All Ages

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The 14th Annual "Home for the Holidays" Benefit Concert returns to Higher Ground on December 19th featuring a night of acoustic performances by multi-platinum award winners NINE DAYS, Vermont's second favorite folk band TROY MILLETTE & THE FIRE BELOW, renowned americana rockers TOWN MEETING, and local favorites RYAN SWEEZEY and JESSE TAYLOR.

Proceeds benefit DAD GUILD - a localized non-profit empowering and supporting male-identifying caregivers in our community.

50/50 Raffle and Silent Auction will be held on site.

NINE DAYS

ninedaysband.com

Rock bands can enjoy successful second acts, as seen with Sleater-Kinney, Fall Out Boy and Blink-182. Nine Days followed a similar path after their 2000 hit, “Absolutely (Story of a Girl),” topped the charts and helped their major-label debut, The Madding Crowd, achieve gold status. Formed in Long Island in 1994 by singer-songwriters John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, the band seemed poised for continued success. However, when their follow-up album, So Happily Unsatisfied, was shelved, the group reached a crossroads. Hampson returned to school, became a high school English teacher and raised a family, while Desveaux moved to Nashville in 2007 to pursue songwriting.

Although Nine Days never officially disbanded, Hampson and Desveaux reconnected in 2014 and began working on new music, embracing Nashville’s collaborative songwriting approach. Teaming up with hitmakers including Phil Barton and Zac Maloy, they created songs that blended the band’s signature guitar-driven rock with subtle country influences. The result was Snapshots, an album that combines the catchy melodies of The Madding Crowd with a more mature perspective. Its single, “Greenlight,” features anthemic pop-rock energy and country-pop flourishes, while the title track reflects on life’s memories and the passage of time.

The band’s evolution is especially evident in “So Called Perfect Life,” which explores the sacrifices and rewards of growing up, falling in love and starting a family. The album also features a revamped version of “Absolutely (Story of a Girl),” offering a rawer, edgier take on the hit that launched their career. Working with producer Jim Scott helped the band capture a more authentic sound, while releasing the album independently allowed them greater creative control. Having learned from the costly shelving of their previous record, Nine Days returned with renewed purpose, proving that time away can bring fresh perspective, stronger songwriting and a meaningful new chapter.

TROY MILLETTE & THE FIRE BELOW

troymillettemusic.com

Vermont’s TROY MILLETTE & THE FIRE BELOW are equal parts thoughtful and lively– a cocktail of rock, pop, folk, and americana music that grapples with love, loss, and the human experience. Millette’s emotive and relatable lyrics, as well as his energetic, banter-filled live performances have made him a staple of dives, clubs, theaters, and festivals across the northeast United States and Quebec. His work as a frontman and solo performer garnered the title of Vermont’s “Best Folk Group” from Seven Days Magazine in 2022 and 2023 (some guy named Noah Kahan beat them in 2024. No big deal).

In addition to hundreds of headlining shows, appearances at renowned music festivals such as SXSW, Grace Potter’s Grand Point North, Waking Windows, and Twiddle’s Tumble Down, and a campaign run with Senator Bernie Sanders, Troy Millette and the Fire Below have shared bills with the likes of Counting Crows, Grace Potter, Guster, Bowling for Soup, Matt Quinn (of MT. Joy), Chadwick Stokes (of DISPATCH), +LIVE+, Richard Marx, Rick Springfield, Wheatus, Brett Dennen, the Marcus King Band, DEER TICK, the Front Bottoms, American Authors, Josiah and the Bonnevilles, Fantastic Cat, Willie Watson, Lee DeWyze, the Ballroom Thieves, and more!

A brand-new acoustic EP entitled “All In a Day” is streaming everywhere now.

TOWN MEETING

Town Meeting is a Boston-area Americana folk band known for their infectious harmonies, foot-stomping energy, and dynamic live performances. Winners of the 2017 New England Music Awards’ Roots Act of the Year, the band formed in 2013 in Ayer, Massachusetts, bringing together a love of ’60s folk music with the raw energy of punk rock to create their own distinctive brand of Northeast Americana.

Led by brothers Luke, Russ, and Brendan “Babe” Condon, alongside multi-instrumentalist Tim Cackett and bassist/banjo player Derek Fimbel, Town Meeting blends guitar, mandolin, banjo, harmonica, percussion, and layered vocals into a sound that has drawn comparisons to The Band, Wilco, Drive-By Truckers, The Avett Brothers, Dawes, and The Lumineers—while maintaining a character all their own.

The band has built an impressive resume sharing stages with some of the biggest names in music, including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Sturgill Simpson, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Third Eye Blind, Lettuce, Mavis Staples, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Dustbowl Revival, and many more. Their festival appearances have included New England Roots Fest, Levitate Flannel Jam, and the Underwater Sunshine Festival in New York City, as well as an invitation to perform at Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival.

Town Meeting’s catalog includes the Geography, Pt. 1 EP, the albums From the Green and Make Things Better, and their live recording Live From The Vintage Bazaar 2021. Their mandolin-driven breakout single “West of Seattle” has eclipsed 3 million streams, while “Good Enough” was featured on Spotify’s Pulse of Americana playlist. Their 2020 album Make Things Better was praised for its combination of infectious energy, rich harmonies, poetic songwriting, and roots-rock instrumentation.

At their core, Town Meeting is a live band. Their music is built around the camaraderie of longtime friends and family, the spontaneity of a great performance, and songs designed to bring people together. As the band continues to evolve, Town Meeting is preparing to release a new album in fall 2026, adding another chapter to a growing catalog and a career that has established them as one of New England’s standout Americana acts.