Simpson doing stand-up comedy; David Wrong of Randolph performing an original song with guitar; Sophie Sunshine (aka Sophie Mueller of Randolph Center) singing an original indie song; David Atkinson of Randolph with a double billing as dramatic reader and whistler; and all the way from Lebanon, New Hampshire the Valley Improv.

Longtime Mud Season Variety Show participant Steve Augustus will emcee, along with sidekick funny lady Shari Dutton.  Join your friends and neighbors for an evening of merrymaking at the continuation of a cherished annual favorite.

Fixtures on the international jazz scene for nearly 50 years, the New Black Eagle Jazz Band returns to Chandler Music Hall, bringing the high-spirited sounds of traditional New Orleans jazz to springtime in Vermont. Masters of the music of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Cole Porter, and the signature blues and rags of the Jazz Era, the “Black Eagles” are revered worldwide as “the Keepers of the Flame.”

Audio: “Weary Blues” –

Video:  “Live on Cape Cod, 2016”

Enjoy an evening of thoughtful songs and familial harmonies with Grammy Award-winning song crafter Loudon Wainwright III, teamed with his “ex,” acclaimed songwriter Suzzy Roche of the enchanting folk sister act, The Roches, and their daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche, a stellar songmaker in her own right. Loudon dropped out of college to partake of San Francisco’s fabled “Summer of Love” and wrote his first song in 1968. His colorful, satiric, and often confessional takes on life have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, Mose Allison, and his son, Rufus Wainwright, among others. Suzzy Roche enjoys singing on the road with her daughter Lucy; together, the duo snagged the Best Singer-Songwriter Album of the Year honor at the 2014 Independent Music Awards.

Video: “Meet the Wainwrights,” Loudon (Live at McCabe’s in Santa Monica, 2017) –

Audio:  “White Winos,” Loudon Wainwright III

Audio: “Swimming Song” – Loudon Wainwright III

Audio: “Song for Wayward Saints,” Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche –

The Ladies of Laughter features four of the nation’s hottest established and emerging standup comics, spotlighting the diverse styles of humor of America’s funniest women. Host comic Kelly McFarland has headlined the Boston Women’s Comedy Festival and appeared on television’s Last Comic Standingand Gotham Comedy Live!Leighann Lord offers up smart, sexy, savvy humor, inspired by the brilliance of Rita Rudner and the late, great George Carlin. Leighann won a NYC Black Comedy Award for the most thought-provoking black female comic and served as Harlem Week’s “official comedian” for two consecutive years, a distinction previously held only by Richard Pryor. Patty Rosborough is a top New York City comic with a long list of credits, including headlining at Montreal’s world-renowned Just for Laughs Festival and co-hosting Comedy Central’s Short Attention Span Theater with Jon Stewart. This trio of cool comics will be joined by the 2018 winner of the National Newcomer Competition, to be announced by The Ladies of Laughter later this year.

Kelly McFarland –

Leighann Lord –

Patty Rosborough –

It has been 40 years since they began playing together at weekly jam sessions in band founder Ben Eldridge’s Maryland basement. The Seldom Scene have evolved to become one of the greatest contributors to the progressive bluegrass sound, drawing both longtime fans and passionate new audiences to the music. Their performances feature a head-spinning mix of bluegrass-inflected country, rock, and pop hits that’s truly “seldom seen” anywhere — except, of course, at one of their memorable concerts. Today’s Seldom Scene feature Dudley Connell (guitar, vocals), Lou Reid (mandolin, vocals), Ronnie Simpkins (bass, vocals), Fred Travers (dobro, vocals), and Ron Stewart (banjo, fiddle).

Video: “Wait a Minute” –

With meticulous vocals and superb instrumental acumen, Low Lily’ plays acoustic music that is deeply rooted in tradition yet sounds refreshingly contemporary The band’s signature blend is rooted in Celtic traditions and the folk music of the rural South. Flynn Cohen’s deft flatpicking on guitar and mandolin weaves seamlessly with Lissa Schneckenburger’s formidable fiddle-playing, all grounded by Liz Simmons’ percussive rhythm guitar. Rock-solid double bassist Corey DiMario often joins the core trio in concert. Their mellifluous voices all blend just as beautifully. Together and individually, the group has performed with some of the leading lights of contemporary roots, folk, and Celtic music, including Ruth Moody, Livingston Taylor, Solas, Crooked Still, and the Karan Casey Band.

Video: “Hope Lingers On” –

Video: “10,000 Days Like These,” (Live at Celtic Connections) –

Video: “Full Grown Love” (The “Folk Alley” Sessions) –