Author: Michael Witthaus

Country singer brings debut disc to Concord

Following a Covid-caused delay of more than a year, April Cushman finally released her debut album, The Long Haul, in November. The country singer celebrated in front of a hometown crowd at Milford’s Pasta House — she grew up in nearby Brookline. The event sold out weeks in advance.

The new record is one of the best of the genre to come out of the Granite State in recent years. It’s filled with great songs, from the modern country rocker “Soundtrack To My City” to the could-have-been love ballad “Once Upon A Time” and the tender ode to her father (who makes a cameo introduction) closing things out, “Take My Hand.”

Cushman purposefully selected the album’s leadoff track. She wrote “Ain’t No Stopping You” after being laid off and resolving in that moment to go all in on the music career she’d dreamed about and chased since childhood.

“Losing a job is never an emotionally easy thing to go through. … I was trying to switch the mindset of having it be a bad thing,” she said in a recent phone interview. “You have dreams — get your friends and family together [and] paint the town red. Make sure there’s no stopping you from reaching the goals that you want to reach.”

It’s a daunting road described deftly in the title cut. Penned by New Hampshire singer-songwriter turned Nashville expat Amanda McCarthy and a few other locals who moved south, “The Long Haul” describes the shock of being “a big fish in a small town” set loose in an ocean of like-minded aspirants.

Cushman jumped on the song when it was pitched to her.

“The line that really hits me the hardest is, ‘entitlement pays a price,’” she said. “A lot of people think, ‘I’m hot stuff around here.’ Then they move and realize there is so much talent…. It’s a very ignorant mind-set as an artist. I have to admit, I’ve probably been there at some point.”

Making it is often a “10-year turnaround” — or even more for established stars like Chris Stapleton, who toiled for nearly two decades before getting his big break.

“You’re basically starting from the top of where you came from, going to the absolute bottom [and] starting over…. It takes a lot of elbow grease,” Cushman said. “In such an instant gratification world, if we don’t see complete success in five years or less, a lot of people will say, ‘This isn’t for me.’”

Though Cushman will head to Music City at some point to do some songwriter showcases, she has no plans to relocate permanently, as many New England country performers have done.

“I’m focusing on the album right now, and preparing for potentially touring,” she said. “Once we’re ready, we will certainly make our way down there.”

While she continues to play mostly covers at bars and restaurants, Cushman has resolved to do at least one original gig a month. Next is a full-band performance at Bank of NH Stage in Concord.

“This is our first straight music venue, our first theater headlining show,” she said. “We’ve never done something like this before, so it’s very exciting.”

Due to the pandemic, it’s a hybrid event; fans can purchase in-person tickets or pay to stream it online. Cushman considers the latter choice a silver lining, since her song with the most Spotify streams initially took off in the U.K.

“People have the option, depending on where they are in life, what’s going on in the world and where they’re located, to be part of the show,” she said.

Cushman and drummer Adam Soucy recently began a weekly residency at the old Club ManchVegas space now occupied by The Goat. It’s an opportunity to spread the word about her music between familiar hits, and occasionally slip in one of her own tunes. “I’ll say, ‘Hey, you guys have been requesting Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBride and Carrie Underwood all night. … Now here’s my song.”

Though aware it’s a continuing journey, Cushman is grateful to be this far along.

“Going from a kid just doing something that made me feel good and was kind of my emotional outlet, to being an adult looking back at the last 25 years … holy cow,” she said. “It feels like a very full-circle moment to have this record out; I’m looking forward to the next one.”

April Cushman, Live and Livestreamed

When: Thursday, Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bank of NH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $34.99 in person, $17.99 livestream at liveonfestival.show

Featured photo: April Cushman. Courtesy photo.

Looking back, and forward

In the parlance of performance, 2020 wasn’t a hard act to follow — anything would beat a year of livestreams and solo shows. So the year began hopefully, and it got better as vaccines became available and venues were able to ease capacity restrictions.

Area supergroup Marble Eyes, for example, was Zooming from the Press Room in January; by July they were playing to a packed Prescott Park in Portsmouth.

Tupelo Music Hall returned in the spring with more drive-in shows but was able to head back indoors at summer’s end. Manchester’s Palace and Rex Theatres reopened in June, while the Capitol Center and Bank of NH Stage in Concord waited the summer out, running local-flavored shows in nearby Fletcher-Murphy Park.

On the Seacoast, Portsmouth’s Music Hall split the difference, offering outdoor shows and socially distanced events at its indoor Historic Theatre. The Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach endured several close-to-the-wire cancellations before it returned to a semblance of normal in mid-July.

Creatively, 2021 was a great year. Several area performers released albums, including Liz Bills & The Change. The band’s self-titled record was rewarded with multiple NEMA nominations, including a win for Pop Act of the Year at the awards show in October.

Andrew North & The Rangers made a highlight reel of an album, Phosphorescent Snack. Among the best tracks were the Phish-adjacent “Aditi,” the buoyant, upbeat “Dig Deep” and “Epiphone” — the latter a guitar-free romp, even if it shared its name with a famous six-string.

April Cushman’s debut album, The Long Haul, dropped in July. The title song perfectly captures the struggle for success in the music business, particularly for women. Cushman sings about the “10-year turnaround” she faces as “just another girl among a thousand crowns … in a working man’s town,” the latter a reference to Nashville, where the disc was finished.

After a March 2020 release show was cratered by Covid-19, Married Iguana waited a year to make its hometown debut in Manchester, and their debut EP includes one of the best songs to come out this year. “Go With The Flow” chugs along like a rolling party bus, punctuated by scorching guitar licks from band leader and principal songwriter Brett Higgins.

All three bands have plans to start 2022 with a bang. Cushman will perform with her band on Jan. 13 at Bank of NH Stage in Concord, a venue Andrew North & The Rangers will also appear at, on Feb. 10. Married Iguana will headline a local showcase with The Humans Being and Earthmark on Jan. 22 at Shaskeen Pub in Manchester.

Comedy provided relief to a pandemic-weary region, first with socially distanced shows at places like Chunky’s Cinema Pub, with multiple locations, as well as Newmarket’s Stone Church and Kathleen’s Cottage in Bristol. Maine funny man Bob Marley played an April Fool’s Day show at Saint Anselm College’s Dana Center, while Juston McKinney did several small-capacity socially distanced sets at area venues.

By summer Wednesday night comedy had returned to Shaskeen Pub, accompanied by word that the weekly event would be taken over by Ruby Room Comedy. Longtime promoters Nick Lavallee and Dave Carter announced plans for a handoff with an eight-weekend run of shows. Standup popped up in some new spots, like Backyard Brewery and Yankee Lanes in Manchester, Concord’s Area 23, and Saddle Up Saloon in Kingston.

Sadly, 2021 ended with a series of losses to the music community. Billy Conway, drummer for Morphine and Treat Her Right, and former Concord resident, died on Dec. 19, the same day that David Surette, who for decades was a fixture on the area scene and Concord Community Music School faculty member, also died.

Granite State native Bill Staines lost his battle to prostate cancer on Dec. 5, and singer, songwriter, activist and provocateur Chelsea Paolini died at age 32, also on Dec. 5. She was a firebrand, whether lighting up the fretboard of her Gibson SG or dressing down perceived ignorance wherever she found it.

Finally, the death of drummer and bandleader Chucky Tester shocked the rock community. A memorial dubbed Rock In Peace happens Jan. 16 at A-Brews in Dracut, Mass. On the bill are Manchester prog rockers Mindset X, Prospect Hill, blindspot and A Simple Complex. For the latter band, it’s an early comeback, their first live performance in over two years.

“We saw the grief in the music community,” A Simple Complex frontman Mark Ingoldsby said recently, “so we decided to break our silence and come off hiatus early to organize a tribute benefit show in honor of Chucky.”

2022 shows to get excited about

Rex Theatre
Morgan James, Jan. 15 (rescheduled from December)
Max Weinberg’s Jukebox, March 24

Palace Theatre
Seth Meyers, Feb. 9
Celtic Angels, March 5

Capitol Center for the Arts
Juston McKinney, March 26 (recording a comedy special)
Heart By Heart, April 2 (featuring original band members)

Bank of NH Stage
Enter the Haggis, Feb. 3
Andrew North & The Rangers, Feb. 10

Tupelo Music Hall
Corey Rodrigues, Kyle Crawford, and Alex Giampapa, Jan. 14 (Comedy)
Martin Barre, Aqualung 50^th Anniversary Tour, Feb. 11

The Music Hall
Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive) and Vilray, Jan. 29
Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, Feb. 27

SNHU Arena
JoJo Siwa, Feb. 22
KoRn & Chevelle, March 19

Bank of NH Pavilion
Ringo Starr & Avett Brothers, June 4
Jack Johnson, June 21

Featured photo: Chelsea Paolini. Courtesy photo.