Highlight 2025 Program Guide

2025

Program Guide

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112 Lake Street. Burlington, VT

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Proud to believe in Burlington City Arts.

Happy New Year, from Neagley & Chase Construction.

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New Year, New Warmth!

Start the year off right with the comfort of heat pumps from VGS.

P:LUKE AWTRY

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P: KYLE TANSLEY

Thank you to all our wonderful sponsors!

Ticket Info & Map UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH

All Access Buttons: $18 advance $20 day-of

Kids 5 and Under Are Free* Your button is your ticket to every Highlight event!

Please note: every venue, both indoor and out, has a capacity.

We strongly recommend getting in line early for your favorite events.

We appreciate your understanding!

* Unlike the standard Highlight button, each person in your party including children five and under, must have their own Big Top Button to reserve floor seats for Circus Smirkus.

Your Ticket to NYE fun!

How to purchase a Highlight button

1 Visit highlightbtv.org or scan the QR code

to purchase online. Once you purchase online, your buttons will be reserved and available for pickup at our box offices on New Year’s Eve, or at the BCA Center in advance. There is a box office at each Highlight location.

2 Visit one of our Burlington–area ticket sales partners and

purchase in–person. You can purchase your buttons at the BCA Center on Church Street, BCA Studios on Pine Street, ECHO Center, Foam Brewers, and Phoenix Books in Burlington.

3 Purchase a button at any of our venues on December 31.

Please note that the price for a ticket at the door is $2 more than in advance and that Highlight is on track to sell out!

Purchasing the day–of is more time consuming and may not guarantee you a ticket, so for the optimal Highlight experience, get your tickets early!

P: Stephen Mease

Mayor’s Welcome

Neighbors & Friends, It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Burlington for Highlight New Year’s Eve as we come together to ring in 2026 with art, music, and community joy.

Now in its eighth year, Highlight continues to celebrate what makes Burlington such a special place—our extraordinary artists, local food culture, and vibrant community. This celebration invites us to pause and reflect on the creativity and spirit that comes out of Burlington and to take pride in the bright future that we are building together every day.

As Mayor, I remain deeply proud of our city—of our resilience, our compassion, and our collective commitment to a Burlington where everyone can thrive.

Looking ahead to 2026, I am confident we will continue to strengthen our community and shape a future grounded in creativity, inclusion, and innovation.

We look forward to celebrating with you in Burlington’s beautiful waterfront and downtown as we come together to joyfully ring in 2026.

With gratitude,

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Mayor, City of Burlington

How to Highlight!

A Guide to New Year’s Eve 2025 in Burlington

Ring in the New Year in Burlington’s vibrant waterfront and downtown with Highlight! Produced by Burlington City Arts, Highlight offers our community a full day of creativity, connection, and celebration as Vermont artists, musicians, food vendors, and performers come together to showcase what makes our state shine. Everyone is invited to the biggest party of the year as we gather to close out 2025 with music, art, and community joy!

P: Stephen Mease

Hourly Schedule 11 am 11 am–8 pm: Exhibition–Do We Say Goodbye? Grief, Loss, and Mourning (BCA Center)

12 pm 12–1 pm: Circus Smirkus (Contois Auditorium) 12–4:30 pm: restART Relaxation Station (BCA Center)

1 pm 1–2 pm: Good Clean Fun (Vermont Comedy Club)

2 pm 2–2:30 pm: Waterfront Fest–Fluffy Bus DJ (Waterfront Park) 2–3 pm: Circus Smirkus (Contois Auditorium) 2–3 pm: Waterfront Fest–NYE Run/Walk to Highlight (Waterfront Park) 2–3:15 pm: Daytime Disco–DJ Rice Pilaf (Foam Brewers) 2–5 pm: Waterfront Fest–S’mores O’Clock (Waterfront Park) 2–10 pm: Waterfront Fest–The Fluffy Bus (Waterfront Park) 2:30–3:30 pm: Waterfront Fest–Sonido Mal Maiz (Waterfront Park)

3 pm 3–4 pm: Good Clean Fun (Vermont Comedy Club) 3:20–4:30 pm: Daytime Disco–DJ Cre8 (Foam Brewers) 3:30–4 pm: Waterfront Fest–Fluffy Bus DJ (Waterfront Park)

4 pm 4–5 pm: Circus Smirkus (Contois Auditorium) 4–5 pm: Waterfront Fest–Dwight + Nicole (Waterfront Park) 4–5:15 pm: Story & Song–The Moth StorySLAM (Unitarian Universalist) 4:40–6 pm: Daytime Disco–DJ Four–D (Foam Brewers)

5 pm 5–6 pm: Good Clean Fun (Vermont Comedy Club) 5–5:30 pm: Waterfront Fest–Fluffy Bus DJ (Waterfront Park) 5:30–6 pm: Story & Song–Henry Jamison (Unitarian Universalist) 5:30–6:30 pm: Waterfront Fest–Dari Bay (Waterfront Park)

6 pm 6–7 pm: Highlighting New Heights–WABAAM! Circus Collective, Redamancy (Contois Auditorium)* 6:15–7:15 pm: Story & Song–Hannah Frances (Unitarian Universalist) 6:30–7:00 pm: Fluffy Bus DJ (Waterfront Park)

7 pm 7–8 pm: Waterfront Fest–Bob Wagner (Waterfront Park) 7–9:30 pm: Vibrant Vibes–Giant Candy Dance Party (ECHO)* 7–12:30 am: Rest Stop (ECHO)* 7:15–8 pm: Highlighting New Heights–Feathers and Bone (Contois Auditorium)* 7:30–8:35 pm: The Will to Dance–Wild Leek River (ECHO)* 7:30–8:15 pm: Story & Song–Shape Note Singing (Unitarian Universalist)

8 pm 8–8:10 pm: Waterfront Fest–Fireworks! (Waterfront Park) 8:10–8:30 pm: Waterfront Fest–Champ Burn with Cirque de Fuego (Waterfront Park) 8:15–9 pm: Highlighting New Heights–Lunarcy (Contois Auditorium)* 8:30–9:30 pm: Story & Song–Sam Amidon (Unitarian Universalist) 8:30–10 pm: Waterfront Fest–The Barr Brothers (Waterfront Park) 8:30–10 pm: The Tenderbellies (Foam Brewers) 8:50–9:55 pm: The Will to Dance–Sonido Mal Maiz (ECHO)*

9 pm 9:30 pm–12:30 am: Vinyl Vibes–An NYE Dance Party (Contois)

10 pm 10 pm–12:30 am: Candy Coated Dreams–A Surreal NYE Experience (ECHO)* 10 pm–12:30 am: Soul Porpoise Featuring Paul Asbell & Dave Grippo (Skinny Pancake) 10:10–11:15pm: The Will to Dance–Moondogs (ECHO)* 10:30 pm–12:30 am: Ponyhustle (Foam Brewers)

11 pm 11:15 pm–12:30am: The Will to Dance–NewMantra (ECHO)*

WATERFRONT FEST 2–10 pm Close out 2025 on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Highlight fills Burlington’s iconic Waterfront Park with live music, local food vendors, the return of the Fluffy Bus, fireworks, and the unique NYE tradition of setting Champ aflame. Gather for s’mores, kids’ activities, and family–friendly fun

all day long. Enjoy sets from The Barr Brothers, Dwight & Nicole, Dari Bay, Bob Wagner, and more. Things start bumping at 2 pm, with DJs, food trucks, and so much more. Grab a seat around the bonfire, sip a drink, and take in some amazing tunes!

NYE RUN/WALK TO HIGHLIGHT! 2–3 pm

Warm up for all the Highlight revelry at RunVermont’s 2025 NYE Run/Walk to Highlight! Get your heart pumping with a fun run (or walk, or stroll, or hop) starting at 2 pm, with a rolling start until 2:15 pm. Join us at the circle by ECHO, right as the music and festivities start up and provide fun jams to fuel your run. There will be a clock running starting at 2:00 pm and cones to mark the turnaround for 1 mi, 5 km, and 5 mi. No bibs or need to check in before the race.

RunVermont’s 2025 NYE Run/Walk to Highlight is free, but please register at runsignup.com.

S’MORES O’ CLOCK & LOCAL FOOD & DRINK! 2–5 pm

P: Stephen Mease

Gather round a campfire in Waterfront Park for a sweet treat to close out 2025. Volunteers will help young revelers roast their marshmallows and make their very own Highlight s’mores. Hungry for more? Grab a bite from our lineup of local food trucks, including Loaded Totz, Glory Burger, Maharaja Spice, The Box, Woodbelly Pizza, MexiRico, and Sustainable Kitchen. For the adults, Foam Brewers will be on hand with beer, cocktails, and n/a options. With this great lakeside vibe, the fun will keep rolling all day long with VT Close-up Magic; lawn (more accurately, snow) games like corn hole, connect four, and spikeball; and the chance to create your own peace sign inspired by Chris Cleary’s wooden sculpture.

Waterfront Park FLUFFY BUS 2–10 pm

P: Stephen Mease

Fluffy is a mobile art piece bringing joy and beauty in the form of a giant lit-canvas, sound system, dancefloors, and shooting flame. The artwork is a floating cloud bank based on a 40-foot bus platform, sheathed in 14,000 LED lights that act as a single canvas to convey sunrise, sunset, storms, and more. Fluffy’s DJ booth and sound system fuel dance floors inside and outside the vehicle, while a propane flame blaster keeps the crowd warm and lit. It was fabricated in Vermont by local artists banded together as Duane’s Whirld, who bring the “artcar” to Burning Man each year and eagerly bust it out for community events here at home.

SONIDO MAL MAIZ

DWIGHT + NICOLE

Sonido Mal Maïz is a Vermont–based band that explores the psychedelic side of Latin music, weaving together modern and traditional rhythms from Central and South America. Poetic lyrics incorporate myths and legends of the ancient oral culture of Central America and the resulting sound emanates a passion and fire that is ignited in their collective heart. Maiz “Brujo” Vargas founded the group in the epicenter of the Burlington scene in 2015, joining forces with some of Vermont’s most inspired musicians. The product is a convergence of explosive and complex sounds that will make you dance, celebrate, and heal your soul.

Dwight + Nicole trace their musical roots through the blues, soul, and R&B traditions by exploring the spaces between these genres and connecting them with themes found in dream pop and alternative rock. Dwight Ritscher’s warm, soulful tenor would be the envy of many bands, but it is Nicole Nelson’s four–octave vocal range that wowed a national audience during season three of NBC’s The Voice.

2:30–3:30 pm

4–5 pm

“Dwight + Nicole are absolutely the real deal. They are carrying the torch.” – Melissa Etheridge

Waterfront Park

DARI BAY

BOB WAGNER

Led by Burlington, Vermont–based musician Zachary James, Dari Bay is the result of a twisted home recording project gone horribly right. His eccentric lo–fi sound evolved into more grounded (if still slightly surreal) expressions by the time of Longest Day of the Year, a 2023 album that found Dari Bay’s experimental spirit folding into deceptively neutral, unassuming tunes. The unpredictable twisting of guitar tones, lyrical phrases, and feeling itself puts Dari Bay in a lineage of idiosyncratic songwriters that reaches from Judee Sill and Alex Chilton through to Elliott Smith and Liz Phair, right up to present–day boundary– bending contemporaries. The songs invite everyone in with a friendly smile, but make no promises as to where they’ll take us after that.

Bob Wagner is celebrated for his soulful guitar work, evocative songwriting, dynamic live shows, as well as his collaborative spirit, organizing benefit concerts in and around Vermont and serving as band leader for the Hug Your Farmer music series at The Flynn Theater. After years of writing, recording, and touring with notable Vermont musicians such as Kat Wright, Mike Gordon, and Josh Panda, Bob Wagner is finally releasing music of his own, and it’s no shock that the results are a powerful blend of the many styles Vermonters have heard him play as a sideman for years. While Wagner’s song craft may lend itself to more of an indie folk or country sensibility, his live shows are known for featuring a dynamic blend of musicianship and searing guitar that embraces spontaneous composition, turning genres on a dime.

5:30–6:30 pm

7–8 pm

NYE FIREWORKS 8–8:10 pm

As 2025 winds down, Highlight gathers our community to light up the night sky over the waterfront. A beloved local New Year’s Eve custom, we’ll start 2026 with a bang thanks to a breathtaking display of colorful fireworks over Lake Champlain. Fireworks start at 8 pm, to ensure even revelers with early bedtimes get to enjoy this vibrant Burlington tradition.

P: Luke Awtry

CHAMP BURN 8:10–9 pm

Highlight’s hottest tradition continues! Cirque de Fuego has once again built a wooden sculpture of Lake Champlain’s beloved Lake Monster and will honor our region’s legendary mascot with a fiery offering. Come see Champ in its pre– burn glory prior to the fireworks and stick around for Cirque de Fuego’s exciting fire dancing show!

THE BARR BROTHERS 8:30–10 pm

Making their Highlight debut, The Barr Brothers are set to electrify Waterfront Fest with a performance that will carry us straight into the New Year! International touring indie folk faves, The Barr Brothers, combine the poly–rhythmic drumming of Andrew Barr with the poetic songwriting and guitar of Brad Barr. Equally at home in solemn Arcadian ballads, swampy North African improvs, or classic rock and roll revelry, The Barr Brothers mesmerize with their methodical yet whimsical approach to music making.

Unitarian Universalist Church STORY & SONG 4–9:30 pm From tales that stir the soul to tunes that bring everyone together, come celebrate community connection with an evening of Story & Song at the Unitarian Universalist Church. The night begins with heartfelt storytelling from our friends at The Moth, followed by a community–led Shape Note Singing session—a joyous, time–honored tradition of raising our voices together. We’ll close the evening with music from beloved Vermont singer–

THE MOTH ONE–OFF STORYSLAM: ‘THAT’S A WRAP!’ 4–5:15 pm

That’s a wrap on 2025! Join us at the Moth One–Off StorySLAM to share the tale of your year or sit back and take in stories from our community. Since its debut in 1997, The Moth has become the nation’s story platform. Each true story is a celebration of our past that is beautifully shared with the audience, entirely in the moment. After selling out in two years in a row, we’re thrilled to bring The Moth back to Highlight!

songwriters Sam Amidon, Hannah Frances, and Henry Jamison, weaving a rich tapestry of sound and story.

The program flows naturally from one moment to the next, so feel free to settle in for the full evening or come and go between sets—but please don’t sneak out in the middle of a song! This intimate, listening–room–style gathering promises connection, creativity, and the pleasure of good company with neighbors and friends.

The Moth StorySLAM is an open–mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5–minute story on the night’s theme. Sign up when you arrive for a chance to tell a story. The theme is THAT’S A WRAP! Prepare a five–minute story about tying a bow on it. Moments of closure, clean cuts, and curling ribbon. Finally quitting your 9–5 or calling it quits on a 9–year situationship. Tales of blurry endings, grateful gifts, and surprise beginnings.

Year–long resolutions, breakthroughs, or suddenly seeing the light. Tell us how you knew it was time to box it up and get a move on. Annnnnd cut!

HENRY JAMISON

HANNAH FRANCES

Vermont singer/songwriter Henry Jamison comes from an ancestry of writers and composers, making him a natural fit for the brand of thoughtful, literate indie folk he creates.

Throughout the latter half of the 2010s, the New Englander delivered a succession of well–received singles and independent albums like 2017’s The Wilds and 2019’s Gloria Duplex. Taking a more collaborative approach, he began working with artists like Darlingside on 2020’s I Forget Myself and Maisie Peters on 2022’s Make It Out.

Hannah Frances is a vocalist, guitarist, composer, and poet who NPR’s Ann Powers calls “a stunning vocalist and songwriter, making monumental and mythic music.” Frances was awarded Pitchfork’s Best New Music for her critically acclaimed 2024 album Keeper of the Shepherd. A persistent troubadour, Frances lives in Vermont with roots in Chicago, though she is most often touring internationally and nationally, opening for artists such as Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Florist, Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Weather Station, Whitney, and Damien Jurado.

5:30–6 pm

6:15–7:15 pm

SHAPE NOTE SINGING 7:30–8:15 pm Singer/songwriter and multi–instrumentalist Sam Amidon brings historical harmony to Highlight, with a participatory singalong channeling a 200–year–old vocal tradition.

Join in the musical magic and raise your voice in four parts, led and actualized by Amidon!

SAM AMIDON 8:30–9:30 pm Sam Amidon is a singer and multi–instrumentalist from Vermont, now based in London, England. Amidon’s material often consists of adventurous reworkings of traditional American ballads, hymns and work songs, with the New York Times writing that Amidon “transforms all of the songs, changing their colors and loading them with trapdoors.”

His latest album, Salt River, was released in January 2025.

Amidon has recorded or performed as a guest artist with musicians such as Bon Iver, The National, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Gloaming, Lonnie Holley, Manami Kakudo, Jacob Collier, Marc Ribot, and Beth Orton, among many others.

ECHO Center VIBRANT VIBES: GIANT CANDY DANCE PARTY 7–9:30 pm

Get ready to move! This all-ages dance party is where vibrant energy meets creativity. Strike a pose with surreal oversized candy props created by Shadow Priestess. Dance your NYE heart out to the tunes of Essex High School Seniors, DJs Josslyn and Danielle.

REST STOP

7 pm–12:30 am With 12 plus hours of non–stop NYE fun, Highlight can be a marathon, so stop by the Rest Stop at ECHO to catch your breath! Rest Stop is an ambient lounge space designed to help Highlight revelers relax and reflect as interesting sounds wash over you in a comfortable, cushion–filled room. Lounge in a hammock and do some self–reflection as 2025 winds down with thoughtful prompts and invitations to journal or get creative. Call in the New Year with a sense of peace and purpose from this quiet space to play and unwind!

Featuring Lauren Larken & Stephen Scuderi of Heart Song Aerial & Instrumental Play

CANDY COATED DREAMS: A SURREAL NYE EXPERIENCE 10 pm–12:30 am

Step into a NYE fantasy with Candy Coated Dreams, an immersive shadow installation and liquid light dance party that will transform ECHO into a vivid dreamscape.

Hosted by Shadow Priestess and Shadow Girls Cult, this surreal, immersive installation blends sweet–themed props, hand–cut projection art, shadow puppetry, and live silhouette animation—inviting you to become both performer and canvas in an ever–shifting visual landscape. Projected live in real-time, visuals wrap dancers in glowing colors and animated silhouettes. All of these incredible visuals are set to a live custom Candy Coated mix by DJ CRWD CNTL. There’s no sweeter way to ring in the New Year!

This event is 21+

THE WILL TO DANCE: A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC, DIVERSITY & COMMUNITY 7 pm–12:30 am

Boogie into the New Year, celebrating the sonic diversity of our thriving local music scene at The Will to Dance!

Honoring the unique stories of musicians who have come to Burlington from Connecticut, Costa Rica, Boston, Japan, Essex, Senegal, and beyond, The Will to Dance showcases the strength of Vermont’s music community.

Bringing a jam–packed lineup of dance–oriented bands and traditions to ECHO, The Will to Dance features Wild Leek River at 7:30 pm, Sonido Mal Maiz at 8:50 pm, Moondogs at 10:10 pm, and NewMantra at 11:15 pm, and more. From honky–tonk country to psychedelic groovy rock, these Vermont bands will have you dancing all night long. Trippy lights, food vendors, and a bar will turn ECHO into a mini–festival for an unforgettable evening.

All ages are welcome from 7–9:30 pm The event turns 21+ from 9:30 pm–12:30 am

BCA Center restART RELAXATION STATION 12–4:30 pm

Take a break from all of the revelry and unwind at the BCA Center. Grab a seat, take a beat, and have some low–key fun with an interactive creative activity where you can share your love for our arts community.

BCA CENTER EXHIBITION, DO WE SAY GOODBYE: GRIEF, LOSS, AND MOURNING 12–5 pm

Treat yourself to a reflective moment and say hello to Do We Say Goodbye? Grief, Loss, and Mourning. Not only a universal human experience, Do We Say Goodbye? explores grief as a collective act of resilience, remembrance, and transformation. In photography, painting, video, and installation, the featured artists—Peter Bruun,

Bethany Collins, Jordan Douglas, Mariam Ghani, Lydia Kern, John Killacky, Nirmal Raja, and Jamel Robinson— offer meditations on memory, endurance, transition, and empowerment. Inviting us to find hope and beauty in loss, this exhibition offers a space for us to gather and engage with grief as a universal yet profoundly personal journey.

Contois Auditorium

P: Kyle Tansley

CIRCUS SMIRKUS

12–5 pm, Shows at 12, 2, and 4 pm Circus Smirkus is a renowned Highlight favorite, delighting families with an awe–inspiring stage show custom–created for New Year’s Eve in Burlington. The circus rolls into town for a full day of performances to spread joy, laughter, and amazement. Revelers should absolutely expect the unexpected, but they should also expect these popular shows to reach capacity, so get there early!

Elevate your Highlight experience with the Big Top Button.

For $40 you and your family can skip the line and enjoy guaranteed floor seats for a designated Circus Smirkus performance, putting you right in the middle of the magic.

HIGHLIGHTING NEW HEIGHTS 6–9:15 pm

WABAAM! CIRCUS COLLECTIVE: REDAMANCY 6–7 pm WABAAM! That’s the sound of circus and dance colliding at Highlight New Year’s Eve. WABAAM!’s Redamancy (a love returned in full) combines the silly and heartfelt to follow a group of friends confronting their place in a rapidly changing world. Lost souls find each other through aerials, acrobatics, clowning, and dance in a vibrant celebration of vulnerability and authenticity.

Through this year’s Bright Ideas Project, we’re highlighting how Burlington’s aerial dance community is soaring to new heights. We’re thrilled to present three unique, yet complementary dance groups for an evening of high–flying wonder in Contois Auditorium. Come for just one show or settle in for an unforgettable evening of aerial magic!

FEATHERS AND BONE 7:15–8 pm

LUNARCY 8:15–9 pm

Soar into the New Year with Feathers and Bone, a multi– dimensional performance combining aerial dance, ground dance, improvisation, and live music. Feathers and Bone explores the mythology of birds and flight through the human body. Presented by Burlington’s own Murmurations Aerial, you’ll be transported to imagined realms through impressive physicality and dynamic play with gravity. Improvisational elements mean the performers and the audience will be completely immersed in the flight of the moment.

Close out 2025 on a high–flying note with Lunarcy, a visionary aerial dance performance. Blending soaring choreography with reactive visuals and an original score by St. Silva and Silence_Castor, audiences can expect fully immersive, multi–sensory experience. Real–time sound design and motion–triggered projection mapping transform the stage into a living ecosystem that responds to the dancers.

Designed to captivate viewers of all ages, Lunarcy isn’t just a performance, but a vivid glimpse into an alternate world where technology and nature move in harmony.

Contois Auditorium

VINYL VIBES: AN NYE DANCE PARTY 9:30 pm–12:30 am

Step into Contois Auditorium and time–travel back into the Disco Era with an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration!

DJ Lee J will be spinning classic vinyl Disco hits while an enormous glittering mirror ball lights up the dance floor.

Decor galore! Bring a friend, grab a drink, and show off your best moves as we boogie into 2026. Enjoy a full bar, delicious food, and the infectious energy of our community coming together to dance, laugh, and celebrate.

P: Kyle Tansley

Vermont Comedy Club

P: Luke Awtry

GOOD CLEAN FUN

1–6 pm, PERFORMANCES AT 1, 3, AND 5 pm It wouldn’t be Highlight without Vermont Comedy Club bringing the laughs! Don’t miss three family–friendly performances of a hilarious Whose Line Is It Anyway?–style

spontaneous comedy show based on audience suggestions. Brave volunteers can also jump onstage and get involved in the fun. The whole show is G–rated, with a full bar and food menu available along with table service. These first–come, first–served shows do fill up quickly, so hop in line early.

Skinny Pancake SOUL PORPOISE FEATURING PAUL ASBELL & DAVE GRIPPO 10 pm–12:30 am

Soul Porpoise lays down organ–driven funk and soul inspired by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Dr. John, and Herbie Hancock. Collin Cope’s gritty vocals have been compared to Joe Cocker and Ray Charles and breathe fire into Ira Friedman’s heartfelt original songs. This soul– drenched band will move your body with craft songs and airtight grooves.

Foam Brewers DAYTIME DISCO 2–6 pm

Daytime Disco is back! Everyone’s favorite way to have a family get down at Foam Brewery on New Year’s Eve. This family–friendly dance party is brought to you by Foam and three awesome DJs. Catch DJ Rice Pilaf at 2, DJ Cre8 at 3:20 pm, and DJ Four–D at 4:40 pm.

P: Luke Awtry

THE TENDERBELLIES

PONYHUSTLE

The Tenderbellies are a Vermont–based string band who thoughtfully bridge a variety of musical influences, creating a distinctive sound with a bluegrass backbone, that also incorporates elements of blues, rock, soul, jazz and Dawg music. From intricate harmonies to fast–paced instrumental jams, The Tenderbellies deliver a live performance that’s heartfelt, high–energy, and emblematic of a band comprised of dear friends.

Ride into 2026 with Ponyhustle, Burlington’s own torchbearers of classic country. Rooted in the honky–tonk sounds of the ’50s and ’60s, Ponyhustle blends timeless tradition with modern energy that keeps audiences on their feet. For nearly a decade, they’ve been the heartbeat of Honky Tonk Tuesday at a beloved local bar, captivating crowds with authentic storytelling, irresistible rhythms, and a playful twist that makes every song feel both familiar and fresh.

Whether you’re a lifelong country fan or discovering the genre anew, Ponyhustle delivers a performance that’s equal parts nostalgia and celebration.

8:30–10 pm

10:30 pm–12:30 am

P: Luke Awtry

Tito’s Handmade Vodka Turns Spirits Into Love and Goodness at Highlight and Beyond

Love, Tito’s – The philanthropic heart of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, has been working with Burlington City Arts to help ring in the New Year on a spirited note since 2018, the very first year of Highlight.

Even after we toast to 2025 and start to sweep up the confetti, Tito’s will be here with their continued support of so many amazing initiatives in communities across Vermont.

Supporting causes from animal rescue, military and veterans’ services, arts and music, food security, adaptive sports, and so much more, Tito’s Handmade Vodka gives back to every corner of our community.

Look for special Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktails at all participating Highlight locations and join us in raising a glass to their continued commitment of turning spirits into love and goodness!

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