By George Nostrand — Local musician, writer, and rabble-rouser

Three-hundred and twenty-three; that’s Liz Reedy’s personal record for the number of gigs she’s played in a year.

“But I’ve tried to pare it down and stick to around 250, which is a little more comfortable,” says Reedy as we chat between sets at gig number one of two for her on this beautiful summer day. “Being a full-time musician isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.”

Before going too far, I must ask Liz a question she probably gets a lot: You’re not from around here, are you?

She laughs and admits that while she’s starting to lose her accent when she talks, it comes back when she starts singing.

“I’m not, no. I grew up in Northern Virginia, then North Carolina, with a short little stint in Southern California, back to NC, then up here. I’ve been up here almost 5 years. I came up here and fell in love with Vermont and the people. I was a chef before I was a musician and I lost my day job when COVID happened. I kinda’ figured if I was going to do it, now was the time to do it, and it’s been gangbusters.”

Her home base is Killington. She branches out more in the summertime but stays close to home in the winter. “Being from the south, I suck at driving in the snow.”

When asked about her influences, she says she’s a big fan of Brandi Carlile, as well as Billy Strings and Dave Matthews. Her sets also feature some country musicians like Garth Brooks, Patsy Cline, Tyler Childers, and Dolly Parton. Hazel Dickens is an older bluegrass inspiration.

“Oh, and I love Fleetwood Mac – gotta’ love Stevie,” she says.

“Being up here there’s such a weird mix of people, some you know, and also people from all over the world, who listen to all different kinds of genres, so I try to stay up a little bit on everything.”

Reedy doesn’t use a set list.

“What I play depends on the day and who’s around. I feel like when you’re looking at a screen or an iPad or a piece of paper it takes you out of the room, and then you kind of miss the cues from the people who are around you.”

She’s always curious as to what people will like and how they’ll respond.

“It’s really cool when you know you play something in particular that someone likes. You never know where that one person at the bar who’s taking a video of you is from – and where they’re taking your story back to.”

Liz also has original material on Spotify, Apple Music - anywhere you can stream music. Currently, you can check out her song called, Don’t Tell Mamma on Spotify.

“I just recorded a couple more songs last week, so hopefully they’ll be out real soon.”

Even with all the gigs she plays, she relies on some of her hobbies to supplement her income.

“I do odds and ends on the side. I do fairy hair, hand-painted ski mittens, I weave – I have a big loom in my living room. Any kind of fiber arts. A lot of times I’ll have people come to me with something in mind that they want to have made, and we’ll try to make it happen.”

Reedy has been playing Poultney Pub for about three years. I asked her what she felt was special about the Pub.

“Working at so many different restaurants, you can really tell when people are well cared for, and you can feel that walking into Poultney Pub. The staff are so sweet; they take good care of everyone. The sound system is great. It’s nice to be able to walk in and plug in and play. That does not happen everywhere, and it saves me a lot of trips to the car. The food is amazing. I’ve never had anything there that wasn’t delicious. And they have surprisingly awesome coffee. It’ll keep you up and going through the night.”

You can catch Liz Reedy performing at Poultney Pub on Saturday, September 26th, from 6 – 9 p.m.