The long tradition of rice

An old tradition — and some newer alternatives

We’ve seen it time and time again: Spouses kiss and are presented as a couple, then exit toward a waiting vehicle as guests throw celebratory rice in the air. But why?

Rice was originally chosen because it symbolizes prosperity and fertility, according to Brides magazine. It’s tossed as a sign of well wishes for the future. The tradition dates back at least to ancient Celts, who threw rice and other grains both as a newlywed blessing and to appease various gods, according to Brides. Not everyone followed along, however. Ancient Romans were said to toss wheat, Moroccans threw figs or dried dates, and Indians celebrated with flower petals.

Make or buy small packages of rice for your guests before the ceremony. Ushers can distribute the packets, or you can attach them to chairs or the wedding program. Ask ushers and other helpers to let guests know when the time is right. You might also consider listing the proper time to throw rice in the program. Most couples choose the moment they initially walk out of the venue, but others may want to do it during a special photo.

More recently, fears have arisen that leftover grains might cause harm to wildlife long after the ceremony is over. Some government officials have even banned the practice. Brides magazine reported, however, that subsequent testing has shown no immediate danger to animals. Rice can pose a slip hazard, however, so someone should be on hand to sweep up once the happy couple has left the venue.

There are plenty of reasons beyond worries over wildlife to opt for something else instead of rice. Some people are looking for greener options, while others are planning to have children and therefore feel uncomfortable about rice’s age-old symbolism of fertility. Then there are the inherent safety issues. Some options to consider go back to alternative traditions from places around the world like flower petals. Others now use birdseed, herbs, or biodegradable confetti. Some choose not to throw anything at all. Instead, have friends and family ring small bells or wave colorful ribbons.

Featured Image: Courtesy photo.

Small Spaces, Big Sound

A Look at Winter Music Series Warming Up the Season

By Michael Witthaus

[email protected]

With snow flying as the winds whip and temperatures drop, now is a great time to head indoors and enjoy some live music.

In addition to the nationally and wider-regionally touring shows at the larger capacity venues, several smaller spots offer winter music series that showcase a musical experience that features more indie, niche and regional original music. As the venues are smaller (some as small as under a hundred, some accommodating a few hundred music-lovers especially if the crowd is standing), the shows often provide a chance to catch an act before they blow up like Noah Kahan. Sometimes, the milieu and the music are equally compelling. Sipping wine before sitting down for a concert at Hermit Woods wineries, for example, or looking at art before the music at the Andres Institute.

Many of the performers can be seen in area bars and restaurants, but at these shows they have the opportunity to play their own material. When Andrea Paquin and April Cushman are at Milk St. Studios, for example, they’ll be able to draw from their own extensive catalogs instead of doing covers, something that’s also true for all of the shows at The Livery. The Songwriter Roundup at Hermit Woods Winery pretty much exists to expose original voices who spend a lot of their time doing someone else’s songs. If you like what you hear, buy a CD, it’s the best way to support independent musicians. Whether it’s a craving for rock, blues, folk, big band or traditional sounds from Ireland or Ecuador, there’s an option available.

The following is a look at upcoming concerts, from now to spring, and a few beyond.

Faith Ann Band. Courtesy photo.

Andres Institute of Art (16 Route 13, Brookline, andresinstitute.org)

This outdoor sculpture garden was once a ski resort. Fundraising concerts are held to keep admission free year-round. The upcoming schedule is an eclectic one, with Manchester alt rockers the Faith Ann Band, acoustic roots band Low Lily and pan-Latin Boston group Sol y Canto all playing. Institute President Kristi St. Laurent, who also books the shows, noted recently that the former ski lodge where the concerts happen is historic. “J. Geils played here, I have photographic proof of that,” she said, adding it’s perfect for concerts. “Musicians all want to come back, because they love the way the room sounds.”

Saturday, Jan. 25, 6 p.m. – Faith Ann Band and Rabbit Foot

Sunday, Feb. 9, 6 p.m. – The Sofferman Perspective

Sunday, March 2, 6 p.m. – Low Lily

Sunday, March 16, 6 p.m. – The Honey Bees

Sunday, April 6, 6 p.m. – Evan Goodrow

Saturday, April 19, 6 p.m. – Mighty Colors and Jamdemic (Earth Day Benefit)

Monday, April 28, 6 p.m. – Sol y Canto

Button Factory Stage (99 Islington St., Portsmouth, portsmouthnhtickets.com)

This intimate performing space located in the studios of Portsmouth Community Radio is as eclectic as the Seacoast music community it supports, with multiple genres appearing, and nationally touring artists often stopping by. Local shows include Mango Catch Collective on Jan. 25 and a raging punk rock show featuring Condition, Black Vinegar and The Saturn Cycle on Feb. 21, with unique Beatles tribute trio While My Guitar Gently Weeps the following night. Boston acid jazzers Bees Deluxe are there March 8.

Friday, Jan. 17, 8 p.m. – Alchemy with Hell Beach and Qvickdraw

Friday, Jan. 24, 8 p.m. – DJ Chad Banks and Friends

Saturday, Jan. 25, 8 p.m. – Mother Nimbus with Mango Catch Collective

Saturday, Feb. 1, 8 p.m. – The Orrs with Twothousands

Friday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m. – Anna May

Saturday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m. – Alexia Scott

Saturday, Feb. 15, 8 p.m. – Mango Catch!

Friday, Feb. 21, 8 p.m. – Condition with Black Vinegar and The Saturn Cycle

Saturday, Feb. 22, 8 p.m. – While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Friday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m. – DJ Chad Banks and his DJ Friends

Friday, March 7, 8 p.m. – Complete Utter Opposite with Neurotic

Saturday, March 8, 8 p.m. – House Lights & Friends

Saturday, March 15, 8 p.m. – Bees Deluxe

Thursday, March 20, 8 p.m. – Matt Farley with Thin Lear, Niagara Moon, and Bird Friend

Sunday, March 23, 8 p.m. – Little Lies: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac

Thursday, April 10, 8 p.m. – Broommaker (formerly Teething Veils) & Eternal Slumber

Contoocook Cider Co. (656 Gould Hill Road, Contoocook, contoocookcider.com)

A bucolic room booked by NH Music Collective and run by a revered cidery. Music happens Saturdays and Sundays, with a long list of regional favorites stopping by.

NHMC, which helps independent musicians find gigs by working with pubs, restaurants and listening rooms, recently underwent a leadership change. Brad Myrick sold his stake to fellow co-founders John McArthur and his wife, Reva Tankle, to focus on his own music.

“It’s a very amicable change of direction for the company,” McArthur said in early January. “I’ve been trying to help him as much as I can with his performance career…. Brad is one of the best guitarists, certainly in the Northeast, and he’s a fabulous composer.”

Brad Myrick, who’s now devoting his time to performing, makes an appearance in mid-March. NHMC is also booking a series of shows at the BNH Stage in Concord this winter.

Also on tap is Ian Archibold, recently seen at a BNH Stage showcase concert. Sully Erna sideman and Joe Walsh doppelgänger Chris Lester is another highlight; he’s there next month.

Sunday, Jan. 19, 1 p.m. – Jack Ancora

Saturday, Feb. 1, 1 p.m. – Justin Cohn

Saturday, Feb. 15, 1 p.m. – Chris Lester

Saturday, March 1, 1 p.m. – Ian Archibold

Saturday, March 15, 1 p.m. – Dan Fallon

Sunday, March 16, 1 p.m. – Brad Myrick

Saturday, March 22, 1 p.m. – Alex Cohen

Sunday, March 23, 1 p.m. – Justin Cohn

Saturday, April 5, 1 p.m. – Tyler Levs

Saturday, April 12, 1 p.m. – Ryan Williamson

Saturday, April 19, 1 p.m. – Garrett Smith

Guy Davis. Courtesy photo.

Flying Goose (40 Andover Road, New London, flyinggoose.com)

The longest-running concert series in the state mixes old-school folkies like Ellis Paul, Garnet Rogers and Tom Pirozzoli, who conceived the whole thing back in the early ’90s, with new faces like Sam Robbins and Brittany Moore. This small room sells out fast, so best to make reservations well in advance, especially for shows like bluesman Guy Davis on Feb. 13.

Thursday, Jan. 16, 7:30 p.m. – New England Bluegrass Band

Thursday, Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m. – Dinty Child and Mark Erelli

Thursday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m. – Guy Davis

Thursday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. – Ellis Paul

Thursday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. – Aztec Two Step 2.0

Thursday, March 20, 7:30 p.m. – Brittany Moore

Thursday, March 27, 7:30 p.m. – Willy Porter and Tom Pirozzoli

Thursday, April 3, 7:30 p.m. – Lonesome Ace String Band

Thursday, April 10, 7:30 p.m. – Sam Robbins

Wednesday, April 23, 7:30 p.m. – Garnet Rogers

Thursday, April 24, 7:30 p.m. – Garnet Rogers

Goosefeathers Pub (1398 Route 103, Newbury, mountsunapee.com)

Kick back with the apres-ski crowd and enjoy a bountiful list of musicians curated by NHMC. Willy Chase, another singer-songwriter recently showcased at BNH Stage, has an early February set. In March, it’s Mikey G, who also headlined the downtown Concord room. Other good bets are Rebecca Turmel Duo on Jan. 19, and The 603s on Feb. 22.

Saturday, Jan. 18, 3 p.m. – Ryan Williamson

Sunday, Jan. 19, 2 p.m. – Rebecca Turmel Duo

Saturday, Jan. 25, 3 p.m. – Frontwoods

Saturday, Feb. 1, 3 p.m. – Tom Boisse

Sunday, Feb. 2, 2 p.m. – Willy Chase

Saturday, Feb. 8, 3 p.m. – Dave Clark

Sunday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m. – Andrea Paquin

Saturday, Feb. 15, 3 p.m. – Karen Grenier

Sunday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m. – Jack Ancora

Saturday, Feb. 22, 3 p.m. – The 603s

Sunday, Feb. 23, 2 p.m. – Brad Myrick Duo

Saturday, March 1, 3 p.m. – Joel Begin

Saturday, March 8, 3 p.m. – Mikey G

Hermit Woods Winery (72 Main St., Meredith, hermitwoods.com)

Curated and hosted by singer-songwriter Katie Dobbins, the winery’s Wednesday Songwriter Roundup event will celebrate a two-year anniversary on Feb. 26, with Pete Downing and another artist sharing the spotlight with Dobbins. Shows are offered in tandem with a dinner that begins an hour before the music. Additional dates are anticipated. “I am coming down from the busy fall/winter show season,” Dobbins texted recently. “I’m going to be working on more bookings.”

Thursday, Jan. 16, 7 p.m. – Grace Wallace Band

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 7 p.m. – Songwriter Roundup with Katie Dobbins, Dan Sirois and Patrick Synan

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m. – Songwriter Roundup with Katie Dobbins, Pete Downing and TBA

Wednesday, March 26, 7 p.m. – Songwriter Roundup with Katie Dobbins and TBA

Livery at Sunapee Harbor (58 Main St., Sunapee, nhmusiccollective.com)

Another NHMC-curated venue, this winter’s concert season will see the return of Slim Volume, a young Beatlesque quartet that sold out the rustic Main Street space last year, as well as Charlie Chronopoulos playing an intimate set of original music. For those looking forward to summer on the lake, NHMC’s John McArthur is planning a series there when it’s warmer.

Saturday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. – Jack & Tim

Friday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. – JD & the Stonemasons

Saturday, April 19, 7 p.m. – Slim Volume

Saturday, May 17, 7 p.m. – Charlie Chronopoulos

Milk St. Studios (6 Milk St., Dover, milkststudios.com)

An extension of a Seacoast recording studio modeled after The Record Co. in Boston, this listening room has local musicians stretching out to play originals, though the Joni & Cat Tribute Show — Mitchell and Stevens, if anyone’s wondering — on March 29 is an exception. An in-the-round concert featuring acoustic music from singer/songwriters Andrea Paquin and April Cushman on March 15 should be stellar.

Saturday, Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m. – The Writeful Heirs & Darien Castro

Friday, Feb. 14, 6:30 p.m. – Groundspore

Saturday, Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m. – Lee & Dr. G. + Catwolf

Saturday, March 1, 6:30 p.m. – STL Gold

Saturday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. – Jarred Garneau Group

Saturday, March 15, 6:30 p.m. – Andrea Paquin + April Cushman

Saturday, March 22, 6:30 p.m. – Amulus

Saturday, March 29, 6:30 p.m. – Joni & Cat Tribute Show (Nicole Gauthier & John Fuzek)

Saturday, April 5, 6:30 p.m. – Studia & Jed Allen + The Regals

Music Hall Lounge (131 Congress St., Portsmouth, themusichall.org)

An extension of the larger venue with cabaret seating for dozens instead of hundreds in the audience, this downtown venue welcomes rising stars like indie rockers Certainly So and Americana singer/songwriter Liv Greene along with regional talent like folksinger Reed Foehl and jazz saxophonist Seba Molnar. Valentine’s Day brings the romantic PMAC Jazz Night, with a bevy of Seacoast musicians including sax player Eric Klaxon, singer Taylor O’Donnell and keyboard treasure Mike Effenberger.

Friday, Jan. 17, 8 p.m. – Seba Molnar

Saturday, Jan. 25, 8 p.m. – Reed Foehl

Sunday, Jan. 26, 8 p.m. – Lee DeWyze

Friday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m. – Certainly So

Saturday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m. – Juanito Pascual

Friday, Feb. 14, 8 p.m. – 18th Annual PMAC Jazz Night: Dream a Little Dream

Friday, Feb. 21, 8 p.m. – Vance Gilbert

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m. – Johnny Cash’s Birthday Bash with Scott Moreau

Thursday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m. – Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell & Leonard Cohen tribute)

Friday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m. – Sam Robbins

Saturday, March 1, 8 p.m. – Ellis Paul

Friday, March 14, 8 p.m. – Liv Greene & Elise Leavy

Tuesday, March 18, 8 p.m. – Jordan Tice

Friday, March 21, 8 p.m. – Heather Maloney

Sunday, March 23, 8 p.m. – Tyler Hilton

Friday, March 28, 8 p.m. – Alice Howe & Freebo

Saturday, April 5, 8 p.m. – Scott Kirby

Nippo Lake Restaurant (88 Stagecoach Road, Barrington, nippobluegrass.com)

Acoustic music fans delight in the long-running series housed in a Barrington country club, which lasts from October through April. Some of the region’s finest players show up for this Sunday evening tradition. Ahead are revered bluegrass band Lunch at the Dump, the always entertaining Rockspring and a couple of projects that include Scott & Betsy Heron, Little Wishbone and the Heron Bluegrass Co.

Sunday, Jan. 19, 6 p.m. – Chicken Shack

Sunday, Jan. 26, 6 p.m. – Unsung Heroes

Sunday, Feb. 2, 6 p.m. – New England Bluegrass Band

Sunday, Feb. 16, 6 p.m. – HydroGeo Trio

Sunday, Feb. 23, 6 p.m. – Lunch at the Dump

Sunday, March 2, 6 p.m. – Cordwood

Sunday, March 9, 6 p.m. – High Range

Sunday, March 16, 6 p.m. – Little Wishbone

Sunday, March 23, 6 p.m. – Hot Skillet

Sunday, March 30, 6 p.m. – Heron Bluegrass Co.

Sunday, April 6, 6 p.m. – Cedar Mountain

Sunday, April 13, 6 p.m. – Unsung Heroes

Sunday, April 27, 6 p.m. – Rockspring

Lee and Dr. G. Courtesy photo.

Pats Peak (686 Flanders Road, Henniker, patspeak.com)

Another apres-ski series curated by NHMC. Shows to look forward to include Andrew North and the Rangers, who host the monthly open mic at BNH Stage, and River Sang Wild, who perform for two days straight in early March. A word to the wise: Resort management cautions that things can change when the sap’s running.

Saturday, Jan. 18, 6 p.m. – Scott & Wally

Saturday, Jan. 25, 6 p.m. – Young Guns

Saturday, Feb. 1, 6 p.m. – Geoff & Wally

Saturday, Feb. 8, 6 p.m. – Dan Fallon Band

Saturday, Feb. 15, 6 p.m. – Scott & Wally

Saturday, Feb. 22, 6 p.m. – Andrew North & the Rangers

Saturday, March 1, 6 p.m. – Karen Grenier

Saturday, March 8, 6 p.m. – River Sang Wild (also 3/9)

Saturday, March 15, 6 p.m. – Rebecca Turmel Duo

Saturday, March 22, 6 p.m. – Geoff & Wally

Pembroke City Limits (134 Main St., Pembroke, pembrokecitylimits.com)

Opened last summer by music maven Rob Azevedo, this is the newest addition to the region’s live music scene, with a focus on local talent like the Irish band Black Pudding Rovers, singer-songwriter Paul Nelson and Vampire Bird, the latest project from Will Kindler, which went over so well in December that it will return March 9. “This spring, PCL will continue to introduce and reintroduce such incredible musicians,” Azevedo said recently, while touting the venue’s Sunday Jazz Sessions with Gary Smith.

Thursday, Jan. 16, 7 p.m. – Chris Salemme

Friday, Jan. 17, 7 p.m. – Todd Hearon Trio

Saturday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. – Funk Night w/ Gary Smith & Friends

Sunday, Jan. 19, 2 p.m. – Black Pudding Rovers

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. – Paul Nelson

Thursday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. – Colin Nevens

Friday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. – Piano Man Jody Robichaud

Saturday, Jan. 25, 3 p.m. – Arthur James

Saturday, Jan. 25, 7 p.m. – The Honey Bees

Sunday, Jan. 26, 1:30 p.m. – Stonemasons

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 7 p.m. – Tequila Jim

Thursday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. – Gary’s “Legendary” Musical Gathering

Friday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m. – Hickory Horned Devils

Saturday, Feb. 1, 2 p.m. – Let’s Get Sticky Rolling Stones Tribute

Thursday, Feb. 6, 7 p.m. – Timothy K Blues

Friday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m. – Lee & Dr. G.

Thursday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. – Mikey G

Saturday, Feb. 15, 4 p.m. – Angela Stewart

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m. – Dan Fallon & Company

Saturday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m. – Georgie-Jam Night

Friday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. – Faith Ann Acoustic

Wednesday, March 12, 7 p.m. – Vampire Bird (Will Kindler)

Friday, March 14, 7 p.m. – Cinnamon Jazz Trio

Sunapee Community Coffee House (9 Lower Main St., Sunapee, sunapeecoffeehouse.org)

This is another series that’s been around a very long time, located in the basement of a Methodist church. It’s a pass-the-hat affair; bring a Hamilton to help out the artists. The effort encourages new and emerging talent, which means New Hampshire’s Noah Kahan might appear on their way to greater fame.

Friday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. – Hubby Jenkins

Friday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. – Click Horning

Friday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. – Tommy Crawford

Friday, March 14, 7 p.m. – Nate Goyette

Friday, March 28, 7 p.m. – White Mountain Ceilí Band

Friday, April 11, 7 p.m. – E J Tretter

Friday, April 25, 7 p.m. – Halley Neal Group

Katie Dobbins. Courtesy photo.

Twin Barns Brewing (194 DW Highway, Meredith, twinbarnsbrewing.com)

Craft beer and live music pair well at this NHMC-curated venue. Upcoming are singer-songwriter Temple Mountain and Lakes Region duo The Sweetbloods, as well as rising stars Taylor Hughes and Dakota Smart.

Friday, Jan. 17, 5 p.m. – Tom Boisse

Saturday, Jan. 18, 5 p.m. – Temple Mountain

Friday, Jan. 24, 5 p.m. – Kat Ivy

Saturday, Jan. 25, 5 p.m. – Garrett Smith

Friday, Jan. 31, 5 p.m. – Freddie Catalfo

Saturday, Feb. 1, 5 p.m. – Karen Grenier

Friday, Feb. 7, 5 p.m. – Taylor Hughes

Saturday, Feb. 8, 5 p.m. – Rebecca Turmel

Friday, Feb. 14, 5 p.m. – The Sweetbloods

Friday, Feb. 14, 5 p.m. – Paul Driscoll

Saturday, Feb. 15, 5 p.m. – Dakota Smart

Friday, Feb. 21, 5 p.m. – Ciera MacKenzie

Saturday, Feb. 22, 5 p.m. – Jack Ancora

Friday, Feb. 28, 5 p.m. – Jackie Lee

Saturday, March 1, 5 p.m. – Dave Clark

Friday, March 7, 5 p.m. – Rock Dove

Saturday, March 8, 5 p.m. – Andrea Paquin

Saturday, March 15, 5 p.m. – Chris Torrey

Friday, March 21, 5 p.m. – Willy Chase

Saturday, March 22, 5 p.m. – Kyle McGuinness

Friday, March 28, 5 p.m. – Tyler Levs

Saturday, March 29, 5 p.m. – Garrett Smith

Friday, April 4, 5 p.m. – Tom Boisse

Saturday, April 5, 5 p.m. – Justin Federico

Friday, April 11, 5 p.m. – Rebecca Turmel

Saturday, April 12, 5 p.m. – Temple Mountain

Word Barn (66 Newfields Road, Exeter, thewordbarn.com)

Tucked at the end of a twisty road in Exeter, this venue is the perfect place to catch an under-the-radar star in the making, along with local treasures like Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki’s Trio, Will Evans and The Wolff Sisters. The shows here frequently sell out, so it’s best to act early for artists like Liz Longley and Joe Crookson.

Saturday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. – Winter Warmer with Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection

Thursday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. – Rakish and Nate Sabat

Friday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. – Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier Duo

Saturday, Jan. 25, 8 p.m. – Soggy Po’ Boys

Sunday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m. – Will Evans

Thursday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. – Genticorum

Friday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m. – The Wolff Sisters

Sunday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m. – Eli West & The Clements Brothers

Friday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. – Jordan TW Trio

Saturday, March 1, 7 p.m. – David Howley (We Banjo 3)

Friday, March 7, 7 p.m. – Joe Crookson

Saturday, March 8, 7 p.m. – Chatham Rabbits

Sunday, March 23, 7 p.m. – Liz Longley

Wednesday, April 23, 7 p.m. – Matthew & the Atlas.

Discover new flavors

Find new favorites at New Hampshire Wine Week

New Hampshire’s biggest wine event, New Hampshire Wine Week, will take place from Jan. 17 through Jan. 23, culminating in the New England Wine Spectacular, a wine expo featuring more than 1,700 different wines from around the world. According to Justin Gunter, a wine specialist with the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, New Hampshire’s influence in the wine industry has grown continually over the past 20 years.

“The first Winter Wine Spectacular took place with a few winemakers sitting around a kitchen table and some dining,” Gunter said. “And it’s grown to be one of the largest wine events in New England. We’ve got an amazing array of winemakers that are coming here to New Hampshire. What the [Liquor] Commission has done over the course of the past 20 years has not only strengthened its wine offerings for consumers but, you know, really caught the attention of the entire wine industry.”

According to Gunter, over the course of New Hampshire Wine Week, wine representatives will make appearances throughout the state, building to two central events.

“We have winemakers coming from all over the world — winemakers, wine personalities, owners, people from all aspects of winery coming to our state to visit for Wine Week. They’ll be crisscrossing the state that week for wine dinners and bottle signings and two really great signature events: the Viva la France event as well as the Winter Wine Spectacular. So this is really a story about the evolution of not only this event and the growth of the event but also the state of New Hampshire’s prominence in the world of wine and the offerings that we’re able to provide to consumers.”

One of the goals of Wine Week is to expose wine enthusiasts to as large a variety of wines as possible. There will be offerings from huge, well-established producers and from small family-owned vineyards. “For instance,” Gunter said, “Randy Ullom of Jackson Family Wines will be at our event. He’s an icon in the industry, the head winemaker for Kendall-Jackson Wines, a very big name in the industry. He’ll be working directly with his table, which will have the Jackson family wines along with a couple of side projects that the Jackson family wines are doing that he’s heading as well. So you’ve got somebody like that who is taking time out of his schedule, probably with worldwide demands. And then you’ve got folks like Maria Helm Sinskey from Robert Sinskey Vineyards, who’s been coming here for decades. And they’ve got a much smaller winery but a really high-quality product. The thing to note is that they’re head winemakers. They’re involved in the industry; they’re involved in their wineries. These people have their hands in the dirt. They’re farmers. They’re heavily involved in every aspect of wine. Everybody who comes to this event will have an opportunity to get to speak with them and talk to them about their wine specifically and really pick their brains and celebrate wine.”

Despite the level of expertise on tap at the Wine Week events, Gunter said they are for wine enthusiasts of all levels of experience.

“These events are perfect for someone just getting to know wines all the way up to an aficionado,” he said. “These winemakers are so passionate about what they do, and the products that they make, they’re more than happy to guide you and ask you [about] the types you know and the flavor profiles you like. It really offers something for anybody at any end of the spectrum.”

The Wine Spectacular will fill a lot of floor space. “There’s actually two rooms that we’ve used for the past few years,” Gunter said. “There’s one room that is the primary expo that will have the vast majority of the tables. There are more than 200 tables of wines to choose from with up to 12 wines per table. That’s how we can get so many wines available for people to try. We also have the Bellman Cellar Select Room, which is for some more refined, more higher-end offerings. And there’s about 40 tables in that room as well. Along with that, we have food that will be prepared by local restaurants. And ultimately it all comes back to this, it’s really all garnered in passion. Every one of these people that you will meet, it’s not about explaining nuances of wine; it’s a passion for the product.”

Richard Jacob is an account manager with Vinilandia NH, a wine import company in Portsmouth focusing on niche, organic, family-owned and generational vineyards around the world. In his view, New Hampshire Wine Week is a way for wine professionals and enthusiasts to keep up with what is available in a constantly changing wine landscape.

“It’s a chance for distributors in the area that work with the Liquor Commission to get an opportunity to showcase some of their products,” Jacob said. “It’s really exciting because the wine in people’s portfolios are constantly changing, so it’s important that these events happen so people can get a fresh taste of the new vintages or the newest wines that have been added to the state. It’s a good opportunity for people to learn and see the types of wines that are around the corner.”

Jacob clarified the term “portfolio.” “The portfolio is pretty much our book,” he explained. “It’s the list of the wines that we sell. Our portfolio at Vinilandia, just as an example, has about 480 wines.” That can make keeping track of wines in New Hampshire easy to lose sight of, he said. And that makes events like NH Wine Week important to industry professionals and consumers alike, he said. Although wine sales in general have fallen recently, “companies that sell more independent winemaker products, family-run wineries, wines that have a story and that are sustainable …[those] are doing much better. I feel like there is a shift in the culture because people are realizing that these sustainably produced wines can compete with the pricing of mass-produced wines.” And events that bring story-worthy wines to the public’s attention benefit everyone.

Emma Round, owner of Unwined Wine Bar in Milford, says those wines-with-stories help her give value to her customers.

man standing behind table full of wine bottles, pouring wine into someone's cup, woman standing beside him
Previous Wine Week. Photo by Timothy Courtemanche

“I think frequently people see what there is in the liquor store,” Round said, “and their imagination can be limited by that.” They see the prices that restaurants have to charge for a bottle of wine, and wonder why they should pay so much more for a bottle that they could buy much less expensively on their own, she said. “But many of the wineries that are well-recognized have smaller portfolios of restaurant-only wines. These events give you the opportunity to see those, which is really important and it’s really good. I highly encourage the public to go to these things to kind of broaden their horizons. I know some of the restaurants try to do that ourselves, but I think when [wine producers] do that on their own back is awesome, too.”

Genevieve Wolfe is the Wine Director for Vine 32 Wine and Graze Bar in Bedford. She said New Hampshire Wine Week’s timing is auspicious.

“It’s fun for the restaurant side of things to have Wine Week [now],” Wolfe said, “because, obviously, with dry January, typically [wine sales] slow down a little bit. So Wine Week being in January is always great for us. It’s just a little bit of a push. We love serving new people and especially ones who want to explore. Those who are attending any of the Wine Week events that usually are the ones who are willing to kind of go outside the box from what they know. Having 32 taps [at Vine 32] allows us to really help them out of their comfort zone and to try something new. So we always look forward to Wine Week.”

19th Annual New England Winter Wine Spectacular
When: Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Doubletree Expo Center, 700 Elm St., Manchester, 625-1000
Tickets: There are three tiers of tickets available for the event: Bellman’s Cellar Select, which includes access to a VIP room, product samples, gourmet food pairings and early access to the main expo area, for $135; Grand Ballroom Advanced Entrance, which allows ticket holders early access to the main expo area, for $95 per person; and Grand Ballroom General Admission for $75.

Visit nhwineweek.com. Proceeds from the event go to support the New Hampshire Food Bank.

Sponsored by Pine State Beverage New Hampshire, the organizers of the Wine Spectacular will arrange for a safe ride home within 20 miles for any guest, free of charge.

French wine in the spotlight

The “Viva la France” wine tasting and panel discussion on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at the Manchester Country Club in Bedford will focus on French wines.

Three major importers and distributors of French wines will be on hand to lead guests through the breadth and subtleties of some of their favorite wines: Marnie Old, Director of Vinlightenment of Boisset Collections, Serge Doré, Wine Importer of Serge Doré Collections, and Dominique Giovine, SVP of iconic Moët Hennessy.

According to Justin Gunter, a Wine Specialist with the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, this event will be a special opportunity for wine enthusiasts to learn from experts.

“There’s going to be a cocktail hour,” Gunter said, “where we’ll be pouring two wines from each of these representatives and we’ll be able to mingle with and speak to the representatives and talk to them about these wines that they’ve brought. And then after that first hour at about 6:30 … they’ll be sitting at the front in a panel type of presentation and we’ll have hors d’oeuvres and some food pairings to go along with the different wines. These panelists will walk all of our guests through these expressions of these specific regions in France. And I’ve got to tell you they are pouring some powerhouse wines. In fact …I’ve received word that vintage Dom Perignon will be poured.”

Serge Doré will be one of the featured panelists. He is the owner of Serge Doré Collections, which specializes in importing boutique French wines. He is excited about this all-French event. “Well, ‘Vive la France,’ first of all, it’s a big statement,” he said, “because it is an expression that is very important. It’s a commitment. ‘Vive la France’ is like when we say over here in the U.S., ‘God bless America.’ It’s exactly the same thing, but Vive la France goes back to the revolution, and this goes to the best … of French wine.”

“The event on Thursday night is absolutely spectacular for the consumers,” Doré said, “because, when you prepare a dish, what do you do while you’re cooking it or baking it? You taste and you taste and you taste. There’s no other way to understand a product. It is the same thing with wine, but now with wine, you have to open a bottle to have a sip. So how many bottles can you open at night? There’s a limit to what we can do. But now when you go to an event like on Thursday, a public event, that’s the perfect time to come and understand or discover or confirm things that you know or things that you want to know. You go from table to table and you focus on something and you walk out of there and say, oh my God, I’ve tasted 62 different wines tonight and now I understand why I like this or why I don’t like that. Because at the end it becomes very personal. It’s a matter of taste.”

For Doré, French wines capture a celebratory approach to life, and this event is for people who have that same sort of outlook.

“As long as you have people that do enjoy wines, that’s all that matters,” he said. “People who enjoy life, that’s all that matters. People that enjoy time with family and friends at the table, that’s what we want to have. That’s what I want to see in front of me. Life is about being at the table, technically three times a day at the table. You don’t spend more time in your life anywhere else but on the table. When you sit down normally, you have guests at home, people are nice, they talk not too loud, but after a few sips of wine the sound goes up, down, the conversation is all over the place, one cuts the other one and it’s joy to joy of the moment. It is created by the wine, not by the food. You say cheers with a glass, not with a fork.”

Viva la France wine tasting and panel discussion
When: Thursday, Jan.22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Manchester Country Club, 180 S. River Road, Bedford, 624-4096, manchestercountryclub.com
Tickets: $65 at eventbrite.com

New Hampshire Wine Week events

Here are some of the events slated for NH Wine Week. See nhwineweek.com/events for updates.

Saturday, Jan. 18

  • Wine Dinner with Brian Pruett, Dry Creek Vineyards Winemaker from 6 to 9 p.m. at Wentworth By the Sea (588 Wentworth Road, New Castle, 422-7322, opalcollection.com/wentworth)

Wednesday, Jan. 22

  • Wine Tasting with Brian Pruett, Winemaker of Dry Creek Vineyards, noon to 2 p.m., NH Liquor and Wine Outlet, Portsmouth Store #38 (500 Woodbury Ave, Portsmouth Traffic Circle, Portsmouth, 436-4806, liquorandwineoutlets.com)
  • Wine Dinner with Brian Pruett, Dry Creek Vineyards Winemaker, 5 to 8 p.m., Martingale Wharf Restaurant (99 Bow St., Portsmouth, 431-0901, martingalewharf.com)
  • “Viva la France” Wine Tasting and Panel Discussion, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Manchester Country Club (180 S. River Road, Bedford, 624-4096, manchestercountryclub.com). See page 13.
  • Truchard Vineyards wine dinner at Prime at 6 p.m. Sky Meadow Country Club (6 Mountain Laurels Drive, Nashua, 888-9000, skymeadow.com)
  • Wine Tasting with Nicole Hitchcock, Winemaker of J Vineyards, 6 to 7 p.m., NH Liquor & Wine Outlet, Store #50 (Willow Spring Plaza, 294 DW Highway, Nashua, 888-0271, liquorandwineoutlets.com)
  • Wine Tasting with Battle Creek Winemaker Sarah Cabot, Winderlea Vineyard owners Bill Sweat and Donna Morris, and Peter Paul Wines Winemaker Mike Tracy, 6 to 7 p.m., NH Liquor & Wine Outlet,Store #69 (25 Coliseum Ave., Nashua, 882-4670, liquorandwineoutlets.com).
  • Wine Dinner with Joseph Spellman, Justin Vineyards and Winery Master Sommelier, 6 to 9 p.m., Coyote Grill (98 Valley Road, Waterville Valley, 236-4919, wildcoyotegrill.com)

Thursday, Jan. 22

  • 19th Annual New England Winter Wine Spectacular. 6 to 8:30 p.m., Doubletree Expo Center (700 Elm St., Manchester, 625-1000), nhwineweek.com

Other wine happenings

Here are some other wine related events in January.

  • Wine on Main (9 N. Main St. in Concord; wineonmainnh.com) has several wine events on its January schedule. A Wine of the Isles class will be offered Tuesday, Jan. 14, and Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 6:30 to 8 p.m. and focus on wines of the islands off the coast of Italy, Croatia, France and more ($35 per person). A free wine tasting will be held during Winterfest on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 1 to 4 p.m. There will also be a Cupcake and Wine Pairing on with sessions Wednesday, Jan. 29, and Thursday, Jan. 30, 6:30 to 8 p.m. ($35 per person).
  • Global Flights & Bites Series at The Grazing Room at Colby Hill Inn in Henniker, colbyhillinn.com, running Fridays, Jan. 17 through Feb. 7, 4 to 8 p.m. For $59 per person, enjoy a flight of three wines presented with four appetizers. Each week will feature a region: Jan. 17 is Portugal, Jan. 24 is the Mediterranean, Jan. 31 is West Coast and Feb. 7 is Japan.
  • Cakebread Cellars Wine Dinner a five-course wine dinner with speaker Niki Williams at Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way in Bedford; bedfordvillageinn.com) on Wednesday, Jan. 22, starting at 6 p.m. Price is $125 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Find the menu and the listings of wines to be paired online.
  • Savor the Season: Big Reds and Bold Flavors, a tasting of seven reds, at WineNot Boutique (25 Main St. in Nashua; winenotboutique.com) on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission costs $45.
  • The 21st Annual Winter Wine Festival at Wentworth by the Sea (588 Wentworth Road in New Castle; opalcollection.com/wentworth, 422-7322) runs Friday, Jan. 17, through Sunday, Feb. 9. Happenings include a Big Tasting with MS Walker and Pine State on Friday, Jan. 17, 6 to 8:30 p.m. ($69.95 per person); a Vintner’s Dinner with Dry Creek Vineyards on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. ($99.95 per person); a Vintner’s Dinner with Jackson Family Wines on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. ($159.95 per person); a Vintner’s Dinner with Banfi Wines on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. ($149.95 per person); Vintner’s Dinner with Orin Swift Cellars & Winery on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. ($149.94 per person); and a Bubbles and Jazz Brunch on Sunday, Feb. 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($69.95).

Wines to look for at NH Wine Week events this year

Here are some wines that the experts will be keeping their eyes on during this year’s New Hampshire Wine Week.

Justin Gunter, New Hampshire Liquor Commission
“We definitely have some smaller vineyards represented. We have Donna Morris and Bill Sweat; they’re the owners of Winderlea Vineyards in Oregon, and they make some beautiful, beautiful pinot noirs. It’s a smaller operation. They’re not one of the giant conglomerates.” Another producer Gunter is excited about is “Christof Höpler and the Höpler Winery. It’s not a massive operation, but it is worldwide and we do import a fair amount and they concentrate on more of the Zweigelt and rieslings and a lot of the German varietals.”

Richard Jacob, Vinilandia NH
“Recently we’ve had some wines that are from the northern part of Italy that we just brought on to our portfolio that are from this wonderful family with a fantastic [passion for] their culture and their history and their winemaking philosophy. Those kinds of connections are the things that help make a bottle of wine more special and not just, you know, a glass of alcohol. It just makes it good for conversation.”

Emma Round, Unwined Wine Bar
“I favor a lot of South African wines. The flagship grape of South Africa is a pinotage. So many people have never tried a pinotage because they don’t know what it is. It’s a fantastic grape. It’s delicious and it pairs well with so much food. So I try and lead people down paths like that. It’s the same for a plavac mali from Croatia, which is very similar to a pinot noir but with just a little bit more, a little bit more flavor. It’s far and above been one of my most popular cider glass wines. And most people have never heard of it before, but you give them a taste and they’re like, ‘Oh! It’s fun; it’s exciting.’ And wine should be like that. Life should be fun and exciting. It should be about trying new things.”

Genevieve Wolfe, Vine 32
“We have all classic examples that people would normally come in and ask for. But then I also like wines from Croatia or Slovenia, something a little bit different. We’re changing over our menu again in January, so I’m always excited to bring in new stuff that’s a little bit different, a little bit off the beaten path, so I can bring in those who might be set in their ways and kind of show them something different.”

Emma Stetson, owner of Wine on Main
“There is a wine importer called Massonais. They’re brand new to the state, and I’m looking forward to trying the new wines from them. They have a bunch of wines, but they specialize in eclectic, unique Italian wines. For example, they have a producer called Graci. They make Sicilian wines that are grown in volcanic soil, which is unique and fun. You can almost taste like that graphite, smoky character from the soil.”

25 reasons to get excited about January 2025

Just because the holiday season is over doesn’t mean the fun is done. There are plenty of reasons to get excited about 2025 — in particular, this first, frequently cold month. Here are 25 (-ish).

1 . If holiday symphony performances have you wanting more, check out the Bach’s Lunch events, which are free and open to the public, at the Concord Community Music School (23 Wall St., Concord, ccmusicschool.org). On Thursday, Jan. 2, the lunch features a lecture with musical examples called “A Baroque Beatles Renaissance.” On Thursday, Jan. 9, the lunch is a concert of the same name. Both events start at 12:10 p.m.

Other events at the school in January include the Purple Finches 2025 Winter Concert (a youth chorus) on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 6 p.m. followed by a Teen Chorus concert at 7:30 p.m. and a NE Roots and Branches program called “Contradance Music: The New England Contradance Repertoire” on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 6 to 9 p.m.

At the Manchester Community Music School (2291 Elm St., Manchester, mcmusicschool.org) the Faculty Performance Series schedule includes Appassionato Piano Trio with Erin Tellier (piano), Nicholas So (violin) and Kurt Villiard (cello) on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. The event is free with preregistration.

2. Get your college basketball live at local college home games. Next games on the schedule are Southern New Hampshire University Penmen on Thursday, Jan. 2, with the women’s team at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s team at 7:30 p.m., both versus Bentley University. Saint Anselm College Hawks also hit the court on Thursday, Jan. 2, with the women’s team playing at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s team playing at 7:30 p.m., both versus Assumption. All SNHU home games are at Stan Spirou Field House (2500 N. River Road, Manchester) and admission is free for regular season games (see snhupenmen.com). All Saint Anselm home games are played at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium on campus and admission costs $10 (see saintanselmhawks.com).

    At Rivier College, Raiders home games are played at the Muldoon Center (440 S. Main St., Nashua) and admission is free. Both men and women will next play at home on Tuesday, Jan. 7, against Elms — women at 4 p.m., men at 6 p.m. Visit rivieratheletics.com.

    At New England College, Pilgrims home games are played at Bridges Gym (14 Grove St., Henniker). Admission is $5. Both men and women will next play Tuesday, Jan. 7, against University of Saint Joseph — women at 5 p.m., men at 7 p.m. See athletics.nec.edu.

    At NHTI, all Lynx home games are at the Dr. Goldie Crocker Wellness Center on campus in Concord and admission is free. The men’s team will play its next home game on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 1 p.m. against Massbay Community College. The women will next play at home on Friday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. versus Washington County. See nhtiathletics.com.

    And then of course there is the University of New Hampshire at Lundholm Gymnasium (145 Main St., Durham). For the Wildcats, men’s game tickets start at $17 in advance for adults and $19 on the day (courtside tickets for all ages cost $27 in advance and $29 on the day). Tickets for youth, 65+, military and grad students cost $12 in advance, $14 on the day. For women’s games, tickets cost $15 for adults on the website, $12 for youth, 65+ and military. Visit unhwildcats.com. The women’s next home game is Thursday, Jan. 2, at 6 p.m. vs. Bryant. The men’s next home game is Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m. vs. University of Vermont.

    3. See competition on ice. The Saint Anselm College Hawks men’s ice hockey team will play their next home game at the Sullivan Arena (100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester) on Friday, Jan. 3, at 6 p.m. versus Colby. See saintanselmhawks.com. See two hometown teams face off when the Hawks take on Southern New Hampshire University at Sullivan Arena, on both Friday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 11, at 4 p.m. Saint Anselm’s women’s ice hockey team will play its next home game on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. versus Dartmouth.

    Rivier University Raiders ice hockey games take place at the Conway Arena (5 Stadium Drive, Nashua). The men’s team’s next home game is Friday, Jan. 3, at 5:40 p.m. versus Franklin Pierce. The women’s team’s next home game is Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 8:40 p.m. versus Keene State.

    The New England College Pilgrims (athletics.nec.edu) play their hockey games at Lee Clement Arena (38 Grove St., Henniker). The women’s team next plays Friday, Jan. 3, at 6 p.m. versus Anna Maria College. The men’s team next plays at home on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 4 p.m. versus the Rivier Raiders.

    The SNHU Penmen will play their next home game at the Ice Den Arena (600 Quality Drive, Hooksett) on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 3 p.m. versus Cortland. See snhupenmen.com.

    And the University of New Hampshire Wildcats hockey home games take place at the Whittemore Center Arena (128 Main St., Durham). The women’s team plays its next home game on Friday, Jan. 3, at 6 p.m. versus Maine. The next men’s home game is Friday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. versus UConn. See unhwildcats.com.

    4. Shop very local at winter farmers markets, keeping the direct-from-producer-to-consumer link alive during the cold months. On Saturdays head to the Downtown Concord Winter Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon at 7 Eagle Square in Concord. See downtownconcordwinterfarmersmarket.com.

    The Milford NH Indoor Farmers Market is open every other Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Milford Town Hall Auditorium at Union Square. The first market of 2025 is Jan. 11. See milfordnhfarmersmarket.com.

    The Salem NH Farmers Market operates in the winter on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the LaBelle Winery in Derry (14 Route 111). See salemnhfarmersmarket.org.

    5. The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester, currier.org) has a slate of art classes for adults, teens and kids, including one-day workshops, multi-week series and online classes, kicking off with Tantalizing Textures with Rachel Montroy, a one-day workshop for adults on Saturday, Jan. 4, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. See the full lineup on the website.

    Upcoming classes and workshops at Creative Ventures Gallery (411 Nashua St., Milford, creativeventuresfineart.com) include “Technical Drawing with Alex Haas” on Tuesdays, starting Jan. 7, at 5 p.m. and “Fundamentals of Drawing Class for Teens with Tami Sciola” on Thursdays, starting Jan. 9, at 6:30 p.m.

    A winter session of classes at Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St., Manchester, 550arts.com) will start Monday, Jan. 13. Find a rundown of offerings on the website.

    The first winter session of classes at Kimball Jenkins (266 N. Main St., Concord, kimballjenkins.com) starts Monday, Jan. 6, for adults, kids and teens. Adult offerings include “Intro to Drawing with Matt Garofalo,” “Beginner Watercolor Painting with Sophia Eastley” and “Fundamentals of Printmaking with Mary Mead” — see the website for the full slate.

    And you can check out the art of others at one of several gallery shows.

    At the Currier, current exhibitions include “Olga de Amaral: Everything is Construction and Color” (through Feb. 16); “Dan Dailey: Impressions of the Human Spirit” (Feb. 2); “Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ouattara Watts: A Distant Conversation” (Feb. 23), and “The Legend of the Poinsettia: Paintings from Tomie DePaola’s Holiday Classic.”

    At Art 3 Gallery (44 W. Brook St., Manchester, art3gallery.com), the winter exhibit is “What/How Do We See?”.

    Glimpse Gallery’s (Patriot Building, 4 Park St., Concord, theglimpsegallery.com, 892-8307) current exhibit runs through Jan. 9, featuring works from artists Pat Arzillo, Byron Carr, Julie Daniels, Mark Ferland, David Wiggins, Barbara Morse and Michael McCormack, as well as a selection from curator Christina Landry-Boullion.

    Outer Space (35 Pleasant St., Concord, outerspacearts.xyz) has the works of Emma cc Cook and Em Kettner on display in the exhibit “Caterpillar” through Saturday, Jan. 18.

    Two Villages Art Society (846 Main St., Contoocook, twovillagesart.org) will open its next exhibit on Saturday, Jan. 11 (with a reception from noon to 2 p.m.); the show is called “Stitched Together: Friendship, Feminism and Craft / Laura Morrison and Maureen Redmond-Scura.”

    6. Enjoy the music of Billy Joel with the tribute band Captain Jack and The Strangers on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 8 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St., Derry, tupelomusichall.com). The Tupelo will host a line-up of tribute bands (as well as an artist playing the music of a band he founded) in January including Eaglemania (Saturday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m.); Blues Brothers The Next Generation (Friday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m.); The Dave Matthews Tribute Band (Saturday, Jan. 18, at 8 p.m.); Zeppelin Reimagined (Friday, Jan. 24, at 8 p.m.); Beatlejuice (Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m) and Captain Fantastic (Friday, Jan. 31, at 8 p.m.). Ace Frehley, founding member of KISS, will play the music of KISS on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m.

    Get more tribute goodness when 1964 The Tribute will perform on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Dana Center for the Humanities (Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, tickets.anselm.edu). Tickets cost $35.

    Catch the next phase in the musical story the night before at British Invasion II1970s and Beyond presented by the Majestic Theatre (880 Page St., Manchester, majestictheatre.net) on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $20.

    7. You can run outside! Maybe you feel the urge to get back into a road jogging routine but aren’t sure you’ll be able to encourage yourself to leave your warm house on a cold day. Join a group hitting the road with the 2025 Freeze Your Buns 5K Series, which takes place every other Sunday starting Jan. 5 starting at 9 a.m. on the road between Conway Arena and the Nashua YMCA in Nashua. The series continues into March and the cost is $25 (or $6 per race). See gatecity.org/freeze-buns-5k-series.

    Also on the winter running schedule is the Hopkinton Winter 5K Series on Sunday, Jan. 5, at 9 a.m. The cost is $30. See runsignup.com/Race/NH/Contoocook/HopkintonKRace. Subsequent races take place on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2.

    And the Delta Dental NH Snow or No We Go series starts Saturday, Jan. 18, at 10 a.m. at the Canterbury Shaker Village. The cost is $25. Find the race at findarace.com.

    Or just sign up for a single race. The HPM Insurance Snowflake Shuffle in Bedford, on a 3-mile course, takes place Sunday, Jan. 12, at 9:30 a.m. (millenniumrunning.com/snowflake). The Boston Prep from the Greater Derry Track Club is Sunday, Jan. 26, at 10 a.m. with 5-mile and 16-mile options (gdtc.org/bostonprep).

    8. Movie-geek it up with the Golden Globes, which air Sunday, Jan. 5, at 8 p.m. on CBS and on Paramount+. For those who follow the Oscars race like others follow football, the Golden Globes means that the award season kicks into high gear, often making it easier to find nominated and wannabee nominated films. Red River Theatres in Concord (11 S. Main St., Concord, redrivertheaters.org) has A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic that has three Globe nominations, and The Brutalist (six nominations) on its coming soon schedule and is currently screening Globe nominees Wicked and Babygirl. O’neil Cinemas Brickyard Square (24 Calef Highway in Epping; oneilcinemas.com) is currently screening Globe nominees A Complete Unknown, Babygirl and Moana 2. Chunky’s (707 Huse Road in Manchester; chunkys.com) has Wickedand Moana 2, with Babygirl slated to open on Friday, Jan. 3. At the Apple Cinemas in Hooksett and Merrimack (applecinemas.com), you can find Globe nominees Wicked, Moana 2, Babygirl, A Complete Unknownand Gladiator II. Music Hall (23 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, themusichall.org) will offer several awards-buzzy movies in January including Conclave(Jan. 3 through Jan. 5), Nightbitch(Jan. 5 through Jan. 9),Anora(Jan. 10 and Jan. 11), Flow(Jan. 18 and Jan. 19) and Babygirl(Jan. 28 through Jan. 31).

    9. Prepare for your trip to France — or to a French-style bakery — with “Français Pour Visiteurs” Traveler’s French classes from the Franco-American Centre (facnh.com). Classes run Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Jan. 9 through Feb. 6, or Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to noon, Jan. 11 through Feb. 8, over Zoom. The series costs $185. You can try out your skills at the Franco-American’s regular Pret-à-Parler — or PaPa Conversation — gatherings, which meet both virtually and at locations such as Murphy’s Taproom in Bedford (Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 5:30 p.m.) and El Rodeo in Concord (Monday, Jan. 13, at 5:30 p.m.).

    10. The SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, snhuarena.com) puts on a show with events this January: Disney on Ice Presents Mickey’s Search Party with seven shows Thursday, Jan. 9, through Sunday, Jan. 12. Tickets start at $15 plus fees. Then on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m. it’s Dancing with the Stars Live 2025 with professional dancers; tickets start at $54.50.

    Asian women sitting behind large drums, arms raised to play, on stage during performance
    Yamato the Drummers of Japan will be at the Capitol Center for the Arts.

    11. Get the Led Out celebrates the music of Led Zeppelinon Friday, Jan. 10, at 8 p.m. at the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com). Also appearing at the Cap Center proper in January are Now and Forever — A Celebration of Carole King on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m.; Dirty Deeds the AC/DC experience on Friday, Jan. 24, at 8 p.m.; The Fab Four: USA Meets The Beatles on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 7:30 p.m. and Yamato the Drummers of Japan on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 4 p.m.

    At the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St., Concord), catch Modern Fools with Slim Volume & Rachel Berlin on Friday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m.; Swing Dance Night with the New Hampshire Jazz Orchestra on Sunday, Jan. 19, at 3:30 p.m.; Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish featuring Delanie Pickering on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m.; Dueling Pianos on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m., and GoldenOak on Friday, Jan. 31, at 8 p.m. Catch Mikey G in the Cantin Room at BNH Stage on Sunday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m.

    12. The libraries are making January fun. The Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua, nashualibrary.org) is holding a Passport to China event on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. featuring Chinese music, dance, craft activities and food samples in the Chandler Wing, according to a Facebook post from the library. The Nashua library is also in the middle of a Winter Reading Club for adults (win a mug; see the website for details). And it doesn’t get more fun at the Nashua library’s Oreo Taste Test on Wednesday, Jan. 15, from 6 to 7 p.m. (open to ages 14+).

    The Griffin Free Public Library (22 Hooksett Road, Auburn, griffinfree.org) will help with your holiday cleanup at the White Elephant Gift Exchange on Saturday, Jan. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    Earn a mug by reading as part of the Bedford Public Library’s (3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, bedfordnhlibrary.org) Adult and Teen Winter Reading Challenge which kicks off with a party on Sunday, Jan. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m.

    If your New Year’s resolution involves writing more, check out the creative writing workshop at the Leach Library (276 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, londonderrynh.gov/leach-library) on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 5 p.m.

    Doing dry January? Concord Public Library (45 Green St., Concord, concordnh.gov/1983/Library) will have a Mocktail Mixology event on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 6 p.m. in the Blanchard Room. On Friday, Jan. 24, at 6 p.m., contralto Melissa Elsman and pianist Mike Ring will present a lecture and musical performance called “La Femme Vaillante: Reviving the Remarkable Musical Legacy of Augusta Holmes” at the Penacook Library and Activity Center (76 Community Drive in Penacook).

    The Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., Manchester, manchester.lib.nh.us) will hold a Flower Arranging Demonstration and Raffle with a representative from Chalifour’s Flowers on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 2 p.m. Pay $10 for a grocery bag full of books on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Winter Book Sale. And for kids (grades 1 to 6), there is a Slime-of-the-Month Club, which will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 3:30 p.m.

    The Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway, Derry, derrypl.org) will offer Loom Demonstration on Saturday, Jan. 11, from 2 to 3 p.m., and help with a financial makeover at Budgeting 101 on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 6:30 p.m.

    Goffstown Public Library (2 High St., Goffstown, goffstownlibrary.com) will host “Taste of the Old Country in the New: Franco-Americans of Manchester” with Robert Perreault on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 6:30 p.m.

    The kids can get out and create on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Wadleigh Memorial Library (49 Nashua St., Milford, wadleighlibrary.org) on Children’s Crafts Saturday.

    13. Enjoy the music of local band Mixtape Heroez at the 21+ annual Xmas Tree Burn on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Auburn Pitts (167 Rockingham Road in Auburn), according to the restaurant’s Facebook page. Find more live music at area restaurants, breweries, pubs and other hang-out warm-up fun-winter locales in the Music This Week, which runs every week in the Nite section (this week the listing starts on page 27). Have an upcoming gig to add to the listing? Let us know at [email protected].

    14. Theatre Kapow (tkapow.com) kicks off 2025’s “Expanding the Canon — A Play Reading Circle” on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m., which will focus “on the works of Latiné playwrights and their experience,”according to the website. “Playwrights featured in this circle include Nilo Cruz, Matthew López, Karen Zacarías, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Vero Villalobos,” the website said. The event is free and takes place over Zoom; register online.

    15. Vote! No, don’t worry, this one will be fun. Voting starts early in our annual readers poll. Vote in the Hippo’s Best of 2025 starting Wednesday, Jan. 15. See hippopress.com.

    16. The 2025 concert series at The Flying Goose Brew Pub and Grille (40 Andover Road in New London; flyinggoose.com) kicks off Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 with New England Bluegrass Band. Tickets cost $25. The next show is Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m. with Dinty Child and Mark Erelli. Tickets to that show cost $30.

    17. Take the kids to see a show. Annie, presented by RB Professional, will be on stage at the Capitol Center for the Arts Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com) on Friday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 18, at 1 and 7 p.m.

    The Cap Center will also present Doctor Kaboom: Under Pressure, an interactive science and comedy show, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 10:30 a.m.

    The Palace Youth Theatre will present Grease, school edition, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Jan. 22 through Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org).

    The Majestic Academy of Youth/Teens (majestictheatre.net) will present Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway, Derry) on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m.

    Epping Middle School will present Arsenic and Old Lace on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 25, and Sunday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m. at Epping Community Theatre (38 Ladds Lane, Epping, eppingtheater.org).

    Gilbert H. Hood presents Beauty and the Beast on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 1, at 4 p.m. at Stockbridge Theatre (Pinkerton Academy, 44 N. Main St., Derry, stockbridgetheatre.showare.com).

    And for the grown-ups looking for some fun theater: Cue Zero Theatre will present Dead Air, a murder mystery fundraiser for the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St.. Manchester, palacetheatre.org). “You’ll take part in a 50th anniversary live radio broadcast and celebration for WEZ-Y, hosted by Guy Godfry, set in 2004. You have been assigned the role of the live studio audience and are witness to something that goes terribly wrong,” according to the website. Tickets cost $50 and include hors d’oeuvres. See cztheatre.com.

    18. Get the music of Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and more in the musical production Piano Men, which runs at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org) Friday, Jan. 17, through Sunday, Feb. 9. with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. and Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 p.m.

    Get more music at the Palace with the run of Recycled Percussion concerts, which continues weekends through Sunday Jan. 12.

    Over at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org) the lineup of musical performances includes Tom DiMenna and friends with the Story Songs of the ’70s (Saturday, Jan. 4, at 7:30 p.m.); Candlelight concerts on Thursday, Jan. 9, with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (6 p.m.) and Coldplay and Imagine Dragons (8:30 p.m.); Prince/Bowie on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m.; Good Looking “Hank” and His Cowboy Drifters (tribute to Hank Williams Sr.) on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m.; Close Enemies featuring Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m.; 603 Songwriters in the Round on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m.; Elias Kacavas & The Vanity on Friday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m.; Van Halen all eras tribute with Cathedral on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Steve Forbert on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m., and the 15th annual New England Winter Blues Festival on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m.

    19. Free Fishing Day, the winter version, is Saturday, Jan. 18, in New Hampshire. Anyone can fish inland water or saltwater without a fishing license (though bag limits, season dates and other regulations still apply), according to New Hampshire Fish and Game. See nhfishgame.com for the regulations and for information on winter fishing opportunities as well as other outdoor information, the department’s podcast On the Nature Trail and a link to purchase the department’s New Hampshire Wildlife Calendar, which features dates for hunting and fishing seasons and other outdoor events.

    Find more outdoor happenings at Beaver Brook (117 Ridge Road, Hollis, beaverbrook.org), which offers winter fitness hikes and a Winter Survival class for homeschoolers ages 11 to 14 starting Jan. 15.

    And if/when we get some snowy days, head to the New Hampshire Audubon’s Massabesic Center (26 Audubon Way, Auburn, nhaudubon.org) or Susan N. McLane Audubon Center (84 Silk Road, Concord), where you can rent snowshoes ($15 per pair) during the Center’s regular hours (Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), according to the website.

    four men wearing suits and ties laughing, dark blue backdrop, studio photo
    Branford Marsalis Quartet will be at the Nashua Center for the Arts. Photo from branfordmarsalis.com.

    20. Branford Marsalis Quartet warms up the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua, nashuacenterforthearts.com) on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $49. Also at the Nashua Center for the Arts in January are Boat House Row bringing the yacht rock experience on Friday, Jan. 17, at 8 p.m.; Esperanza Spalding on Friday, Jan. 24, at 8 p.m., and Michael Jackson History Show on Friday, Jan. 31, at 8 p.m.

    21. “It’s our time down here.” The Goonies celebrates its (sorry, Xers and elder millennials, take a deep breath and brace yourselves) 40th anniversary with “Fathom’s Big Screen Classics” screenings on Sunday, Jan. 19, and Monday, Jan. 20, at Apple Cinemas in Merrimack and Hooksett, Cinemark Rockingham Park in Salem, O’neil Cinemas at Brickyard Square in Epping and Regal Fox Run in Newington. See fathomevents.com for times.

    Throw even further back for a screening of 1928’s silent film Wild Orchids on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org), presented with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis.

    22. Get excited about books! Bookstores are holding midnight release parties for the Jan. 21 release of Onyx Storm, the third book in Rebecca Yarros’ The Empyrean series (Fourth Wing and Iron Flame) about a military college for dragon-riders. Balin Books in Nashua (375 Amherst St., Somerset Plaza, 417-7981) will party from 10 p.m. Jan. 20 to 1 a.m. Jan. 21, with snacks, games and fun; book preorders are available at balinbooks.com. Barnes & Noble stores (1741 S. Willow St., Manchester, 668-5557; 235 DW Highway, Nashua, 888-0533; 125 S. Broadway, Salem, 898-1930; Seabrook Commons, 700 Lafayette Road, Seabrook, 730-6650; bn.com) plan to start celebrating at 10 p.m. Jan. 20, and the book goes on sale in store at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 21. Call your B&N store to sign up for the event and confirm a finalized event time, as time is subject to change; due to high demand, proof of purchase of the Deluxe Limited Edition of the book is required to attend the B&N events.

    In other January book news, Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com) will hold author events with Sally Cragin for Llewellyn’s Moon Sign Book on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 6:30 p.m.; Peg Fitzpatrickfor The Art of Small Business Social Media on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 p.m.; David Preece and Jim Webber with their two Mr. Higgins picture books on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m.; Amanda Grappone Osmer with Grappone Automotive: The Founding on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 6:30 p.m., and Jeffrey Boutwill with Boutwell: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracyon Thursday, Jan. 30, at 6:30 p.m.

    Author events at Bookery (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) include David M. Miller launching True Christianity: An Exposition of John’s Letters on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 5 p.m.; Mary Eisenhauer with Reimagining Midlife: Making Bold Moves for Your Second Act on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 1 p.m., and Matt Larson with 4000s by 40: Tackling Middle Age in the Mountains of New Hampshire on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 4 p.m.

    23. It’s something of a homecoming when comedian Sarah Silverman, born in Concord and a one-time resident of Bedford, plays the Capitol Center for the Arts’ Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com) on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m.

    But those won’t be the only laughs.

    Juston McKinney will play the CAKE Theatre in Laconia on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m. See thecaketheatre.com.

    The Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org) will hold Italian Comedy Night, featuring Frank Santorelli & Mark Ricccadona, on Friday, Jan. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

    Jan 10 is also the Tupelo Night of Comedy for January featuring Paul Nardizzi, Kyle Crawford and Jolanda Logan at 8 p.m.

    Catch Jimmy Dunn at the Amato Center for Performing Arts in Milford on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $40. See jimmydunn.com.

    And find comedy every week at Headliners Comedy at the Doubletree by Hilton Manchester Downtown (headlinersnh.com) and Chunky’s in Manchester (chunkys.com), the Ruby Room Comedy Club at the Shaskeen in Manchester (find them on Facebook) and the Thursday Laugh Attic at Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester (strangebrewtavern.net).

    24. New Hampshire Wine Week returns with wine dinners, wine tasting and the week’s centerpiece, the New England Winter Wine Spectacular at the Doubletree by Hilton Manchester Downtown on Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $75 to the grand tasting, $135 for a ticket that includes the Bellman’s Cellar Select room. Other events on the Wine Week schedule include Vive La France on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., a panel discussion of French wines ($65) at the Manchester Country Club in Bedford, and a wine dinner with Brian Pruett of Dry Creek Vineyards at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m. ($130.13). See nhwineweek.com.

    25. Check out a variety of excitement at the 2025 Concord NH Winter Fest, Ice Carving Competition & Food Truck Festival starting Friday, Jan. 24. Actually the fun starts Thursday, Jan. 23, with the opening of Art & Bloom (opening reception 5 to 7 p.m.; exhibit on display Thursday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), an exhibition at Kimball Jenkins in Concord featuring art from the Women’s Caucus for Art — New Hampshire Chapter, and accompanying flower arrangements by area floral designers. On Jan. 24, check out the ice carvings taking place on the Statehouse lawn from 3 to 9 p.m. with the competition starting Saturday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m. with awards handed out at 3:30 p.m. Find food trucks and other event sponsors on Capitol Street from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. See intownconcord.org.

    Pop of flavor

    The perfect buttery, sweet and savory popcorn treats for your movie nights and TV binges

    Angie Lane spends a lot of time thinking about popcorn.

    Lane is the Director of Red River Theatres in Concord. It’s not an overstatement to say that popcorn is the lifeblood of any movie theater, and Lane takes it very seriously. Right now, during the busy holiday season, Red River uses up a 50-pound bag of unpopped popcorn seed every day and a half or so. For Lane, the secret to really good popcorn is real butter.

    “We use anhydrous butter; the water has been removed,” she said, “so it’s shelf-stable, but it’s real, actual butter.”

    (Sadly, one of the cold, harsh realities of life is that the “butter” on most theaters’ popcorn is actually mostly partially-hydrogenated soybean oil, an industry salt called “Flavacol,” beta carotene — the same vitamin that makes carrots orange — for color, tertiary butylhydroquinone — a preservative — and polydimethylsiloxane, an anti-foaming agent.)

    While it is real butter (minus the water), Red River’s butter isn’t something you can buy off the shelf. “One time we ran out of butter during like Barbenheimer,” Lane said, “and actually during Wicked we’ve run out of butter because there was some supply chain issue, and somebody said, ‘Oh, we can just get butter from the supermarket!’ I had to tell them that I didn’t want to kill anybody, because [supermarket butter] is not shelf-stable once you heat it up and everything. But I love it when we run out of butter. It’s an indicator that business is good.”

    According to Lane, only amateurs dump the butter on the top of a tub of popcorn. “We personally layer the butter because we’re professionals,” she said. “But I love it when people ask for extra butter, because people come to the theater for the movies but they also come for the popcorn.”

    “Historically speaking,” Lane said, “there’s just something about when you smell popcorn in the movie theater, like it just goes together, and I think … if you ask someone to think about a concession item at a movie theater, the first thing they would say is popcorn.” She remembers the classic intermission cartoon that used to encourage movie-goers to buy concessions. “With the little marching concession people, it’s always led by a little popcorn guy,” she said. “When you were a kid, wasn’t popcorn magical?”

    Meredith Thomas spends most of her day thinking about popcorn, too. She and her husband, Ken, are the owners of Ken’s Corn in Derry, a family business that sells popcorn at farmers markets, fairs and events and through a few small retail stores. Like many small food businesses, theirs started with a face-to-face relationship with customers. ”We started at farmers markets and fairs and events,” she said. “And that’s still primarily where we meet our customers.”

    The business has expanded over the past two years. “It is a year-round business,” Thomas said. “We are primarily busy from about April through Jan. 1. And then we kind of take a few months to regroup. This year we’re going to be focusing on looking at more storefronts to get into just to keep expanding.”

    One of the things Thomas likes about popcorn is how versatile it is.

    “We started in 2022 just making buttered [popcorn] and kettle corn as our base,” she said. “Now we have seasonal ones, like in the fall. One of those is Caramel Choco — it tastes like a Twix bar! Now, we have a Cookie Explosion, which is like cookies and cream. And one of our savory flavors is a white cheddar.”

    Thomas said that coming up with new flavors comes easy to her. “I am ADD, so my brain is constantly running. But just going into a store and looking around — at even just candies or potato chips [is inspiring]. Sometimes our customers give us really great options. We’ve had a lot of requests lately for a dill pickle [flavor], so that’s on our winter menu.”

    Home cooks have a natural knack for personalizing popcorn, she said.

    “Before we started this business, one of my favorite snacks was to pop popcorn, either on the stove top or just the microwave bags. And then I always added pretzels and M&M’s to it, so you get that sweet and salty flavor.”

    It’s easy to understand why people love popcorn so much, Thomas said. “It is a quick, easy, on-the-go snack. Young, middle-class America is constantly on the go. So they’re looking for a healthy, consumable snack that they can either eat where they are or take it on the go, running to sporting events or going to work. It also is an allergy-friendly snack, which can be hard to find. It’s gluten-free, and depending on the flavor, dairy-free and nut-free.”

    Popcorn experts
    Red River Theatres (11 S Main St., Concord, 224-4600, redrivertheatres.org) shows movies seven days a week. Visit the website for listings.

    Ken’s Corn (68 Chester Road, Derry, 208-661-0282, kenscorn.com) is available through small stores, including East Derry General Store (50 E. Derry Road, Derry, 432-5302, eastderrygeneralstore.com) and Prime Butcher 201 Route 111, Hampstead, 329-7355, primebutcher.com).

    Popzup Popcorn (Canal Street Mill, 22 Canal St., Suite 358, Somersworth, 314-8314, popzup.com) sells five flavors of popcorn, poppers, seasonings and more online and in grocery stores nationwide.

    The Burstin’ Kernel (facebook.com/theburstinkernel) makes hot, fresh kettle corn on the spot at farmers markets and events throughout southern New Hampshire. The Hallinans also have a new food truck, Chew ‘N’ Screw. Check for availability and more at facebook.com/chwnscw.

    Julie Lapham has been in the popcorn game even longer. She is the CEO and co-founder of Popzup Popcorn in Somersworth. She and her husband started their company in 2015. For them, making popcorn is an expression of some deeply-felt values.

    “Our facility is located in an old, refurbished mill on the river,” Lapham said. “That sort of reflects who we are in terms of our mission to be local and just to do the right thing, which basically is really fresh, farm fresh, pure and simple local ingredients, make it all ourselves, be sustainable, take good care of our employees, and give back to the community.”

    PopzUp produces five flavors of popcorn for retail sales online and through supermarkets, but for the Laphams, selling popcorn and making it are intertwined.

    “We also sell locally grown, non-GMO popcorn kernels in a microwave popcorn popper that we actually invented ourselves,” she said. “It’s called the PopzUp Popper, which is where we came up with our name. And basically it’s a reusable microwave popping box. It’s made from virgin paperboard and it’s printed with vegetable inks. It’s, you know, totally chemical-free and … reusable and sustainable.”

    Like Angie Lane, Lapham is a big believer in real butter and dairy products. “What really differentiates us from other popcorn brands,” she said, “is that we use a lot of real butter, real cheddar. There really aren’t any other commercially available brands that use pure dairy. A lot of them have butter or cheddar or whatever, but for the most part they’re ultra-processed foods, which [are referred to as] UPF. It’s an actual term; all it means is that they are not real farm fresh dairy products. [Fresh dairy] is very much more difficult to work with and to protect because it goes bad quickly. Real butter and real cheddar and real truffles are very sensitive to light and heat and air. So we have to spend more to protect them and so those are more expensive.”

    Using sensitive ingredients involves putting a lot of thought into PopzUp’s packaging. The bags, for instance, are completely light-proof. “It’s actually a foil-lined bag,” Lapham said, “We really need to have that foil liner to protect the popcorn. We also do something called a nitrogen flush, which basically is right before we close the bag up and seal it, we flush it with nitrogen, which is just an inert gas. It’s heavier than oxygen, and oxygen will cause popcorn to go bad and dairy to go bad, so we have to get that out of the bag, and seal it up tight. That’s just an extra effort that we go through to make sure that our popcorn is delicious when somebody buys it. “

    For a family business, PopzUp produces a lot of product.

    “We go through about 10,000 pounds [of popcorn] every three weeks,” Lapham said, “which is basically four full pallets at this point. But every year it’s more and more.” Early on, the Laphams decided to take a hands-on approach with their popcorn. Instead of using automated air poppers, which is the standard in the industry, “Ours is made the old-fashioned way,” she said, “but basically on a commercial level. We have giant, real kettles that pop it, and then we take that and then we put it in giant tumblers where people put the seasoning on it and tumble that, and then we take that out and put that in a machine that helps us to ensure that the right amount goes in every bag.”

    In the beginning, Lapham said, their focus wasn’t on producing seasoned popcorn.

    “What we did is we let our customers tell us what the fan favorites were. We took those seasonings and that’s what we used to season the popcorn that we started selling already seasoned. The first year was really spent deciding what flavors were the best flavors, what flavors the customers liked. We started with four flavors: butter, cheddar, and then two vegan flavors, Cheesy Herby, which is made with nutritional yeast and herbs and spices, and then Maple Cinnamon Toast, which has like a kettle corn flavor but it’s not candy coated, so it’s nice and snackable — it’s got this light sweet and salty mapley flavor that you can eat a whole bag of and it’s not like you’ve eaten badly. Last year we added a fifth. We added the truffle butter flavor; we buy real Italian black truffles and mix them with our butter and then put that on.”

    Given how many varieties of popcorn are available, one or two types are perennial favorites. Kettle Corn enthusiasts are especially enthusiastic. Sean and Samantha Hallinan devote themselves to it. The Hallinans own and run The Burstin’ Kernel. For the past two years they have made and sold kettle corn at farmers markets and events throughout southern New Hampshire. “We pretty much operate from springtime all the way through until December, when it just gets too cold,” Sean Hallinan said.

    The Hallinans are particular about the variety of corn they use. “Basically you have different types of kernels,” Sean said, “”and some kettle corn companies use one type versus another. We use a popcorn kernel that creates a very large pop; it’s called a ‘mushroom’ style.”

    Hallinan said the actual popping process is pretty straightforward.

    “Basically, you throw [the kernels] in a kettle with some oil. The kettle we use is 160 quarts. It is a pretty large commercial unit. Then you throw sugar in, and stir it. We stir it by hand usually; we use a big wooden paddle to stir it, or for larger events we stir it with an automatic stirrer. When it’s done, you dump it out of the kettle and you sift it through a sifting bin and salt it or put whatever flavorings on it. The sifting removes all the kernels and small bits. We try our best to get rid of them. You don’t want people breaking their teeth on hard kernels that didn’t pop.”

    Kettle corn satisfies several cravings at once, Hallinan said. “I think people like the sweet and salty mix. We try our best to get the best recipes so that way it’s not too much one way or the other. There’s also a little bit of crunch to it as well, but not too sticky, so it doesn’t get stuck in your teeth like caramel corn.”

    According to Hallinan, making good kettle corn didn’t have a steep learning curve.

    “I saw someone doing it and got interested in it,” he said. “and then we worked on our own recipe over and over again for, I don’t know, it probably took us maybe a week or so of trying different things until we got it just right.”

    Given how much care and technique the Hallinans put into making popcorn during the day, their own popcorn consumption is pretty basic. “We kind of grew up on microwave popcorn,” he said, “so that’s our default — easy, throw it in the microwave.”

    Making good popcorn at home

    Kristen Chinosi is the owner of and an instructor at The Culinary Playground in Derry. According to her, a good batch of popcorn starts with the oil it’s cooked in.

    “I always pick a heavy-bottomed pot, and I like to use coconut oil,” she said. “It gives it a little bit of different flavor, though, so you can really use an oil that you prefer the flavor of, whether it’s a vegetable oil or an olive oil. You just have to watch how hot you have it because some of those oils have a lower smoke point.” (This means that different oils burn at different temperatures. Refined peanut or canola oils, for instance, have a high smoke point, which means they can be heated to a high temperature before they start to break down. Extra virgin olive oil and butter have low smoke points; they burn easily.)

    Chinosi heats her oil before adding popcorn kernels to it.

    “I like to get my oil nice and warmed in the bottom, and I’ll put a couple pieces of popcorn in until I hear it pop. I have a lid kind of halfway, you know, maybe like a quarter of it exposed when the lid is on. And once I hear it pop, I know the oil is hot enough, and then I go ahead and add the rest of my popcorn. Honestly, I just eyeball it. I put maybe an eighth of an inch of oil on the bottom of the pan or pot, and then I cover the bottom of the pot with the raw kernels; that ratio seems to work pretty well. I do like to put salt on at that time. So I’ll go ahead and salt the kernels before they’ve popped. After that, I let them do all their popping. I shake the pot. I keep it over medium heat. I’d rather it go a little slower than burn, so I shake the pot often. And then when it’s done, I either salt it additionally, and add some melted butter. You could put cinnamon butter on there. You could add some different flavorings if you wanted a spicier popcorn — some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper. You could add a little bit of lemon zest on there for kind of a different twist that plays well with the salt and the acidity of the lemon.”

    Spicy Popcorn Granola Clusters

    These are sweet, peanut snacks, with a generous amount of spice on the back end. Adapted from a recipe on the Bob’s Red Mill website, this version has a reduced amount of chili oil.

    • 8 cups (80 to 90 g) popped popcorn – I like to use pre-popped, movie theater-style popcorn that I buy in large bags from the supermarket
    • 1 package (about 300 g) peanut butter granola – I like Bare Naked or Trader Joe’s brand
    • 1 cup (235 g) light corn syrup
    • ⅓ cup (78 g) Chinese chili oil
    • ¼ cup (65 g) smooth peanut butter
    Spicy Popcorn Granola Clusters. Photo by John Fladd.

    Preheat oven to 250°F. Mix granola and popcorn together in a large bowl, and set aside. Lightly oil a large wooden spoon or a silicone spatula.

    Over medium heat, bring corn syrup, chili oil and peanut butter to 235°F; if you are using a candy thermometer, this is the “soft ball” stage, stirring often.

    Pour the hot syrup over the popcorn mixture, stirring to coat thoroughly. Turn the sticky mixture out onto a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

    Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and set aside until the pan is cool to the touch. Break the popcorn mix into clusters, and store in an airtight container.

    Variation: Before baking, you can pack the mixture into parchment-lined baking pans, and bake for the full hour without stirring. Before it has cooled completely, use a sharp knife to cut into bars.

    Raised Eyebrows Popcorn Balls

    Offer one of these excellent popcorn balls to a friend, they will take a bite, pause, take a second bite, then look thoughtfully at you with raised eyebrows, completely reassessing your potential. These popcorn balls offer a nearly perfect ratio of sugar, salt, butter, peanuts, and of course corn. I adapted a recipe from the Food and Wine website with changes in some of the ingredients.

    • 20 cups (around 200 g) movie-style popcorn
    • 4 cups (124 g) Corn Chex cereal
    • 1½ cups (225 g) dry roasted peanuts
    • 3 cups (595 g) sugar
    • 1½ cups (468 g) light corn syrup
    • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
    • ½ cup (120 g) water
    • 1 glug (1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons) vanilla
    • 1 Tablespoon sea salt
    • 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

    In a very large, lightly oiled bowl, combine the popcorn, peanuts and cereal. Set aside.

    Popcorn balls. Photo by John Fladd.

    In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, and water, and cook over medium-low heat until it reaches 295°F (“hard crack” stage), stirring occasionally. When the sugar syrup has come to temperature, stir in the vanilla, salt and chili powder.

    Pour the hot sugar mixture over the popcorn, cereal and peanuts, and mix to combine with a lightly oiled wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Most of the peanuts will have fallen to the bottom of the bowl, so take care to flip the caramel corn over once or twice while you stir, to make sure they are incorporated.

    With lightly oiled hands, or lightly oiled gloved hands, break off 2- to 3-inch blobs of the popcorn mixture, gently shape them into balls, and place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat. You will have to work fast — the caramel will be very hot, so you’ll have to let it cool a little, but will also be in a race to form the balls before the mixture sets up too much. You will end up with 30 or so balls.

    Store these in an airtight container for three or four days, but they are best on the first day, when the popcorn is still crisp.

    Popcorn Vodka

    Popcorn has a distinct flavor that lends itself to infusing into alcohol. Vodka is a good choice for this, because it is generally neutral in flavor and will let the taste of the popcorn shine through.

    popcorn – either freshly popped or movie-style from the supermarket or even from a movie theater

    1 bottle of vodka – because you will be infusing it with a flavor that would overwhelm any subtleties in the vodka, a mid-range vodka will be best for this; I like Gordon’s or Mr. Boston. Avoid the very cheapest vodka, which might have off-flavors and taste chemically.

    You know that hole in the lid to your blender that you’ve always wondered about? You finally get to use it. Pour the vodka into the jar of your blender, and add about an equal amount — by volume — of popcorn. Put the lid on the blender, and blend the popcorn and vodka together on the lowest setting. Once the initial popcorn has been pulverized, go ahead and add more through the hole in the lid, a handful at a time. Stop from time to time, to check on your progress.

    Popcorn Vodka. Photo by John Fladd.

    When the popcorn fragments and the vodka seem to take up the same amount of space, pour the mixture off into an airtight container, and put it somewhere cool and dark for two to three days, shaking it occasionally.

    After the vodka and popcorn have had time to get to know each other, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, then through a coffee filter in a funnel, into an empty bottle — maybe the original one that the vodka came in, labeled with the date and a short description, so in a couple of weeks, when you find a faintly yellow bottle of alcohol, you’ll remember what’s in it.

    Variation: If you’re an impatient sort of person, you can speed the infusion process up by putting your airtight container in a hot water bath. Let it soak at 150°F for two hours, then strain and filter, as above. This is an excellent use for a sous vide, if you have one. Be aware that if you use actual movie theater popcorn for this hot water bath technique, your final product will be a golden yellow color, from the artificial color the theater or supermarket uses in its “butter.”

    A cocktail for your Popcorn Vodka: A Caramel Corn Daisy

    • 3 ounces popcorn vodka (see above)
    • 1 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice
    • 1/2 ounce maple syrup, the darkest you can find – the darker the syrup, the more mapley it will taste

    Combine all ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake thoroughly, and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.

    Maple and lemon are the dominant flavors in this drink, with the popcorn bringing up the rear, leaving you with a subtle popcorn flavor between sips.

    Cinnamon Caramel Corn

    This fire truck red corn gets its flavor and color from hot cinnamon candies. This is another recipe adapted from Bob’s Red Mill with the addition of some Szechuan pepper.

    • 8 cups (around 200 g) freshly popped or movie theater-style popcorn
    • A 9-ounce (255 g) box of “hot” cinnamon candy (like Hot Tamales or Atomic Fireballs)
    • 2 cups (237 g) light corn syrup
    • 2 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns, crushed

    Preheat oven to 250°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

    Measure the popcorn into a large bowl, and set aside.

    In a medium saucepan, cook the cinnamon candies, corn syrup, and Szechuan pepper to 235°F; stirring often. When it has come to temperature, pour the mixture over the popcorn, and stir to combine with a lightly oiled silicone spatula. The candy will set up quickly, so this requires haste.

    Spread the cinnamon corn on your baking sheet, and bake for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool, then break into small pieces.

    The flavor of this popcorn is much as you’d expect. It tastes like cinnamon candies. The surprise is in its texture. Baking it has made the popcorn crispy, which contrasts with the toffee-like chewiness of the candy coating. Milk and cookies are a classic to leave for Santa; this, paired with a caramel corn cocktail, could be an alternative.

    Miso Caramel Popcorn

    Miso is a fermented soybean paste. Its salty, funky nature provides a good counterpoint to the sweetness of caramel. The original recipe is adapted from a recipe on the Food and Wine website.

    • 9 cups (90 to 95 g) freshly popped or movie-style popcorn
    • 6 Tablespoons (1½ sticks) butter
    • ½ cup (99 g) packed brown sugar
    • ¼ cup (4 Tablespoons or 60 g) white miso
    • 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
    • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
    • sea salt
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 3 Tablespoons sesame seeds

    Measure popcorn into a large plastic or glass bowl, and set aside.

    Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium-low heat, stirring or tossing continuously. They will deepen in color and release a nutty flavor. As soon as the seeds have darkened to a tawny color, like a lion, transfer them immediately to a plate to cool. If you keep them in the pan, they will continue to cook and might burn.

    Miso Caramel Popcorn. Photo by John Fladd.

    In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, miso, corn syrup, sesame oil, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook over medium-low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is bubbling. Whisk in the baking soda. This will make the caramel foam up; it’s supposed to.

    Pour the miso caramel over the popcorn, and stir to combine with a lightly oiled silicone spatula. Add the sesame seeds you toasted earlier, and stir it again.

    Place the bowl in your microwave, and cover it with a paper towel, to keep any splatter contained. Any drops of caramel that splash onto the sides or ceiling of your microwave will bond there like industrial concrete.

    Cook the popcorn in your microwave for 1½ minutes.

    Turn the popcorn out onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone mat, and sprinkle with more salt. Allow it to cool for 15 minutes before breaking it into pieces and serving.

    French Onion Popcorn

    This combines the best of two classic snacks, popcorn and chips and dip.

    • 8 cups (80 to 90 g) freshly popped or movie-style popcorn
    • 6 Tablespoons (¾ stick) butter, melted and cooled
    • 1 ounce dry onion soup mix (about half a standard 2-ounce packet)

    This is about as simple as it gets. It hardly seems fair to call this a “recipe.”

    Measure the popcorn into a large bowl.

    Pour the melted butter over it, stirring to combine.

    Sprinkle half the soup mix over the popcorn and stir to combine, then repeat with the remaining soup mix. Serve with beer, or better yet, Champagne.

    Learn how to play

    Discover — or rediscover — your love of making music with help from the experts

    “So you wanna be a rock ’n’ roll star?” Roger McGuinn asked back in the ’60s. The answer? “Just get an electric guitar, take some time and learn how to play.” If only it were that easy. Back then, The Beatles and Stones fueled the dreams of would-be music heroes. These days, it’s Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran.

    For the kids, anyway. It’s different for the recent empty-nester who’s always wanted to play the opening riff to “Smoke on the Water” and just bought a vintage Stratocaster on eBay. Both young and old need a place to take their rock ’n’ roll fantasies and flesh them out.

    Fortunately, there are many places to go for acquiring the skills, for all ages, whether it’s someone picking up an instrument for the first time or looking to brush up on long-neglected talents, or a talented enough player with a desire to take things higher.

    Further, options are available for a wide range of lifestyles, from free online lessons to one-stop shops that sell instruments with a book of lesson coupons, to one-on-one sessions that prep the ambitious for an open mic night. Here are a few that exist in the area.

    Beginnings

    There are a few things that every instructor agrees are essential. The first is to keep the instrument where it can be seen and played. “It’s better to just have it out,” says Danielle Miraglia, who teaches guitar on Zoom. “When you’re bored, instead of picking up your phone you can grab your guitar and noodle around on it.”

    This means it’s smart to buy a stand to go with a new guitar, and save the case for a birthday present. Ditto for keyboards; get something to set it on. For the budding drummer, start with an electronic kit and headphones, so it won’t rock the house.

    No. 2, though practice is essential, too much may have a negative effect.

    “Fifteen to 20 minutes three or four times a week is better than an hour one day a week,” believes Eric Bilodeau of Strings & Things. “Just getting your hands used to it will help build finger strength, the neural pathways to tell a finger to move a certain way, and get your hand memory going.”

    The third item is a rule that applies to a good instructor, and it’s typically the first topic of conversation when sitting down for the initial lesson. Begin with an understanding of why a student wants to learn how to play. Is there a specific song they want to master, or a musical style that attracts them?

    Try to figure this out before buying an instrument. For example, it’s a bit easier learning to play on an electric guitar, but someone drawn to a coffeehouse vibe is better off with an acoustic.

    “The important thing is finding one that’s going to make you want to play,” Bilodeau said. “Play a bunch and see which one speaks to you.”

    School days

    When that decision is made, the next question is, what’s the best way to learn? For a youngster, structure is important, so a schedule of lessons is a good idea. Bedford Youth Performing Company (BYPC) offers instruction for a wide variety of instruments and even has classes for full bands.

    That idea may seem counterintuitive — shouldn’t mastery of the instrument come before playing with others? But Dave Couture, who’s taught guitar and drums at BYPC for over 35 years, spotted an opportunity to turn making music into a family affair, and further solidify a student’s engagement.

    When parents came to the studio, Couture would inquire about their music background. “I’d go, ‘do you play an instrument?’ They’d say they do, or they used to, and I’d tell them to hop on the bass or whatever,” he said by phone in mid-November. “Then they’re playing along with their kids. It got me interested in creating these adult bands. It’s a lot of fun, and it keeps them interested.”

    man with beard and glasses standing in corner of shop, rows of guitars hanging on walls behind him
    Eric Biloudeau of Strings & Things. Photo by Michael Witthaus

    Couture leads a couple of all-adult band classes as well. Yes, though “youth” is in their name, BYPC is all-ages. “I have up to retirees,” Couture said. The disparity between groups means a different set of challenges in motivating students, he continued.

    A youngster’s mood can change daily, depending on how school went. “I’ll say, ‘did you practice?’ and if they didn’t, we’ll work on what we did last week,” he said. “Sometimes the adults are worse. They’ll say, ‘I really wanted to do this, but I’m not practicing.’ I’ll tell them, ‘don’t worry, you’re learning every week … let’s learn a fun song.’”

    On the other hand, working with retired people is often much more satisfying, Couture continued. “I’ve had a few of them that have said they wanted to do this forever. They’ve been thinking about it, and they’re usually pretty focused.”

    Couture will remind those stressed about time or stuck in a rut that music is an art form. It’s something one of his Berklee professors told him once, and it calmed him down. “When I thought of it as an art form, I just relaxed and let it flow.”

    Time management

    Bob Desmarais, who runs NHTunes in Manchester’s Waumbec Mill, offers his own retiree story as proof that no one’s too old to play. “Janet is 94 — she started when she was 89,” he said during a tour of his studio and music academy. “We just had a show at RiverWoods; me, her, and two other residents. She was exhausted, it was an hour show, but she’s 94 freaking years old!”

    Desmarais opened NHTunes in 2010, the same week he paid off his son’s college tuition. He continued to work as an IT manager at the outset while he recruited students. He quit his day job a year later, with three teachers on staff and almost 40 students. That’s grown over the years to 14 instructors who teach close to 140 students. In 2013 it moved down the hall into a space twice the size of the original.

    A Berklee grad who plays Jimmy Buffett songs and bar tunes in a duo called the Sonic Boomers, he always had a passion for music, but Desmarais continues to parlay his computer skills in his business. A Google search of “music lessons in Manchester” will result in NHTunes near the top, proof of his SEO skills.

    He has a slick web-based scheduling system. “It links all the instructors, what they teach, their availability,” Desmarais said. “Just book online, and it’ll put it in a Google Calendar. We have gift certificates for people to buy, and they can schedule lessons when they want.”

    It’s perfect for busy professionals. “We have a group of people that just book per diem, they don’t sign up for monthly tuition,” he said. “They don’t want to commit to weekly lessons. I was nervous of that at first, worried that people were going to take one or two and stop. But we have this core group that books every week, every other week. It fills in the gaps in our schedule.”

    NHTunes offers lessons on a range of instruments, along with studio production classes using Ableton Live and other software packages. That’s an extension of the studio recording services they provide, which is one of the key reasons Desmarais opened the business.

    There are also frequent student recitals.

    “I think the performance aspect of musicianship is really important,” Desmarais said. “We get kids out in front of people at nursing homes, senior centers, and stuff like that. The last thing you want to hear is, ‘They never play in front of me.’ Because music should be shared.”

    Finally, with the youngsters, Desmarais strives to keep mom and dad looped in. “So they know what’s going on,” he said. “It’s really important, because unfortunately some parents have to ride kids sometimes to play and practice in between lessons, so you gotta know what they’re working on.”

    Try before you buy

    Andrew Grosvenor leads jam fusion band Andrew North & the Rangers and hosts the monthly open mic at BNH Stage in Concord. He also teaches piano at Concord Community Music School and Strings & Things, a store that’s now in Penacook Village after a couple of decades in downtown Concord.

    He offers a unique way to check out his instructional skills — for a certain type of student. Grosvenor teaches all levels, but many of his charges have some experience and are looking to grow. For those, he has videos on his YouTube page, songs like Vince Guaraldi’s “Skating” or “Esther” by Phish that aren’t novice fare.

    The videos do provide a sense of how he teaches, though.

    “I’m the best fit for more intermediate or advanced folks,” Grosvenor said by phone recently, “who know the basics of the instrument but are looking to take the next steps in understanding theory and improvisation. That’s where my strengths are.”

    Strings & Things is a one-stop shop, a place to go to purchase a guitar, keyboard or drum kit, schedule some lessons, and pay for everything at once. It’s also one of the more venerable places in the area. Mike Bilodeau opened it in 1982, and these days his son Eric oversees instruction there.

    The shop offers classes on several instruments, Eric explained during an interview in Strings & Things’ piano room. “We do guitar, bass, drums, piano, mandolin, banjo and a lot of the brass instruments, like saxophone, flute, clarinet and trumpet,” he said. “I always say, if you like to annoy your neighbors, we can help you out.”

    Students can be anywhere from 5 to 16, and beyond, and lessons begin with defining goals. “Do they want to be Jimi Hendrix or Ed Sheeran? There’s a big difference,” Eric said. “Do you want to get up at an open mic [or] go to a blues jam and be able to sit down and play a solo over a song? Maybe you just want to stay at home and make music in your bedroom … there’s all different ways you can take music now.”

    The 14-member staff is mostly working musicians, like guitarist Mike Gallant, who performs around the area as Mikey G., drummer Paul Donahue and fiddler Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki. Fittingly, that was the path taken by Mike Bilodeau when he opened the store 42 years ago.

    “I did a hitch in the Air Force, and the skills I had from the Air Force didn’t blend into society,” Mike said in the store’s guitar-filled back room. “I figured I’d go with my hobby; I love to play music. At that time, there was a lot around, and I was working five nights a week. My wife decided that I should be busy during the day too. So with her cheering me on, we opened up a very small store with very limited inventory.”

    five young people in a rock band, playing on a stage, dark lighting
    School of Rock. Courtesy photo.

    Two years ago, they relocated for a sixth and final time, buying and renovating an old bank. “We had leased buildings for 40 years, and branch banks, as you would probably expect, are kind of going away,” he said. “So this place was a very good deal for us to purchase, and we’ll be here until the end of time.”

    Though the store currently doesn’t hold student recitals, Mike thinks that will change in the future.

    “We have a wonderful situation,” he said. “Riverside Park is right behind us on the Contoocook River, and our goal is to get some live music going there next spring. There’s also another brand new park being built across the street … we’re excited; this is going to be a real happening area for us.”

    The covid effect

    Before 2020, lessons were always taught in person, one on one. Then a pandemic changed the rules. Though there’s mostly been a return to the old days, there are a few instructors like Danielle Miraglia who decided to continue teaching after Covid.

    “I never went back to in person,” she said by phone recently. “It was nice not to get a cold every five minutes for one thing, and to be honest, there’s a little bit of a different kind of drain when you do it via Zoom. If I miss the in-person experience, I’ll think, ‘what are you, crazy? You can do this with a cat sitting next to you.’”

    A multiple New England Music Awards winner and Boston Music Award nominee, Miraglia started teaching as a way to deal with rising rent costs in Somerville, where she and husband live. Initially, she taught at the Real School of Music in Burlington, Mass. In hindsight, she’s glad she did — even if economics forced her decision.

    “I think everybody should teach for some amount of time,” she said. “It forces you to learn things you might not have bothered with for your own stuff, and it reminds you of things you knew before that you might have forgotten. It’s made me a sharper musician in general.”

    When working with a student, particularly a younger one, Miraglia encourages them to have patience with themselves. “Some kids will get really frustrated right away. They’ll be like, ‘I can’t do it,’ and I’ll say, it would be insane if you could do it right now. Of course you can’t, that’s why I’m here. I’m here to help you with that.”

    Some are slow to pick it up, while others roar out of the gate. Miraglia recalled a 7-year old prodigy. “He immediately could do the Bo Diddley groove with his right hand, it was very easy to teach him,” she said. “He just kept getting better and better … now he’s in jazz band in school.”

    Begin at the end

    In Nashua, there’s a new spot that could be a major force on the local music scene. Though it won’t officially open until Dec. 14 — hopefully — the School of Rock has a unique approach to learning that begins with focusing on what an aspiring student wants right away.

    “We start with the goal of performance and work backward from there,” school owner Andy McKenna said by phone recently. “They do get a full music education, but we start by saying, ‘Hey, you’re going to be playing in three months.’”

    To that end, “we focus on helping people learn the stuff that they really like to listen to and want to play and go from there,” he continued. “That’s a big difference from music education that starts with learning all the technique and theory first and eventually getting to songs. Let’s figure out what you’d love to be able to play.”

    For example, a budding bass player should leave the first day knowing the opening riff to Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” so they can go home and play it for the parents. “They go, ‘Wow, I know that song, that’s great,’ and feel like they’re getting their money’s worth too.”

    School of Rock is a national chain inspired by the Jack Black movie, with hundreds of locations. Nashua is the first in New Hampshire. Their core age range is 8 through 18. “That said, we have programs starting at age 3,” McKenna said. “I like to say it’s from age 3 to 103.”

    It begins with the early childhood Little Wing and ranges to the Rock 101 performance program. “We’ve got adult programs as well. In fact, a full 25 to 30 percent of people interested in signing up are adults. And I get basically two stories. One, they used to play a little bit, but had to give it up because they got busy. The other story is, ‘Hey, I always wanted to play, and never did. Am I too old?’ Our answer is, ‘absolutely not.’”

    The full Rock 101 program lasts for three months and includes a 45-minute weekly lesson and 90 minutes of group rehearsal. “That runs about roughly $400 a month,” McKenna said. “If you break down the number of hours that are being spent with instruction, it comes out to $40 an hour.”

    For the ambitious, Rock 101 can be followed by a performance program that includes longer rehearsals and more challenging material. “There are 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds playing Steely Dan, Rush and Pink Floyd,” he said. “It’s fairly complex musical stuff, so they get quite good as they move through the program.”

    McKenna’s interest in opening School of Rock came from his empathy for kids struggling to fit in, who don’t for example play a sport, but find concert band too staid. They just want to rock, and he can relate.

    “The friendships and connections I’ve made have been mostly focused and centered around my enjoyment of playing music with others,” he said. “I think School of Rock has a formula that helps people do that. It’s a place where a lot of kids have really been able to find their people, their place, and really thrive. When I heard those real stories about the many schools that are in operation, I just felt, yeah, that’s what I want to do.”

    Take it to the next level

    There are performers who’ve moved past rudimentary musical foundations and want to go further. A guy like Chad LaMarsh can help. A veteran singer, guitarist and songwriter with a long resume, LaMarsh offers Get Gig Ready, an effort geared toward taking all those acquired skills and doing something with them.

    “The program is all-encompassing of absolutely everything that goes into playing a gig,” LaMarsh said in a recent phone interview. “We do a lot of what I call vocal maintenance to make sure that everybody can get through singing three to four hours a night for five nights straight. That’s a lot of abuse on your throat.”

    It covers gear and more — what to buy, where to put it, and ways to measure results.

    “How you use your mixing board, that’s a huge one,” he said. “There’s a technique I’ve designed for practicing so that the musician knows exactly what it’s like to have your speaker a few feet away from you…. We often fall short because we don’t know what we sound in front of the stage.”

    The short-term goal of Get Gig Ready is an appearance at an open mic, like the Tuesday night gathering at KC’s Rib Shack in Manchester. It’s the beginning of a long road that optimistically ends at SNHU Arena, or at least a ticketed club gig. Clearly, this is geared toward performers with serious intentions.

    “If it’s somebody just looking to kick the tires and just poof around, I don’t have any time for that,” LaMarsh said. “These are people that are actually already super talented … they’re already at a level that I know I can do something to help them excel even more. Those are the people I work with.”

    Sage Advice

    Guitarist Brad Myrick also works with and mentors other musicians. Every summer for the past several years he’s conducted master classes in Italy, along with touring. His advice, however, is applicable for those at any level looking to make music.

    “Whatever it is that’s exciting to you about your instrument, that made you want to play it, always access that thing … that’s absolutely the first advice,” Myrick said from his home in Hopkinton. “I’m still doing that, after playing the guitar for 30 years.”

    It’s a great time to be a musician, he continued, adding that finding an instructor to connect with is critical. “Having a little bit of structure and accountability, the consistency, of ‘hey, I’m going to show up once a week and I’m going to do this thing’ … that sometimes will keep us from slipping back into our old habits.”

    Myrick recalled that when he first picked up guitar at age 14, ultimately taking his first lesson at Strings & Things, there were some affordable resources available to help him jump start his interest. There are even more today, and many of them don’t cost a thing.

    “When I started, I knew a little bit about music, but I didn’t know anything about guitar,” he said. “I got a basic guitar book and started reading … it was like, ‘this is the E string, place your finger here.’ I got pretty far in the first couple weeks before I had any formal interaction with somebody. And if you’re self-motivated, there are endless online resources. Not all of them are great, but a lot of them are really good.”

    Whatever path is chosen, Myrick believes a little bit of self-guidance can add a lot to the learning experience. “When I’m teaching, I try to incorporate both models,” he said. “A little bit of self-curiosity, a little bit of other free resources, and having someone also to check in with — mentorship. It’s a great combination.”

    Learn how to play

    Here are some area music teachers.

    Bedford Youth Performing Company (BYPC) 155 State Rte. 101, Bedford bypc.org. One-on-one lessons for ages 9 and up – 30 minutes, $148.32/month, 60 minutes, $222.48/month and 60 minutes, $296.64/month. Costs vary, call for a quote.

    Danielle Miraglia daniellem.com. Online only, $37/half hour Zoom or FaceTime, volume discount available ($105/three half-hour lessons).

    Get Gig Ready With Chad LaMarsh getgigready.com $60/half-hour lesson, 13- and 26-week coaching classes available, contact for quote.

    Let’s Play Music & Make Art 2626 Brown Ave., Unit 2, Manchester, plus locations in Derry and Hudson, letsplaymusic.com. Trial private lesson $36.25, trial group class, $27.50, tuition ranges from $149/month for weekly 30-minute lessons.

    Manchester Music Mill 329 Elm St., Manchester, mmmlessons.com. Teachers set their own rates, which range from $20 to $25 per week for a half-hour private lesson.

    Merrimack Music Academy 1 Bryce Drive, Merrimack, merrimackmusicacademy.com. $155/month tuition covers up to five private lessons, instruction materials and access to academy resources.

    NHTunes 250 Commercial St., Suite 2017, Manchester, nhtunes.biz. $33.50/half hour.

    North Main Music 23 Charron Ave., Suite 1, Nashua, northmainmusic.com. 30-minute introductory lesson is $25, flexible drop-in program is $140 for four lessons.

    School of Rock 225 DW Highway, Suite C2, Nashua, schoolofrock.com. Rock 101 program is around $400/month, averages out to $40/hour.

    Strings & Things 339 Village St., Concord, stringsandthingsmusic.com. $30/half-hour lesson, usually paid by the month with four or five lessons per month.

    Ted Hebert Music School 880 Page St., Manchester, tedhebert.com. $30/half-hour lesson.

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