On Friday, August 14, experience a special evening of the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival with cellist Erik Friedlander!

Block Ice & Propane is a vivid musical road journal, a collection of pieces that evoke endless interstate drives, small-town truck stops, and the wide, open stretches of the American landscape. Drawing from American roots and folk traditions, Friedlander shapes these influences into a sound that is distinctly his own.

The project is grounded in memories of childhood cross-country trips with his family, and that sense of movement, distance, and discovery runs throughout the music. These personal reflections are paired with visual elements, including photographs by his father, renowned photographer Lee Friedlander, and films by Bill Morrison, whose work explores time, memory, and decay. Together, they form a layered portrait of American travel that feels part documentary, part dream.

On the cello, Friedlander employs an intricate fingerpicking technique and resonant open tunings more often associated with guitar and folk styles. This approach gives the instrument a rugged, earthy quality while maintaining a spacious, lyrical feel. The result is a kind of new American cello music that feels both familiar and unexpected, direct in its melodic language yet emotionally rich, reflective, and quietly haunting.