From Jericho to a Grammy: Erin Bentlage of s?je returns to play for home-state crowd

Erin Bentlage has yet to perform in her home state of Vermont with her Grammy-winning vocal group s?je. She got a taste of what that homecoming would be like when s?je played in concert in November not far from the Vermont state line in Saratoga Springs, New York.

A few Vermont musicians who helped mentor Bentlage, including singer-songwriter Amber deLaurentis and drummer Jeff Salisbury, came to that concert to hear s?je. Bentlage was blown away to see that people from her past were there for her in the present.

“I didn’t realize how special it would feel to be able to come and do my thing in front of all these people who really did believe in me,” the Jericho native told the Burlington Free Press in a March 21 phone conversation from her home in Los Angeles.

She’ll get an even bigger dose of that support Sunday, March 31, when s?je performs its first Vermont concert in Higher Ground’s intimate Showcase Lounge.

Bentlage toured last summer with frequent s?je collaborator Jacob Collier, and they played the Glastonbury Festival in England before 30,000 people. That didn’t make her nervous because she couldn’t see faces. She’ll see many faces, including familiar ones, in the 330-capacity Showcase Lounge.

“It’s so much scarier for me to perform in a place that’s smaller, where I know people,” Bentlage said.

Lessons in piano, voice

Bentlage took ballet and piano lessons at an early age. She was in eighth grade when she began studying with deLaurentis, a pianist and vocal instructor, and new doors showing a path toward a career in music began to open.

Bentlage had been studying classical piano and lacked mentors who played piano and sang. DeLaurentis showed her how to do it. She had Bentlage learn an improvised jazz solo and write it down, an important lesson for someone who is now known for her skills in composition and musical arrangement.

She also learned about performing in collaboration. Bentlage said deLaurentis’ husband, pianist Tom Cleary, would sometimes be there for her lessons and perform with her. “I was like, ‘Holy cow, this feels magical,’” Bentlage said. “I didn’t know if you played with a musician how good that would feel.”

Around that time, Bentlage began taking vocal lessons with opera singer and Vermont native Shyla Nelson. Nelson taught her how to warm up her vocal cords properly. She would ask Bentlage to listen to a piece of music that inspired her, and then have her play it.

“She was amazing because she would just foster the side of me that needed to be inspired,” Bentlage said. “She’s just such a force of a person. Having her in my corner was also really powerful.”

Once she got to Mount Mansfield Union High School, Bentlage learned with peers as well as older mentors. She took part in school musicals, with lead roles in “The Producers” and “Pippin.” MMU student Laura Heaberlin, now half of the Burlington folk duo Cricket Blue, asked her to join an a cappella group she was helping to establish at the school, further bringing Bentlage into the vocal fold.

She would perform occasionally outside of school, including at open-mic sessions at Richmond Free Library. One of her fellow choir members at MMU was Elena Salisbury, whose father, Jeff, is a drummer who spent years in touring bands. Bentlage said he would sometimes drop a “Really nice, Erin” on her after a show, and she was awed to hear that praise from a professional musician.

Winning a Grammy Award

After moving to the West Coast, Bentlage and fellow vocalists Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor and Johnaye Kendrick formed s?je. (Pronounced like “beige,” s?je is an acronym of the first letter of each member’s first name.) The group began in 2019 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals, even before they had released an album.

The 2021 Grammy ceremony was held virtually as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and s?je didn’t win. The group released its self-titled debut album last year and was again nominated with Collier in that category for their song “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” which like all of their music is built around the foursome’s delicate, immaculately pitched voices atop tasteful, jazz-leaning instrumental layers.

Bentlage attended the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February and said she didn’t have “super-strong feelings” about wanting to win. As the ceremony went on, she grew uncomfortable. She turned to her husband and said, “I don’t like this. The energy of the situation is too much for me.’”

When the presenters read the winner in the Best Arrangement category they began with the name of the song, which didn’t immediately register with Bentlage. It was only when they said the names of the group members that she realized they had won. Her feelings about the award changed in an instant.

“I could literally feel the high of that moment,” Bentlage said.

Return to Vermont

Now she’ll return to Vermont to play for people who helped build her career toward that Grammy moment. She knows jazz harmony might not be what everyone in attendance listens to for fun, which makes their support that much more meaningful.

“I was really lucky growing up that all of these people I mentioned and the community in general were super-supportive and just really excited to root for me,” Bentlage said. “I think it was regardless of how good the actual thing was. I think people just wanted to be happy for people.”

“I feel so proud that I’ve gone out into the world and done something that has gotten back to Vermont without me having to tell people about it,” she said. “I feel so proud to represent Vermont in that way.”

If you go

WHAT: A concert by s?je

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 31

WHERE: Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, South Burlington

INFORMATION: $25 in advance, $30 day of show. www.highergroundmusic.com

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Grammy-winning group s?je, with Jericho native, plays Vermont show