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Square dance and concert, with Sarah Gibson calling. Dance lesson at 4pm. Concert and dance at 5:30. Learn traditional American social dances, including contra dances from New England, square dances from the Southern Appalachians, and reels with roots in Ireland and Scotland. Gibson teaches gender-free dances (traditionally, participants had either a 'lady' or 'gent' role), ensuring that all are welcome. The event is open to first-time dancers of all ages.
Full band concert with John Specker, Friday night concert series and classic car cruise-in.
Yo-Yo Ma’s We The People week begins with a sunrise gathering at Bousquet Mountain. Led by artist and educator Chris Newell, and in collaboration with Mill Town and local performers, this reflective experience of storytelling and music will provide a human-centered opening to our week-long exploration of what connects us to our past, present, and future and to the land around us. The gathering — a prelude to We The People’s Tanglewood on Parade events on August 4 — invites participants to slow down, listen, and connect with one another and the natural world as we begin a new day.
Presented in collaboration with Berkshire Busk!, this outdoor celebration serves as a community prelude to We The People’s version of Tanglewood on Parade, featuring the music of Tanglewood and the Berkshires. The event will include Fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center, musicians from the BU Tanglewood Institute, and third-generation fiddle player Ida Mae Specker, alongside Berkshire Busk! artists who energize the region’s streets and public spaces throughout the summer. Together outdoors in Great Barrington, these artists will present an evening that celebrates the “musical universe” of the Berkshires and the creativity and shared spirit that help ground its community.
Passamaquoddy educator and singer Chris Newell joins Vermont fiddler and teaching artist Ida Mae Specker for a new interactive children’s concert premiering this summer as part of TLI for Families. Through songs, storytelling, rhythm games, and audience participation, the program invites children to experience how music connects people to community, culture, and the natural world. https://www.bso.org/events/tli-for-families-aug-2?performance=2026-08-02-10:30
All are welcome for a special acoustic concert with John Specker and Ida Mae Specker at the Winhall Library on Thursday, March 12th, starting at 5pm. Families welcome! Location: 2 Lower Taylor Hill Road Bondville, VT 05340 https://www.facebook.com/events/26279153421678226/?rdid=f2LghQPqcv5EVysi&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F1GH3etqQtq%2F#
Yo-Yo Ma and friends present an evening of songs and stories to ask how the waters of the North — from Kwenitekw (the Connecticut River) to Supeq (the ocean) and Punkik (the Arctic North) — connect us to each other and to our past, present, and future. This special event, rooted in wisdom and inspired by a dream for the future, invites us to come together as a community and find hope for a changing planet.
Hopkins Center for the Arts, 4 East Wheelock Street, Hanover, New Hampshire
This original experience—rooted in wisdom and inspired by a dream for the future—invites us to come together as a community and find hope for a changing planet. Yo-Yo Ma and friends present an evening of songs and stories to ask how the waters of the North — from Kwenitekw (the Connecticut River) to Supeq (the ocean) and Punkik (the Arctic North) — connect us to each other and to our past, present, and future. Inspired by our region and commissioned for the reopening of the Hopkins Center. In collaboration with the Department of Native American and Indigenous Studies, Native American Program, Department of Anthropology, Department of Music, Department of Geography, Sustainability Office and Dartmouth House Communities.
We Are Water Artists: Yo-Yo Ma, Jeremy Dutcher, Mali Obomsawin '18 and Chris Newell '96 with Andri Snaer Magnason and special guests Ida Mae Specker, Lauren Stevens and Roger Paul
TBA on the Kwenitekw (Connecticut) River, Hanover, New Hampshire
Dawn performance and gathering on the Kwenitekw (Connecticut) River, details TBA
Southern Vermont Arts Center , 860 SVAC Drive / West Road, Manchester, Vermont
Full band concert opening for Saints & Liars at Arkell Pavilion
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Weathersfield Center Meeting House, 79 Center Church Rd, Weathersfield, Vermont
Full band concert and square dance with Sarah Gibson calling
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GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance, 2150 Trumansburg Road, Trumansburg, New York
John Specker and his 6-piece band in the Dance Tent at GrassRoots Festival!
Ida Mae Specker, John Specker, along with Marc Edwards (guitar), Mowgli Giannitti (bass), Will Seeders (banjo), and Henry Clark (mandolin), headline the Green Mountain Oldtime Weekend, with all-day long workshops, solo performances, and a square dance. Presented by Cabot Arts.
