This Week at 51 Main

Verbal Onslaught: MLK Celebration, Thursday, January 14, 8:00 – 11:00 pm

Verbal Onslaught presents a special Martin Luther King celebration with slam poet Crystal Belle, who graduated from Middlebury College in 2004. Crystal Belle is a poet and New York City public school teacher. She teaches 9th grade English. Having travelled around the world doing research on gloabl hip-hop, she now lends herself to her classrom, while still making time for love and revolution…

Jatoba, Friday, January 15, 9:00 pm – 12:00 am

Incorporating a unique blend of three extraordinary acoustic musicians, Jatoba redefines their sound through collective songwriting and extreme rhythmic improvisations. Through the Double Bass, Acoustic Guitars, Baritone Guitar, Mandolin, Sitar and harmonizing vocals, Jatoba displays a very eclectic arrangement of acoustic instrumentation. Jatoba is Jason Scaggs, John Jamison and Jeff Richardson.

Mark Kelly, Saturday, January 16, 9:00 – 11:30 pm

Country/Indie-folk/Hip-Hop. Mark Kelly began singing at age two after his grandmother bought him a karaoke machine and a cassette tape of Billy Ray Cyrus’ Don’t Break My Heart (My Achy Breaky Heart). Hannah Epstein, from Paddington Bear, New Jersey, once studied at a musical conservatory under a scary Bulgarian general named Dr. Ivo Kalchev. Glen Frieden stopped attending classes this past fall semester while learning how to rap over his own catchy piano riffs. Stop by 51 main on the 16th to see these three Midd musicians play a set together.