VAE’s Basement Music Series presents ‘Session Americana’ with Eleanor Buckland | Entertainment

BENNINGTON — Vermont Arts Exchange (VAE) and its Basement Music Series (BMS) will wrap up the 2025 season with Session Americana along with Eleanor Buckland on Saturday, November 8 at 7 p.m. at the Bennington Theater, located at 331 Main Street in downtown Bennington.

Back for their 6th performance with the BMS, organizers said they are thrilled to have Session Americana with Eleanor Buckland joining them on this tour.

“VAE is looking forward to returning to the Bennington Theater after a string of BMS shows there,” said Matthew Perry, Executive Director, VAE. “It’s the perfect size theater for the audience and performers to connect and relate. The sound is exceptional and to partner with another ‘family in the arts’, is just fun and makes sense.”

Eleanor Buckland, of Lula Wiles, now touring “in the band” brings a wealth of experience performing and collaborating, a powerful rhythm guitar, great fiddle chops, sophisticated and soulful singing and a pile of great songs.

“Buckland’s folksy drawl plays perfectly with this fresh set of pop tunes that are seemingly built for fans of contemporary FM radio acts like Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift, both nostalgically rustic and immediately modern,” reviewed WBUR.

Known for swapping instruments onstage, trading off lead vocals and sharing songwriting credits, Session Americana is constantly exploring new collaborations and touring like a band out of time, always searching for a welcoming and homey venue, a long lunch with old friends, and a good glass of wine. Rolling Stone Magazine says, “The group expertly blends vintage American roots music styles, from country to jazz to rock, in a rowdy but deft fashion.”

“I’m lucky to have known Session Americana for most of their twenty years! I was just starting out as a songwriter when I discovered their residency shows at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge,” said Vermont-based singer-songwriter and the Tony and Grammy award-winning creator of the Broadway musical Hadestown, Anaïs Mitchel. “Pure magic. I’m misty-eyed now thinking about it! I had never seen a band enjoying themselves that much, and everyone in the room was in on it, this raucous and holy thing. I took a ‘note to self’ that I’ve tried to recall many times when music felt hard. Like, the job is simple— access the joy— and if you can do that, it opens a portal. I got to guest sing with Session a few times, witness their sustained mutual love affair with my home state of Vermont, and even help out in the making of one of their incredible albums. I’m ever in awe of Session, individually and as a band. They’re so finely in tune with each other, with their audiences. I’m in awe of their bond, their easy laughter, their intuitive musical conversation that has now gained the richness of decades.”

The Bennington Theater is a fully accessible facility. Beverages will be available for purchase. Tickets available at benningtontheater.org.