Vermont may be known for its quiet mountain towns, colorful autumn landscapes, and independent spirit, but the state has also produced singers whose music reached audiences far beyond New England. From folk storytellers and alternative rock voices to jazz performers and modern pop artists, Vermont musicians have built reputations through originality, emotion, and unforgettable performances. Some became global stars with chart topping songs, while others earned lasting admiration through creative experimentation and deeply personal songwriting. What connects these artists is a sense of authenticity that feels rooted in Vermont’s artistic culture. Their songs continue to inspire listeners with music that is thoughtful, expressive, and impossible to mistake for anyone else.
1. Grace Potter
Grace Potter, born in Waitsfield, Vermont, stands as one of the most powerful and charismatic rock singers to emerge from the state. Her voice carries the heat of blues, the force of classic rock, the sparkle of pop, and the emotional grit of soul music, making her a rare performer who can dominate both a festival stage and an intimate ballad. With Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, she built a reputation as a fiery frontwoman whose vocals could move from smoky restraint to full throttle release in a matter of seconds. Paris, also known by many fans through its unforgettable refrain, remains one of her signature songs. It captures her boldness perfectly, pairing raw guitar energy with a vocal performance full of swagger, sensuality, and fearless command.
Her catalog is rich with songs that reveal different sides of her artistry. Stars shows her ability to handle grief and longing with cinematic tenderness. The Lion The Beast The Beat leans into dramatic rock grandeur, while Apologies offers a more vulnerable and emotionally direct side of her songwriting. Potter’s solo work expanded her range even further, bringing in roots music, pop textures, and reflective lyricism. Grace Potter remains one of Vermont’s most famous singers because her voice feels both timeless and untamed. She sings with the confidence of someone raised on great records and open roads, turning every performance into a vivid display of heart, muscle, and soul.
2. Noah Kahan
Noah Kahan, from Strafford, Vermont, became one of the defining singer songwriters of his generation by turning small town New England feeling into globally resonant folk pop. His breakout song Stick Season made Vermont itself feel like a character, filled with muddy roads, emotional leftovers, family tension, seasonal depression, and the ache of watching people leave. Kahan’s voice is direct, slightly weathered, and emotionally transparent, giving his lyrics the feeling of a confession shared across a kitchen table. The song works because it is specific and universal at once. It belongs unmistakably to Vermont, yet listeners everywhere recognize the loneliness, humor, and regret inside it.
His catalog expanded beautifully through songs such as Northern Attitude, Homesick, Dial Drunk, Orange Juice, and All My Love. These tracks show his gift for writing about mental health, family history, friendship, guilt, and belonging without making the emotions feel polished beyond recognition. Kahan’s singing often rises from conversational restraint into rough, communal choruses that sound built for crowds who know every word. He has become famous not by escaping his roots, but by leaning into them with unusual honesty. Among Vermont singers, Noah Kahan represents a modern folk voice with remarkable cultural reach. His best songs turn local detail into emotional geography, proving that a small state can produce music with enormous human scale.
3. JoJo
JoJo, born Joanna Levesque in Brattleboro, Vermont, became a pop and R&B phenomenon while still incredibly young, introducing the world to a voice far more mature than her age suggested. Her breakthrough single Leave made her a teen star, but the song’s success came from more than youth novelty. JoJo sang with control, confidence, and emotional bite, delivering a breakup anthem with the authority of someone who already understood the mechanics of pop soul performance. The track’s sharp chorus, clean production, and unmistakable vocal presence made it one of the most memorable early two thousands pop hits.
Her catalog reveals a singer with serious range and resilience. Too Little Too Late became another major signature, allowing her to bring dramatic feeling into a sleek pop ballad. Later songs such as Disaster, Save My Soul, Mad Love, and Man showed her growth into a more adult R&B artist with greater vocal depth and personal control. JoJo’s career was shaped by industry struggles, but her voice remained the constant source of admiration. She can belt with force, glide through melisma, soften into vulnerability, and bring old school R&B instincts into modern pop settings. As one of the most famous singers born in Vermont, JoJo represents raw vocal talent matched with long term artistic survival. Her best songs still prove that she was never simply a child star. She was always a serious singer.
4. Trey Anastasio of Phish
Trey Anastasio became one of Vermont’s most important musical figures through Phish, the legendary band formed in Burlington that changed the culture of live rock performance. Although Anastasio was not born in Vermont, his artistic identity is deeply tied to the state, where Phish developed its early sound, community, and adventurous musical language. As a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, Anastasio helped create a catalog that blends rock, jazz, funk, bluegrass, progressive composition, humor, improvisation, and surreal storytelling. You Enjoy Myself is one of Phish’s defining pieces, a sprawling musical journey that showcases the band’s playful complexity and Anastasio’s central role in shaping its vocal and instrumental character.
Phish’s catalog includes beloved songs such as Farmhouse, Waste, Sample in a Jar, Bathtub Gin, Chalk Dust Torture, and Free. Anastasio’s singing is not about conventional rock star perfection. It is about personality, phrasing, and connection within a living musical system. His voice often carries warmth, curiosity, and a lightly eccentric charm that suits the band’s imaginative world. In performance, songs can stretch far beyond their studio versions, becoming communal experiences shared between band and audience. Trey Anastasio stands among Vermont’s most famous music voices because Phish became a cultural institution. His songs helped turn Burlington creativity into a global jam band phenomenon, where melody, improvisation, and fan devotion continue to thrive.
5. Anaïs Mitchell
Anaïs Mitchell, raised in Vermont, is one of the most important folk songwriters and singers connected to the state, admired for her literary imagination, delicate voice, and ability to build entire worlds through song. Her music often feels like a bridge between traditional balladry, modern folk, theater, myth, and intimate confession. Wedding Song from Hadestown is among her most famous creations, and it reveals the qualities that make her work so special. The song turns mythic love into something earthy, tender, and immediate, with a melody that feels both ancient and newly made.
Mitchell’s broader catalog includes songs such as Why We Build the Wall, Coming Down, Young Man in America, Now You Know, and Shepherd. Her voice is not a powerhouse instrument in the traditional sense. It is light, distinctive, and emotionally precise, able to carry fragile stories with remarkable clarity. That gentleness gives her songs a rare intimacy, even when the subject matter is epic. Hadestown brought her work to a massive theater audience, but longtime folk listeners already knew her as a deeply original artist. Among Vermont singers, Anaïs Mitchell represents storytelling at its highest artistic level. Her songs are carefully carved, poetically rich, and musically haunting, proving that a quiet voice can carry enormous imaginative power when every word is chosen with care.
6. Sam Amidon
Sam Amidon, born in Brattleboro, Vermont, became one of the most fascinating modern folk singers by reimagining old songs with a sound that is both traditional and experimental. Rather than approaching folk music as a museum object, Amidon treats it as living material, reshaping ballads, hymns, fiddle tunes, and old melodies through subtle arrangements, unusual textures, and deeply personal vocal interpretation. I See the Sign is a strong example of his approach. His singing is calm, almost meditative, yet the emotional atmosphere around the song feels mysterious and quietly powerful.
His catalog includes striking versions of songs such as Way Go Lily, Pretty Fair Damsel, As I Roved Out, My Old Friend, and Relief. Amidon’s voice has a plainspoken quality that can seem understated at first, but the more one listens, the more expressive it becomes. He lets silence, repetition, and tone do much of the work. His music often blends folk roots with chamber music, jazz, improvisation, and indie sensibility, giving familiar forms a strange new glow. As one of Vermont’s most respected folk singers, Sam Amidon represents artistic curiosity and deep tradition in equal measure. His best songs do not shout for attention. They invite listeners into a world of old stories, altered memories, and quiet emotional transformation.
7. Henry Jamison
Henry Jamison, from Burlington, Vermont, built his reputation as a thoughtful indie folk singer songwriter with a soft voice, literary instincts, and a gift for making small emotional moments feel quietly profound. Real Peach became his most widely recognized song, and it captures the delicate intelligence of his writing. The track moves with gentle rhythm and carefully observed language, balancing sweetness with unease. Jamison sings with a light, intimate tone, as if each phrase is being considered in real time. That restraint gives the song its charm. It feels conversational, reflective, and emotionally specific.
His catalog includes songs such as Through a Glass, The Jacket, Gloria Duplex, Ether Garden, and Florence Nightingale. These recordings reveal an artist drawn to memory, gender, family, myth, and moral complexity. Jamison’s music often sits in the space between folk tradition and modern indie production, using acoustic textures, subtle electronic color, and carefully balanced arrangements. His voice rarely pushes hard, but it carries a distinctive sincerity. He sounds like a writer who sings because melody gives language another dimension. Among contemporary Vermont singers, Henry Jamison represents the introspective edge of indie folk. His best songs reward close listening, offering lyrical detail, emotional nuance, and a quiet melodic beauty that lingers long after the music ends.
8. Kat Wright
Kat Wright, closely associated with Burlington, Vermont, is one of the state’s most compelling soul and roots singers, known for a voice that is warm, smoky, graceful, and full of emotional poise. Her music draws from soul, rhythm and blues, Americana, jazz, and classic songwriting, creating a sound that feels both vintage and personal. The River is a beautiful showcase for her style. The song moves with patient feeling, allowing Wright’s voice to unfold naturally rather than forcing drama. She sings with subtle power, letting tone, breath, and phrasing carry the emotional weight.
Her catalog includes songs such as By My Side, All About You, Come Dance, and The Light. Whether performing with a full band or in a more stripped setting, Wright has the rare ability to make a room feel intimate. Her vocals often carry a conversational softness, but there is steel underneath the silk. She can lean into groove, float through a ballad, or bring gospel shaded warmth to a chorus without ever sounding overdone. Kat Wright stands as one of Vermont’s strongest modern vocalists, especially for listeners drawn to soul music that values mood, patience, and human connection. Her best songs feel handcrafted and sincere, rooted in the Burlington music community while reaching toward the larger tradition of great American voices.
9. Mihali
Mihali Savoulidis became a major figure in Vermont’s live music world as the singer, guitarist, and creative force associated with Twiddle and his solo work. Though originally from outside the state, his musical identity became strongly tied to Vermont through the band’s rise and the community that formed around its performances. His voice is relaxed, melodic, and inviting, perfectly suited to songs that blend reggae, jam rock, folk, funk, and sunny roots music. All Day captures the easygoing side of his sound, pairing a warm groove with a vocal delivery that feels open, friendly, and built for shared summer listening.
With Twiddle, Mihali helped shape songs such as When It Rains It Pours, Lost in the Cold, Every Soul, and Beautiful. Those songs became fan favorites because they combine singable melodies with improvisational freedom, allowing the music to grow in live settings. Mihali’s solo catalog brings even more focus to his songwriting personality, leaning into positivity, reflection, and rhythmic ease. His singing is not about theatrical force. It is about feel. He knows how to sit inside a groove, lift a chorus, and create a sense of connection with an audience. Among singers connected to Vermont, Mihali represents the state’s jam scene at its most melodic and communal. His songs carry warmth, movement, and the feeling of music made for open air gatherings.
10. Mark Daly of Madaila
Mark Daly, the lead voice behind Madaila, helped give Burlington, Vermont a vibrant burst of modern psych pop energy. Madaila became known for colorful arrangements, falsetto flights, danceable grooves, and a playful sense of sonic imagination that stood out within the state’s independent music scene. Trying To Be Heard is a strong example of the band’s bright, restless personality. The song blends pop melody, rhythmic bounce, and a vocal performance that feels urgent yet polished, capturing the desire to break through noise and be understood.
Madaila’s catalog includes songs such as Give Me All Your Love, I Know, Nature, and Excelsior. These tracks show Daly’s taste for bold hooks, layered production, and a vocal style that can move between smooth pop phrasing and more ecstatic release. The band’s music often feels celebratory on the surface, but there is emotional curiosity underneath the gloss. That combination made Madaila one of Vermont’s most memorable indie pop acts, especially in the Burlington scene, where live energy and local identity matter deeply. As one of Vermont’s notable modern singers, Mark Daly represents a colorful and inventive branch of the state’s music culture. His work with Madaila proves that Vermont music is not limited to folk landscapes and acoustic reflection. It can also shimmer, dance, and explode with bright pop imagination.
Samuel Moore is a frequent contributor to Singers Room. Since 2005, Singersroom has been the voice of R&B around the world. Connect with us via social media below.
