Author: Michael Witthaus

Creative giving

Gifts for makers and lovers of art (and performance)

Whether seeking gifts for budding artists or art lovers, readers or film buffs, there are plenty of clever ways to make someone feel special this year. Gift cards are always good, and for those in search of a unique object d’art there are many to be found at local businesses or holiday craft markets.

Experience art

• Studio 550 Art Center 550 Elm St., Manchester, 550arts.com. This downtown spot is inclusive for creators — “a place of joy, laughter, and learning for complete beginners and skilled makers alike,” they boast — focused on pottery and stained glass. They offer one-day workshops for the curious, and year-round classes for more in-depth learning. Or keep it simple and buy a gift at their Holiday Market, happening Dec. 15 through Dec. 23 (excluding Dec. 21), with handmade mugs, bowls and ornaments.

• Muse Paint Bar 42 Hanover St., Manchester, musepaintbar.com. Enjoy a bite and beverage, adult or otherwise, while painting a masterpiece. This downtown spot’s menu has everything from a charcuterie board to chicken and waffles or steak skewers, to be enjoyed during themed events like Couples Night, where it takes two to paint a scenic snowfall or a starry nightfall, or Paint Your Pet, on Sunday, Dec. 28. A gift certificate can be applied to any and all offerings.

• Art Escape 636 Union Ave., Laconia. artescape.com. For the giftee who equally enjoys the fun of making art and the finished product, a gift card for this Laconia walk-in studio is perfect. Art Escape is about making memories, whether it’s a night in the Splatter Room with paint blasters, or unwinding with wine and friends at the potter’s wheel. There are a wide range of scheduled classes, too.

Fine art for sale

• ArtHub Gallery 98 Main St., Nashua nashuaarts.org/gallery. Finally open and in a spacious downtown location, the Nashua Artists Association gallery has fine art from local creators for sale, including a lot of 3D pieces. In summer it hosts the Art in the Park event, something that’s been happening for more than 75 years. A wide range of work is on display and available for purchase, from paintings and textile arts to ceramics, in the Main Street space.

hand made, wooden inlaid jewelry box with three drawers
Art by MGK Turgeon. Photo courtesy of League of NH Craftsmen.

• League of NH Craftsmen 36 N. Main St., Concord, nhcrafts.org. Along with its Concord headquarters, New Hampshire’s “leader in craft” has locations in Meredith, Nashua, Littleton, North Conway and the Hooksett I-93 rest stop. There’s also an online store, where League gift cards are accepted. Start simple with a tree ornament, like this year’s creation, Theodore the Moose, or a yarn bowl for the knitter on your list. For an extra-special gift, spring for a one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry box ($500).

Film

• NH Jewish Film Festival 273 S. River Road, No. 5, Bedford, nhjewishfilmfestival.com. Here’s a Hanukkah gift idea. Every year, more than a dozen rich and varied movies are screened at locations across New Hampshire. In 2025 a Janis Ian documentary was shown, along with the star-studded comedy Bad Shabbos and Nashua director Terre Weisman’s Max Dagan. Next year’s festival is set for March 15-29, and an advance pass can be purchased from the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire — call 627-7679.

• Red River Theatres 11 S. Main St., Concord, redrivertheatres.org. Perfect for fans of eclectic movies, although the downtown cinema also offers mainstream fare like Wicked: For Good, gift cards can be used for tickets or at the concessions stand. There’s also the $40 Dinner And A Movie package, with two movie passes and a $25 voucher for Revival Kitchen & Bar, Dos Amigos, Hermanos, Cheers, Tandy’s or Vinnie’s Pizza. Another option is a $25 gift bag with a logoed mug and two movie passes.

Books and more

• Manchester Craft Market Mall of New Hampshire, 1500 S. Willow St., Manchester, manchestercraftmarket.com. Give a gift card dedicated to local creators from this inventive store. Books aren’t something one expects to find in a crafts store, but the Manchester Craft Market is not typical. Its book corner has S.M. Stevens’ award-winning novel Beautiful and Terrible Things, Laura Knoy’s brilliant historical fiction debut The Shopkeeper of Alsace and other titles. There’s also food, like artisan granola, charcuterie board meats and even fresh bread.

• Holly Jolly Craft Fair DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 2 Somerset Blvd, Nashua, joycescraftshows.com. Happening Sunday, Dec. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., this gathering has more than 75 artisans showcasing and selling American made holiday gifts and crafts. There’s decor, from wreaths to centerpieces, reindeer and gnomes. Purchase chainsaw wood art or an expertly crafted leather belt. For the kids there are soft toys, along with hats, mittens and scarves, all done with a crafty touch.

Featured photo: Symphony NH Brass, 2024. Courtesy photo.

Forge to table

Uncommon cutlery at North East Artisan Knife Show

There’s a world of difference between knives bought at the mall, even ones with hard to pronounce brand names, and the cutlery to be found at the upcoming North East Artisan Knife Show. One might need to be replaced a year or two after it’s purchased, while the handmade blades on offer at this event should last a lifetime — or more.

Happening Dec. 13 at Jewel Music Venue in Manchester, the show is the creation of Shannon Cothran — people call him Bear. For 10 years his one-man company Old World Ironworks has made heirloom-quality knives for camping, hunting, woodworking, historical reenactment and food preparation.

The latter is a guiding philosophy for Bear.

“I try to focus predominantly on kitchen knives, things that are going to appeal to home chefs, food enthusiasts,” he said by phone recently. “I like the idea that I can make something someone may find beautiful … to use to create something that sustains, nourishes and brings joy.”

More than 75 vendors will be on hand at the all-day gathering, showing off wares that cover a wide range of uses. For example, Benjamin Williams’ Rock Maple Forge, in Burlington, Vermont, makes not only historically accurate seax knives used by English Saxons in the ninth and 10th centuries, but also hardwood-handled kitchen cutlery and other blade types.

Apprentice Alex’s Anachronistic Armory is a Manchester forge that, as the name implies, preserves the past with absolute precision. Alex Silverman has smithed for the past seven years, along the way competing on the History Channel reality series Forged in Fire in 2022.

“He really hyper-focuses on … reproducing swords, daggers, hunting spears, things like that, in the quality and style that you would have seen carried historically by your everyman,” Bear said. “It’s a very realistic look at something that we’ve glorified in modern media and zeitgeist.”

Another forge at the show will be Anger Knives of Johnson, Vermont. It’s run by Nick Anger, a bladesmith, woodworker, chemist and metallurgist who specializes in customer Damascus steel knives that are both functional and lovely. His other interesting pieces include an axe and a trident, but neither is made for cosplaying.

That’s because most pieces at the show will cost hundreds of dollars, though Bear is bringing a few entry-level items and expects others to as well.

“We have a run of patterns designed that we then either water jet or plasma, then we do the hand grinding, finishing and hand hilting,” he said of the ready-made pieces. “So you’re not paying for the forge time as well.”

The show will be fun even for those who might not be ready to jump into collecting. It’s an opportunity to learn about the process of creating these sharp-edged works of art, from the creators. That said, Christmas is near, and this is the place to find a special tool that stands apart from everything else in an ordinary arsenal of kitchen tools.

“This is going to be an opportunity to meet some incredible artists who are working locally, an opportunity to support a local economy, and the chance to grab something that may or may not ever be able to be picked up again,” Bear said. “A lot of these pieces are one of a kind.”

Though there are plenty of events with knives, like Renaissance Faires, gun shows and hunting and fishing, this will be the first time they’ll have the spotlight in the region.

“Aside from a few shows that are predominantly collector-focused, with a lot of antiques or military and a smattering of artisan knives in there,” he said, “we don’t really have, to the best of my knowledge, any shows in New England that are specific to artisan knives.”

Bear particularly enjoys the artisan knife community’s eclectic makeup, and its sense of purpose.

“It transcends social class,” he said. “At any artisan knife show, you will be in a true American melting pot. Because these are tools that have defined human history and are ubiquitous across time, culture, language, everything. One of the things that brings us together is the human ability to make tools. You get to see people who are making tools that go beyond function into art.”

North East Artisan Knife Show
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St., Manchester
Tickets: $10 at gopassage.com ($5 youth, $20 family of four)

Featured photo: Symphony NH Brass, 2024. Courtesy photo.

Seasonal songs

Acoustic duo Ryanhood performs Christmas show

The Word Barn in Exeter is presenting “12 Nights of Christmas” at Orchard Chapel in nearby Hampton Falls. The series kicked off Nov. 29 with Halley Neal and Sam Robbins. Upcoming shows include an Irish Christmas on Dec. 4 with John Doyle and Cathy Ryan, outlaw country band Juanita & the Hardliners on Dec. 6 and Harrison Goodell the next night.

Ahead of the two-night candlelight carol sing finale Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 are Cape Breton and Nova Scotia themed shows Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, guitar virtuoso Ben Garnett on Dec. 13, the Scottish Fish on Dec. 14, and Celtic favorites Lunasa on Dec. 14, playing an 8 p.m. show that was added after the early one sold out.

New England natives round things out. Vermonters Kat Wright and Brett Hughes, joined by Tyler Bolles and Will Seeders, appear Dec. 17, followed by New Hampshire fiddler Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki’s Trio’s Celtic themed show Dec. 18, and A Winter Solstice with Low Lily on Dec. 19.

There’s one more act amongst all this superb holiday talent. Ryanhood is a duo hailing from Tucson, Arizona, but Ryan Green and fellow singer/guitarist Cameron Hood, who perform A Winter’s Evening on Dec. 5, can credibly claim New England as their second home.

Green and Hood were high school rivals in the late ’90s, facing off in a few battles of the bands. After graduation, though, the two worked in the same music store and became good friends. Inspired by a Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds live album, they often jammed. “Acoustic songwriter meets lead guitar virtuoso,” Green called it in a recent phone interview.

While Green headed to Berklee in Boston and Hood attended University of Arizona, their collaboration continued. When Hood came to visit a couple of times, the two busked in T stations. After Green got his degree, he heard about a lucrative street performing gig at Faneuil Hall and invited his pal to audition for it with him.

Thus Ryanhood was born, a New England band.

“It was largely Cameron’s songs and songwriting, and myself as a lead guitarist, harmony vocalist, producer and arranger,” Green said. “I wasn’t really much of a writer in the beginning, and then as the years and decades went on, it became highly collaborative in all the elements.”

The duo went from earning solid tip money from tourists, along with an occasional CD sale, to touring the region’s college circuit.

“We’ve played Dartmouth, Saint Anselm, Franklin Pierce, Plymouth State, Keene State and Colby-Sawyer,” Green said. “We’ve also played Tupelo Music Hall.”

Ryanhood then took the spirit home, playing their first holiday shows at Tucson’s Club Congress. The efforts produced an original song one year, “What Is Christmas.” In 2017 they released On Christmas, containing seven originals, along with an acoustic “Sleigh Ride” and gems like Sixpence None The Richer singer Leigh Nash’s solo song “Christmas Falling.”

The events were fun — and elaborate.

“It was a hometown show, so we were able to do anything we could dream,” Green said. “We had easy chairs, trees on stage, a gift exchange, and toward the end a ding going off like an oven timer saying the cookies are ready. Servers came into the venue wearing chef hats, carrying trays, and everybody was getting cookies.”

The playful banter between Green and Hood affirms a bond seasoned over decades, both personal and musical. The duo just released Yes & No, its first LP since 2021’s Under The Leaves.

“It’s a bold, bright, harmony-saturated romp through the inescapable contradictions at the heart of each of us,” Green said.

Their area appearance, however, will hew to the holidays. Though freshly baked cookies may not appear, Green promises the essence of Ryanhood’s hometown happenings will make the trip East.

“All the fun, Christmas-y things you can think of … most of that does actually still happen on the road, and usually venues can help us track down the staging to pull it off,” he said. “It’s rooted in all the things that are fun about the season, and if it’s something we think could make people smile, and tap into that nostalgia, then we try to go there.”

A Winter’s Evening with Ryanhood
When: Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.
Where: Orchard Chapel, 143 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls
Tickets: $25 at thewordbarn.com

Featured photo: Ryanhood. Photo by Ehab Tamimi.

The Music Roundup 25/12/04

• Psycho-delic: Celebrating their debut album, Girl For Me, local blues rockers Lee & Dr. G perform a release show, with a merch table offering red vinyl copies of the disc, a true talisman of success these days. Powered by the twin guitar talents of Lee Durham and Brandon “Dr. G” Gauthier, the band was recently nominated as a Rising Star In New Hampshire at the New England Music Awards. Thursday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m., BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord, $20 at ccanh.com.

• Tinsel twang: Experience a Nashville Christmas up north as Ayla Brown and her band play a Storytellers-styled concert to mark the holiday season. Among the songs the American Idol veteran will do is “Christmas Without You,” from 2013’s A Little Bit of Christmas, an EP that also contained the standards “O Holy Night,” “Silent Night” and “Angels We Have Heard On High.” Friday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m., Dana Center, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, $44.50 and up at tickets.anselm.edu.

• Aughts rock: Coming to prominence with “The Boxer,” an anthemic Celtic-infused rocker, Carbon Leaf offered a fresh sound in the pop-crowded early 2000s, cementing its reputation as a top touring act after being the first unsigned band to appear at the American Music Awards. The band’s latest LP, Time Is the Playground, is solid, with great tracks like the storytelling “Backmask 1983.” Saturday, Dec. 6, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $50 at tupelomusichall.com.

• Village holiday: A midday appearance by youthful country singer Olivia Conway is part of a family-friendly Christmas in the Village event. Along with her set at a live music-forward Main Street spot, there are crafts, hayrides, magic, cookie decorating, face painting, visits with Santa, balloon art and children’s favorite Mr. Aaron, all of it sponsored by Pembroke Women’s Club. Sunday, Dec. 7, 1 p.m., Pembroke City Limits, 134 Main St., Suncook, more at oliviaconwaymusic.com.

• Sister act: Ann and Nancy Wilson appear with their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Heart at a show augmented by an abbreviated version of Starship led by Micky Thomas, singer of hits like “We Built This City” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” After a few fractious years apart, the Wilson sisters made up and resumed doing “Barracuda,” “Crazy On You” and other faves. Wednesday, Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m., SNHU Arena, 555 Elm St., Manchester, $76 and up at ticketmaster.com.

Classical celebration

Symphony NH holiday shows, and conductor news

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Symphony New Hampshire. The venerable orchestra will be represented in a variety of forms at five upcoming area events. After that, the work of finding a new leader continues.

A brass quintet will perform two holiday concerts, in Manchester and Concord, and the Symphony’s string quartet is at Canterbury Shaker Village’s holiday festivities. Nine Symphony New Hampshire musicians will join Mannheim Steamroller at their Concord show and, finally, there’s a full orchestra Holiday Pops concert in Nashua on Dec. 13.

With the new year, the search for a new musical director again heats up, as five candidates vie to succeed Roger Kalia. The first, Tiffany Chang, launched the season with a program called “Unexpected Stories.” It included a symphony by Jean Sibelius that was a favorite of Chang’s.

Symphony NH Executive Director Deanna Hoying recalled that she urged Chang to do the Sibelius piece.

“She had something else in mind, but when I said, ‘Show us who you are through your programming,’ she was like, ‘Oh, this might give me an opportunity,” Hoying said by phone recently. “It was a wonderful [one] for her too — not only to learn, but get in front of an orchestra and do this piece that she’s always wanted to do.”

Each of the remaining four candidates will take the stage at Keefe Auditorium in Nashua to support their bids to lead the orchestra, beginning with Filippo Ciabatti. On Jan. 17 he’ll conduct the orchestra in a program called “From Fire to the Stars.” It includes works by Jessie Montgomery, Manuel de Falla and Mozart. Each musical director candidate will participate in a pre-concert talk one hour before their concerts.

Hoying said the season has been challenging. A Halloween concert was canceled due to poor ticket sales, and adjustments are ongoing: “It’s tight; I’m not terribly surprised. I’m hearing that from a lot of organizations, both here and around the country. As the economy is shifting, people are more thoughtful about how [they] spend that discretionary income.”

Christmastime, though, seems to be bringing a welcome respite.

“People are very nostalgic for classic holiday music, and I think people spend their entertainment money differently now than during the rest of the year,” Hoying said. “I am encouraged to see some good [and] pretty stable numbers right now, for really all of the shows, and that makes me happy.”

Hearing “Sleigh Bells,” “Silent Night” and “Winter Wonderland” performed by a classical brass group or a violin quartet is a great recruiting tool, Hoying continued. The same is true of an inspirational Pops Christmas concert.

“People may not come to see you doing Beethoven, but they will come and see holiday things,” she said. “That’s a wonderful entry point.”

Symphony NH Holiday Appearances

Jingle Brass – Manchester
When: Thursday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester
Tickets: $34 and up at palacetheatre.org

Jingle Brass – Concord
When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 3 p.m.
Where: BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $34 at ccanh.com

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas (joined by Symphony NH musicians)
When: Friday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Chubb Theatre, 44 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $63.50 and up at ccanh.com

Christmas at Canterbury
When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 4 p.m.
Where: Dwelling House Chapel, Canterbury Shaker Village, 288 Shaker Road, Canterbury
Tickets: $50 at shakers.org

Holiday Pops
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Keefe Center for the Arts, 117 Elm St., Nashua
Tickets: $35 and up at symphonynh.org

Featured photo: Symphony NH Brass, 2024. Courtesy photo.

Collective joy

Model Airplane’s Funksgiving returns

By Michael Witthaus
mwitthaus@hippopress.com

Singer Lyle Divinsky has moved around a lot in the past 10 years, living everywhere from the West Coast to Nashville to Colorado. But every Thanksgiving he heads back to Portland, Maine, for a musical party with Model Airplane, the band he and childhood friends Pete Genova and Dan Boyden started back in 2004.

They call the annual bash Funksgiving, and in recent years it’s included a southern edition at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth. It happens on the flip side of Friendsgiving, Friday, Nov. 28, with the finale at The Aura in Portland on Saturday, Nov. 29. A crowded stage will also welcome Gina & the Flight Crew and Kenya Hall.

Hall and Model Airplane played the first Funksgiving in 2010, though it wasn’t officially named that until later.

“We got everybody together to play a show for our own selfish reasons,” Divinsky said by phone recently. “To create this moment after everybody hangs out with their family, while they’re still around. We all get to hang out together, we all get to be with the chosen family, not just the blood family that we have on Thanksgiving.”

When Divinsky left Portland to join The Motet in 2015, he took steps to ensure Funksgiving would continue.

“I knew that I was going to be on the road a bunch and wouldn’t be able to play as much with Model Airplane because of that,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that it didn’t go away just because I was taking this opportunity.”

So he reached out to Gina Alibrio, a New Hampshire native who’d moved to Portland after stints in Boston and Seattle. Conveniently her roommates were Model Airplane drummer Boyden and his future wife. He invited her to come by the band’s practice space after hearing her sing, and things moved from there.

“It was cultivated,” Alibrio recalled in a recent interview. A new, aviation-themed name was coined by keyboard player Tyler Quist, and the transition, she continued, “was hard, because everyone loves Lyle, but we managed to move in a bit of a different direction with the songs, lineup and the vibe.”

This year’s show will recognize two influential artists who passed away in 2025, Sly Stone and D’Angelo.

“We’re going to definitely give a little nod to both of them,” Divinsky said. “Then also drop classic funk that laid the groundwork, modern funk … and then originals as well, just to show how it’s all kind of influenced and seeped into our whole bloodstream.”

He bonded over the genre with his father, who sang in bands and frequently shows up to guest at Funksgiving. During the heyday of file sharing the two would swap songs. His dad would point out the source of sample, for example, and when the young Divinsky heard a Motown song, he might also recognize where it had been used in a newer track.

The influence of Divinsky’s parents — his mom grew up in Philadelphia and soaked up its sounds — shaped his taste.

“I was a slightly weird kid,” he said. “When all my friends were listening to Dookie by Green Day, I was listening to like Jodeci, Boyz II Men, Tupac and Biggie — way too young.”

Far-flung performers will arrive from many places, like keyboard player Dane Farnsworth, who tours with Keb’ Mo’ and others, who’s coming from Austin. Rehearsals happen Tuesday, and Wednesday before the holiday, but preparations have been ongoing for several weeks.

“The biggest thing that sets Model Airplane, Gina & the Flight Crew, Kenya and the whole family apart from other shows is — I feel I can say this because I look up to my friends so much — it’s some of the highest-level musicianship that I’ve ever experienced in New England, and in a lot of ways around the country.”

Divinsky and the rest enjoy the experience both as performers and music lovers.

“Everybody’s got, as I call them, Dumbo ears on stage,” he continued. “We’re all listening to each other because we love each other so much, and that joy spreads into the audience. Every show is two and a half to three hours of uninhibited joy that’s also musicianship.”

Alibrio is especially happy that everyone has the chance to perform their own songs. “I feel very lifted up by that,” she said. “This particular setlist this year seems super-focused on things that everyone is going to execute really well. Each person who’s soloing is going to absolutely smash it, so I’m really excited.”

Model Airplane’s Funksgiving
When: Friday, Nov. 28, 8 p.m.
Where: 3S Artspace, 319 Vaughan St.,
Portsmouth
Tickets: $17 at eventbrite.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

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