Living by listening: Pete Sutherland’s gracious impact
Pete’s Posse in Vermont in 2018. From left: Pete Sutherland, Oliver Scanlon and Tristan Henderson. (Chris Henderson File Photo)
Like the colors that appear when light goes through a prism, gentleness, humility and care are the qualities shining forward when grace is expressed.
And when you have grace, you listen – you truly connect, you truly live.
These days, I’ve been thinking about a friend who exemplifies that. Pete Sutherland, a Vermont musician whose profound work touched many, many lives, recently passed away. Pete lived grace and all its attributes to the fullest. His music shows it the best, such as in the song "A Grateful Place", by Pete’s Posse, a well-known Vermont band bearing his name. The chorus says:
I can be evermore grateful,
Grateful for everyday grace.
Whatever remains of this story of mine
Can be told from a grateful place.
The qualities in that verse are all about being selfless, which Pete certainly was. He used the power of music to stir others to positive action for the world, such as in the Posse’s wonderful a cappella version of the Pink Floyd song, “On the Turning Away”, or their original tune that spread awareness about the impact of “The Floods of 2019”.
He gave richly of his musical gift to others, and that sense of good gave way to joy and inspiration. But along with that, he always had the time to listen to people. His Pete’s Posse bandmates, Tristan Henderson and Oliver Scanlon, knew this well.
In an interview this week, Tristan remembered Pete as a gracious listener, always making sure others felt included.
“He always wanted to hear what someone else had to say, or play,” Tristan said. “Seems like it was always about what someone had to share.”
That focus showed up in his lyrics as well, such as this part of “A Grateful Place” — “I have laughed when I should have been listening.”
“Whenever he was playing music, he was always listening,” Tristan said. “He always had an ear open, which made playing with him really magical. For Pete, it was always about the sum of the parts.”
That focus was part of the heartbeat of Pete’s Posse, which Tristan said thrived on the “whole-band experience”, which Pete graciously encouraged and supported.
“He was like this presence of just supporting everything all the time,” he said. “The band was the three of us, one thing working together.”
Oliver recalled the last time he performed with Pete, which was on October 2, an outdoor concert at the home of one of Pete’s friends in New York state. The duo performed on a little porch, with beautiful Lake Champlain in clear view.
Whenever Oliver joined Pete on-stage, he and Pete would enjoy throwing each other intellectual curve-balls about music.
“Stage interaction was always something I loved about playing with Pete,” he said.
Oliver and Tristan are two of the many young musicians whom Pete taught, not only about music, but about life. It was a way of giving back to the world, and he did it well, Oliver added.
“He really wanted to empower people, through music, but also in general,” Oliver said. “I was a really shy kid, and have become not as shy. He helped me build the confidence to be me, and to be me in a social world.”
I was fortunate to see the Posse take the stage many times. It was particularly special to hear them play on the Woodstock Village Green in June 2020, when the Woodstock Union High School class of 2020 rounded the Green in school buses and vehicles for a socially distanced graduation parade. It was the band’s first time at a gig in a lot of weeks, and many people’s first time hearing live music during the pandemic. The band heard many thank-you’s that day, for the joy they gave just by being there, and being them.
Pete’s work formed a foundation for the group, which you could clearly feel just by listening. I once had a long commute back home every night. I often began those trips burdened by the stress of my 12+ hour shift, but I can say the Posse’s music helped me find a sense of calm, a sense of good things to focus on. The last time I saw Pete’s Posse play live, back in September, I told Pete how helpful the music was to me, how it often touched me at just the right time. And I’m grateful I got the chance to tell him that face to face.
Many times I’ve listened to Pete’s singing in a quiet moment, as I've done lately with a Posse song, “When the Torch Is Passed”. There can be a heaviness to the future, but also a certain graceful nature to progress and its own melodies – and Pete’s singing captures that beautifully. In one of the verses he sings:
There’s a map burned into your brain
And a compass you know to be true.
But the light is all you behold
When the torch is passed,
The torch is passed, to you.
Pete’s singing and creativity exude a calming presence, and a reassuring one — his voice quiet, yet commanding. He caught your attention in a gentle, authentic way that made you remember it, because of his caring nature, central to the soul of his music. When such great, good people leave this earth, they leave so much here with us. So much grace, so much good – and Pete certainly did. In many ways, he is still here.
His quiet, caring way is something the world so needs. We’ve been shown how it’s done. And those qualities endure; we’re empowered to honor those we love, who have departed this world, by expressing those attributes for the good of others, too. Pete’s music continues, and we’ve been welcomed in to add our melodies of goodness, love and grace to it.
— Gareth Henderson
