Verso Studios at the Westport Library

05/29/2024

Tune into our latest CT Music Oral History Podcast with interviewer, Brendan Toller of WPKN Community Radio, and guest, Hank Hoffman, now retired, the former executive director and programming director for Best Video Film & Cultural Center in Hamden, Connecticut. Hank is an archivist of the New Haven original rock music scene since the late 1970s, Hank has cassette and digital recordings he's made at hundreds of shows.

Along with being a fan and supporter of the local music scene, Hank has been a musical participant as both a live performer and recording artist with the psychedelic pop group Happy Ending and punk band Dada Banks. In addition, Hank released two studio mini-albums of psychedelic pop in 2020 under the name The Alex Butter Field, backed by a who's who of local music luminaries. Listen to the podcast on The Westport Library youtube!

Hank Hoffman, now retired, was the former executive director and programming director for Best Video Film & Cultural Center in Hamden, Connecticut. An archiv...

05/13/2024

One for the Latergram, pics from a spellbinding and hilarious and show with . Truly a special afternoon. Sign up for Verso enews via the link in bio to be in the know about more music events at the !

05/09/2024

“Our pictures of Eugene from the first three jokes. The crouching was indeed worth it!”

05/07/2024

Robyn Hitchcock and Eugene Mirman live at The Westport Library was truly a special afternoon. Good music and good laughs!

Sign up for our enews so you don't miss anymore cool musical happenings at the library: https://go.westportlibrary.org/Enews

04/24/2024

We’re still soaking up all the success of VersoFest 2024! Five incredible days of music, media, and creativity with over 4,000 in attendance in-person and 3,000+ online. From glam rock to hip hop, Chuck D to John Densmore, Women at Factory Records to Fleetwood Mac, much knowledge was shared and inspiration gained.

For more Verso events subscribe to our Enews: https://go.westportlibrary.org/Enews

04/24/2024

You asked for it, the untold stories of at Trod Nossel studios in Wallingford, CT.

Here it is: https://youtu.be/hKnX8_0SCo0?feature=shared

Buckle up for a wild rock ‘n’ roll ride! New Year’s Eve 1974, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac after the departure of key members in a ...

04/24/2024

One of England's most enduring contemporary singer/songwriters and live performers will grace the stage of Trefz Forum at The Westport Library on Sunday, April 28. Doors open at 3 pm, with Robyn Hitchcock hitting the stage at 4 pm. Opening comedy set by Eugene Mirman!

Tickets: https://westportlibrary.org/event/fernando-pinto-presents-robyn-hitchcock-live-at-verso-studios/

"Paintings you can listen to": That's the way Robyn Hitchcock describes his songs.

One of England's most enduring contemporary singer/songwriters and live performers will grace the stage of Verso Studios at the Westport Library on Sunday, April 28. Doors open at 3 pm, with Hitchcock hitting the stage at 4 pm.

Comedian and actor Eugene Mirman opens the show with a brand new set of material. Mirman voices “Gene” on Fox’s Emmy Award-winning animated series Bob's Burgers.

Tickets are $30 and on sale now. The concert is presented in partnership with Fernando Pinto Presents / East Rock Concert Series: https://westportlibrary.org/event/fernando-pinto-presents-robyn-hitchcock-live-at-verso-studios/

04/11/2024

Congrats to Octavian Reccy, an 8yr old DJ, who attended the VersoFest’24 Hip Hop Panel on “Wild Style” and won our only giveaway the whole weekend. He scored a gift card and hat from one of our festival sponsors — !

Shoutout to the The legendary for contributing to educate the youths on the power and history of hip-hop and Connecticut’s contribution to the legacy!

04/09/2024

Check out some more photos from '24!

From April 3 to April 7, The Westport Library played host to its third annual VersoFest — a music and media festival like no other, featuring concerts, panel discussions, workshops, and so much more. This year’s festival had something for everyone, including concerts with The Lemon Twigs and Spi...

04/06/2024

It's '24! Come hang with The Spin Doctors tonight as we throw it down live from The Westport Library.

03/25/2024

Have you ever wondered who dressed The Alice Cooper group?

Learn all about Cindy Dunaway during VersoFest2024!

Tune into her interview with Hudson River Radio for a sneak peak: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/cindy-dunaway-designer-for-the-original-alice-cooper-band--59132645?fbclid=IwAR3J5ylP_K4lqzWZkQJd-wEb4CkUfRIbomrrt1vbxHhIFuOuX7qGfx5tQz4

03/25/2024

TUES 3/26, 7-9am, join Verso Marketing Manager, Brendan Toller and Tony Tone of the Cold Crush Brothers for a very special edition of Radio Base Camp on WPKN 89.5FM with Steve Di Costanzo.

This two-hour tour will preview VersoFest 2024 - five days of music, media, and creativity featuring Chuck D, The Lemon Twigs, Spin Doctors, Cindy & Dennis Dunaway, Christine Ohlman | Beehive Queen, and (you guessed it), a celebration of hip hop’s first motion picture “Wild Style” with Tony Tone, Rodney C. Grand Wizzard Theodore and many more.

Spanning April 3 through April 7 VersoFest offers concerts, panels, workshops, and a record fair free or at market rates with the generous support of donors, community partners, and Library programming funds.

Tickets and registration at the https://westportlibrary.org/versofest

Listen live on your FM dial at 89.5, or streaming online. This show will be available on the archives for two weeks.

03/21/2024

VERSOFEST’24 PSA: On 3/3 at 4pm presents Hands on Hip Hop History!

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore hip-hop technology and the practices on which hip hop music was constructed, investigating what it means to “sample” from another style, who has used sampling, and how. Through their investigation, students will discover how sampling demonstrates a powerful creative expression and can make social and political statements.

This workshop has limited capacity and slots are going fast, sign up at the

03/12/2024

Learn the landscape, approach, and technique behind video game composing in this hour-long workshop with during on Sunday, 4/7 at 12:30pm at !

ASCAP Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated composer is one of the most versatile and prolific music artists/producers working in film, television, advertising, and video games.

Renowned for crafting emotionally engaging soundtracks for multimedia, Salta has received widespread industry acclaim for his world-class-produced hybrid scores featured in film, television, and video games such as .redbarrels’ “The Outlast Trials”, ’ , Machine Games’ : Youngblood & Cyberpilot, Microsoft’s iconic series, Ubisoft’s , The Forgotten Sands and Red Steel (IGN Award for Best Original Score), Tom Clancy’s and H.A.W.X series, as well as the epic theme music for the record-breaking online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which has sold more than 75 million units with more than 700 million players.

This workshop is free to attend, but be sure to register at the 🔗

03/04/2024

Pitch your Podcast at VERSOFEST2024
Be sure to check out all our workshops & panels for musicians!

Register to attend: https://westportlibrary.org/versofest

It seems like everyone has a podcast these days. But how will your podcast stand out? Pitch your idea for a podcast to a panel of audio storytellers who will give you feedback on everything from the podcast's name and description to potential audience and obstacles. You'll have just a few minutes to make your pitch, whether it's narrative-driven like Radiolab or chat-style like WTF with Marc Maron.

Jack Hitt is the cohost of the podcast Uncivil, which won the Peabody Award in 2018. His most recent book is Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character (Crown, 2012). He’s a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, This American Life and Harper’s, and his nonfiction, for which he’s won the Livingston and Pope awards, also appears in the New Yorker, WIRED, and Vanity Fair. His book Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain (Simon & Schuster, 1994) was made into the 2010 motion picture The Way.

Meg Dalton is an audio producer and journalist who reports on everything from our obsession with Mars to the art of creating fictional languages to the future of death care in America.

Dalton is currently the deputy director of storytelling for Connecticut Public and previously worked for The Takeaway from WNYC, in collaboration with WGBH and PRX. She has also reported and edited for the Columbia Journalism Review, PBS NewsHour, Slate, Energy News Network, Architectural Digest, MediaShift, Hearst Connecticut newspapers, and more. Dalton’s audio work has appeared on ‎Mobituaries with Mo Rocca, WNYC, WSHU, Marketplace, WBAI, and NPR. Dalton earned her master's degree from Columbia Journalism School in 2017, where she specialized in audio storytelling and narrative writing.

For more information about the full lineup at VersoFest 2024: https://westportlibrary.org/versofest

03/01/2024

PSA: This hour-long workshop will provide advice on publishing, royalties, contracts, and more for up-and-coming musicians. Strategize and simplify the business aspects of your creativity.

Marcus Thomas is an educator and entertainment attorney who is also trained as a screenwriter and publicist. During his 25-year career, he has maintained a boutique entertainment law practice and held several in-house positions with entertainment companies including a major record label, major-affiliated music publisher, and the nation’s largest education music print publisher.

For more information about the full lineup at VersoFest 2024 visit https://westportlibrary.org/versofest

02/28/2024

Tickets for Chuck D at
https://westportlibrary.org/versofest

Revolutionary, hip hop icon, social activist, author, film producer, and digital music pioneer. Few can hold these titles with the impact and influence that Chuck D has had on modern pop culture and philosophy.

The leader and co-founder of the legendary group Public Enemy, and part of the supergroup Prophets of Rage, will discuss his life, work, and recent graphic novel STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D on Wednesday, April 3, at 7 pm in the VersoFest 2024 Kickoff Conversation presented by Darcy Travlos.

Chuck D will be in conversation with Akashic Books publisher Johnny Temple, with media host, entrepreneur, and music executive June Archer introducing the guest of honor.

The event will be held in the Library’s Trefz Forum. Tickets are $50 and available for purchase here.

Tickets: https://westportlibrary.org/versofest

02/09/2024

"Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" are just two of the '90s rock anthems that will be chiming through the Trefz Forum at Verso Studios at the Westport Library on April 5, as the iconic rockers the Spin Doctors headline the Friday Night Concert presented by Webster Bank at , the Library's annual music and media festival.

Local singer-songwriter Nick Depuy opens at 7 pm, with Spin Doctors taking the stage at 8 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $50 and available now: https://westportlibrary.org/versofest