In spring 2006, Brattleboro was about to lose The Weathervane Cafe, one of its few music venues. Two employees, Andrea Moriarty and Gina Richard, saw unlimited potential in the place, and wanted a crack at doing things their way. So the pair pooled their resources and bought the cafe. They decided to keep its moniker with only a slight change because, as Richard says, "The name was starting to gain recognition across New England." So in August 2006, The Weathervane Music Hall was officially born.
"Brattleboro is a small community full of artists and musicians," Richard says. "We feel that it is important to offer a place where people's talents and hobbies can be recognized and shared. As the live music changes throughout the week, the crowd changes with it. We draw all different types of people in."
Richard and Moriarty are not kidding about the music changing throughout the week: they are able to provide live, mostly original entertainment five to seven nights a week, even though Brattleboro is a small community. Richard says, "We have an abundance of people wanting and needing gigs all the time. Every day our emails are full with musicians seeking gigs."
The schedule changes weekly, but usually allots nights for singer-songwriters, open mic events, DJs, and plenty of jam bands, hip-hop, reggae, indie and punk, bluegrass, blues, jazz and more, from southern Vermont and beyond.
The club's atmosphere is casual, with a decidedly homey feel, and even offers free wi-fi. People can lounge about or sit at tables and enjoy eight kinds of draft beer, various bottled beers and wines, and an extensive liquor selection. The menu features hot dogs, pizza by the slice, homemade soups and panini. According to Richard, their signature sandwich is the "Jurassic Pork," a panini comprised of pulled pork, ham, bacon and Vermont cheddar.
Brattleboro winters can be brutal, and the hilly environment makes for tough travel. When asked what it takes to bring the people in during the arctic months, Richard explains, "Anyone living in the Northeast knows that cabin fever will make you insane. We definitely slow down in the winter, but the snowstorms seem to always bring out the wilder ones. No matter how cold and how stormy, there always seems to be a crowd here, and we still offer music most nights a week. When it's cold, we put coffee and hot chocolate-based drinks on special to keep people warm."
It probably helps when you can lure people in with a "Jurassic Pork," then offer up your most popular drink special to help them wash it down: a combination of a sixteen-ounce Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of Old Crow Whiskey for only five dollars.
