Jesus Christ Almighty, It's Already May

"At first I was too much confused to observe anything accurately. The general burst of terrific grandeur was all that I beheld."

Last Sunday, we kicked off one of the busiest, craziest summers the Vermont Hip Hop scene has ever witnessed. I'm comfortable making that call in advance, it's more inevitability than prediction or projection. May, June, July and August will be white hot. Some of the biggest headlines and surprise victories will come towards the end of the year, but in terms of the sheer volume and density of opportunities and new connections, this summer will be a peak moment.

Fittingly, the transition into Beltane was a heavy one. You live in a world that runs on magic rituals and lunar calendars, and whether or not you believe that means nothing in the face of the facts. Saturday, April 30th was a milestone that saw multiple generations celebrating their both accomplishments and their future. That wasn't planned or deliberate; things just happen that way, like barfights at closing time on a full moon.

At Zenbarn in Waterbury, the arrival of Wu legend Cappadonna convened a lineup that connected many threads: SINNN was in the building, alongside DJ Kanga, Mister Burns, Heady Betty, Charlie Mayne, and DarealaFlex45. That's a nicely curated cross-section of where the 802 is at right now.

Over in South Burlington, in the hallowed halls of Higher Ground's big ol' Ballroom, one of Vermont's earliest hip hop acts was, once again, rocking the house. Belizbeha reunited with an expanded lineup and delivered the goods for a packed and sweaty crowd. Meanwhile, at an undisclosed, super-cool location, the Queen City Kickback crew held another secret house party show featuring some of the very best of the new wave: Rivan C, YVNG OHM, Bilé, Obi the Voicegod, and RO$E GOLD.

That ain't all. Early in the morning, Equal Eyes Records dropped Mourning Sun, a bleak and beautiful boom bap LP re-booting the most prolific hip hop label Vermont has ever seen. It's the first of many, too, with a new Freddie Losambe project only weeks away. More on that soon.

And down in Manchester, New Hampshire, at hip hop hub The Shaskeen Pub, Horsemen mainstay Forever Fresh was opening up for the god AZ. Props for representing.

That's a lot for one day. Things just happen that way in the real world. You can participate consciously or keep being surprised by all these weird coincidences: the choice is yours, from here to the grave.

The shows calendar for May is up, and so far I've been adding more every day. If something is missing, let me know. Mister Burns and his usual crew of degenerates (Jarv, Dillon and Eyenine) will be hitting the road for no less than sixteen shows spanning from Maine to Florida: you can read more here. First, though, Burns will be at Foam Brewers this Friday alongside The Reflexions and Konflik for a free show that anyone in the BTV radius would be advised to attend. It's a great space and that's a great lineup.