Author: Michael Witthaus

Make a music fan’s holiday

Some fun gift buying ideas for this year

Sometimes the best present for the music fan is one that lets them choose, so this year’s holiday guide starts with gift cards. Pitchfork Records (2 S. Main St., Concord) has everything from CDs and LPs and gear to play them, along with fun things like a vinyl album frame — call 224-6700 or stop by the store to purchase.

Most of the region’s concert venues offer gift cards for their shows. For example, Tupelo Music Hall gift cards in increments of $25 are available by calling their box office (437-5100). Many live music-friendly clubs offer this option, like Shaskeen Pub in Manchester, Newmarket’s Stone Church, or Riley’s Place in Milford.

Among online stores offering vinyl, CDs and rarities, Rough Trade Records began as an independent label in 1976 and offers a huge selection, along with e-gift cards (roughtrade.com). Magnolia Record Store curates a selection that includes many exclusive releases (magnoliarecord.store).

For followers of the regional scene, some truly fine records were released by area musicians in 2025. Rocking Horse Music Club’s The Last Pink Glow is a musical interpretation of an unfinished Jack Kerouac novella that includes a guest performance by Tony Banks of Genesis (rockinghorsemusicclub.com).

Fans of Bruce Springsteen will love Ward Hayden & The Outliers’ two albums of countrified Boss covers, Little By Little and Piece By Piece. Both are out on pink splatter vinyl at wardhaydenandtheoutliers.com, along with the alt-country stalwart’s latest original LP, South Shore.

Underground Garage favorite Brad Marino grew up on colored vinyl and picture discs, and frequently delivers fun stuff like an orange vinyl version of his new single “Voodoo” on bandcamp.com. Similarly, down and dirty blues rockers Lee & Dr. G just released their latest LP, Girl For Me, on red wax (leedrg.co).

Books are always a great choice. One of this year’s best is Cameron Crowe’s memoir The Uncool, which tells the true stories behind the biopic Almost Famous, and more. The basic facts of his life — a teenager writing for Rolling Stone, interviewing stars like David Bowie and Gregg Allman — are fantastic enough.

Speaking of movies, one of 2025’s best is Deliver Me From Nowhere, starring The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White. Its success has caused many to revisit the book it’s based on, written by Concord native Warren Zanes, so there’s a gift suggestion with both local and national implications.

For coffee table books, Paul McCartney’s Wings: The Story of A Band on the Run is an oral history of the group he formed post-Beatles. For Deadheads, 60 Years of The Grateful Dead Experience, is a 160-page softcover packed with photos and memories of the proto jam band.

wooden block with circle inserted
SOvenomUND Ferrofluid Visualizer.

Music lovers crave gear, and one cool gadget is the SOvenomUND Sound Activated Ferrofluid Visual Display ($179 at miravique.com). It’s a sleek wooden block that sits on a desk that has a round acrylic insert with an inky blob inside. It pulses to music, or whatever it hears. Unlike Alexa, though, this device won’t try to sell you anything.

Headphones are always popular, and Status Audio continues to innovate and separate itself from the pack. At the low end are the in-ear Between Pros at $79, with the new, overperforming Pro X model a cool $299 at status.co. Bose (bose.com) makes a great open audio (over the ear, but no cups) model for $199.

Finally, for the giftee who’s been extra-special this year, there’s Klipsch’s The Three Plus Premium Bluetooth Speaker, with audiophile sound, a phone to unit range of up to 40 feet, and RCA inputs for plugging in things like a turntable or a CD player. It retails for $419, but most places currently have it on sale.

Last, but certainly not least for struggling local bands who make next to nothing from streaming, is the merch table, both physical and virtual. For the latter, hit bandcamp.com for a bevy of swag from regional musicians. There are great T-shirts from Soggy Po’ Boys, Ian Galipeau and Megan From Work, just for starters.

A band’s progress

The evolution of Slim Volume

Some of the most sophisticated and mature music in New England is coming from Slim Volume, a Manchester quartet that in four years has grown into a solid presence on the scene. Fans of lush harmonies, layered guitars and songs that suggest many influences but stand out as unique have a chance to see for themselves at an upcoming Pembroke City Limits show.

“Slim Volume is one of the most cohesive bands around,” Pembroke City Limits owner and regional music authority Rob Azevedo commented recently. “It’s as if the band members were all meshed together, sharing in melody and sound. Just a tight, tight band.”

Two EPs released over the course of 2024, Back To You and Big Plans, were both the result of Trent Larrabee and Jake DeSchuiteneer, who respectively play guitar and bass, coming to guitarist Mike Morgan and drummer Jonny Lawrence with mostly completed songs. Early this year, that began to change.

“We took a deliberate approach … to pull back on Jake and I bringing material into the band that’s already written and fleshed out, and we’re going to go toward just organic creation,” Trent said in a recent joint Zoom interview with Jake.

“It’s easier, especially when you have bandmates who are very eager to contribute something unique.”

Jake agreed. The old way, he said, “can deny the other members of the band a little bit of flexibility, and the ability to kind of put in some of their own creativity. Like if someone suggests in a bridge, ‘Hey, what if we went to this change instead?’ and I say, ‘Well, I’m kind of married to this thing that I’ve had since I wrote it.’”

Trent and Jake have a Lennon and McCartney thing going as a songwriting team — the first song they learned together was a Beatles song — but composing as a band lifted their overall sound to another level. Jake credits a big part of it to Mike’s contributions on guitar and the textured, atmospheric sounds that result.

“He’s a very prolific writer of guitar parts that lend themselves really quickly to becoming songs,” Jake said. “The kinds of things he writes tend to be of a different flavor than something Trent would come up with, or something I would come up with. It allows us to kind of run a little wild on it lyrically and melodically.”

This all happened as Trent switched from acoustic to electric guitar and Slim Volume started to move away from the folk rock sound of its early records.

“Electric is just different, it opens up so much more potential,” he said, especially with a second guitarist. “Mike and I are both very careful about overplaying … I think that comes through.”

One consequence of this new “all for one, one for all” approach is that the band is writing a lot of new music. Ten songs recorded from January to April should have been released but for what Trent termed “a series of setbacks with the mixing” that are now resolved. In the interim, they’ve written another ten.

The band’s name definitely doesn’t refer to the number of musicians that inform their sound. There’s a vast river of music packed into their songs. One of the best, “Talk It Over” came after Trent heard “a random boygenius” track Jake sent him, “and it blended with the Vance Joy that I was listening to at the time.”

Another, “Big Plans,” echoes a Beatles song, though not deliberately. “I didn’t instantly think of ‘Dear Prudence.’ Once we were recording it, I was like, ‘Oh, wait,’” Jake recalled. Heck, George Harrison cribbed “Something” from James Taylor, so it’s all good. “A lot of our primary influences are classic rock guys … it’s a pretty big stew between the four of us.”

The show in Suncook is the band’s last scheduled one for a while. They are booked at Concord’s BNH Stage next April. “That’ll be our first time there as a headlining band,” Trent said. “We opened for Modern Fools in January and Golden Oak from Maine the prior year. So we’re really excited for that.”

They also are looking forward to their third show at Pembroke City Limits. Trent encourages people to come out for it.

“If you haven’t seen Slim Volume in a while, this would be a great place,” he said. “You’ll hear a bunch of new stuff and hear how the songs have evolved.”

Slim Volume
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m.
Where: Pembroke City Limits, 134 Main St., Suncook
More: slimvolume.band

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Music Roundup 25/12/11

• Holiday Peanuts: Inspired to play piano by watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, David Benoit later was the composer for Peanuts specials in the 1990s and 2000s. His holiday concerts are an annual tradition, with songs like “Linus & Lucy” and “Christmastime Is Here.” He’s joined by singer Courtney Fortune, who does Barbra Streisand’s take of “Jingle Bells” and more standards. Thursday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts, 201 Main St., Nashua, $43 and up, etix.com.

• Horn-driven: Led for decades by guitarist Chris Vachon and anchored by a potent horn section, Roomful of Blues made a big change a few years back when “powerful, soul-stirring” DD Bastos joined as the band’s first female lead vocalist. Their recently released LP Steppin’ Out is a buoyant effort, an “exhilarating mix of jump, swing, proto rock ’n’ roll and tough blues” in the words of one writer. Friday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m., BNH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord, $49 at ccanh.com.

• Blues power: Casting back across a century for inspiration, Blūz Chiīe is a local band that released their debut album, Hard Road To Sorrow, this summer. Highlights include the harmonica-driven opener, “Badlands” and the title track, a chugging ballad with nice slide guitar. The homage “Led Sled” is also tasty, a growling blues number. Friday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place, 29 Mont Vernon St., Milford, bluzchile.com.

• Big Eighties: Still rocking after 45 years, Loverboy hits town to relive the MTV era and hits like “Turn Me Loose” and “Working For the Weekend.” Apart from a switch in bass players, the band’s lineup is unchanged. Lead singer Mike Reno is in top form, even if he’s not wearing red leather pants, and guitarist Paul Dean, who came up with the band’s name in a dream, hasn’t lost a step. Saturday, Dec. 13, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $132 and up at tupelohall.com.

• Family bash: Cape Breton musical ambassadors Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy’s Celtic-themed Christmas show is back, with seven of their children also in the spotlight. The evening features updated holiday classics, and overall good vibes. Tuesday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m., Rochester Opera House, 31 Wakefield St., Rochester, $48 and up at rochesteroperahouse.com.

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.

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