PUTNEY, Vt – Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present a triple bill of contemporary folk singer-songwriters – Hayley Reardon, Sam Robbins, and Emily Margaret – on Friday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage.
Reardon is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and a storyteller in the truest sense of the word. Her songs serve as postcards from an artist brave enough to take the road less traveled. Reardon dove headfirst into music at the young age of 15, and has spent much of the past decade writing, recording, and performing music around the world. With more than 85 original songs released to date, Reardon’s music has been featured on multiple Spotify and Apple Music editorial playlists, boasting more than 7 million streams on Apple Music alone.
Raised in a coastal Massachusetts town north of Boston, Reardon spent three years based in Nashville, followed by six years carrying her songs and stories all over the globe. She has played nearly 300 shows across Europe, and was awarded a six-month artist-in-residency program in Dachau, Germany. She has shared the stage with renowned artists including Lori McKenna, Rodney Crowell, Dar Williams, and Anaïs Mitchell, and was nominated as 2023 Vocalist of the Year by the Boston Music Awards.
Sam Robbins is often described as an “old soul singer-songwriter.” A Nashville-based musician whose music evokes classic ’70s singer-songwriters like James Taylor and Neil Young, Robbins adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. An avid performer, he has gained recognition from extensive touring, and as one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition, one of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country.
A 2019 graduate of Berklee College of Music’s songwriting department, Robbins is a full-time troubadour, playing over 150 shows a year across the country. He was voted one of the Most Wanted to Return artists in the 2023 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and was a winner at the Eddie’s Attic Songwriter’s Shootout competition in Atlanta in 2020. In 2018, Robbins was able to audition on NBC’s “The Voice” for Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, and Jennifer Hudson, as the first artist to perform a Jim Croce song on the show.
Guilford, Vt.-based, 17-year-old singer-songwriter Emily Margaret blends R&B, jazz, and folk influences to create a fusion of soul-stirring melodies and intricate storytelling. With lyrics that read like poetry, her music speaks to the depths of the human experience with a sincerity that is both disarming and profound, and her voice captivates audiences as it soars from delicate fragility to boundless strength. Starting her musical journey early with the ukulele at age 4, Margaret has since attended June Millington’s Institute for Musical Arts Preteen Camp, and honed her songwriting craft at the Antidote Workshop with two-time Grammy award winner Sonya Kitchell, and at the Berklee College of Music.
Next Stage is located at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, Vt. For information, call 802-387-0102. Advance tickets are available discounted at www.nextstagearts.org. There is also a livestream option. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar.