The Rear Defrosters are a free-wheeling honky-tonk Americana dance band. Since their founding in 2012, the Brattleboro, Vermont-based band has played hundreds of shows from dive bars to barn dances, DIY pop-up shows to town squares, and state fairgrounds to hippie music festivals. The band operates with a rotating cast of all-star musicians, and their deep repertoire pays tribute to the greats of country music from the last century, from Jimmie Rodgers to Waylon Jennings to Dwight Yoakam. In 2018, Lost Honey Records released Gentleman Farmer, the band's first EP of original songs, penned by singer/guitarist Michael Roberts and recorded live during a single wintry recording session. Since 2021 they have hosted a regular honky-tonk night at Nova Arts in Keene, where they invite local and nationally-touring musicians to sit-in and sing honky-tonk classics, golden oldies, and 80’s country anthems. Their debut full-length album is due out in 2025.

County Tracks “The Rear Defrosters’ “Gentleman Farmer” sounds like an old-time country hoedown, the sort of thing that Hank Williams might have written, or that Levon Helm might have goofed around with in the Woodstock barn.”

Red Line Roots Music “Honky-tonk, soul, rock n’roll, any way that you slice it, there is something fun and energizing about this band’s music.”

Seven Days VT “Recorded live in the studio with no overdubs, Gentleman Farmer captures that laid-back swagger, which is a fine aesthetic complement to the band's lean take on Bakersfield-style country and to Roberts' wry, satirical writing.”

Jim Keltner “Great band name!”