There was no shortage of noteworthy Vermont releases this year — everything from folk, rock and pop to hip-hop, blues and jazz.
Here’s a look at 13 albums by Green Mountain State artists that stood out in 2023, in order of release date.
Dari Bay
A key figure on the Burlington indie rock scene, Windham County-raised singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Zack James stepped out on his own with a full-length album as Dari Bay.
“Longest Day of the Year,” released in January, is Dari Bay’s first proper record following the release last year of “DB 17-19: A Perfect Eruption,” an experimental collection of songs that James recorded shortly after starting Dari Bay in 2015.
The new 10-song set, which was produced and mostly performed by James, features some of his most accessible material to date in a compelling collection that marries mesmerizing shoegaze, potent Americana and catchy pop to great effect.
Freeway Clyde
Four years after taking home a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for his work on the Tony-winning Broadway hit “Hadestown,” singular Lincoln-based musician and composer Michael Chorney has yet another compelling new band.
Freeway Clyde, which the self-taught musician formed in 2020 to create “instrumental psych-rock film scores for non-existent movies,” is a genre-blurring seven-piece ensemble that released its debut album, “Sunflower,” in February.
Featuring Chorney’s distinctive electric guitar work and compelling compositions, which were developed collaboratively by the band during a series of live performances at Radio Bean, “Sunflower” aptly captures the live magic that Freeway Clyde developed at the intimate Queen City venue.
Delivering adventurous instrumentals with lyrical melodies and emotional heft, the album takes listeners on a spellbinding and cinematic escapade of sonic alchemy.
Ali T
Released in March, “Pancakes” is the third album by Royalton singer-songwriter Ali T, aka Alison Turner, a native of the Upper Valley Vermont town.
Produced entirely by Turner at her home studio — where she also played every instrument in addition to mixing and mastering the album and doing the artwork and graphics — “Pancakes” is an impressive recording that finds Ali T hitting her stride with her most self-assured set to date.
Eastern Mountain Time
Featuring Burlington singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sean Hood and a rotating cast of noteworthy Burlington musicians, Eastern Mountain Time released its third full-length album in April.
“More Buses & Trains,” which Hood recorded with Willoughby Morse and produced with Wren Kitz, is a stripped down and beautifully subdued 11-song collection of Americana tunes that solidifies Hood’s status as one of the more intriguing roots songwriters around.
Honey & Soul
Honey & Soul, a Burlington trio formed five years ago, emerged as one of the brightest lights on Vermont’s musical landscape. Created around singer-songwriter Hannah Hausman’s original music, the group also includes Cleo Flemming on cello and bass and Danica Cunningham on fiddle and banjo.
“Lady King,” released in May, is one of the strongest debut albums by a Vermont-based artist in years. A stunning collection of eclectic yet cohesive tunes, the nearly hour-long record is a revelation, seamlessly fusing folk, soul, jazz and pop with impressive musicianship and stirring vocal harmonies.
Dwight + Nicole
One of Vermont’s most compelling music acts since arriving in Burlington over a decade ago after making a name for themselves on the Boston scene, soul/blues trio Dwight + Nicole released their much-anticipated full-length album, “The Jaguar, the Raven & the Snake,” in May.
Produced by Grammy-nominated producer Joel Hamilton (The Black Keys, Mavis Staples), the 11-song set finds the tightknit trio fully arriving and coming into their own as a potent and singular presence on the roots music scene – delivering proof positive that Dwight + Nicole are a Vermont treasure and a powerful force to be reckoned with on a much wider scale.
Brian McCarthy Nonet
A standout on the Vermont jazz scene for the past decade, Colchester-based saxophonist and composer Brian McCarthy returned with his first album in six years, and it’s a doozy. “After/Life,” released in May, is another uber ambitious nonet project from McCarthy, who garnered widespread acclaim for his 2017 nonet album, “The Better Angels of Our Nature.”
Inspired by the life cycle of our solar system and the idea that “we are made of star stuff,” as the great astronomer Carl Sagan famously wrote, “After/Life” is another stunning opus by McCarthy and his nine-piece group, providing further evidence that the unassuming saxophonist and composer is a jazz artist of the highest order.
All Night Boogie Band
Formed two years ago at the University of Vermont, All Night Boogie Band hit the ground running, quickly making a name for itself on the strength of powerhouse live shows and an impressive debut album, last year’s “Taste These Blues.”
Fusing blues with soul and rock, the rising five-piece group – which recently won the Rising Star Award for Vermont at the 2023 New England Music Awards – released its sophomore album, “Angel of the Airwaves,” in August.
The seven-song set finds the kickin’ quintet expanding its charismatic sound with stellar results, displaying a love for the music that’s as palpable as it is infectious.
Dave Keller
Lauded Montpelier-based blues and soul singer and guitarist Dave Keller and his four-piece group take it up a bunch of notches on “It’s Time to Shine,” released in August.
Recorded live in one room at a friend’s remote camp on Chateaugay Lake in northern New York, the potent 12-song set finds the tightknit band firing on all cylinders, delivering a spirited collection of Keller-penned tunes that shines on his accomplished songwriting and the band’s inspired performance.
Ruth Garbus
“Alive People,” released in August, is the third solo album by Brattleboro singer-songwriter Ruth Garbus, who has played in such bands as Happy Birthday and Feathers.
Recorded live at a performing arts venue in Greenfield, Mass., you would never know it as the crowd is barely audible and the sound mix masterfully captures the magic and immediacy of the live performance.
A quietly stunning album, “Alive People” is a spellbinding set that seamlessly blends the standout singer-songwriter’s melodious and affecting compositions with improvised interludes from the performance.
Big Homie Wes
Big Homie Wes, a Morrisville-via-Texas rapper and producer, has been an ever-growing behind-the-scenes presence and driving force behind the burgeoning Lamoille County hip hop scene. A sought-after beat maker for years, Wes released “Higher Calling” in August, his first recording of his own music in a decade.
Written, produced and recorded by Wes, the eight-track record — which also features Morrisville musician Samuel Guihan (Soul Stew, Dipped in Moonlight) on bass — is a super chill and infectious head nodder with deep bass grooves backing Wes’s laid-back baritone and lush beats.
Lillian Leadbetter
A native of Lincoln who splits her time between Burlington and Nashville, singer-songwriter Lillian Leadbetter released her debut album in October.
“State of Romance,” recorded at Future Field Studios in Burlington with a talented cast of Queen City musicians, is a stunning album about heartbreak, romance and an overall lust for life that makes you want to inhabit its warm and inviting world.
It’s a spellbinding eight-song set that finds Leadbetter fully arriving as a seriously promising artist on the folk and Americana scene.
Western Terrestrials
Western Terrestrials, a White River Junction-based cosmic honky-tonk band, released their third album, “Working on the Case,” in October.
Produced by celebrated Vermont songwriter Bow Thayer and recorded at his home studio in Stockbridge, the 10-track set finds Western Terrestrials more assured than ever, delivering a cinematic collection of tunes with a warm, vintage vibe that expands their distinctive sonic palette with stellar results.
