Author: Michael Witthaus

Back to the garden

Greenery, art and music at Wildflower Fest

Thanks to a decision by her manager, Joni Mitchell didn’t perform at Woodstock, but she did write a song that defined the legendary 1969 festival. Thus, it’s fitting that some of the Woodstock generation’s grandchildren are carrying on the spirit summoned by Mitchell’s words “we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden” on its anniversary date.

For most of his childhood, Griff Comtois remembers Keyes Memorial Park in Milford as a Superfund site, surrounded by chain link fences. When the EPA declared it clean enough for public use, a stone and wood amphitheater was built there. Early on, Comtois thought it was underutilized. It prompted him and his friends to launch the first Wildflower Festival in August 2023.

The Wildflower Festival will mark its third year on Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Keyes Field Stage. Three stellar acts top the bill: Nova One, who appeared at this year’s Newport Folk Festival; Lazy Trail, a project led by Boy Scott’s Emma Willer, and Sneaky Miles, a Seacoast band that performed at the first fest.

The initial vision for that event was “a really cool concert for all our friends and everyone in the community,” Comtois recalled recently. Three bands were booked, but it quickly grew, to include an art fair with dozens of vendors. From there, he continued, “we were like, well, we should also raise money to do something.”

They netted $6,500 in contributions. With it, a pollinator garden was planted near the park’s gazebo. Buoyed by success, the festival returned last year, with more bands and art vendors, and raised enough money to install a meadow strip in the park. Both are regularly tended by a core group of volunteers.

“We all are really passionate about our environment and want to find ways that we can make a difference,” Comtois said. “One of my biggest interests is how can we make the spaces that we already live in more sustainable, rather than all this grass and concrete. How can we blend the line between wild nature and where we live?”

A big list of local acts will perform, including singer-songwriter Lily Soleil, Interstate 10, the Manchester-based duo of guitarist Corbin Sage and singer Kevin Lundstrom, Tin Fish, Portsmouth trio Bird Friend, Vale’s End, Burnin’ Shores, Trash Sun and Born Fools.

Darth Brandon rounds out the performers, and one of its members was instrumental in organizing music for the festival.

“Andrew West is really connected in the local music scene,” Comtois said. “He used to run open mic and different music events at Union Coffee in Milford, so he got a lot of the more local bands from there.”

West and Comtois first saw Sneaky Miles while both were at UNH, and Comtois is keen for their return.

“They really get people moving and they’re so fun to dance to,” he said. “They know how to keep the energy flowing … they’ll bring you really high, keep it going, give you a little break, then bring you back up. They throw a great concert.”

Even more artists will be on hand this year. “Everyone’s excited to be part of something, especially when it supports the environment,” Comtois said. “Every year I’m amazed by how much art they have, how well their stands are set up. They sell everything from stickers and prints to original paintings … sculptures and figurines. There’s a lot of pottery, upcycled clothes, woodworking and crocheted items.”

Comtois didn’t plan for his festival to coincide with Woodstock.

“I didn’t know, but August is a good time for festivals,” he said. But the garden motif will be strong, with a plant sale starting at 11 a.m. “Two hundred-plus plants, and I’d say it’s going to sell out probably before 1 [p.m.], because plant people are crazy. If you want some plants, I’d get there early.”

Wildflower Festival
When: Saturday, Aug. 16, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
Where: Keyes Field Stage, 45 Elm St., Milford
Tickets: $10-$20 (sliding scale, pay what you can) at eventbrite.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Music Roundup 25/08/14

Local music news & events

• Twofer: As the field crowds, tribute acts are getting more creative. Bostyx performs the music of two late-’70s rockers, a trick that Foreigners Journey has also successfully accomplished. Standing in for Styx’s Dennis DeYoung and Brad Delp of Boston, lead singer Karthik “Raj” Seshan is a fan favorite — one called him “the true ‘Babe’” and another gushed, “the notes he hits, flawless.” Thursday, Aug. 14, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester, $40 at palacetheatre.org.

• Bluesy: Classic cars and vintage music meld as the Michael Vincent Band performs a rootsy outdoor show at an event called Rev, White & Brew, now in its fourth year. Legend has it that ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons once stopped by when his band was playing the BankNH Stage. Main Street will be shut down for pedestrian-only traffic and a steady parade of sweet rides. Friday, Aug. 15, 4 p.m., NH Vintage Vinyl / Defiant Records, Main & Canal streets, Laconia, defiantnh.com.

• Streetwise: Named for the Aztec god of dance, Latino rockers Ozomatli celebrate 30 years as the soundtrack of their L.A. hometown. “A virtual melting pot of musical style,” wrote critic Brian Baker recently, “an unconventional hybrid of every conceivable subset of Latino music … as well as ska, funk, reggae, jazz, hip-hop and punk, all presented with the panache of a savvy rock band.” Saturday, Aug. 16, 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $56 at tupelohall.com.

In the air

Greeley Park Art Show returns

Now in its eighth decade, the Greeley Park Art Show returns to Nashua as park renovations have reduced the amount of space available for the event. About 50 artists will show their work, along with children’s activities like puppet shows, rock painting, artmaking, a story hour, cornhole, and giant Jenga and Connect Four games.

Other attractions include food trucks and music from local guitarist George Packer (weather permitting). Bedford resident Ron Marcoux is a perennial favorite at the event. He will be back to demonstrate his woodworking techniques, and several other artists will also show off their creative process.

Two juried competitions are planned, one for adults and another for young artists.

Award categories include 3D, acrylic, mixed media, oil, pastel, photography, watercolor, digital art, and drawing/illustration. A Best of Show prizewinner will have their work displayed at ArtHub, a downtown gallery co-run by one of the event’s organizers, Sonia Guthrie.

The Adult competition will be held on Saturday, Aug. 16, with cash prizes totaling over $4,000. Artists up to age 18 vie on the following day. “The only difference is you don’t give them money; you can’t do that,” Guthrie said of the kids’ contest in a recent phone interview. “So they get prizes, more artwork supplies, that sort of thing.”

Additionally, as the show closes on Sunday, the Nashua Area Artists Association will present a scholarship check to at least one high school student with plans to pursue a degree in art.

“The overall goal is to promote the arts and artists,” Guthrie said. “Not just established, but brand new ones — kids. Greeley Park is the year-end celebration of that.”

Watching the youngsters interact with exhibitor demonstrations is Guthrie’s favorite part of the show. “Sometimes they sit down and kind of roll their eyes and go, ‘Oh, my Mom told me to sit here,’” she said. “Then they get into it and it becomes more fun for them.”

Guthrie welcomes an infusion of new blood into the Nashau art scene.

“The truth of the matter is many of our artists are getting older,” she said, adding some long-term members are skipping the show this year. “So we want to encourage the younger people to keep going with their art — if they have it and love it, they should do it.”

She has a message for anyone who feels more like a dabbler than artist: “There is no not good enough — you are what you are, you can learn to do better … but you’re still way ahead of people who don’t do it at all. Some of that is just confidence — there are an amazing number of people who are very reluctant to call themselves an artist.”

To claim the name, Guthrie continued, “you just have to be willing. I always think of Van Gogh; he never sold a painting. His sister-in-law is the only one that ever sold anything of his, and most of those were after he passed. Just because you haven’t sold yet doesn’t mean anything. To be a part of the art world is fun and exciting.”

At a time when arts organizations are losing funding and struggling to stay afloat, Guthrie believes NAAAis in a good place.

“If we break even, we figure we’re ahead of the game,” she said. They were helped by a $175,000 grant from newly opened The Nash Casino.

Guthrie hopes people will come out and support the event, especially anyone looking to create who needs encouragement.

“Camaraderie between artists is important,” she said. “They march to a different drum than the average person. Sometimes they really need that feedback from others that says, ‘Come o n, just keep going.’”

Big laughs

Brad Williams ‘Growth Spurt’ tour hits Concord

Brad Williams was groomed for comedy from an early age. Born with dwarfism, he says getting laughs began as self-defense.

His parents, who weren’t little people, knew he’d face challenges at school, so they sent him with some quick comebacks.

“My dad said, ‘When people meet you, there’s going to be one obvious thing that they notice,’” Williams said by phone recently. “‘Make a quick joke, let them know you’re OK. They’ll pay more attention to you and less to your dwarfism.’”

Performing for a crowd was a happy accident that happened when he was in the audience at comic Carlos Mencia’s show.

“He made midget jokes, and the audience wasn’t laughing,” Williams said. “He was very confused by this, like, ‘What, is one of them here?’ And I raised my creepy little hand in the air.”

Mencia called him up on stage and started asking questions. “Not trying to be funny, my answers got laughs,” he recalled. “That was kind of like the spark that made me go, ‘Ah, man, this feels pretty good.’ I started going up on open mic nights, trying it out. Thankfully, it went well, and 21 years later I’m an overnight success.”

Williams worked on Mind of Mencia while the show was on Comedy Central in the mid-2000s. At the outset, dwarfism helped his standup career.

“Every show doesn’t want just five straight white guys … they want different perspectives,” he said. “I may have gotten some shows I didn’t quote-unquote deserve.”

This grew frustrating as he improved.

“People were like, ‘He’s only funny because he’s a little person,” Williams recalled. “It took a while for people to see past that, and I would argue there are some people that still don’t. You know, I’ve never done a late-night set. So there are still certain entities out there that don’t believe that I’m actually funny.”

While those folks are entitled to their opinion, he’s glad to have success on his own terms, through clips and specials like 2024’s Starfish that fans passed around.

“It was a very organic way of growing the brand, and I’m really thankful for that,” he said. “Because now, people aren’t coming to my show expecting this character that they saw on TV or waiting for me to get to talking about my sex life because I’m with some celebrity. They’re genuinely interested in my perspective.”

That said, Williams always addresses the obvious when he starts a show.

“I’m never going to know what it’s like to be a six-foot-two guy,” he said. “My jokes will always have the perspective of a little person, but it’s great to get those out of the way…. When I walk on stage, there’s a lot of people who are immediately curious. I have that opportunity to be [their] introduction to dwarfism.”

His act includes bits about being a father to a daughter who’s also a dwarf, having a pit bull, and battling with his awful neighbor Carol; he uses her real name onstage. “Probably not the smartest idea for my family dynamics,” he concedes. “I’m a horrible liar, so I can’t go up on stage and say, ‘Her name is Andrea’ if I don’t feel it.”

During the interview, Williams revealed that he’ll shoot his next special later this year in Lexington, Kentucky. His comedy is definitely winning over audiences. When his “Growth Spurt” tour was booked in Concord, tickets for a 7 p.m. Aug. 8 show at the Capitol Center’s Chubb Theatre sold so quickly that a late one was added.

“Thank you to the good people of New Hampshire,” he said, while adding this about his act. “My comedy is like my general personality … very ADD. If you don’t like a joke, wait 30 seconds. It’s going to be high-energy … a lot of fun. I don’t want people leaving and not talking on the way to the car. You’re going to be talking with whoever you came with about the show and things you heard. But the bottom line is it’s going to be fun.”

Brad Williams
When: Friday, Aug. 8, at 7 and 10:15 p.m.
Where: Capitol Center for the Arts, 44 S. Main St., Concord
Tickets: $42.25 and up at ccanh.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Music Roundup 25/08/07

Local music news & events

• Roots night: An Americana double bill includes folk duo Kirstie Lynn and Galen Clark, who shine on the twangy love song “I Want a Cowboy” and trace their beginnings to Virginia’s prestigious Shenandoah Conservatory, where she was studying opera before pivoting to singer-songwriter and teaming up with multi-instrumentalist Clark. New Hampshire native Colin Nevins opens. Thursday, Aug. 7, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits, 134 Main St., Suncook, kirstielynn.com.

• Rough hewn: Burly protest band Tigerman Woah performs atop a three-act show that includes Highwater Haulers and Time & Place. The band formed over a decade ago around a shared love of acoustic folk music circa Woody Guthrie and Alan Lomax, evolving into a rowdier plugged-in sound that, according to the band’s website, “moves people into mosh pits and onto picket lines.” Friday, Aug. 8, 9 p.m., Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St., Manchester, tigermanwoah.com, 21+, $15.

• Block party: A free all-day event with donations encouraged, the Manchester Jazz & Music Festival supports the city’s school district music programs. Appearing are the New Orleans-flavored Krimson Krewe with Chris Noyes, Rich Di Mare and The Ron Poster Trio, a showcase from student and high school musicians, the Yellowhouse Blues Band, Soggy Po’ Boys and The Love Dogs. Saturday, Aug. 9, noon, Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org.

Comedians, assemble!

Annual comedy festival brings together 31 local comedians for six days of laughs

Since it began in 2010, two constants have endured at the annual Hampton Beach Comedy Festival. Every night, two comedians contributed to the festivities: Jimmy Dunn, who created the six-night laugh fest as an excuse to have his friends come, hang out, eat barbecue and tell jokes; and ace booker Dave Rattigan.

This year, however, Dunn won’t be at the festival, because of a dream gig he did Aug. 1. Along with Jimmy Cash he co-headlined Casino Ballroom, a hometown venue where he’d once stood outside as a teenager, too young to get in, listening to legends like Richard Pryor and imagining a career of his own in comedy. So while its founder basks in the afterglow, the festival will carry on. Rattigan, for his part, anticipates a great time, with a few new faces appearing and a solid return lineup. His certainty is rooted as much in the mojo of the event as it is in the talent appearing at McGuirk’s Ocean View.

“Yes, there are great comedians and it’s a great lineup, but also just the vibe of the place is unlike any show I’ve been on,” he said recently. “There’s a really good connection between the audience and the comedians, and all of the comedians who come up want to come next year, and the next year, and the next year.”

Rattigan is looking forward to audiences seeing Tyler Hittner, a mobility-challenged comic who uses a walker.

“He’s incredibly likable, and really funny,” he said. “He uses his disadvantage to his advantage by making it funny, by including everybody in the joke. He laughs at the challenge, and we laugh with him.”

Kristy Kielbasinski, who was a late addition to last year’s festival, will host on Aug. 17. “She had these high heels,” Rattigan recalled. “It’s an outdoor event and she had to get up the steps at night. I kept thinking, I hope she doesn’t get one of those heels caught in the grooves between the planks on the stage. She didn’t, and had a great set.”

First-timer Jim Ruberti is another comic to be excited about. “He hosts a lot for me down the Cape,” Rattigan said, something he’ll do on Aug. 14. “We’re trying to put really good hosts on … they won’t be Jimmy, but they’ll be good. Jim Ruberti’s a really funny guy and a great host.”

Hampton Beach Comedy Festival
When: Tuesday, Aug. 12, through Sunday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m.
Where: McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel, 95 Ocean Blvd., Hampton
Tickets: $23.18 per show at Eventbrite.com

Tuesday, Aug. 12
Jeff Koen hosts
Paul Gilligan, Will Noonan, Karen Morgan, Dave Rattigan, Ken Rogerson
Wednesday, Aug. 13
Brian Glowacki hosts
Carolyn Plummer, Nick ‘’Fitzy’’ Stevens, Dave Rattigan, Steve Scarfo, Jim Colliton
Thursday, Aug. 14
Jim Ruberti hosts
Kelly MacFarland, Mike Donovan, Paul D’Angelo, Paul Nardizzi, Dave Rattigan
Friday, Aug. 15
Steve Bjork hosts
Nick Gordon, Courtney Cronin, Mitch Stinson, Dave Rattigan, PJ Thibodeau
Saturday, Aug. 16
Jody Sloane hosts
Tony V, Dan Miller, Dave Rattigan, Tyler Hittner, Ryan Gartley
Sunday, Aug 17
Kristy Kielbasinski hosts
Dave Rattigan, Andrew Della Volpe, Ryan Ellington, Jason Merrill, Frank Santorelli of The Sopranos

Festival performers

Can’t catch them at the Festival? Many of these performers also have shows scheduled locally in the coming months.

• Steve Bjork (Friday, Aug. 15) is one of Boston’s best observational humorists and a big fan of his home base. He is known for his clean and funny style.

• Jim Colliton (Wednesday, Aug. 13) Married and raising three kids in the Boston suburbs, Jim keeps his comedy focused on dad life. Along with fellow comic Karen Morgan, he performs the theater show Lawn & Order. His DryBar Comedy special is “Please, Take the Lunch!”

• Paul D’Angelo (Thursday, Aug. 14) An ex-assistant district attorney and criminal-defense trial lawyer, D’Angelo is a fixture in A-list comedy clubs with nearly four decades of standup under his belt.

• Andrew Della Volpe (Sunday, Aug. 17) has appeared at Boston’s Comedy Attic as well as Manchester’s Shaskeen Pub and the Rex Theatre. From 2021 to 2023 he co-hosted a podcast, The Soft Boys, with HBCF favorite Will Noonan. Catch him Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Brook Showroom in Seabrook.

• Mike Donovan (Thursday, Aug. 14) is a mainstay in the Boston comedy world who’s also written several books, including one on U.S. history. “He’s not a normal guy, his head is not a casual head,” Steven Wright once said of Donovan. “He’s got like 18 Harvards up there.”

• Ryan Ellington (Sunday, Aug. 17) The new kid at last year’s festival, Ellington has a white mother and a Black dad, and he’s pale with curly red hair. He wins crowds with lines like, “I don’t look biracial, I look like I have a very complicated order at Starbucks.”

• Ryan Gartley (Saturday, Aug. 16) Gartley’s comedic style is characterized by quick, critical observations and dry, family-friendly humor. He’s appeared from Las Vegas to New York to Bangor, Maine.

• Paul Gilligan (Tuesday, Aug. 12) , aperennial Boston headliner, likes to riff on family life and his pale Irish heritage. “On summer vacations,” goes one joke, “I hide under the deck in a ski mask with 68 sunblock, wrapped in a towel.”

• Brian Glowacki (Wednesday, Aug. 13) has a secret weapon: a face that telegraphs mischief. When he pauses with a sly smirk during a joke setup, it’s like watching a Mento dropped into a bottle of Coke; audience laughter builds, then explodes.

• Nick Gordon (Friday, Aug. 15) has performed at Nick’s Comedy Stop in Boston, as well as the Vermont, the Bricks and Bridges and the Portland, Maine, comedy festivals. He’s a founding member and frequent performer at the Great Falls Comedy Club in Lewiston, Maine.

• Tyler Hittner (Saturday, Aug. 16) Suffering from viral meningitis and relying on a walker has never stopped the Rhode Island-based comic from lighting up stages. His charisma, charm and likability allow him to connect with all types of audiences.

• Kristy Kielbasinski (Sunday, Aug. 17)“Worcester’s Funniest Mom” draws from her life as a stay-at-home parent — she even wrote a children’s book. Her humor, she said a few years back, “is based on an exaggerated version of a desperate housewife who’s sick of her kids, sick of her husband, and it’s a little dark and twisted.”

• Jeff Koen (Tuesday, Aug. 12) regularly supports Juston McKinney at his shows, and performs throughout New England. Koen’s self-deprecating humor lands well with audiences. He had the role of Uncle Rick in the 2011 cult film Heavy Times.

• ​Kelly MacFarland (Thursday, Aug. 14) She’s opened for Kathleen Madigan on several occasions and launched the all-female Mother of a Comedy Show with Kerri Louise and Christine Hurley.

• Jason Merrill (Sunday, Aug. 17), a native of Lawrence, Mass., became a comedian at age 41. Getting on the bill at a few of Dave Rattigan’s Scamps shows accelerated his rise, and now he’s a regional favorite, with an act described as “one part Saturday-morning cartoon character and one part pro-wrestler.”

• Dan Miller (Saturday, Aug. 16) Boston native Miller was “born a comedian but made it official in 1992.” He’s shared stages with local and national headliners like Lenny Clarke, Dane Cook and Dave Attell.

• Karen Morgan (Tuesday, Aug. 12) is a former trial attorney who got her start as a finalist on Nickelodeon’s Search for the Funniest Mom in America. She has two Dry Bar Comedy specials and frequently can be heard on SiriusXM Radio.

• Graig Murphy (Friday, Aug. 15) began in comedy using his impressions of sports and television personalities but has now grown into a national headliner with a quick-witted act of everyday humor.

• Paul Nardizzi (Thursday, Aug. 14) A winner of the Boston Comedy Festival, Nardizzi has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central, NESN and on Fox Sports’ Best Damn Sports Show Period. He offers observational humor about his family life, sports and more.

• Will Noonan (Tuesday, Aug. 12) Noonan, whose Live In Boston YouTube special dropped in 2024, made an impression on festival organizer Dunn at his initial HBCF appearance, and now he’s a regular. “The first time Will came up, he was wearing a suit,” Dunn recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh, I like this kid’s style already.’”

• Carolyn Plummer (Wednesday, Aug. 13) appeared at Denis Leary’s annual Comics Come Home benefit in 2022. A New Hampshire native — she grew up in Wolfeboro, a minister’s daughter — Plummer got into comedy after responding to an ad.

• Dave Rattigan (all nights) “He looks like a cross between a semi-hip banker and your mild-mannered father-in-law,” blogger Ralph Fatello once said.

• Ken Rogerson (Tuesday, Aug. 12) is a veteran of Rescue Me as well as When Standup Stood Out, a great documentary about Boston’s comedy heyday in the early ’80s. He’s a favorite of Dunn’s, who said, “I legitimately find him one of the funniest people on the planet…”

• Jim Ruberti (Thursday, Aug. 14) has appeared with headliners such as Lenny Clarke, Steve Sweeney, Paul Nardizzi, Mike McDonald, Dave Rattigan and Steve Bjork.

• Frank Santorelli (Sunday, Aug. 17) Best-known for playing the recurring role of “Georgie the Bartender” in The Sopranos and acting in numerous movies, including No Reservations, Meet the Parents and Crooked Lines.

• Steve Scarfo (Wednesday, Aug. 13) came up in the Boston club scene and once took part in a funny mashup of Survivor and Last Comic Standing that still gets YouTube hits. He started doing standup almost 30 years ago and was noticed by The Boston Globe on his first performance.

• Jody Sloane (Saturday, Aug. 16) is a regular at Headliners throughout New England, Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, Nick’s Comedy Stop, plus roadhouses, Elks Clubs and dives from Portland to New York.

• Nick “Fitzy” Stevens (Wednesday, Aug. 13) Well-known for his drive-time show on WEEI Sports Radio in Boston, Stevens’ passion for his teams, comedy and seeking the approval of strangers led him to create an alter ego named, Fitzy, a satire of and love letter to the foul-mouthed fans he attended Boston sports with growing up.

• Mitch Stinson (Friday, Aug. 15) Ex-Navy jet pilot with more than 200 carrier landings during his career, he’s now a comedian. He appears at venues all over New England.

• P.J. Thibodeau (Friday, Aug. 15) Rhode Island-based comedian known for quick wit, blue-collar charm and sharp observational humor.

•Tony V. (Saturday, Aug. 16) A national headliner who’s appeared on late night television and shared the stage with everyone from Steven Wright to Adam Sandler, he’s a Boston comedy legend, and also Jimmy Dunn’s best friend. Catch him Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Brook Showroom in Seabrook.

Season of laughs

Where to find inland comedy

Thursday, Aug. 7
R-Rated Hypnotist Frank Santos Jr. LaBelle Derry, labellewinery.com

Friday, Aug. 8
Jerry Seinfeld at BankNH Pavilion in Gilford, banknhpavilion.com)
Brad Williams (2 shows) at Capitol Center in Concord, ccanh.com

Saturday, Aug. 9
Steve Sweeney & Friends at Beans & Greens in Gilford beansandgreensfarm.com

Saturday, Aug. 16
Vic DiBitetto at Nashua Center for the Arts in Nashua, nashuacenterforthearts.com

Friday, Aug. 22
Tom Cotter at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com
Jody Sloane, Rob Steen & Greg Boggis at Peterborough Community Theatre, headlinersnh.com

Saturday, Aug. 23
Ken Rogerson & Friends at Averill House in Brookline, averillhousevineyard.com
Jody Sloane at Headliners in Manchester, headlinersnh.com

Saturday, Sept. 6
Steve Hofstetter at Rex Theatre in Manchester, palacetheatre.org

Saturday, Sept. 13
Matt Berry at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com
Bob Marley (2 shows) at Flying Monkey in Plymouth, flyingmonkeynh.com
Tim McKeever at Headliners in Manchester, headlinersnh.com
Queen City Improv at Rex Theatre in Manchester, palacetheatre.org

Wednesday, Sept. 17
Jody Sloane, Pat Napoli, Rob Steen at Stark Brewing (500 Commercial St., Manchester, headlinersnh.com)

Friday, Sept. 19
Nurse Blake at Capitol Center in Concord, ccanh.com
Piff the Magic Dragon at Nashua Center for the Arts, nashuacenterforthearts.com

Saturday, Sept. 20
Lenny Clarke & Tim McKeever at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com
Mark Scalia at Headliners in Manchester, headlinersnh.com

Friday, Sept. 26
Matt Friend at Capitol Center in Concord, ccanh.com
Peter Lui & Rob Steen at Liquid Therapy in Nashua, headlinersnh.com

Saturday, Sept. 27
Stand Up Dads – Mike Koutrobis & Steve Bjork at Averill House in Brookline, averillhousevineyard.com
Kevin James (2 shows) at Capitol Center in Concord, ccanh.com
Funny Women of a Certain Age w/ Carole Montgomery, Leighann Lord and Julia Scotti at Flying Monkey in Plymouth, flyingmonkeynh.com
James Dorsey at Headliners in Manchester, headlinersnh.com
Kerri Louise, Christine Hurley, Kathe Ferris at Rex Theatre in Manchester, palacetheatre.org
Mark Riley at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Saturday, Oct. 4
Jimmy Cash at Flying Monkey in Plymouth, flyingmonkeynh.com
Mark Riccadonna at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Saturday, Oct. 11
Steve Bjork at Headliners in Manchester, headlinersnh.com
Jody Sloane at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Friday, Oct. 17
John Cleese of Monty Python at Capitol Center in Concord, ccanh.com

Saturday, Oct. 18
Frank Santorelli at Headliners in Manchester, headlinersnh.com
Juston McKinney (2 shows) at Palace Theatre in Manchester, palacetheatre.org
Mark Scalia at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com
Christopher Titus at Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, tupelohall.com

Friday, Oct. 24
Tim McKeever & Pat Napoli at Liquid Therapy in Nashua, headlinersnh.com

Saturday, Oct. 25
Brian Beaudion at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com
Joey Carroll at Headliners in Manchester, headlinersnh.com
Emily Ruskowski & guest comedians at Averill House in Brookline, averillhousevineyard.com

Thursday, Oct. 30
Craig Ferguson at Nashua Center for the Arts, nashuacenterforthearts.com

Friday, Oct. 31
Tim Hayes/Teddy Smith at the Rex in Manchester, palacetheatre.org

Saturday, Nov. 1
Steve Bjork at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Saturday, Nov. 8
Bob Marley at Capitol Center in Concord, ccanh.com
Will Noonan at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Saturday, Nov. 15
Frank Santorelli at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Friday, Nov. 21
Matt Berry & Shawn Ruiz at Liquid Therapy in Nashua, headlinersnh.com

Saturday, Nov. 22
Joe Carroll at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Saturday, Nov. 29
Juston McKinney at Flying Monkey in Plymouth, flyingmonkeynh.com)
Carolyn Plummer at Chunky’s in Manchester, chunkys.com

Saturday, Dec. 6
Jim Gaffigan at SNHU Arena in Manchester, snhuarena.com

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