The Almendros

The group’s album “All Over the Place” was recorded at Middlebury’s LionTone Studio, and its title captures the Almendros’s lively range of styles, from reggae, ska and world music to alt-country and rootsy rock ’n’ roll. All the album’s songs were written by bassist and vocalist Pete Ryan of Weybridge; the Dec. 16 show will also feature songs by band members Mark Pelletier of Weybridge and Naunau Belu of Middlebury. The band also offers its treatments of material by writers ranging from Bob Marley, Sly Stone and Smokey Robinson to John Fogerty, Lucinda Willliams and the Clash.

“There’s something really comfortable about the eight of us,” Ryan said of the group. “It’s like the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,”

“What I like the most is the band’s siblinghood,” agreed Belu, who is originally from Madagascar. “Everybody is caring, attentive, and lovely.”

Most the Almendros also play in other well-known area bands. Pelletier and drummer John Wallace, of Cornwall, are with the Horse Traders and Deb Brisson & the Hay Burners, while Belu also plays with Gumbo Yaya. Guitarist and vocalist Clint Bierman plays in the Grift and other groups; vocalist and guitarist Liz Cleveland of Middlebury appears with LC Jazz and the Avant-Garde Dogs, and vocalist, harmonica player and percussionist Doug Wilhelm of Weybridge plays with the Hay Burners and the Avant-Garde Dogs. Kemi Fuentes-George of East Middlebury joins the Almendros on trumpet and guitar, while Lolly Otis of Lincoln adds vocals.

“Listening, knocking around different thoughts, and coming out with great new songs makes it fun and worthwhile,” said Pelletier of the group’s creative process.

You can hear “All Over the Place” on Spotify and Apple Music, and at almendrosband.com.