Author: Michael Witthaus

Music fan gift guide

From modest to massive, local to legend, light fun to heavy tomes, there’s a great gift for the music fan in your life. Here are some ideas sure to bring a smile this holiday season.

Rocking Horse Music Club’s Circus of Wire Dolls (rockinghorsemusicclub.com) is one of the best records to come out of New Hampshire in years, an ambitious rock opera of memoir and anthropomorphism that could very well be on Broadway one day. Its lineup includes area talent and progressive rock legends, led by creator and producer Brian Coombes — available on vinyl and CD.

Speaking of local acts, several released great albums this year. Couple Gravity and the Stars Above, the moody pop-punk sophomore release from Donaher (facebook.com/donahertheband), with a cool T-shirt. Go country with April Cushman’s NEMA-winning The Long Haul and a bull skull hoodie (aprilcushman.com), or gift Faith Ann Band’s raging In Bloom with a piece of their leader’s handmade jewelry (thefaithannband.com).

Concert tickets are a gift that pays off now and later, when the shows actually happen. The two-day Northlands Festival (northlandslive.com) is returning next June, this time with The String Cheese Incident and Phish’s Mike Gordon topping the bill at the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey. The long-awaited Nashua Center for the Arts finally opens in April, with Suzanne Vega, blues polyglot Grace Kelly and ukulele wizard Jake Shimabukuro all on sale, along with other shows (nashuapac.org).

For the gadget-minded, there are some great options. If you’re feeling really generous, the Beolit 20 from Bang & Olufsen is a perfect gift. It’s a portable Bluetooth speaker that runs around $500, which is entry level for the Danish sound company. Along with pristine output, the unit’s top doubles as a magnetic charge base for mobile phones.

Less lofty is JBL’s Charge 5, a (totally) tubular speaker that’s waterproof and quite powerful. Apple AirPods are always a safe pick; the third-generation ones pack a big bass wallop. For the extravagant, there’s the sleek and powerful over-ear AirPods Max. Just as beautiful is the Ikea Symfonisk Picture Frame, which does not require user assembly, a rarity for that store. It works with Sonos, AirPlay and Spotify Connect.

How thoughtful is the clever offering from Vinylify, a bespoke vinyl album containing a playlist of choice and customized cover art? The site also offers gift cards, a safer choice that will allow your music lover’s imagination to run wild. You can give them some ideas with Easton Press’s voluminous Rock Covers book, which collects more than 750 sleeves from Elvis and onward, organized by artist and spanning rock’s 40-year “golden era” at a pricey $176.

More down to earth are books about classic rock favorites. Bob Spitz, whose past works include an encyclopedic look at The Beatles, has a biography of Led Zeppelin that does a great job with the band’s early days, when its four members were scrappily climbing the ladder and learning the ropes. U2 front man Bono’s Surrender looks back at his life through 40 of his band’s songs.

If fiction is more to your favorite fan’s liking, a good choice is a hardcover copy of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones & The Six with a “She just seemed so fearless” bookmark. The novel traces the rise and fall of a band that sounds very much like the Stevie Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac.

Given the recent passing of Christine McVie, now’s a fine time to spin “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Loving Fun” — or marinate in McVie’s own music. There’s a Glyn Johns remaster of her Songbird: A Solo Collection that’s a good choice there. Or go further back in McVie’s career: For the hardcore fan, there’s a limited white-vinyl edition of the 1970 record she made as Christine Perfect on Amazon — an import, naturally.

Everyone loves toys for Christmas, especially music fans. One of the best (and hardest to get) is Funko Pop! Rocks: Iron Maiden Glow In The Dark Box Set (popmarket.com). It includes four 4.5-inch Eddie figures of the English heavy metal band: Live After Death, Seventh Son, Nights of the Dead and Somewhere in Time. When it sells out, there are other items that headbangers will love, like a Pantera set, along with standalones of Ronnie James Dio and Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider.

Featured photo: A bespoke vinyl album containing a playlist of choice and customized cover art through Vinylify.

Amanda McCarthy duos for hometown show

On a Thursday afternoon in late October, Amanda McCarthy played a set at Bobby’s Idle Hour, a no-nonsense bar nestled at the edge of Nashville’s Music Row. The busy performer had another gig scheduled later that evening, but this one was special, marking the release of “Lifeline,” a song that takes a healthy look back at a long-gone relationship.

“When I finished that song in the writing session, I was like, ‘Well that’s all I have to say,’” McCarthy recalled in a recent phone interview. “I think there’s something really cool about that feeling.” Begun a few years ago and completed with the help of her fiancé, Tom Shubsda, and Martin Butter, its finality shares common ground with Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well.”

At her side that day was Sam Ferrara, a singer-songwriter she’d worked with a lot since leaving New Hampshire just over two years ago, lately singing backup on Ferrara’s own ex-boyfriend burn, “Get Out of My Town.” The two will be making a trip North in early December, with dates at NYC’s Cutting Room and Over The Moon Farmstead in the Granite State.

“I played in New York City before, but she’s from there, so it’ll be really cool to meet her people and be with her in her home environment,” McCarthy said. “Then I’ll get to bring her to New Hampshire.”

The bond with Ferrara is one of many McCarthy has formed since her 2020 leap of faith to Music City. She’s been a part of several songs that have been recorded, co-writing Benn Park’s “Mountain Steep” and penning “Unwrite Every Song” with Emily Myers. “That was a special one,” McCarthy said. “She’s also one of my best friends.”

Though written years ago, “The Long Haul” recently helped April Cushman win a New England Music Award for Best Country Act. McCarthy still hews to the song’s message of tenacity in the face of challenge. “I’ve kept my expectations low but my work ethic high,” she said. “I’ve always been kind of an underdog in a way, and I have no problem working harder day by day, trying to figure it out.”

Her biggest success isn’t one song or even the award she received from Young Entertainment Professionals Nashville for being its most active member. “Being able to quit my job was certainly validating because it let me say I’m stable enough, I’m getting enough work that I can do this,” she said.

She’s aware it’s a crucible that’s not for everyone. “I was always a full-time musician up north and the big question was can I do this in Nashville,” she said. “I was able to, and that really gave me a confidence boost and let me know I’m on the right path, no matter where it’s going. Every time someone records a song I’ve helped write is validating, because it shows me that other people see the value in what I write, not just me.”

The move also helped her growth as an artist. “I’ve learned so much about songwriting from being here, and it hasn’t even been from anyone telling me that I was doing anything wrong. I think just being around so much of it, you absorb a lot, you get inspired by a lot. I’ve kind of become in tune with knowing how to really pull out my inner voice. But I can also become other people’s voices, which is a very cool way to switch things up — and my voice has gotten stronger.”

McCarthy looks forward to seeing friends and family and doing some tax-free Christmas shopping during her brief visit, which also includes a solo show at The Bar in Hudson on Dec. 4. Beyond that, performing at Moonlight Meadery’s home base is about more than music for her.

“The owners, Michael and Bernice, are my best friend’s father and stepmother, and she’s my maid of honor,” McCarthy said, noting that the bridal shower for her wedding next spring happened at the facility. “So not only are they part of an amazing music venue, but I have a very personal connection with them…. I’ve known them since I was a kid, so it’s very cool to be playing there.”

Amanda McCarthy & Sam Ferrara
When: Saturday, Dec. 3, 2 p.m.
Where: Over The Moon Farmstead, 1253 Upper City Road, Pittsfield
More: amandamccarthy.com

Featured photo: Amanda McCarthy. Photo Credit Nash Bash Collective.

Step out for a musical December

From big stages to small, national touring acts and regional heroes will fill the nights with mirth and melodies throughout December.

Here’s a taste of what’s coming.

• Bookend the month, and then some, with Recycled Percussion. The junk rockers close out their latest, Redonkulous, at their personal performance venue, The CAKE, with 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. shows (tickets $35 to $110) on two Saturdays, Nov. 26 and Dec. 3, and Sunday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. On Wednesday, Dec. 28, they’ll invade Manchester’s Palace Theatre ($35 and up) for a 13-show run that concludes on Jan. 7.

• Over at the Palace’s sister room The Rex Theatre, get festive and international with a week of holiday-themed events. On Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Boston-based jazz singer Rich DiMare serves up A Sinatra Christmas($29 and up), followed Sunday, Dec. 11, at 4 p.m. by the Celtic fiddle mastery of A Joyful Christmas with Eileen Ivers ($39). On Wednesday, Dec. 14, Italy takes a jazzy bow with Anthony Nunziata: My Italian Broadway Christmas; the next day, it’s Eric Mintel’s Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas. The Spain Brothers offer a blend of holiday-themed Irish and American folk on Saturday, Dec. 17 (all shows 7 p.m., $29).

• At the state’s largest venue,the SNHU Arena, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra returns for the 21st time since their Manchester debut in 2001, on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m., as Keith Lockhart conducts the 2022 Holidays Pops Tour. Tickets are $55 and up at ticketmaster.com.

• At Concord’s Bank of NH Stage on Friday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m., Portland, Maine-based Spencer and the Walrus recreate The Beatles’ studio recordings with astounding accuracy, joined by a six-piece horn section ($38). The theme continues with well-regarded Talking Heads tribute act Start Making Sense on Saturday, Dec. 3. at 8 p.m. ($15 and $30). Tim Reynolds, who rose to fame through his collaboration with Dave Matthews, plays with his TR3 band on Friday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m. ($36).

• The Capitol Center for the Arts hosts a trio of seasonal shows starting with The Seamus Egan Project’s Celtic Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. ($32 and up). The Capital Jazz Orchestra does its Holiday Pops show on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 4 p.m. ($27.50 and up) and the annual Morning Buzz Christmas Ball happens Thursday, Dec. 15, at 7 p. m. ($45, recommended age 18+)

• Tupelo Music Hall is packed from Day 1, as bluesman Popa Chubby stops by, with local favorite Brooks Young as an opener, on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m. ($30). Guitar shredder Gary Hoey, whose Ho! Ho! Hoey! holiday show is synonymous with the season, plays Sunday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. ($35 and up). Musicians’ musician Martin Sexton hits Tupelo Friday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m. ($40 and up), and folk chanteuse Judy Collins offers hits and holiday songs Sunday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. ($55 and up).

• At Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club, guitarist and legendary side man Larry Carlton digs into Steely Dan’s catalog — that’s him wailing on 1976’s “Kid Charlemagne” — and plays other hits Saturday, Dec. 3, at 7 and 9:30 p.m. ($35 to $115). Singer-songwriter Dar Williams serves up erudite folk songs Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. ($10 to $60), while British Blues Hall of Fame guitarist Matt Schofield plays Saturday, Dec. 17, at 7:30 p.m. ($15 to $55).

• At the nearby newly renovated Music Hall Lounge, the utterly charming Antje Duvekot appears Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. ($37 and up), and Thanks to Gravity, a band key to the early ’90s Seacoast scene chronicled in the 2012 documentary In Danger of Being Discovered, plays two shows, Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. ($28 and up).

• 3S Artspace has a few live music events, including free ones like Mission of Burma’s Roger Clark Miller playing from his boundary-stretching album, Eight Dream Interpretations for Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble, on Friday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Small Pond tops a Saturday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. show with Hello Shark and Sneaky Miles ($15). The headliners began in Portsmouth doing DIY shows, later opening for national acts like The Ballroom Thieves and Haley Heynderickx. Their sound is described as “swingy, laid-back indie rock with big hooks and undeniably catchy lyrics.” Boston emo stalwarts Piebald plays a 3S date on Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 8 p.m. ($25).

Venues
Bank of NH Stage 16 S. Main St., Concord; ccanh.com
The CAKE Theatre 12 Veterans Square, Laconia; thecaketheatre.com
Chubb Theatre (Capitol Center for the Arts) 44 S. Main St., Concord; ccanh.com
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club 135 Congress St., Portsmouth; jimmysoncongress.com
Music Hall Lounge 131 Congress St., Portsmouth; themusichall.org
Palace Theatre 80 Hanover St., Manchester; palacetheatre.org
Rex Theatre 23 Amherst St., Manchester; palacetheatre.org
SNHU Arena 555 Elm St., Manchester; snhuarena.com
3S Artspace 319 Vaughan St, Portsmouth; 3sarts.org

Featured photo: Recycled Percussion. Courtesy photo.