Category: Featured Content

Collective effervescence

Sunny Jain’s Love Force hits New Hampshire

For his debut theatrical project, Love Force, Sunny Jain is performing his hypnotic, percussive brand of Bhangra-inspired jazz for a congregation. He’s on a mission to blur the lines between band and crowd, to make them one with the music and capture the energy of the shows he does in sweaty clubs with his band Red Baraat.

“What I’ve always enjoyed about music is that kind of communal experience … where you really rely on the energy in the room as a performer,” Jain said by phone recently. “I wanted to bring that element to a theatrical space … storytelling and narrative just through sound; how that impacts people, and how we vibe off of it.”

The message of Love Force comes from the concept of satyāgraha — the existence of truth. In the early 20th century, it underscored Gandhi’s nonviolent protests against British colonialism in India. It was later adapted by B.R. Ambedkar and, during the U.S. civil rights movement, employed by Martin Luther King Jr.

Jain, who plays drums and the dhol, combines it with music and personal stories of the immigrant experience, using Love Force to confront social oppression.

“You can’t fight back with more tyranny,” he said. “You have to lead with love and just melt away any kind of evil doing.”

The stage is a pulpit, he continued, and music a sermon delivered in a common language.

“I’m trying to really tap into that energy of music really unifying people, putting aside these differences we have,” he said. “Recognizing places of worship, the thing that really unifies people in there is the chants, the mantras, the songs, the hymns, everything that we sing.”

Jain’s Love Force ensemble consists of longtime accompanists Alison Shearer on sax and bassist Almog Sharvie, along with horn players David Adewumi (trumpet) and Jasim Perales (trombone) and with Julia Chen on keyboards. As they play, images flash behind them, as well as word collages — one a phrase that provides a lot of the evening’s energy.

Jain discovered “collective effervescence” after a conversation with Ash Fure, a Dartmouth associate professor of sonic arts, a few years back. The two were discussing Jain’s developing project and his interest in music’s coalescing power. Fure pointed him to Barbara Ehrenreich’s 2006 book Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy.

“Ehrenreich talks about this shared activity, almost akin to religion, that you find nowadays in the rave scene,” Jain said. “Then she points back to Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist, [who] coined the term collective effervescence.” His research found that it was key to the early beginnings of organized religion.

“People came together around a totem … reflective of their group or clan, and stomped in unison to give reverence to one another or to the human being,” Jain said. “Something just stuck to me about that — being engaged with and a lover of Sufi music, especially Sufi dhol drumming. Where the essence is of music and sound enabling you to reach the omnipotent.”

One fun fact learned in the interview was that a different twist of fate might have led Sunny Jain to join a rock ’n’ roll band. When he was 12 his brother took him to see Mötley Crüe and Whitesnake, his first concert. It inspired an interest in percussion, and he enrolled in drum class to learn Tommy Lee and Neil Peart. “Because I loved Rush as well,” Jain said. But his first teacher was a bebop jazz drummer and taught him that instead. “That’s how I fell in love with jazz.”

Does performing Love Force differ from working with his best-known band? “Yes,” Jain said. “There’s a lot more expression. Red Baraat is very much a musical force of the club and festival circuit of like just really amped up party music [and] this has a much more dynamic expression of emotion, just with the fact of the storytelling.”

Sunny Jain’s Love Force
When: Saturday, April 18, 7 p.m.
Where: 5 Pinkerton St., Derry
Tickets: $28 and $33 at pinkertonacademy.org
Also Thursday, April 16, 7:30 p.m., Hopkins Center, 12 Lebanon St., Hanover, $30+ at dartmouth.org

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Sample the state

The Made in NH Expo offers a taste of local products

Christine Carignan is the co-publisher and chief operating officer for Business New Hampshire Magazine, and co-owner of the Made In NH “Try It & Buy It” Expo, which will be held April 17 through April 19 at the Doubletree by Hilton Expo Center in Manchester.

“It’s in its 29th year this year,” Carignan said. “It’s an expo that welcomes people in. We have vendors and exhibitors from all across New Hampshire showcasing their handmade products, their artisan goods. It’s a great way for people to come in and see all of the really cool things that are made here in the Granite State. And one thing that’s new this year is that your one ticket price gets you in all three days of the weekend. If you come on Friday, you can buy one ticket, and as long as you get a wristband from us — we have wristbands available — that will give you entry for the rest of the weekend.”

Nearly half of the vendors at Made in NH this year will be food or beverage businesses.

“This is a Try It and Buy it expo,” Carignan said, “so we want people to be able to come in and sample their way through the show and then, ideally, purchase these great things as well. We kind of run the gamut of different kinds of food and treats that people can try. So we have everything from Greek pastries to a farm that’s bringing in some pork and beef. We have chocolate vendors. We have dog treats as well. You’ll find some jams and jellies, freeze-dried candies, and lots of different bakeries.We also have a couple of beverage people that are going to be there — we have a company that makes lemonade. We’ll also have a coffee vendor there, which everyone loves.”

One area of the Expo, Carignan said, will focus exclusively on producers of alcoholic beverages. “It’s called our “Libation Station,” she said. “That’s where we have vendors with different spirits, beers, wines and mead. They’re sampling and selling in that section. As long as you’re 21-plus and you have your ID, you’re welcome to come through and sample all of the spirits that are available in that aisle; it’s the last aisle, all the way against the wall — the 700 Aisle.”

Each year, the Expo usually has more than 5,000 visitors across the three days of the show, Carignan said, with Saturday generally being the most highly attended. This includes a lot of families. Many of the exhibitors reflect that.

“This year, we have a couple of different rescue organizations that are going to be there,” she said. “So we’re going to have animals that people get to come and visit. We have Live and Let Live Farm, who comes every year, and they usually bring goats and some mini ponies, sometimes some bunnies, some puppies. And we also have Darbster Rescue that also comes and usually brings puppies. One of the great things is we’ve had dogs get adopted right at the show. So there’s chocolate, wine, and puppies. How much better could you get?”

One of the food exhibitors at Made In NH will be Celeste Oliva, a Concord specialty shop that sells premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Charla Mayotte is the owner. She said the Expo is an excellent way for new customers to discover her business. “I’ve been there a few years,” she said. “A good amount of people that come through. I have customers who met me at the Made in New Hampshire Expo, which is why I keep coming back. It’s a good way to connect with repeat customers. It’s a way for people to realize how good true extra virgin olive oil is. And balsamic.”

The Made In NH “Try It & Buy It” Expo
When: Friday, April 17, from 1 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Doubletree by Hilton Expo Center, 700 Elm St., Manchester, 625-1000
Admission: Tickets are $8 each, senior tickets are $7, and children under 14 get in free. One admission fee is good for all three days.
More: businessnhmagazine.com/made-in-nh-expo

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Connecting writers and publishers

Derry Author Fest takes on a practical theme

Elizabeth Ives was a long-time supporter and trustee of the Derry Public Library, and she had a dream, said Erin Robinson, Reference Librarian and coordinator of the Derry Author Fest.

“She was great. She’s since passed away, but she wanted to have an Author Fest that would have MFA-style classes and would be beneficial for people who want to become writers and authors and illustrators. The idea was that they wouldn’t have to jump through a lot of hoops or pay to go to a conference. She wanted it to be free and open to the public.”

“So,” Robinson continued, “year after year we’ve held the Author Fest here at the Library. It was a little messy at first — you know, everything takes a little fine-tuning — but now we have it down to what we really want it to be, which is focused on writing and publication and a very straightforward one-day series of lectures. Each year we have a different theme, and this year’s Fest is Pathway to Publication.”

This year’s presentations will be geared toward the practical steps of producing a book, Robinson said.

“We’re going to have a publishing panel that tells us what happens behind the scenes,” she said. “We have an executive editor from Harper Collins and an agent from Calligraph [literary agency]. We’ll have someone from the Public Relations and Marketing department at Penguin Random House, specializing in young readers. They’re going to demystify the process of publishing for us. We also have a creative panel where people are going to talk a little bit more about just being creative, but also what that entails, how they carve out structure in their day, do they have a day job? That sort of thing. We’ll have an illustrator, a picture book writer, and a YA writer on that panel. We’ll also be talking about niche publishing — what is it like to work with small presses as opposed to going for a big, traditional press? What’s the difference? Finally, Rebecca Allen is going to talk to us about finding a community that can help you succeed, finding critique partners, and how you can encourage each other to make your work better,”

“It’s going to be a full day,” she said.

The keynote speakers will be mother and daughter New Hampshire writers Rebecca and Adi Rule.

“They both have very interesting backgrounds because they write very different things,” Robinson said. “Becky’s writing is very regional. Adi writes children’s, middle-grade and YA fiction. They are going to talk about publishing over decades and generations. That should be a really interesting conversation to kick off the day.”

Robinson said that in past years the people attending Author Fest have been writers in a wide variety of genres.

“It’s hard for us [when we plan the conference], because we have to decide, ‘Do we want to lean more into the adult writers and do we want to get more for the kids? We have a sprinkling of nonfiction writers. We try to even the day out — some people write for adults and some for kids. People don’t have to stay all day, so some people will come and they will stay all day because they are going to gather something from every lecture regardless and they’re happy to be here and learning, but some will pick and choose. During lunchtime we try to split up the groups. If people want to stay and hang out during that block, we have tables where people can gather together by genre or subject or interest, so we have like our nonfiction writers table, or our children’s book writers, and they can all group together and connect. It depends on the year,” Robinson said.

In addition to the day of speakers and panels, the library will host a book sale throughout the day provided by Gibson’s Bookstore, according to derryauthorfest.wordpress.com where you can see the full schedule and links to register.

2026 Derry Author Fest: Pathways to Publication
When: Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Derry Public Library, 64 E. Broadway, Derry, 432-6140, derrypl.org
More: derryauthorfest.wordpress.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Human touch

Luna Moth Zine Fest champions DIY spirit

Three years on, Luna Moth Zine Fest is back and bigger than ever. There are more vendors (“tablers” in the parlance), and workshops covering storytelling, crowdfunding, game drawing and community care. The festival also has its first group of paid sponsors, plus a new and larger location in Manchester, after two years in Salem.

It’s a big leap for an event that began when cartoonist April Landry grew frustrated with long drives to similar events, so she decided to do one in her home state. Landry named the festival after a species of moth that’s native to the region and found in the wild, seemingly in defiance of nature.

“It’s very strange that something that vibrant and almost tropical-looking lives in New England,” she said. “It’s a magical-looking thing, a little mythical, so it’s a way to say New England-based and New Hampshire-based while also giving it this ethereal vibe. It’s a little special.”

For anyone wondering, zines are small circulation booklets — comics, word art, ephemera, covering all manner of topics. They’re self published, rather than commercially, and exist “for self expression, art, storytelling, information sharing and pure creative joy … passion projects for humans, by humans,” according to a festival press release.

“The great thing about zines is that anybody can make a zine, and anybody can put whatever they want in a zine,” Landry said. “There’s no publisher telling you, ‘you can’t do that’ and no editor telling you can’t do anything. There’s literally no barrier between your idea and getting it out into the world with zines.”

Landry entered the zine world after she designed a Dungeons & Dragons world to play with friends. “Once the game night was over, I felt like the work was wasted, so I figured out a way to put it in a book … facts about different monsters, their hit points, where to find them, things like that.” She called her first-ever zine Things to Fight and Places to Fight Them.

Artists are often drawn to zines as an extension of their other forms of self-expression, or as a way to distribute their work.

“It’s very liberatory,” Landry said. “There are people who are making art all the time and don’t know what to do with it, or don’t have a way to get it out there. Finding zines and making zines is typically a way to do that.”

For others, they’re a tool. One person told Landry they fold a zine together on Sunday, then write in it like a diary for the week. “When they’re done, they don’t print it, they don’t make copies, they just put it on the shelf,” she said. “It’s just a way for them to get thoughts out of their heads … something that’s both outward and inward.”

There are more than 70 tablers showing their wares at this year’s event. Katherine Leung, based in Vermont, is doing Zine Fest for the first time. Leung’s Canto Cutie zine explores the experience of Cantonese people living in America. Like many other vendors, Leung’s table will offer other art products like prints and enamel pins.

“The unifying factor is that in some way, shape or form, they make zines,” Landry said. “One vendor’s zines are about learning how to knit, and there’s someone who makes coloring books … it’s a mix across the board, but in some shape or form these people are writing or publishing something themselves that they want other people to read and look at.”

Another new vendor is Silas Denver, who works using the name Sweater Muppets. “They are only now just getting into zine making, and all the stuff they’ve been putting out is cutting-edge and incredible stuff,” Landry said. “It feels really vital, and I’m so excited to have them.”

Landry said Zine Fest’s “four amazing sponsors” are Goosepoop, a Portland, Maine, game studio whose work includes the RPG Laundry Punks; Wrong Brain, a Seacoast collective celebrating “unconventional, under-represented & emerging arts”; the Boston Comics Foundation and Xomik Bük, a comic book collective.

Come with an open mind and eagerness to engage at the all-ages event, Landry urged. “What makes Luna … so popular with people is the culture there and the vibes. It’s one of these places where you can go and talk to interesting people who have like-minded interests, and they’re approachable.”

Luna Moth Zine Fest
When: Saturday, April 18, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: YWCA, 72 Concord St., Manchester
More: lunamothzinefest.bsky.social

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 26/04/16

Egg update

The peregrine falcon nest at the Brady Sullivan Tower in Manchester now has a clutch of four eggs as of April 14, which you can see via nhaudubon.org/education/birds-and-birding/peregrine-cam. According to the daily log on the YouTube page for Feed 1 (there are three feeds, each offering a different angle on the nest), a second egg was laid on April 8 (about 14 days after the first egg on March 25), a third egg was laid on April 11 and the fourth on April 14. According to the log, a message from biologist Chris Martin posted on April 11 said, “Third egg — that’s great! A good chance to see 1-2 more eggs between 13-17th April. Not much chance first egg will survive.” According to the log, “Peregrines have a body temp of 103-106F; Eggs need steady incubation temps of 99-100.5F to develop properly and hatch; Both males and females develop brood patches to transfer their heat to the eggs.” The cam offers livestreaming video of the nest via NH Audubon and the support of Peregrine Networks and Brady Sullivan Properties, according to the website. Last year the nest produced five eggs, of which three hatched.

Trades

Bring Back the Trades will hold a Skills Expo Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Londonderry High School (295 Mammoth Road in Londonderry) featuring local trades organizations, according to bringbackthetrades.org, which describes the trades as “career paths requiring hands-on work and specialty knowledge.” Trade careers described on the website include plumbing, HVAC, electrical work, construction, culinary careers, EMT and other medical careers, hairstylist, child care, manufacturing, welding, transportation careers and more. The event is free to attend and will also feature information on scholarships and internships, the website said.

Spring cleaning

It’s outdoor cleanup season.

Beautify Hooksett Day will be held Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Find details and sign up via the Hooksett Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.

SEE Science Center in Manchester is part of Park2Park, which will hold a cleanup on Monday, April 20, from 3 to 5 p.m. at parks in Manchester, according to see-sciencecenter.org, where you can find information on signing up to volunteer.

New Hampshire State Parks will hold a Bear Brook State Park cleanup day on Sunday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to the State Parks Facebook page. Volunteers are asked to meet at Hayes Field off Podunk Road in Allenstown — “Grab a drink, snack and some free swag then head out on the trails to help us clean up from winter storms. Bring gloves and hand saws. We will have some tools and gloves available for those who need some,” the post said.

Squam Lakes Association and the Lakes Region Conservation Corps will hold “Volunteer: Spring Work Day” on Saturday, May 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Holderness. “Help clear trails, rake campsites, and install swim lines to prepare for summer. Afterward, celebrate with a BBQ back on campus,” according to squamlakes.org, where you can register to volunteer.

The Hall Street Wastewater Facility, 125 Hall St. in Concord, will hold daily public tours from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Friday, April 17, to celebrate New Hampshire Clean Water Week, which runs April 12-18, according to the Concord General Services General Gazette newsletter. “See the science in action and find out how we protect the river from pollution and why wastewater treatment is essential for a healthy environment,” the newsletter said.

The Mosaic Art Collective, 66 Hanover St. in Manchester, will hold a movie in the gallery on Thursday, April 23, according to a post on its Facebook page. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., and an art movie starts at 6 p.m., the post said. Previous attendees vote on the next movie, the post said.

The 7th Evolution Expo, an event that “brings together a powerful collective of holistic practitioners, wellness businesses and conscious community members from across the region,” will take place Sunday, April 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord featuring 50+ vendors and exhibitors as well as workshops, presentations and live demonstrations, according to a press release. Admission costs $10 at the door or get free admission with advance registration at holisticnh.org/evolution-expo, where you can also see a list of vendors.

The Woman’s Service Club of Windham will hold its Spring Craft Fair on Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Golden Brook School, 112B Lowell Road in Windham, according to womansserviceclubofwindham.org.

Hometown jam

Hayley Jane Band grooves into town

As the Hayley Jane Band’s third show of a tour-opening weekend began in Delaware in late March, the group played their leader to the microphone, and she began “Daydream,” a perfect choice. The singer danced dervish-like while belting out lyrics with celebratory verve, lost in a moment of ecstasy.

This happens every performance, dating back to when she fronted Hayley Jane & the Primates, a band born in her days at Berklee College of Music. She hypnotically sways, twists, throws her long hair to the sky, then grooves to the microphone, channeling rock and soul standard bearers like Janis Joplin and Lydia Pense.

“In these moments, I’m awash in pure unadulterated joy,” she wrote in February 2025. “Letting the music flow through me. Nothing can touch me when I’m in that enveloping womb of frequency. I couldn’t care less what it looks like to anyone. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

Hayley Jane and her current lineup of guitarist Jackson Bower, keyboard player Parker McQueeney and the combo of Sam Lyons and Tom Gladstone on drums and bass return to Shaskeen Pub on April 11 for a show with Espejismo Band opening. It’s a hometown gig for Hayley Jane, who moved to nearby Litchfield a couple of years ago.

Their most recent album is 2021’s Late Bloom, and the single “One More Day” arrived in late 2024, but there’s new music on the way. “The first song we put together is called ‘Origami Ghost,’” Hayley Jane said. I got to paint this beautiful picture over this awesome funk song … there’s a lot of funk.”

She described another new one called “Hope” as big and anthemic. “It’s got a late 2000s emo, Dashboard Confessional vibe,” she said. “I don’t know how to explain it because I’ve never been good at describing genre. I should take a music history class or something.”

Or probably not. The charm with her music, both in the Primates and in her new band, is it’s a moving target.

“I love rock ’n’ roll, I love exploratory jams, I love letting the boys cut loose,” she said. “I love storytelling, old blues, Taj Mahal and I love drama. So I don’t know how to talk about genre, because that’s not where I’m coming from.”

When Hayley Jane and the Primates reunited for the 2022 Northlands Festival, it was a one-off show.

“We’ve all got lives and babies, everybody’s in their 40s now,” she said. “They were kind of like, ‘Hey, we’re not really looking to tour,’ and I said, ‘That’s fine.’ So I found some guys that were really looking to get out there.”

The Hayley Jane Band will return to this year’s Northlands Festival at the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey June 19 to June 21. They’re also at another familiar gathering, Strange Creek Campout in rural Greenfield, Mass., May 22 to May 25. Fans will hear some older material originally meant for her old band, due to appear on an upcoming record by her new one.

“Justin Hancock of the Primates was my co-writer for years; I didn’t want these songs to disappear, so it makes me really happy that they’re going to be going on this album,” she said. “I’ve been touring with this band now for two years, and so we’re finally getting into that comfort zone.”

At one point while she was swaying, shouting and singing her way through “Daydream” that Sunday in Delaware, Hayley Jane quoted a line from the Monkees hit “Daydream Believer.” It was a fitting nod to a time in music for which she has a clear affinity. When compared to a dancer at a tie-dyed Grateful Dead concert, she took the compliment with glee.

“I carry that spirit and the energy of the ’60s and ’70s,” she said. “It’s in me, just embedded. My parents listened to the music, like my dad was really into CCR and Janis [and] that whole time always called to me. I always feel like maybe in a past life I was there.”

Hayley Jane Band
When: Saturday, April 11, at 9 p.m.
Where: Shaskeen Pub, 909 Elm St., Manchester
Tickets: $15 at ticketleap.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

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