Kitchen Dwellers have spent the better part of a decade making bluegrass that resists a clean label — their fans eventually coined one: galaxy grass, which suggests both where the sound comes from and where it’s still trying to go. The Bozeman, Montana quartet brings that sound to the north country for the second night of a New Year’s run, playing Higher Ground in South Burlington on Friday, January 1.
About the Show
Mandolinist Shawn Swain, banjoist Torrin Daniels, and guitarist Max Davies make up most of the lineup this night; upright bassist Joe Funk is on paternity leave, his family expecting a daughter before year’s end, with Zdenek Gubb of Twiddle filling in. The band announced it with characteristic warmth: “Papa Joe will take some time off the road but the low end will be in good hands with Zdenek Gubb of Twiddle, who is filling in on bass for our New Year’s run. Joe will be back on the road full-time in 2027.” Neighbor opens the show.
The band’s most recent full-length, Seven Devils (2024), was produced by Glenn Brown and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart. It followed Wise River (2022, produced by Cory Wong) and Ghost in the Bottle (2017), with a surprise three-song EP, The Katabatic, arriving in December 2025. Funk described Seven Devils as “very organic, capturing the instruments and the songs themselves better than we ever have.” They’ve built their live reputation on the festival circuit — Telluride Bluegrass, Bonnaroo, WinterWonderGrass — and headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.
What galaxy grass means as a live experience is harder to pin down, which is the point. Funk has described their philosophy this way: “It’s up to the listener to interpret and create the meaning of the song to one’s own life. We create a map with some general road signage, but everyone can take their own journey through the music.” The long instrumental stretches don’t so much build to a destination as lay out the route: bluegrass fundamentals that widen, psych out, and eventually find their way home.
Venue & Logistics
Higher Ground in South Burlington is a well-regarded 750-capacity room on the Vermont touring circuit, and the right size for a string band where you actually want to hear what each instrument is doing. The January 1 show begins at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are $51.00. Buy tickets