Oct. 27th - Manus + Friends @ The Monkey House

Manus Dunbar will be rocking Burlington once again on Friday the 27th -- his first gig in Vermont since the 2016 Sound Affects Showcase at Waking Windows. He's a resident of Los Angeles these days, but Manus was one of the founding members of VT Union.

LA has been treating him well. His recent single Animebae is being featured on Comedy Central show Broad City -- apparently the first of several features this season. Hell yeah, bud.

Manus + Friends will also feature globe-trotting DJ superstars Lazerdisk with Berk Visual doing live art, a set from beatsmith / hometown hero Loupo and raps from HC, aka Hank Collins, who snagged a Seven Daysies nomination this year. A damn fine lineup, in other words. 9 pm. 21+ $5. 18+ $10

Scarface (of Geto Boys) Live in Barre 3/17!

The Friends For A_Dog Foundation present legendary Geto Boys member Scarface live in Barre, Vermont Thursday March 17th at the historic Barre Opera House. Lots of support on this show including VT Union, Bar None The Best, Self Portrait, Causin Effect, Jamell NYT, DJ Rekkon, DJ Kanganade and hosted by King Sha Mecca Blaze! This is deffinitely a special show as a portion of the proceeds go to the Spaulding High School Arts Department! This show is also structured to focus more on the performance as this will be an early show and also substance free. Huge show for Vermont, you can get tickets at $25 / All Ages / Show from 7PM - 10PM

Aug 30th: A-Dog Day Celebration

This weekend is going to be huge. Skate Jams on Church Street, two stages of music at Arts Riot, and very nearly too many acts to actually list.

A-Dog Day is a serious milestone for Vermont Hip Hop -- not this dinky little blog, but the actual scene itself: you and me and everyone we know. (Most of whom are on the bill at Arts Riot.)

This is a celebration of an inspiring human being who left this Earth more than a little bit too soon, and also an opportunity to take stock of the culture he helped grow here. If you're not familiar with A-Dog and his legacy, start here: an excellent Seven Days memorial gathered from his friends, co-conspirators and protégés.

Also: big ups to the homie Miro Weinberger for making this possible.

Agent Slacker: Really Damn Good

I caught these cats last night opening up for People Under the Stairs, who put on one hell of a party at Arts Riot. The chemistry between Humble and Tommy Alexander is a proven winner, but the real revelation is these Loupo beats -- a diverse and ambitious canvas, his style has grown more intricate and more refined. It was a great Full Moon Masquerade soundtrack, and it was over too soon.

In related news, the Daysies finalists were posted yesterday: congrats to A2VT, Bless the Child, The Aztext, Lynguistic Civilians, and naturally, VT Union, who have been putting in constant work and bringing majors acts through the 802 in 2014.

June 21st - Ja Rule (really) at Higher Ground

Yup: Ja Rule. If you're looking for some 90's nostalgia on a Saturday night, hot damn, VT Union has got your number. The world's most accomplished & successful DMX impersonator will be coming through Higher Ground for what his management hails as "a once in a generation show." $40 in advance, $45 at the door.

Naturally, the bill will also feature Burlington's most successful rap group, Argonaut & Wasp.

TICKETS + MORE INFORMATION @ HIGHER GROUND

March 1st: VT Union Presents ... CASSIDY

One of the best rappers in the history of the mixtape scene, Cassidy will be coming through Venue courtesy of ASAPVT Entertainment and the good ol' VT Union, still going strong. Venue deserves props for doing 18+ shows -- I firmly believe that's crucial for building the culture long-term outchea in the 802. Kids need to get inspired.

Tickets for this are $25, with a $50 VIP meet and greet package available for the ballers & fanboys amongst us. Doors open at 10, and you can expect performances from Patron Pone, the VT Union, and of course, DJ Dakota getting the party started.

RIP DJ A-Dog

DJ A-Dog has been a foundation and an inspiration to the Vermont hip hop community -- most especially since his own career was way bigger than the 802. Sadly, 7 Days has just announced that A-Dog has passed on today.

If you're in Burlington: "A candlelight walk in rememberance of Williams is scheduled for this Saturday, December 28, at 5 pm at the top of Church Street in Burlington. The procession will make its way down Church Street and will be followed by a vigil at the Waterfront Skatepark. Candles and warm clothing are encouraged."

Get Familiar: Colby Stiltz

With a huge show coming up this weekend, it was high time we had a chat with Colby Stiltz, the motivated madman who is coming up from Florida to rock his home turf in the 802 once again.

Thirtyseven: What was your first rap show in Vermont?

First rap show in Vermont was in Burlington at the defunct "2nd floor nightclub" now called LIFT. The event was put on by a group called Animal House lead by NYC native Sha Mecca Blaze. After that one was my first gig at Nectars w/ DJ A-dog & Nastee featuring Termanology. They put me on for flyering all over the city to promote their "TRUE SCHOOL Wednesdays," it was dope!

Thirtyseven: You've been busy as all heck in sunny Florida...where should Vermont heads start, if they want to get caught up on the majesty of Colby Stiltz?

Colby Stiltz: It's dope being in Orlando, there's so many connections to network with, and the weather doesn't suck. To catch up on all things STILTZ, follow me on social media man, my website is www.funwithstiltz.com and I keep that updated. A big outlet I use to share music is my SoundCloud. All of the projects I've done are available on there, "Showtime," "Escaping Insanity," "Higher Learning" and the most recent is "I Don't Wanna Grow Up."

Thirtyseven: What is your next project gonna be?

Colby Stiltz: NEXT PROJECT IS HUGE! ...and, a shit load of fuckin' work. But I love it. It's called DOWN-TO-EARTH and it's an EP produced by my homie from NH, BeatsDaily. It's mixed by Toledo's Ryan Jumper and all the video's are done by Vindicate Media.

Thirtyseven: Would missing this N.O.R.E. show be a huge mistake, a tragic mistake, or the worst decision someone could make in their entire life?

Colby Stiltz: My Family at A.S.A.P ENT. WENT OVER THE TOP WITH THIS ONE!!!!!! Yo, if you live in Vermont, NH, MAINE, anywhere close and you're a fan of Hip-Hop...it would be a fuckin HUUUGE mistake to miss this shit! N.O.R.E is a legend in the game and has impacted all of us with his music over the years. Even if your a backpacking underground cat, THIS is the Hip-Hop vibe you've been waiting for in VT. Also, he's dropping his final album "Student of The Game" and hanging up his mic, so this will be one of your last chances to see the man N.O.R.E aka Norega aka Papi .... EVER! (and I'm not just saying that)

Thirtyseven: What can we expect from your set this Saturday?

Colby Stiltz: Oh MY set??? Maaaannn I got some tricks up my sleeve. I've been delevoping this new freestyle I re-create each show. We play the instrumental for 10 Crack Commandments by Biggie and I spit the 10 RAP commandements off the dome. It's different each show. Also, I'll be performing my Higher Learning joints like "Take it to the Top" and will be mostly spittin this "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" shit like "Excuse Me" and "Dreams." Obviously, energy will be at an all time high, I can't wait to vibe the fuck out with the 802 on this one.

N.O.R.E., VT Union, Colby Stiltz, Patron Pone and SIN

Damn, what a lineup. This is a reunion party with N.O.R.E. headlining the festivities. The VT Union will be in full force, Colby Stiltz is flying up from Florida, and Burlington heavyweight SIN will be wrecking a set, too. I have no idea who Patron Pone is but he's clearly got great taste in tequila. The whole party will be going down at a new music venue, the awkwardly named "Venue" in South Burlington.

According to 7 Days, this will actually be one of N.O.R.E.'s last shows ever. The show is 21+ and tickets are $20.

Burnt MD x Nastee - "Freedom Fighter"

New music from Burnt MD and Nastee: a smoking new single for just a buck? Hard to beat on a Tuesday. Burnt MD assures us there's a whole lot more new music in the pipeline...meanwhile, you can catch him on Twitter.

If you're not familiar with the considerable accomplishments of this particular character, start here.