WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Vermont Honored in New Musical
Member Center:
Bakersfield, Vermont - May 11, 2009
In the Lost Nation Valley, hummingbirds visit feeders and daffodils bloom. They are the kinds of sights musicians write songs about, and John Cassel has done just that.
The Bakersfield composer and pianist is putting the finishing touches on his full-length musical called North Country Lucky. He says, "The inspiration comes from the Vermont spirit."
His story is about a Vermont farm family struggling to survive economically. Other conflicts come from debates over land development and romance.
Keeghan Nolan says, "Everyone's really supportive."
Nolan, a 17-year-old Franklin County country singer, is one of the performers helping Cassel with early workshops and performances of the musical. Because it's set in their backyards, Nolan says the musicians have really been able to get into their work. She explains, "I can relate to the song a lot more and get into it, so it really means a ton to me."
John Cassel has worked for more than two decades as a pianist at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe and longer in clubs on the East Coast and even in Europe. But North Country Lucky has special meaning. Because, Cassel says, of the landscapes many of his songs honor.
Admiring the view from his deck, the songwriter explains, "I see it every day, I'm grateful for it. How could you go wrong?"
He hopes to turn his musical into a radio play and then perform it on stages around Vermont: his tribute to the place he lives, and loves.
The performers will debut North Country Lucky with a reading and concert of the work Saturday night, May 16, at the Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier's City Hall. Tickets are $20.
Jack Thurston - WCAX News
