It may have been freezing and windy outside last night, but you'd never know it from inside Fuller Hall at Saint Johnsbury Academy last night. Pink Martini played to a sold-out crowd, with NPR White House Correspondent Ari Shapiro sitting in on lead vocals for several songs.
The band's encore was a sizzling rendition of "Brazil," where lead singer China Forbes encouraged the audience to start a conga line. Well, as someone commented on Kingdom County Productions' Facebook page, "be careful when you yell "Conga Line" to an audience of Vermonters with cabin fever!"
Here's some video footage to warm you up today. Thanks to Kingdom County Productions for a great show and to everyone who came out! It was wonderful to see so many VPR listeners in the house!
Pink Martini is coming to Saint Johnsbury Academy's Fuller Hall this Sunday evening at 7 p.m. The 14-piece band is known for performing songs from around the world, combining class and kitsch, swooning nostalgia, and delirious romance.
We asked Ari about his trip to Vermont. He said: "In the last year that I spent covering Mitt Romney's campaign, I spent a lot of time in New Hampshire. But for some reason I never made it over into neighboring Vermont. I'm so excited to rectify the situation this weekend with my favorite hometown band."
Check out the video above for a taste of what's in store. You can get tickets online here - and be sure to say hi to VPR while you're there. Looking forward to seeing you!
This year’s VPR Listener Picnic is going to be all about best friends! VPR is your best friend in the car, your dog is your best friend on a hike. Bring two of your best friends together on Saturday, September 17th starting at 11 a.m. at Stephen Huneck’s Dog Mountain in Saint Johnsbury.
We’ll enjoy music by Patti Casey and Bob Amos, The Bohemian Blues Quartet (featuring VPR's IT guru Asa Sourdiffe!), Brett Hughes and the Honky Tonk Tuesdays Band, AND one of NPR’s founding mothers, Linda Wertheimer, will be on hand to help us celebrate the 40th anniversary of NPR.
The picnic goes on rain or shine - we’ll have food for sale or you can bring your own, and the Stephen Huneck Gallery will be open with special offers for VPR listeners.
All well-behaved dogs are cordially invited (don’t forget your pooper scooper!). In honor of the event, we’ve shared some pictures of our own canine best friends. Check out the slideshow below for the dogs of VPR!
Finally, a note about Dog Mountain: Stephen Huneck was a great friend to VPR and in the wake of his passing in 2010, the future of Dog Mountain is uncertain. Help preserve this very special part of Vermont’s artistic culture by spreading the word about the picnic so we can have the best turnout ever! We hope to see you there!
