If a tree falls, and no one is around to hear it, does it really make a noise? I can’t be sure. If a musician plays his heart out, but next to no one is there to listen, does he really make a noise? The answer is yes, and in Willy Mason’s case, that noise sounds damn good.

Willy Mason takes the stage in the Showcase Lounge at Higher Ground (Photo, Ryan Lowell)

“This is the place to be tonight,” Mason joked at the beginning of his intimate set in the Showcase Lounge at Higher Ground. When he addressed the crowd, it was hard to ignore that Mason was playing for less than 40 people, but that didn’t stop him. He sang for almost two hours, armed with an acoustic guitar, a deep voice sounding far older than his 22 years, his friend Nina Violet on violin, and his younger brother Sam playing a snare drum straight out of a high school band room.

For someone who has opened for bands like Radiohead and Death Cab for Cutie in front of thousands of people, Mason didn’t seem disappointed with the turnout. Maybe he was just relieved to see that the audience had grown four times in size since opener Bow Thayer rocked out to a crowd of nine. Now this number isn’t official, but I’m pretty sure it‘s correct. I even used the fingers on both of my hands to double check. Mason was surprisingly comfortable playing for the tiny crowd, and he says he actually prefers the intimacy of smaller venues.

“Radiohead was an exception, but most of the time it’s a lot more fun playing for small crowds,” Mason says. Just watching him play, I could tell he means it.

Since it’s usually just Mason and his guitar, the depth of his lyrics can be appreciated more in a small venue where the crowd can see his facial expressions and hear every word he sings clearly. He played stripped down renditions of various songs from his two albums, including “Oxygen,” an inspirational track about the potential to be great, his biggest fan-favorite to date.

But Mason is humble even to those who think of him as a star, as he recently made plans to tour fans’ houses in the United Kingdom, even though he is more popular overseas. He carried that level of familiarity to Higher Ground, conversing with the audience frequently, and even taking requests toward the end of the night. As a big fan, I just had to request “Harvesting Digital Children,” an upbeat, folky song where Mason’s booming voice is pushed to notes higher than his expected range.

“I haven’t played this song in three years,” Mason says of the track from his first album Where the Humans Eat. Although he was considerably more tired and several shots drunker at this point in the show, his willingness to please the crowd was refreshing in a time when many bands make themselves a spectacle to which the crowd is inferior.

When Mason did choose which songs to play, he opted for newer fare, with some old favorites like road anthem “So Long” sprinkled in.

“New stuff is just more fun to play,” he says.

But even when he was playing these new songs, Mason kept the mood familiar, addressing the audience like old friends, as many of the members of the audience actually were his high school buddies. He has been spending the last few months touring the world, but his set also reflected the influence of his family and home, letting friend Violet play one of her own songs, and sang two Jemima James’ (his mother) songs, while younger brother Sam beat away on a weathered snare drum. Mason says his family has been a huge influence on him, as both of his parents are folk singers.

The community vibe of Mason’s set carried over until he left the venue, as my interview with him in the parking lot was interrupted by audience members giving Mason directions to a house party in South Burlington . After seeing this guy play in front of five thousand people last June, it was surprising to see him ride off in a worn pickup truck instead of a tour bus.

As the night drew to a close, I continued to ask Mason questions in the context of his musical career, and continued to get answers that no rock star would ever give. I should have known by the time I asked Mason what his plans for the future are, that he wouldn’t give me the standard ‘I’m working on another album’ answer.

Mason and younger brother Sam during the show (Photo, Ryan Lowell)

“I’m looking to go home; I need to fix my porch.” Mason said this with a warm smile so naïve, that I can tell he legitimately didn’t think of the question in terms of music. It’s never just been about the music for Mason. He performed his first show in Vermont at the old Higher Ground in Winooski, as a high school student who had a few too many drinks the night before, after opening for Bright Eyes at a show in his home state of Massachusetts . After passing out on lead singer Conor Oberst’s bus, Mason woke up in Vermont , and came out on stage to play “Oxygen” during Bright Eyes’ set. Stories like this make it easy to see that Mason is having a great time, and music is just a part of that.

Before Mason came on, I had questions as to whether it was even worth covering a show that next to no one went to, I mean how many people want to read about a show that barely anyone thought was worthy of their 10 bucks? After all, the only people who even tell me they know who Willy Mason is have got him mixed up with a braid-donning, cannabis-endorsing folk elder, who urges mommas to make sure their babies don’t grow up to be cowboys. But after seeing the show, I decided that the difference between Mason’s set and most concerts is the very reason why the public should know about him.


Mason’s set didn’t have the glamour and glitz of a huge rock show. There was no light show, there weren’t any pyrotechnics, and no instruments were smashed. Mason didn’t make a spectacle of himself and his talent was able to shine through. Mason allowed the few who were in attendance to participate, instead of watching an unapproachable rock star with an ego bigger than a Mötley Crüe hairdo. Mason didn’t care how many people were at his show, because he was just having a good time with his friends. And that good time was contagious, seeing as he’s got about 40 new friends in South Burlington.