Behind every great guitar, fiddle, mando or upright bass player stands a string doctor, a skilled luthier who answers the call when an instrument needs work. Often unheralded, they see it all: a mandolin neck that’s taken a sudden twist, a fiddle top cracked by low humidity, a priceless Martin knocked over by an exuberant toddler, a distraught picker who’s backed the car over his vintage Telecaster. (Yes, it really does happen.) We surveyed some Vermont musicians to see whom they turn to when they need a string doctor with serious skills.... Read more

Despite Vermont’s reputation as a jam-band haven, traditional music has been a cultural force here since European settlers arrived in the 1700s. The genre gained momentum in the 1960s, when hippies hauling six-string flattops, Doc Watson records and African drums settled among Québecois fiddlers, church singers and guitar-pickin’ dairy hands. The Americana movement of the ’90s and oughts brought further attention to old-timey tunes.... Read more

Think of a recording studio, and chances are you’ll envision banks of technology, an engineer in headphones and one or more musicians doing their thing behind a sheet of glass. What you probably won’t imagine is the Green Room, the cozy, post-and-beam nook in the woods of East Montpelier. There, on a morning in early February, producer Colin McCaffrey is coaching singer-songwriter Jeff Hahn through some vocal tracks. ... Read more