• Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin. You know it’s Gershwin, but his take is so original, so unexpected, so Brian Wilson, that you should listen and judge for yourself. It WORKS.
• Six albums from the ’80′s and ’90′s by Laurie Anderson.  She was one of the early adopters of computer technology when the 1980′s began, and “Oh Superman (For Massenet)” is still one of the most haunting recordings…ever.
• Tesla.  Some ‘Best Of’ stuff, by request.  They started in Sacramento in 1984, they’re still going.

Coming early next week:  the new album “God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise” by Ray LaMontagne.  One of the year’s best.

12,161 songs and growing.  All yours, all FREE.  Click on LISTEN HERE! in the upper left corner and begin the journey.

The first act we caught was the lady from Staten Island whose career began when she was discovered on YouTube, Ingrid Michaelson:

Ariel plays “black candy” rock.  I have no idea what that means.  Ariel Coloumbe is a Montreal singer/songwriter/performer who wears skinny pink pants that are hidden by his guitar:

Vancouver‘s Hannah Georgas represented the female indie rock singer/songwriters.  You have heard her sing this summer’s Walmart commercial and if you make it to Lilith Fair, you’ll see her there:

The one-man branding/marketing machine known as Snoop Dogg did an hour long set on early Sunday evening that featured misogynistic lyrics, pleas for everyone to smoke weed and more blurts of the “f word” (editor: “fuck”) than I’ve ever heard before:

Here’s who I fell in love with:  The Cat Empire, an amazing litrock (think:  The Decembrists) band from Australia, featuring drums, horns, dark lyrics and a strong love of funk, reggae and Brazilian music.  The lead singer, Felix Reibl, (that’s him below in the blue plaid shirt) bears a striking resemblance to Jon Hamm, who portrays Don Draper on AMC’s ‘Mad Men.’   We have already added their music here at VermontMornings.com:

This year’s crowd:  Close to 53,000:

Amarula is a blend of cream and wild marula fruit, indigenous to subtropical Africa.  Try this stuff and you may not buy any more Bailey’s.  They were one of the booze sponsors this year, and you didn’t even have to walk to the booth…there were young ladies with bottles in both ‘holsters’ sellings shots for $4:

As always, one of the great things to do in Montreal…is to people watch:

See you next year!

Sting‘s ‘Symphonicities.’ Sting hits, Police hits, your favorites, all backed by The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. Some say the classical approach is a bit cloying, we say Sting’s too cool to ever be cloying.

Eddie Harris‘ ‘That Is Why You’re Overweight.’ An early ’70′s album from a talented saxophonist who grabbed the microphone and took to singing for this effort. The title track is a seven-minute homage to food, but you should not listen if you’ve got the munchies.

Róisín Murphy‘s ‘Overpowered.’ She’s an Irish singer-songwriter with an electronica/dance focus.  Her voice offers suggestions of Annie Haslam, which is how she came to our attention.  You WILL dance when you hear this music.

Cyndi Lauper‘s ‘Memphis Blues.’ She’s been mostly flying under the radar these days, but Captain Lou Albano’s one-time foil demonstrates maturity and a decent understanding of blues on this new album that features greats like Allen Toussaint, B.B. King and Jonny Lang.  Rolling Stone Magazine calls this album “…badass Betty Boop.” Suspend your judgments, this girl just wants ‘ta sing blues.

Coming soon to Vermont Mornings radio:  New music from Robert Cray, old music from Laurie Anderson.  Thanks for listening.  (just click on LISTEN HERE! to the upper left)

The Vermont Children’s Theatre is on Darling Hill.  The youngsters are in the middle of their season.

It was, far and away, Lyndonville’s biggest event of the year.  And as the music continues in Bandstand Park, we are already planning Stars & Stripes 2011.

It’s better here.

We found out about singer Brittany Williams from our old friend Anthony Rootham, International Man of Fun and former Food & Beverage Director up at Burke Mountain.  Brittany is from Denver, she sings and plays piano and she has a CD out called “Cursed With A Blessing.”  Anthony shipped us a copy of the album and then rang us up on Thursday morning to tell us all about this lovely lady from the Mile High City…

Anthony Rootham discusses singer Brittany Williams

Starting Friday, you’ll be hearing Brittany as part of the 24/7 mix on the VermontMornings stream, now featuring 11,900+ songs in all genres.

And here’s the big winner, who got a bunch of trophies and the chance to move on to the regional Fiddle Championship:

JACOB BRILLHEART

Yes, he’s that good.

Summer officially begins at 7:28 Monday morning EDT, but for the last couple of weeks, we’ve been enjoying The Long Days.  The dawn’s early bright suggests itself at about 3:45 AM and if you’re outside at 9:00 PM, you realize that the twilight has lasted longer and longer.  Look northward and the glow you see above lingers until almost 11:00 PM.  It may not be midnight sun, but it’s wonderful and special and worth celebrating.

After tomorrow, amazingly, daylight already begins to get shorter.  But for the past couple of weeks, and for the next couple of weeks, we’re in The Long Days.  And we’re loving every minute of it.

Monday morning at precisely 7:28 AM (see above), we’ll start playing summer songs for a few hours.  Look to the upper left of this page, press LISTEN HERE, and you’re good to go.

And…Happy Father’s Day.  The kids are alright, eh?

• “New Amerykah Part 2″, the new album from Erykah Badu, the queen of Neo-Soul.
• “Love And It’s Opposite”, just released by Tracey Thorn.  Tracey was the voice of the huge English pop group Everything But The Girl, best known for their global 1994 hit ‘Missing.’  Her voice is unmistakable, this album is very powerful.
• The soundtrack to the movie “Local Hero” the magical 1983 movie starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster.  Filmed on the Aberdeenshire coast of Scotland, the music is by Dire Strait’s Mark Knopfler.  Many think it’s his best work.  “Local Hero” is in my Top Five Movies Of All Time AND Top Five Sountracks Of All Time.
• Chantal Kreviazuk – the singer/songwriter/guitarist/pianist from Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Two albums from this beautiful, talented woman.
• V.V. Brown‘s debut album “Traveling Like The Light.”  V.V. is from the U.K.  Her mother is Jamaican, her father is Iranian, her music is universally soulful.
• “Everything Has Past,” the debut album from the Northeast Kingdom’s own Sean McCarthy.  Here are five powerful songs recorded in L.A. with some of the best musicians on the West Coast.  Go to the website, check out some previews and then buy the album.  Sean and I chatted on the radio last week, we’ll get him back into the studio for a long-form interview (that you can  hear here) in the next month or so.

We now play 11,541 songs.  And we’ve only scratched the surface.  Look left, press play and enjoy.