Rodney C. exalts at the end of his freestyle rap during VersoFest's closing panel Sunday afternoon.
“Aren’t you supposed to be quiet in a library?” Spin Doctors lead singer Chris Barron asked the assembled crowd of nearly 600 during the band’s Friday night concert at VersoFest 2024. “This is, like, the loudest thing that’s ever happened at a library!”
For five rollicking days, Barron was on the money. From April 3 to April 7, The Westport Library played host to its third annual VersoFest — a music and media festival like no other, featuring concerts, panel discussions, workshops, and so much more — and while it was rarely quiet, it was quite a show.
This year’s festival had something for everyone, including concerts with The Lemon Twigs and Spin Doctors, and Verso Visionary conversations with the legendary Chuck D (Public Enemy), renowned producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex), and influential drummer and musician John Densmore (The Doors).
In addition, there was a celebration of of Wild Style, the first hip hop motion picture; a fashion roundtable with Cindy Dunaway, Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper Group), and Tish and Snooky of Manic Panic, hosted by SNL Beehive Queen and rock 'n' roll treasure Christine Ohlman; a panel discussion on Connecticut, WPLR, and the birth of Buckingham/Nicks era Fleetwood Mac; and a Verso Book Club featuring Audrey Golden, author of I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women at Factory Records.
All told, more than 4,000 attended VersoFest 2024, with an additional 3,000 tuning in online, and capacity crowds filling the Trefz Forum each day.
“This is not your regular library,” Cindy Dunaway said in a radio interview prior to VersoFest. “This is what every library in every major city should be like because it is such a resource for the community and for all the towns around and so on. They do just a magnificent job of integrating music and the arts, books as well.”
To that end, VersoFest 2024 carved out space amid its stacks Saturday and Sunday for a record fair featuring vendors from across the tri-state area, a “Diamond Dogs” exhibit of David Bowie memorabilia curated by Paul Brenton and featuring pioneering stage designer Mark Ravitz, and a dedicated art exhibit (Thinking Inside the Box) built into the Trefz Forum’s grandstand. The festival also featured intimate workshops with resident experts covering podcasting, musician career coaching, video game music composing, the secrets of radio airplay, and the legal side of the music business.
The integration of concerts and conversations, panels and workshops, exhibits and more resonated with the assembled guests, speakers, and presenters, who marveled at the Library’s state-of-the-art facilities (TV studio, SSL recording studio, 18-foot HD videowall, post-production suite) and its ability to merge music, media, and creativity in celebration of the arts.
“We’re all students trying to figure out how to become human beings in this communication of life,” Chuck D said during the VersoFest opening night conversation. “I believe culture is a thing that equalizes us as human beings and knocks the differences to the side. It connects our similarities. It’s what makes music and art so strong.”
And it all came together at The Westport Library, all furthering the Library’s mission of being open to all and serving as a gather spot for the community to share ideas, learn, and grow — and sometimes, just to get loud and have fun.
As Densmore said after his talk, succinctly: “This the coolest damn library, ever!”
***
Photos by Brendan Toller, Verso Studios, Westport Library, and Dave Dellinger, Dave Dellinger Photography
***
VersoFest 2024 kicks off Wednesday, April 3, the first of five days celebrating music, media, and creativity with an array of amazing artists; panels where experts share their perspectives and vision; intimate workshops that provide creators the opportunity to deconstruct, improve, and hone their craft; and performances that entertain and inspire.
Now in its third year, VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media conference and festival where knowledge is shared and inspiration is discovered — a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge.
VersoFest drew more than 1,500 people in its inaugural year of 2022 and approximately 4,000 a year ago, with between 5,000 and 6,000 expected this year.
Headliners for the 2024 festival include Chuck D (Public Enemy), renowned producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex), and influential drummer and musician John Densmore (The Doors), in addition to Cindy and Dennis Dunaway, Tish & Snooky of Manic Panic fame, the Cold Crush Brothers, Tony Tone, Grand Wizzard Theodore, the author Audrey Golden, and so much more.
This year’s shows include the Thursday night kickoff concert with rising electric pop rockers The Lemon Twigs, with DJ HYSTERICA starting the evening, and the Friday headlining concert with the hit band the Spin Doctors, with Nick Depuy opening.
Visit our VersoFest webpage for more, and read below for the full 2024 lineup:
Wednesday, April 3
4-5:30 pm – Workshop: Hands on Hip Hop History Presented by TeachRock (register here)
7-8:30 pm – Chuck D in Conversation with Johnny Temple (tickets here; $50 presold, $60 at door)
Thursday, April 4
6:30-10 pm – The Lemon Twigs in Concert, with DJ HYSTERICA; Doors and DJ: 6:30 pm, The Lemon Twigs: 8 pm (tickets here; $20 presold, $30 at door)
Friday, April 5
6:30-10 pm – Spin Doctors in Concert, with Nick Depuy; Doors: 6:30 pm, Nick Depuy: 7 pm, Spin Doctors: 8 pm (tickets here; $50 presold, $60 at door)
Saturday, April 6
11 am-5 pm – VersoFest Record Fair presented by Record Riots
11 am-5 pm – “Diamond Dogs” at 50: David Bowie Exhibit by Paul Brenton with Set Designer Mark Ravitz (free)
11 am-12 pm – Workshop: Pitch Your Podcast with Connecticut Public’s Meg Dalton and Jack Hitt (register here; free)
1-2:30 pm – Tony Visconti in Conversation with Paul Cavalconte (register here; free)
3-4:30 pm – Verso Book Club: Audrey Golden, I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women at Factory Records; Moderated by Karen Ponzio (register here; free)
3-4 pm (Brooks Place) – Workshop: Musician Career Coaching: Know Your Worth, Set Your Rate, and Get Paid, with Matt Starr (register here; free)
4:30-6 pm – John Densmore in Conversation with Alisyn Camerota (register here; free)
Sunday, April 7
11 am-5 pm – VersoFest Record Fair presented by Record Riots
11 am-5 pm – “Diamond Dogs” at 50: David Bowie Exhibit by Paul Brenton with Set Designer Mark Ravitz (free)
11 am-12 pm (Brooks Place) – Workshop: Mind Your Business: Legal Workshop for Musicians, with Marcus Thomas (register here; free)
11 am-12:30 pm – Connecticut, WPLR, and the Birth of Buckingham/Nicks Era Fleetwood Mac, with Dick Kalt; Moderated by Dr. Jennifer Dauphinais (register here; free)
12:30-1:30 pm (Brooks Place) – Workshop: Video Game Music Composing with Tom Salta (register here; free)
1-2 pm: Glam to Punk, a Fashion Roundtable: Alice Cooper, Bowie, Blondie, and Beyond, with Cindy Dunaway, Dennis Dunaway, Tish & Snooky (Manic Panic); Moderated by Christine Ohlman (register here; free)
2-3 pm (Brooks Place) – Workshop: Unlock the Secrets of Radio Airplay, with Peter Gray (register here; free)
3-5 pm: Hip Hop Panel and Performances: Celebrating 51 Years of Wild Style; Hosted by Tony Crush and Rodney C. and featuring Grand Wizzard Theodore, Prince Whipper Whip (both Fantastic 5), Rodney C (Funky 4+1 and Double Trouble), The Cold Crush Brothers (Tony Crush, DJ Ultamite, Grand Master Caz), JDL, Easy AD, and Almighty Kay Gee (no registration required; free)
***
In addition, there will be an art installation, Thinking Inside the Box, running all five days of the festival.
And EP Local will have a food truck on hand in the Levitt (back) parking lot from 12 to 4 pm both Saturday and Sunday serving a variety of sandwiches and craft tacos. Click here to see the menu.
This VersoFest, be sure to explore The Westport Library’s first mixed-media art installation, Thinking Inside the Box. Born from an idea put forward by artist and author Melissa Newman, Thinking Inside the Box is a unique installation that brings together more than 20 artists from around the area to create original works that will be displayed from March 18 through May 5 in the central grandstand in the Library’s Trefz Forum.
Participating artists are set to include: Tina Puckett, Chris Perry, Marc Zaref, Tiara Trent, Rebecca Ross, Janine Brown, Darcy Hicks, Nina Bentley, Miggs Burroughs, Sooo-z Mastropietro, Tom Bernsten, kHyal, Melissa Newman, Mary Ellen Hendricks, Katherine Ross, Five Fingaz, Tammy Winser, S’aint Phifer, Linda Colletta, Mollie Keller, and Norm Siegel.
***
The Library is pleased to be able to offer free programs and events through the generous donations of patrons like you. Please consider giving to the Library so that we can continue to offer events like this one. Your donation is tax deductible. Donate Now!
Since its inception in 2022, VersoFest has been building to become one of Connecticut's premier music festivals and conferences, featuring a diverse array of local and global talent that has included The Smithereens, Sunflower Bean, renowned producer Steve Lillywhite, Norton Records/Kicks Books/Kicksville Radio co-founder and original Cramps drummer Miriam Linna, Alice Cooper Group Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dennis Dunaway, Aretha Franklin/Ray Charles songwriter Joshie Jo Armstead, Psychedelic Furs frontman and painter Richard Butler, and hip hop pioneer DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore.
Spanning five days for this year's edition, April 3 through April 7, The Westport Library's annual music and media festival and conference features Verso Visionaries: Chuck D in conversation with Akashic Books publisher Johnny Temple (Wednesday, April 3), and David Bowie, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy music producer Tony Visconti in conversation with WFUV's Paul Cavalconte (Saturday, April 6, at 1 pm), both previously announced, and now adding music legend John Densmore in conversation with CNN's Alisyn Camerota Saturday afternoon at 4:30 pm.
John Densmore by Jeff Katz Photography
Densmore is the drummer for the legendary rock band The Doors, which has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and since then, he has earned a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Densmore's latest book, The Doors Unhinged, details his conflict with bandmates over the right to use The Doors’ name, revealing the ways in which this struggle mirrors and reflects a much larger societal issue.
Tom Waits said of the book, "There are some of us out there who still have principles and cannot be bought. John Densmore is one of them. He is not for sale and that is his gift to us.”
Camerota joins Densmore, returning to The Westport Library on the heels of her March 27 memoir launch event of Combat Love. While known for her reporting presence, Camerota came of age during late 1970s punk rock, forming close bonds with Red Bank, New Jersey band Shrapnel. The band's 1979 single "Combat Love" features backing vocals from Shrapnel confidant Joey Ramone and is being reissued as a limited 7-inch record with Camerota's memoir.
The Lemon Twigs, DJ HYSTERICA, Nick Depuy, and Spin Doctors: Concert headliners of VersoFest 2024
VersoFest 2024 concerts and performances include recent Tonight Show featured rockers The Lemon Twigs with DJ HYSTERICA on Thursday April 4, and '90s hitmakers Spin Doctors with singer-songwriter Nick Depuy on Friday April 5.
Audrey Golden, author of "I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women At Factory Records" with "New Haven Independent's" Karen Ponzio
Rooted in Connecticut's burgeoning music and arts scenes, VersoFest also features panels and workshops all day Saturday and Sunday. Highlights include a midday Saturday Verso Book Club event featuring Audrey Golden, author of I Thought I Heard You Speak: Women At Factory Records, in conversation with New Haven Independent's Karen Ponzio; a Sunday panel on the wild lore of WPLR's 1975 Fleetwood Mac broadcast from Trod Nossel Studios featuring an early incarnation of the Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham era with broadcaster Dick Kalt and special guests, moderated by singer-songwriter Dr. Jennifer Dauphinais; and a Pitch Your Podcast Panel by CT Public with CT Public Senior Director Meg Dalton and Peabody Award winning Uncivil podcaster and writer Jack Hitt.
L to R: Christine Ohlman and Cindy Dunaway, Tish & Snooky of Manic Panic
Sunday, April 7, features the return of VersoFest's popular live music oral history podcast with "Glam to Punk — A Fashion Round Table: Alice Cooper, Bowie, Blondie and Beyond" featuring Cindy Dunaway, Tish & Snooky (Manic Panic), and special guest Dennis Dunaway (original Alice Cooper Group bassist), moderated by SNL Band singer and frequent Westport Library collaborator Christine Ohlman.
“From a first-year participant in 2022, I’ve watched VersoFest’s super-cool evolution, spreading its colorful wings in an increasingly unique way to touch and enrich the artistic life of the community," said Ohlman. "And in the process, to offer some phenomenal, top-of-the line entertainment. I'm delighted to once again be a part of VersoFest 2024.”
Dunaway served as costume designer to the Alice Cooper Group from their formative Phoenix, Arizona, days to stadium shows. The band's Liberace- and Busby Berkeley-inspired glitter wear caught the eye of David Bowie and Elton John, cementing the style and aesthetics of the "glam" era. In a parallel universe, Tish and Snooky's gorgeously Punk’d costumes — self-designed, razor-bladed, safety-pinned and schoolgirl-skirted — lit up stages (along with their vocals, beginning with the earliest lineup of Blondie), in NYC and beyond, leading then to open the nation’s first punk boutique and found the groundbreaking Manic Panic cosmetic line.
L to R: VersoFest Record Fair presented by Record Riots; Paul Breton's "Diamond Dogs at 50" David Bowie exhibit with stage designer Mark Ravitz
Saturday and Sunday also feature a record fair curated by Record Riots, set up in the Hub on the Library's main floor. In addition, collector and curator Paul Brenton is bringing a "Diamond Dogs at 50" David Bowie exhibit, featuring the original stage models from the 1974 Diamond Dogs tour and other rare ephemera. Pioneering stage designer Mark Ravitz will be in attendance, having designed numerous Bowie tour sets (Diamond Dogs, Glass Spiders, and Serious Moonlight tours) as well as stages for KISS, Whitney Houston, and Backstreet Boys.
"Wild Style" and Fairfield County native Tony Tone of the Cold Crush Brothers
The festival concludes with a celebration of hip hop's first motion picture, Wild Style, featuring Tony Tone of the Cold Crush Brothers, the return of Grand Wizzard Theodore, as well as Prince Whipper Whip, DJ Ultamite, Grand Master Caz, JDL, Easy AD, Almighty Kay Gee, and Rodney C.
Food trucks will be on site throughout the weekend in the library parking lot to supplement the many offerings of the Library Café.
All VersoFest performances, panels, and workshops are free or at market rates thanks to the generous support of donors, community partners, and Library programming funds. A selection of events will be recorded by Verso Studios Crew Call and available on-demand at a later date.
The complete VersoFest 2024 schedule and information can be found here.
"Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" are just two of the '90s rock anthems that will be chiming through the Trefz Forum at Verso Studios in The Westport Library on April 5, as the iconic rockers the Spin Doctors headline the Friday Night Concert presented by Webster Bank at VersoFest 2024, the Library's annual music and media festival.
Local singer-songwriter Nick Depuy opens at 7 pm, with Spin Doctors taking the stage at 8 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $50 and available now.
VersoFest is The Westport Library's annual music and media festival and conference, spanning five days for this year's edition, April 3 through April 7. Converging local with global, previous VersoFests have presented concerts with The Smithereens and Sunflower Bean, as well as events with renowned producer Steve Lillywhite, Norton Records/Kicks Books/Kicksville Radio co-founder and original Cramps drummer Miriam Linna, Alice Cooper Group Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dennis Dunaway, Psychedelic Furs frontman and painter Richard Butler, author and journalist Rachel Felder, and hip hop pioneer DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore.
VersoFest 2024 luminaries announced so far include legendary musician, activist, and author Chuck D, acclaimed David Bowie, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy music producer Tony Visconti, and electric power pop rockers The Lemon Twigs, with the full VersoFest schedule to be released next week. All VersoFest performances, panels, and workshops are free or at market rates thanks to the generous support of donors, community partners, and Library programming funds.
Verso Studios present state of the arts concerts with a d&b sound system rivaling the finest venues in the state, an 18 foot HD screen, and multicamera recording capability. Standing capacity is 600-plus, providing audiences with an intimate and unique experience.
With more than 12 million albums sold, the GRAMMY-nominated Spin Doctors are rounding 30-plus years in rock 'n' roll with a seventh studio album and world tour on the way. The band's mythology began at New York’s New School University in the fall of ’88, when a fateful door-knock sparked the first meeting of drummer Aaron Comess and guitarist Eric Schenkman. Performing as the Trucking Company, Schenkman, John Popper, and Chris Barron were creating buzz. But when Popper committed himself to Blues Traveler, the remnants sought new direction. Having assured Schenkman that he’d “check them out,” Comess formed a ferocious rhythm section with Bronx-raised bassist Mark White. “When I first met them,” recalled White, “I thought, ‘These are some funky-assed white boys.’"
The nascent Spin Doctors lineup hit the Lower Manhattan music scene. Flexing their musicianship and announcing their elastic approach to live performance with jams that stretched to the outer reaches, the band’s glorious ability to supercharge a tune was in evidence on 1991’s debut live release, Up For Grabs, where some tracks stormed beyond 10 minutes. They didn’t know it yet, but the Spin Doctors — alongside peers like Blues Traveler, Phish, and Widespread Panic — would drag the jam-band ethos into the ’90s era, their DNA later dripping into the scene’s post-millennial resurgence.
The Spin Doctors' craft and originality carried them into a deal with Epic Records, setting up the Pocket Full Of Kryptonite album that defined early-90s rock. “There was a feeling of magic in the band,” reflected lead singer Barron, “and a belief in the air. That first record felt really innocent."
The success of Pocket Full Of Kryptonite blossomed at the height of music industry popular monoculture. The dominance over format (CDs and cassettes) and media outlets (MTV, print, radio) was the one-two punch leading to an explosion of album sales.
"When we were selling 50,000 records a week," Barron said. "I’d walk into a mall to buy underwear and 300 kids would surround me."
"Two Princes" rose to #4 on the Top 100 singles chart as one of the top rock 'n' roll radio singles of 1993. The band cinched a Rolling Stone cover and Sesame Street appearance.
The follow-ups to Pocket Full Of Kryptonite were 1996's You’ve Got To Believe In Something and 1999’s Here Comes The Bride, both of which featured lineup changes within the band. Just two weeks before Bride's release, Barron was struck with a rare acute form of vocal cord paralysis that affected him for a year.
In 2001, with Barron recovered, the Spin Doctors classic lineup reconvened to play the closing of Manhattan's legendary Wetlands club, where the band cut their teeth in their formative days. 2005's Nice Talking To Me found the Spin Doctors working with esteemed producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More, The Replacements, O.A.R., Maroon 5) at L.A.'s historic Sound City studio, and their 2013 release, If The River Was Whiskey, featured gritty blues songs harkening back to their origin.
Spin Doctors live, Photo by Krupek Paweł Krupka
All that sets the stage for what's to come, with a new album in the works.
“For the next album,” said Barron, “I kinda want to stay spontaneous. I’d personally like to make a quarter-turn and do a rock record. But I have a feeling it’s gonna get funky. Y’know, there’s that great quote from Keith Richards when he went to meet Mick Jagger at AIR Studios to make Steel Wheels. And he told his wife, ‘I’ll either be back tomorrow or in a month.’"
Opening the VersoFest April 5 concert is Connecticut singer-songwriter Nick Depuy, who boasts a unique sound rooted in old time folk, country rock, jazz, and blues. At 16, Depuy was mentored by Bruce Lundvall of Blue Note, Elektra, and Columbia Records, who called Depuy "the next James Taylor."
Depuy has shared the stage with legendary singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, Neil Finn of Crowded House, and art-rock legends Procol Harum. Depuy's music has been featured on WPLR 99.1, ABC Channel 8, CBS WTIC 1080, and in performance at tri-state area venues including Fairfield Stage One, the Bijou Theater, Ridgefield Playhouse, the Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival, The Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Arlene’s Grocery, Joe’s Pub in NYC, and the Connecticut Folk Festival, where he was both a “new artist” and “new songwriter” finalist.
Depuy’s debut LP, Don't Be Sorry, is available on streaming services.
All VersoFest 2024 concerts are co-produced with the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce.
Iconic rock band the Spin Doctors are headlining the Friday Night Concert presented by Webster Private Bank at VersoFest 2024, the Library's annual music and media festival. Local singer-songwriter Nick Depuy opens at 7 pm, with Spin Doctors taking the stage at 8 pm.
Tickets purchased in advance of the show are $50 and available at the link above. If there are any tickets remaining the evening of the show, they will be sold for $60 at the door. Refunds not available within 48 hours of the show.
VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media festival and conference, spanning five days for this year’s edition, April 3 through April 7. Among the luminaries scheduled for this year's event are legendary musician, author, and activist Chuck D, renowned David Bowie, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy music producer Tony Visconti, and electric power pop rockers The Lemon Twigs, with more to come.
Converging local with global, previous VersoFests have presented concerts with The Smithereens and Sunflower Bean, as well as events with renowned producer Steve Lillywhite, Norton Records/Kicks Books/Kicksville Radio co-founder and original Cramps drummer Miriam Linna, Alice Cooper Group Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dennis Dunaway, Psychedelic Furs frontman and painter Richard Butler, author and journalist Rachel Felder, and hip hop pioneer DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore.
***
With more than 12 million albums sold and nearly 2,000 live shows to their name, the GRAMMY-nominated Spin Doctors are rounding 30-plus years in rock 'n' roll.
The band formed at New York’s New School University in 1988, eventually setting into a quartet of singer Chris Barron, drummer Aaron Comess, guitarist Eric Schenkman, and bassist Mark White. Flexing their musicianship and announcing their elastic approach to live performance, in 1991 the band released its debut live release, Up For Grabs. That earned them a deal with Epic Records, and their follow-up, Pocket Full Of Kryptonite, hit big, selling nearly 10 million albums. “Two Princes,” the hit single off the album, rose to #4 on the Top 100 singles chart as one of the top rock 'n' roll radio singles of 1993, and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” reached #17 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. Behind those successes, the band cinched a Rolling Stone cover and a Sesame Street appearance.
The numbers were staggering, but it was the Spin Doctors’ capacity to reinvent themselves throughout the unfolding decade that confirmed their status as a great American band. In 1994, they struck back with Turn It Upside Down, a bittersweet album of superb songs including “Cleopatra’s Cat” to “You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast.”
Follow-ups included 1996's You’ve Got To Believe In Something and 1999’s Here Comes The Bride, both of which featured lineup changes within the band.
In 2001, the Spin Doctors’ classic lineup reconvened to play the closing of Manhattan's legendary Wetlands club, where the band cut their teeth in their formative days. That original chemistry proved too strong to put back in the box, and scattershot live shows ultimately spilled into 2005’s Nice Talking To Me, recorded in the legendary Sound City (Nirvana’s Nevermind, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours) with esteemed producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More, The Replacements, O.A.R., Maroon 5). That was backed by If The River Was Whiskey (2013), which featured gritty blues songs harkening back to the band’s origin.
The band has continued to go strong ever since, which brings us to now, with plans afoot for a seventh studio album and another swashbuckling world tour.
***
Opening the VersoFest April 5 concert is Connecticut singer-songwriter Nick Depuy, who boasts a unique sound rooted in old time folk, country rock, jazz, and blues. At 16, Depuy was mentored by Bruce Lundvall of Blue Note, Elektra, and Columbia Records, who called Depuy “the next James Taylor.”
Depuy has shared the stage with legendary singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, Neil Finn of Crowded House, and art-rock legends Procol Harum. Depuy's music has been featured on WPLR 99.1, ABC Channel 8, CBS WTIC 1080, and in performance at tri-state area venues including: Fairfield Stage One, the Bijou Theater, Ridgefield Playhouse, the Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival, The Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Arlene’s Grocery, Joe’s Pub in NYC, and the Connecticut Folk Festival, where he was both a “new artist” and “new songwriter” finalist. Depuy’s debut LP, Don't Be Sorry, is available on streaming services.
***
All VersoFest 2024 concerts are co-produced with the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce.
Photo by Travis Shinn
Revolutionary, hip hop icon, social activist, author, film producer, and digital music pioneer. Few can hold these titles with the impact and influence that Chuck D has had on modern pop culture and philosophy.
The leader and co-founder of legendary group Public Enemy, and part of the supergroup Prophets of Rage, will discuss his life, work, and recent graphic novel STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D on Wednesday, April 3, at 7 pm in the VersoFest 2024 Kickoff Conversation presented by Darcy Travlos.
Chuck D will be in conversation with Akashic Books publisher Johnny Temple, with media host, entrepreneur, and music executive June Archer introducing the guest of honor.
The event will be held in the Library's Trefz Forum. Tickets are $50 and available for purchase here.
VersoFest is The Westport Library's annual music and media festival and conference, spanning five days from April 3 through April 7. Converging local with global, VersoFest has presented concerts with The Smithereens and Sunflower Bean, as well as events with renowned producer Steve Lillywhite, Norton Records/Kicks Books/Kicksville Radio co-founder and original Cramps drummer Miriam Linna, Alice Cooper Group Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dennis Dunaway, Psychedelic Furs frontman and painter Richard Butler, author and journalist Rachel Felder, and hip hop pioneer DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore. Initial VersoFest 2024 luminaries include Legendary David Bowie, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy music producer Tony Visconti, and electric power pop rockers The Lemon Twigs, with a full VersoFest schedule to be released in coming weeks. All performances, panels, and workshops are free or at market rates with the generous support of donors, community partners, and Library programming funds.
"We are absolutely thrilled to have Chuck D of Public Enemy join us at The Westport Library," said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. "His groundbreaking contributions to music and social activism have made a profound impact on our culture, and we can't wait for our community to engage with his incredible insights and talent."
Chuck D first rose to acclaim in the 1980s with a string of critically lauded and commercially successful albums that addressed weighty issues about race, rage, and inequality. Present day, The New York Times has named Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back to their list of the “25 Most Significant Albums of the Last Century,” and in 2005, The Library of Congress added Fear of a Black Planet to its National Recording Registry.
In 2013, Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., began curating its archive, the group was asked to donate iconic items from its history. In 2020, Public Enemy received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the GRAMMYs. This year, “Fight The Power” was named #2 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 2021 list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (which also included “Bring The Noise”).
"I wanted to curate, present, navigate, teach, and lead the hip hop art, making it something that people would revere," Chuck D told Kelefah Sanneh of The New Yorker in February 2023. "I was educated in the arts ever since I was a little kid. My mother started Roosevelt Community Theater in 1973 in Roosevelt (New York). I was under Frank Frazier's tutelage as an art teacher [in] 1972. I go to Adelphi University to become a commercial artist. But as what? I had no idea. Hip hop as an idea got me through college."
In June 2016, Chuck D debuted Prophets of Rage, a new “supergroup” with former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk, plus Cypress Hill’s B-Real and DJ Lord of Public Enemy. He formed Enemy Radio in 2019, the DJ-MC sound system component of Public Enemy and toured throughout Europe with Wu-Tang and De La Soul.
Ever the media polymath, Chuck D is also a visual artist whose work has been shown in galleries nationwide, a best-selling author (including 2017’s 300-page This Day In Rap and Hip Hop History), a highly sought-after speaker on the college lecture circuit, a prominent member of music industry nonprofit organizations MusicCares and Rock The Vote, and a record label founder of SpitSlam.
Chuck D also has served as national spokesperson for Rock The Vote, the National Urban League, the National Alliance of African American Athletes, and Hip Hop Public Health. In 2018, he was named the chairman of the Celebrity Board for the Universal Hip Hop Museum in New York.
In February 2020, Chuck D turned his gaze once again to the page and filled three 5x8 journals with his written and drawn reflections of a world beginning to unravel. STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D recreates the format of his original art, combining three full-color paperback bound books into a beautiful box set. The box set is the inaugural offering from Enemy Books, the new Akashic Books imprint curated by the artist and author himself.
As Akaschic Books characterizes the volume: "Spanning the onset of COVID-19 through the first year of the Joe 'Bye-Don' administration, Chuck D lends his powerful artistic voice to one of the most tumultuous periods in American history, and puts it in a capsule. Like the neo-expressionist graffiti art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Chuck D’s energetic “Naphic Grovels” marry text with drawings, commenting on contemporary events with the same activist instinct that propelled Public Enemy’s 'music-with-a-message' reputation. His inventive, Amiri Baraka–esque language and accompanying art is also occasionally used as a tool for introspection, providing unparalleled insight into one of the most important cultural figures of our time."
Chuck D, leader and co-founder of legendary group Public Enemy and acclaimed hip hop icon, social activist, author, film producer, and digital music pioneer, will discuss his life, work, and recent graphic novel with Akashic Books publisher Johnny Temple in the VersoFest 2024 Kickoff Conversation presented by Darcy Travlos.
Local media host, entrepreneur, and music executive June Archer will introduce Chuck D. Tickets purchased in advance of the show are $50 and available at the link above. If there are any seats remaining, tickets will be sold for $60 at the door.
Pre-signed copies of Chuck D's new book, STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D, will be sold at the event.
Chuck D first rose to acclaim in the 1980s with a string of critically lauded and commercially successful albums that addressed weighty issues about race, rage, and inequality. Present day, The New York Times has named Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back to their list of the “25 Most Significant Albums of the Last Century,” and in 2005, The Library of Congress added Fear of a Black Planet to their National Recording Registry.
In 2013, Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., began curating its archive, the group was asked to donate iconic items from their history. In 2020, Public Enemy received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the GRAMMYs, and this year, “Fight The Power” was named #2 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 2021 list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (which also included “Bring The Noise”).
In June 2016, Chuck D debuted Prophets of Rage, a new “supergroup” with former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk, plus Cypress Hill’s B-Real and DJ Lord of Public Enemy.
Ever the media polymath, Chuck D is also a visual artist whose work has been shown in galleries nationwide, a best-selling author (including 2017’s 300-page This Day In Rap and Hip Hop History), a highly sought-after speaker on the college lecture circuit, a prominent member of music industry nonprofit organizations MusicCares and Rock The Vote, and a record label founder of SpitSlam.
Chuck D also has served as national spokesperson for Rock The Vote, the National Urban League, the National Alliance of African American Athletes, and Hip Hop Public Health. In 2018, he was named the chairman of the Celebrity Board for the Universal Hip Hop Museum in New York.
In February 2020, Chuck D turned his gaze once again to the page and began to fill three 5x8 journals with his written and drawn reflections of a world beginning to unravel. The result is STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D, which recreates the format of his original art, combining three full-color paperback bound books into a beautiful box set. The box set is the inaugural offering from Enemy Books, the new Akashic Books imprint curated by the artist and author himself.
***
About VersoFest
VersoFest is The Westport Library's annual music and media festival and conference, spanning five days from April 3 through April 7. Converging local with global, VersoFest has presented concerts with The Smithereens and Sunflower Bean, as well as events with renowned producer Steve Lillywhite, Norton Records/Kicks Books/Kicksville Radio co-founder and original Cramps drummer Miriam Linna, Alice Cooper Group Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dennis Dunaway, Psychedelic Furs frontman and painter Richard Butler, author and journalist Rachel Felder, and hip hop pioneer DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore.
Initial VersoFest 2024 luminaries include Legendary David Bowie, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy music producer Tony Visconti, and electric power pop rockers The Lemon Twigs, with a full VersoFest schedule to be released in coming weeks.
All performances, panels, and workshops are free or at market rates with the generous support of donors, community partners, and Library programming funds.
Chuck D
Hip-Hop
History of Music
The indie rock/pop band The Lemon Twigs will lead the VersoFest 2024 kickoff concert on Thursday, April 4, in the Library’s Trefz Forum.
Doors open at 7 pm with WFMU and WHUS favorite DJ HYSTERICA spinning her all-vinyl oeuvre of power pop, punk, greasy soul, and yé-yé. The show begins at 8 pm.
Tickets are $20 and available at the link above. If there are any tickets remaining the evening of the show, they will be sold for $30 at the door. Refunds not available within 48 hours of the show.
The Lemon Twigs pull from a wide range of multigenerational inspirations, darting from twee chamber pop balladry to full-on glam punk, mixing plaintive singer-songwriter confessionals with an almost Syd Barrett sense of outré pop. Their sound has said to harken back to the vocal melody of Art Garfunkel and chamber pop of Brian Wilson, and they cite among their influences Moondog and Arthur Russell.
The New York-based group is led by the brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario and is currently touring behind its fourth full-length studio release, Everything Harmony. That follows their 2016 debut, Do Hollywood, and their follow-ups Go to School (2018) and Songs for the General Public (2020).
The Lemon Twigs have toured extensively nationally and internationally, bringing their eclectic sound to a variety of venues, including the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., the Majestic Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Space Ballroom in Hamden, Connecticut. They’re touring the West Coast this winter, with stops in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, where they’ll be playing the Regent Theatre.
In addition to their original records, The Lemon Twigs have appeared on recent albums by Weyes Blood and Todd Rundgren, who said that the band has “a built-in appreciation for music that is of a couple of generations before theirs. I think they were bored by the music of their own generation, and since you can’t fast forward to the music of the future, you just start going backwards to music that was made before you were born.”
***
All VersoFest 2024 concerts are co-produced with the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce.
History of Music
Verso Studios
“They’re so out of left field in their songs. They don’t have any rules in their songs and that’s sometimes the way it should be. … Hey guys, I’m dying to meet you, keep making great music.”
-Elton John, on The Lemon Twigs
The indie rock/pop band the Lemon Twigs will lead the VersoFest 2024 kickoff concert on Thursday, April 4, in the Library’s Trefz Forum. Tickets are on sale now for $20. Doors open at 6:30 pm with WFMU and WHUS favorite DJ HYSTERICA spinning her all-vinyl oeuvre of power pop, punk, greasy soul, and yé-yé. The show begins at 7:30 pm with a forthcoming local opener.
The Lemon Twigs pull from a wide range of multigenerational inspirations, darting from twee chamber pop balladry to full-on glam punk, mixing plaintive singer-songwriter confessionals with an almost Syd Barrett sense of outré pop. Their sound has said to harken back to the vocal melody of Art Garfunkel and chamber pop of Brian Wilson, and they cite among their influences Moondog and Arthur Russell.
The New York-based group is led by the brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario and is currently touring behind its fourth full-length studio release, Everything Harmony. That follows their 2016 debut, Do Hollywood, and their follow-ups Go to School (2018) and Songs for the General Public (2020).
The Lemon Twigs are longtime friends and tourmates of Sunflower Bean, which headlined the Thursday night VersoFest 2023 slot. This past October, Local WPKN DJ Alec Cumming of Snap Crackle POP! (father of Julia Cumming from Sunflower Bean) produced a radio documentary of the Lemon Twigs, weaving songs and an exclusive interview with the D’Addario brothers.
The VersoFest 2024 kickoff concert date is preceded by 2023 California winter dates with legendary dB’s singer-songwriter/producer Chris Stamey. From VersoFest, the Lemon Twigs are slated to perform at Primavera Sound Barcelona 2024, one of the world’s premier pop/rock/underground electronic and dance music festivals, alongside Pulp, PJ Harvey, the National, Lana Del Ray, and Amyl and the Sniffers.
Recently playing numerous tracks from Everything Harmony on his BBC6 Iggy Confidential radio show, proto-punk icon Iggy Pop exclaimed, “Lemon Twigs, they’re over-talented, that’s all I can say about the Lemon Twigs. Wow! These guys can do a whole lot of things, and they do. They leave me scratchin’ my head always, but it’s always super fine.”
The Lemon Twigs have appeared on recent albums by Weyes Blood and Todd Rundgren, who said that the band has “a built-in appreciation for music that is of a couple of generations before theirs. I think they were bored by the music of their own generation, and since you can’t fast forward to the music of the future, you just start going backwards to music that was made before you were born.”
All VersoFest 2024 concerts are co-produced with the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce.
Legendary music producer Tony Visconti will headline VersoFest 2024 at The Westport Library, appearing in the Library’s Trefz Forum on Saturday, April 6.
Visconti will be in conversation with WFUV's Paul Cavalconte for The Westport Library's third annual music and media festival, discussing his art and career as one of pop music’s longest working and most influential producers. This event is free and requires registration.
Beyond music, Visconti has created moments blooming into cultural movements (glam rock) and art linked to collective memory in David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World,” “Rebel Rebel,” and “Heroes,” and T. Rex’s “Get It On (Bang A Gong),” “Cosmic Dancer,” and “20th Century Boy.”
Lifetime achievements, GRAMMY Awards, film and TV soundtracks, and many other honors celebrate Visconti’s production and arrangement vision, which also includes collaborations with Thin Lizzy, Paul McCartney & Wings (for their famed Band on the Run album), U2, Bert Jansch, Angelique Kidjo, Luscious Jackson, Alejandro Escovedo, the Strawbs, Fall Out Boy, Gentle Giant, Mercury Rev, Sparks, Badfinger, The Moody Blues, The Alarm, Kristeen Young, and D-Generation.
In addition, Visconti recently arranged the strings on New Haven musician and former Verso Studios Connecticut Music Oral History Podcast guest Kelly Reilly’s “Happiness Lasts.”
Visconti is currently touring the globe celebrating the release of the new 77-track box set, Produced by Tony Visconti. He is also the author of the book, Tony Visconti: The Autobiography: Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy, published in 2007.
History of Music
Verso Studios
David Bowie, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy — titans of rock ‘n’ roll music, all connected by the iconic touches of legendary producer, arranger, and VersoFest 2024 keynote subject Tony Visconti.
Visconti will be in conversation with WFUV's Paul Cavalconte for The Westport Library's third annual music and media festival on Saturday, April 6 at 1 pm, discussing his art and career as one of pop music’s longest working and most influential producers. This event is free and requires registration, tickets are available now via this link.
Beyond music, Visconti has created moments blooming into cultural movements (glam rock), art linked to collective memory in T. Rex’s “Get It On (Bang A Gong),” “Cosmic Dancer,” and “20th Century Boy” and Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World,” “Rebel Rebel,” and “Heroes.” Lifetime achievements, GRAMMY Awards, film and TV soundtracks, and many other honors celebrate Visconti’s production and arrangement vision, which also includes collaborations with Paul McCartney & Wings (for their famed Band on the Run album), U2, Bert Jansch, Angelique Kidjo, Luscious Jackson, Alejandro Escovedo, the Strawbs, Fall Out Boy, Gentle Giant, Mercury Rev, Sparks, Badfinger, The Moody Blues, The Alarm, Kristeen Young, and D-Generation. In addition, Visconti recently arranged the strings on New Haven musician and former Verso Studios Connecticut Music Oral History Podcast guest Kelly Reilly’s “Happiness Lasts.”
“Now in its third year, VersoFest 2024 is shaping up to be another impressive and inspiring weekend for creators and fans alike. Announcing the legendary Tony Visconti, who has been at the helm of countless cultural touchstones is a tremendous launch for our 2024 program,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer.
VersoFest 2024 is a four-day music festival and conference happening Thursday, April 4, through Sunday, April 7. VersoFest includes panels where experts share their perspective and vision. Intimate workshops provide creators the opportunity to deconstruct, improve, and hone their craft. Performances entertain and inspire.
Previous years have featured a diverse and eclectic mix of performers and subjects including the Smithereens, Sunflower Bean, Grand Wizzard Theodore (inventor of scratch DJing), producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Talking Heads, Dave Matthews Band), Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs), Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper), Miriam Linna (Norton Records, Kicks Books, Kicksville Radio), actor/producer Michael Jai White, Little Steven’s TeachRock Foundation, Connecticut Public, and many more.
Visconti is currently touring the globe celebrating the release of the new 77-track box set Produced by Tony Visconti. Visconti told popular music blog Super Deluxe Edition, “This boxset covers five-and-a-half decades of my efforts in the art of making iconic recordings. Some of it is familiar and some will have a eureka moment, ‘I didn’t know Visconti produced that one!’”
