Vance Gilbert to Perform at The Oasis Room April 10

Garde Arts Center is proud to announce that Vance Gilbert will perform in the Garde Oasis Room at 325 State Street in New London on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $28-$32 and are available at https://gardearts.org/events/vance-gilbert/.

One of the originators of the finally recognized R&B/Folk/Jazz crossover-sub-genre, Vance was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, and went on to graduate from New London's own Connecticut College. Starting out hoping to be an R&B and jazz singer once at college, there he discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of the acoustic singer-songwriter thing. Word spread like wildfire about Gilbert’s stage-owning singing and playing, and Shawn Colvin invited him to be special guest on her 1992 Fat City tour where he took much of America by storm and by surprise. “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god..” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Noted not only for being the ever consummate performer, Gilbert has recorded 13 albums, including 5 for Philo/Rounder Records. Along with being opener of choice for artists as varied as Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker, The Milk Carton Kids, and Southside Johnny, the mid 2000’s found Gilbert opening 150+ shows for comedian George Carlin. This past March, Gilbert performed on the Garde main stage as the opener for The Robert Cray Band. 

Gilbert has also been a prominent presence at some of the world’s most prestigious gatherings and halls, among them the Newport, Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain, Calgary, Ottawa, and Falcon Ridge Folk festivals, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, and Australia’s Woodford Folk and Mullum Music Festivals, Mountain Stage, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Nashville’s Lyman Auditorium, The Barns at Wolftrap, and a private party for his veterinarian where there was terrific lo-mein.

Most recently he’s been the opener of choice for Mad About You/Stranger Things star Paul Reiser’s stand-up shows for the last 7 years, along with his own busy acoustic music touring schedule. That current schedule includes Vance’sMondayNightAcousticPajamaParty on YouTube. Having started the first week of the pandemic in 2020, Vance has played a live, themed, weekly 90 minute mixed bag of originals and cover tunes to a rotating following of about 200 folks. 10 to 20% of his weekly tip jar is donated to a local 501(c)3 of his choice. At the time of this writing, having done 215 of these Pajama Parties has become newsworthy in itself, more so because he just forgot to stop doing them

Considered by many to be an integral part of the national folk scene, his previous record “Good Good Man” features an eclectic roster of musical types including rocker Mike Posner, world renown Celtic harpist Aine Minough, bluesman Chris Smither, and Al Green’s organist Stacey Wade.

About The Garde Arts Center:

Founded in 1985, The Garde, Southeastern Connecticut’s non-profit home for the performing arts and cinema, in the heart of downtown New London, CT, presents a full spectrum of music, dance, film, and special events at its restored historic (1926) 1425-seat Garde Theater movie palace and the 120-seat Oasis Room. The Garde also hosts performances by regional arts organizations and provides educational programs for more than 8,000 young people each year. Under the leadership of Steve Sigel, executive director since 1988,  the Garde owns an “arts block” of adjacent buildings, including the Mercer and Meridian Buildings and the Garde cottage, to further the Garde's mission as a major catalyst for the cultural and economic revitalization of New London and the region.

In 2022, the Garde singly received the Outstanding Historic Theatre in America award from the League of Historic American Theatres.

Learn more at https://gardearts.org/.