Save the date · Saturday, December 12
Drop the Needle at Afterthoughts in Waitsfield, VT
DJ Fattie B. is taking Drop the Needle to the Mad River Valley for one December night: a game table that turns into a dance floor. Come early to play, stay late for the set, and leave with a copy of the game.
- Dec 12
- Saturday
- 8 PM
- Games start
- 9–12
- DJ set
The plan for the night
Things kick off at 8 p.m. with the game itself. Grab a seat, grab a drink, and work through a few rounds of Drop the Needle with your crew, or with whoever ends up at the next table. Prompts about the songs that shaped you have a way of turning strangers into people you’re trading stories with by the second round.
At 9, Kyle Thompson, better known as DJ Fattie B., takes over the decks and spins until midnight. He has been part of Vermont’s music scene for more than 30 years, so expect the kind of set where half the room is shouting “this is my song” and the other half is already writing down the story they’ll tell about it on their next turn.
Copies of the game will be on hand, so you can play it at the bar and take one home the same night. With the holidays a couple of weeks out, that also takes care of a gift for the music lover in your life.
New to the game? Here’s how it plays
Drop the Needle isn’t trivia, and nobody gets quizzed on B-sides. The box holds 150 prompt cards shaped like vinyl records sliding out of their sleeves. You draw a card, name the song that answers it, and tell the story behind why that song still hits. It works for 2 to 10 players, ages 16 and up. A couple from the deck:
What is a song that you would play for your younger self? And why?
When you hear it, what song is like ‘nails on a chalkboard’ for you?
Ten percent of every game sold goes to Musicians On Call, the nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to hospital patients.
About Afterthoughts
Afterthoughts bills itself as a space for eats, drinks, music and shenanigans, and its calendar backs that up: touring bands, DJ dance nights, bingo, line dancing and karaoke, all under one roof. It sits at the corner of Route 17 and Route 100 in Waitsfield, right in the heart of the Mad River Valley, which makes it an easy stop after a day in the mountains.
Getting there
You’ll find Afterthoughts at 8 VT-17, Waitsfield, VT 05673. The kitchen serves food on Saturday evenings, so you can make a whole night of it, and the bar stays open late on Saturdays. Questions about the night? Call 802-496-5290 or email [email protected].
Event details are from the official Afterthoughts poster. Venue location, hours and contact details are from afterthoughtsvt.com as of November 2, 2026; check the venue’s site before you head out, since schedules can change.
Can’t make it to Waitsfield? Get your copy of Drop the Needle.