Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Raise Your Voice

It’s no wonder the music world is buzzing about singer-songwriter Tim Eriksen. His background encompasses everything from South Indian classical music to hardcore punk, and he’s spent time onstage with folks like Kurt Cobain and Jack White. Lately, though, Eriksen’s storytelling skills are the big draw, and he puts them to use in murder ballads, 19th-century shape-note gospel and folksy Appalachian and Irish songs. His 2009 release, Northern Roots Live in Náměšť, alternates tunes rife with the fiddle, banjo or bajo sexto with stripped-down ditties showcasing his raw voice. The Boston Globe describes his work as “at once sweepingly epic and as intimate as a lover’s whisper.” Eriksen’s stop at UVM will also get pretty intimate: He’ll lead audiences in shape-note practices at a preconcert lecture. Fa-so-la-mi away.