The Big Picture hosts local musicians for HARP fundraiser concert, Jan. 17
January 11, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti Fundraising efforts for the Harwood Auditorium Revitalization Project are gaining steam with the latest event planned for The Bog Picture in Waitsfield next Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m.
Singer-songwriter and Harwood Union alumna Reid Parsons will headline a HARP benefit following an opening performance by the current Harwood student band, The Glam Cowboys.
Singer-songwriter and Harwood graduate Reid Parsons. Courtesy photo
The program looks to celebrate Harwood’s legacy of music education. The show is part of an ongoing concert series to help support the fundraising effort behind an ambitious project to upgrade the Harwood Union High School auditorium’s infrastructure.
With a goal of raising $1.3 million, the project will focus on replacing aging theater, sound and electrical equipment in the school auditorium with modern code-compliant systems and technology. The improvements will benefit all who use the facility, from students and faculty during the regular school day, to school performances and events, as well as community groups using the auditorium.
The electrical and sound systems, along with the stage rigging and lighting equipment, have not been updated since at least the 1990s, with some original elements from the school’s construction in the mid-1960s.
Harwood students Tarin Askew and Eireann McDonough perform with the Glam Cowboys at last fall’s Battle of the Bands Sonic Futures competition. Photo by Gordon Miller
A Mad River Valley native, Parsons is a 2011 Harwood graduate who had the lead role in the school’s 2009 musical, “Annie Get Your Gun.” Parsons recently played for a HARP benefit audience at Zenbarn in Waterbury.
Now living in Burlington, Parsons wrote, arranged and produced a debut album, “Back to Back” in 2025 with tracks that blend soul, folk, blues and jazz-infused Americana. The record combines intimate ballads and full-band tunes featuring Parsons’ signature style of expressive vocals, layered arrangements of her original songs.
Opening the show will be the Glam Cowboys, representing Harwood’s next generation of talent. The indie-pop/rock band features current Harwood students Eireann McDonough on lead vocals, Tarin Askew on guitar and vocals, Cora Potts on drums, Cali Neville on bass, and Eliza Whitehair on keys.
A favorite in the annual Battle of the Bands Sonic Futures high school band competition hosted by Harwood, the Glam Cowboys put on an energetic show of original music and covers in their coordinated cowboy attire. In addition to the Harwood stage, they’ve played Zenbarn, Higher Ground, Firefolk Arts, and last fall were featured on Mad River Valley TV’s In-Studio Live Music Series.
Tickets: $20 online in advance or at the door. More information about the HARP project is online, where tax-deductible donations also can be made.