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WESTPORT, Connecticut - The Westport Library is getting an early jump on next year’s VersoFest , our annual festival celebrating music, media, and creativity. The Thing , the rising rock band out of New York City with roots in Connecticut, will be performing the VersoFest Kickoff Concert on Friday, February 27, 2026, at 8 pm. Presales for the concert begin on Tuesday, November 4, with the general on-sale on Friday, November 7. Tickets are $35. Click here for more information. The full schedule for VersoFest’26 will be unveiled soon, with the four main days of the festival scheduled to run from Thursday, March 26, to Sunday, March 29, 2026. This is the fifth year for VersoFest, the Library’s annual music and media conference and festival where knowledge is shared and inspiration is discovered — a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge. VersoFest includes concert performances; conversations with leading lights in music and media; workshops that provide creators the opportunity to deconstruct, improve, and hone their craft; knowledge opportunities; art installations; and much, much more. Past VersoFest guests include hip hop legend Chuck D; established hit-makers the Wallflowers, Spin Doctors, and the Smithereens; up-and-coming bands Sunflower Bean and the Lemon Twigs; the Roots lead emcee Black Thought; hardcore punk pioneer Henry Rollins; rockers Lez Zeppelin; famed producers Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band) and Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex); Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler; the Doors drummer John Densmore; Cramps drummer Miriam Linna; Alice Cooper Group bassist Dennis Dunaway; hip-hop originators Tony Crush and Grand Wizzard Theodore; David Letterman music director Paul Shaffer; SNL Beehive Queen Christine Ohlman; and a wide array of authors, photographers, artists, and thought leaders. The Thing’s sound is a throwback to rock and roll’s roots, with a traditional lineup of guitar, bass, and drums, with songs that nod to the Kinks and the White Stripes, among many others. “We've kind of adapted the ethos of: with restriction comes creativity, old becomes new,” said guitarist/vocalist Jack Bradley. “And throughout every part of the process that remains true.” The four members of The Thing came from intersecting backgrounds, lending to their rock-and-roll-as-melting-pot vibe. Bassist/vocalist Zane Acord grew up with a drummer dad who hipped him to bands like Led Zeppelin and Grand Funk Railroad; he met guitarist/vocals Michael Carter, an avid Beatles fan, in middle school. While in high school, the duo connected with Bradley, an aspiring producer with a studio in his basement and a yen for psych rock. Jazz drummer Lucas Ebeling linked up with the band when everyone found their way to New York in 2022. Since that time, they’ve played more than 300 shows across the world, including a wide-ranging late 2025 European tour that will take them to Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, London, Paris, and Stockholm, to name just a few. The group has put out three LPs in total: their 2023 debut Here’s the Thing, the 2024 follow-up The Thing Is, their self-titled third album, which came out in August 2025. “It showcases all of us, all of our different personalities,” Acord said of the new album. “In The Thing, we’re a collective band. We hang our hats on being a true band — where we all have the spotlight. I think that gives us a different edge.” Added Bradley: “We threw all of our different various influences throughout — all the decades of rock and roll and adjacent genres — and ended up with something of our own. Our contribution to the genre. Our style. Our… thing.” *** VersoFest’26 Kickoff Concert: The Thing Friday, February 27, 2026 8 pm Trefz Forum, The Westport Library Event link: https://westportlibrary.org/event/versofest-2026-kickoff-concert-the-thing/ Story link: https://westportlibrary.org/the-thing-to-kick-off-versofest-2026/ VersoFest 2026: https://versofest.org/