Milton 8-10PM
A songwriter’s songwriter, known for his lyric craft, distinctive voice and soulful songs steeped in classic rhythm & blues, pop, jazz, folk and country, Milton first gained notoriety in his hometown New York City when his song “In The City” became a hit on New York’s WFUV radio. His live performances, which include material from every one of his albums, are praised for their wit, humor, and captivating charm.
Milton has toured extensively throughout the states since 2005, as a headliner and appearing as support for his hero and mentor Chris Smither, in addition to shows and tours with Joan Osborne, Steave Earle, Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Sonny Landreth, Colin Hay, Kat Edmonson, Josh Ritter and many more.
In late 2019, Milton premiered his 5th and finest album Studio City with a sold out show at City Vineyard NYC. The album, a veritable tour de force of songwriting and studio craft, features 12 ultra-catchy, concise tunes ranging in style from Sinatra-esque full orchestra swing, to Sgt. Pepper-like whimsical comedy to vintage country and New Orleans rhythm and blues. In concert, Milton and his ultra-sharp band of NYC veteran session players deliver the songs seamlessly with Milton’s own graceful live arrangements.
Dream Away Reading Series 6-7:30PM
ESSIE CHAMBERS is an author and award-winning independent producer. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University and has received fellowships from MacDowell, Vermont Studio Center, and Baldwin for the Arts. Previously, she worked as a television executive, and was a producer on the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Descendant, which was released by the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company and Netflix in 2022. Swift River is her debut novel.
Ellen Meeropol is the author of the novels The Lost Women of Azalea Court, Her Sister’s Tattoo, Kinship of Clover, On Hurricane Island, and House Arrest, and the play Gridlock. She is guest editor for the anthology Dreams for a Broken World. Essay and story publications include Ms. Magazine, Lilith, The Writer Magazine, The Boston Globe, Solstice Magazine, Guernica, Lit Hub, and Mom Egg Review. Her work focuses on the lives of women, especially those on the fault lines between political activism and family, and has been a finalist for the Sarton Women’s Prize, longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award, and selected by the Women’s National Book Association as a Great Group Reads. Ellen lives in western Massachusetts, where she is a founding mother of Straw Dog Writers Guild and coordinator of the WriteAnglesWriters Conference.
Nerissa Nields has been devoted to the written (and spoken and sung) word for her entire life. Best known as primary songwriter for the beloved and lauded folk-rock band The Nields, she has written 21 CDs-worth of songs. Nerissa’s publications include a YA novel Plastic Angel (Scholastic 2005), and All Together Singing in the Kitchen: Creative Ways to Make and Listen to Music as a Family (Roost Books/Shambala, 2011,) as well as How to Be an Adult: A Creative Guide to Navigating Your Twenties (Mercy House, 2013). Her work has been published in Brevity, American Songwriter, J Journal: New Writing on Justice, Performing Songwriter, The Huffington Post, The Maine Review, and the Boston Globe. She received a BA cum laude with distinction in the major (English) from Yale University and an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is currently working on The Nields’ twenty-second album and the third novel in a trilogy about a family band.