One night wasn’t enough. After kicking off their two-night stand on Monday, The Devil Makes Three return to Higher Ground in South Burlington for Night 2 on Monday, April 20 — and if the energy from the night before carried over, expect the roof to shake.
The Santa Cruz folk trio — Pete Bernhard (guitar/vocals), Lucia Turino (bass/vocals), and Cooper McBean (guitar/banjo) — have spent years building one of the most fiercely devoted followings in the Americana underground. Their sound defies easy categorization: equal parts Appalachian folk, New Orleans ragtime, country grit, and bluegrass fire, stitched together by tight three-part harmonies and relentless live energy.
Night 2 of a two-night run is its own creature. The setlist shifts, the nerves from opening night are gone, and the band settles into something looser and more daring. For Devil Makes Three devotees, Monday night tends to be the one they talk about longest.
The band’s catalog runs deep — from the raw acoustic stomp of their early records to the fuller sound of I’m a Stranger Here and the honky-tonk swagger of Do Wrong Right. After a period of hiatus, their return to the road has been a full-scale reunion for fans who never stopped playing their records. Shows on this run have drawn some of the most enthusiastic crowds the band has seen in years.
Higher Ground has long been the premier listening room for this kind of music in the Vermont border region — a tight, energized space that suits The Devil Makes Three perfectly. The standing room floor and close-quarters setup mean there’s no bad spot in the house.
Doors open at 7 p.m. Showtime is 8 p.m. This one is a safe bet to sell out — Night 1 tickets moved fast, and Night 2 is following the same pattern.
Grab your Night 2 tickets at Higher Ground’s website before they’re gone.