Music This Week – Page 22

Saturday in the park

Concord concert series spotlights local music

With big-name shows canceled throughout the state, local music is enjoying a welcome moment in the spotlight. In Concord, Capitol Center for the Arts and its smaller sister venue Bank of NH Stage are dark until close to Labor Day, but they’re keeping on by helping out with a series of concerts highlighting regional music, in nearby Fletcher-Murphy Park.

Upcoming are JamAntics cofounder Lucas Gallo (Aug. 1), modern country artist April Cushman (Aug. 8), percussive guitarist Senie Hunt (Aug. 15) and fiddle wizard Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki with Matt Jensen (Aug. 22). Music in the Park is a collaborative effort between Capitol Center for the Arts, Concord Community Music School and the Concord Parks & Recreation Department, with sponsorship by Concord Pediatric Dentistry.

Gallo, a tireless booster of the Concord scene for years as a musician and promoter, fits in perfectly with the series’ spirit. His show will celebrate the release of a new album, From the Attic. The all-acoustic CD was largely completed during the pandemic lockdown; many performers used the period of no gigs to focus on original projects.

Gallo was spurred to pull out material he’d kept in storage for years and “open it up,” as he sings in the title song.

“This album is all about taking those songs that have been kicking around for a while down from the attic,” he said in a recent phone interview. “Clear the dust, rejuvenate this older material in order to keep moving forward.”

The oldest song, “Drown,” dates back 18 years —‌ almost half a lifetime for Gallo, 37. The instrumental “Glude” and “It’s You,” a romantic shuffle with echoes of Jack Johnson written for Gallo’s wife, are the most recent tracks.

“They’re maybe a year old,” he said. “The others range over the last 10 years; some are songs that I played live a bunch but don’t have on record.”

Darlingside singer and guitarist Don Mitchell served as engineer, mixing and mastering the new record.

“I have a pretty long history with Darlingside here in Concord,” Gallo said. “It was super cool to have him be in that position on the album.”

Along with working on his own stuff, Gallo used the quarantine to check out friends in the music community, what he called a “silver lining” of lockdown for the father of three.

“We don’t get out all that often at nighttime, being parents,” he said. “So it was really cool to all of a sudden see everybody doing livestreams. … Nobody really took a break; they just found a different way to do it.”

Gallo also recognizes that Covid-19 offered an opportunity to performers like him.

“It’s a little bit ironic that it’s a big win for the local musicians when all these huge shows can’t happen,” he said. “All the local shows happen in smaller venues or bars, and it’s just really cool that local music is the one that’s able to keep it going.”

Music in the Park will happen rain or shine; if there’s inclement weather the show will be moved into Bank of NH Stage.

“There’s only 50 tickets being sold,” Gallo said, “so there will be plenty of room to social distance within the venue.”

All tickets include a copy of the new disc, a fact that may be most exciting to Gallo.

“I wanted an incentive to come,” he said. “To me it’s just like holding a book —‌ I want to hold a CD in my hand.”

Gallo offered high praise for the Capitol Center team that spearheaded the show.

“They’re smart people who are always looking for ways to pull in local music,” Gallo said. “It’s funny — I found out about Music in the Park because I’d emailed [marketing manager Sheree Owens] thinking that it would be so cool if they could do something out front, or close down part of Pleasant Street. Then she mentioned that they had this idea.”

Lucas Gallo
When: Saturday, Aug. 1, 6 p.m.
Where: Fletcher-Murphy Park, 28 Fayette St., Concord
Tickets: $10 at banknhstage.com

The Music Roundup 20/07/02

• Mountain music: A Concord trio consisting of guitar, drums and keyboard, Holy Fool favors smooth soulful grooves with jazzy elements. They play an outdoor show at a ski resort repurposed for summer, their first since Friday the 13^th in March at hometown haunt True Brew, just as the world was shutting down. During quarantine the group was part of the Granite State Online Music Festival. Thursday, July 2, 4 p.m. at Pats Peak Ski Area, 686 Flanders Road, Henniker, facebook.com/holyfoolnh.

• Singing, playing: Enjoy a solo acoustic experience with The Lone Wolf Project. Christopher Perkins’ set list includes everything from Queensrÿche to Cyndi Lauper, with sweet tunes like John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” offered as well. Perkins has some nice originals, too, like “Today,” written during lockdown, about keeping family close. Friday, July 3, 6 p.m., Fratello’s Italian Grille, 799 Union Ave., Laconia, facebook.com/ASoloAcousticExperience.

• Laugh again: Though his Headliners downtown showcase room is still shuttered, Rob Steen is promoting shows and performing comedy again in Manchester, as a multipurpose movie house returns to standup. Drew Dunn, who won top honors at competitions in Seattle and Boston, tops the bill at what’s basically a three-headliner show, with Steen and Amy Tee. Saturday, July 4, 9 p.m., Chunky’s Cinema Pub, 707 Huse Road, Manchester. Tickets $20 at headlinerscomedyclub.com.

• Twofer time: In between shows with their band Almost Famous, Jimmy Magoon and Kristin Atkins perform as a duo, covering pop hits and classic rock for every mood. Formed in 2012, the Boston group is popular for whipping crowds into a dancing frenzy, but their talents for chilling a room and keeping an easy vibe going will probably be more welcome in this moment. Sunday, July 5, 3 p.m., Old School Bar & Grill, 49 Range Road, Windham, facebook.com/almostfamousrocks.

In the pocket

Blues rockers return to the stage

Downtown Dave & the Deep Pockets played their last pre-quarantine gig on March 8, so when they booked a late May show outdoors at Broken Spoke in Laconia, frontman Dave Glannon counted the days. Fate, however, had other plans for his blues-rock powerhouse. A broken well pump forced them to cancel, though the owner paid half their guarantee, a reminder of why the Spoke is a favorite venue for the band.

The cash was a comfort, but for Glannon, music is passion first, profession second. He was ready to get down and play his harmonica, to jam with guitarist Paul Size and a rhythm section of drummer Don Boucher and bass player Erik Thomas.

So he moved the show down the road, and turned it into a party.

“Everybody was already there, like right around the corner, and my friend has a place at the lake,” Glannon explained in a recent phone interview. “It just felt so good to get together and play.”

Glannon became a musician at age 41, inspired by the purchase of his first compact disc player, when they were a new thing. He bought two CDs that day, Aerosmith’s Live Bootleg and Muddy Waters’ Still Hard. The latter looked cool, had Johnny Winter backing blues legend Waters on guitar, and was bargain priced.

It changed his life.

“I think I played it for three months straight,” Glannon said. “That’s when I realized this is something I would really love to do.”

Attending an all-star benefit show at the original House of Blues in Cambridge a while later cemented his instinct.

“There were all these great people — Jerry Paquette, Racky Thomas, Jerry Portnoy, a bunch of others. … I went by myself and was just standing there taking in all the action, and I realized I really had to pursue it,” Glannon said. Realizing that learning to play guitar would take a lot of time, “I figured harmonica was the quickest way to get into that.”

In the mid-2000s Glannon practiced in his garage and went to Tuesday night blues jams hosted by Paquette at KC’s Rib Shack in Manchester — always as a spectator. One night, after prolonged prodding by his then-wife, he stepped on stage.

“I played one song and started to walk off, but Jerry stopped me,” he said. “He said, ‘You don’t sit down until I tell you to.’ So I kept coming back. … He must have seen something there.”

Glannon spent four years playing in Paquette’s Kan-Tu Blues Band, then set about forming the Deep Pockets in 2010.

“I love the blues and I like that style, but I wanted to do something more up-tempo,” he said.

Band members have come and gone; none remain from the lineup that traveled to Memphis after winning the 2015 Granite State Blues Challenge. Boucher came aboard shortly after the competition. Size, a Texas expat who played in The Red Devils, is the most recent to join. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons included Size on his 10 Guitarists Who Blew My Mind list, which also included Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.

Glannon thinks the current Downtown Dave & the Deep Pockets is the best ever, for a few reasons.

“These are four people who truly get along, have great respect for each other, great talent, and are in tune with everything that is going on,” he said. “On stage, it’s pure magic, three to four hours of thinking about nothing but the music at hand. It helps keep you sane.”

Their summer calendar is slowly filling, with shows set for July 11 at Pitman’s Freight Room in Laconia, and July 18 at The Anchorage, a restaurant-bar situated on the edge of Lake Sunapee. Pitman’s has long been a favorite stop for the band.

“It’s a great room, and the sound quality is fantastic,” Glannon said. “People are there strictly for the music, and it’s always a very appreciative crowd.”

Featured photo: Downtown Dave & the Deep Pockets. Courtesy photo.

Downtown Dave & the Deep Pockets
When: Saturday, July 11, 8 p.m.
Where: Pitman’s Freight Room, 94 New Salem St., Laconia
Tickets: $20/door – pitmansfreightroom.com
Also: Saturday, July 18, 8 p.m. at The Anchorage, 71 Main St., Sunapee

The Music Roundup 20/07/23

• One-man band: When all the pieces are engaged, Lee Ross delivers a bold, brassy sound that definitely seems like it’s coming from a crowded stage, not a Boston-based solo performer with a boatload of musical chops. Ross tricks out his keyboards to mimic a rhythm section, plays saxophone and flute, sings and loops it all to amazing effect — the magic of a big band, no social distancing needed. Thursday, July 23, 7 p.m., Penuche’s Music Hall, 1087 Elm St., Manchester. See facebook.com/leerossmusic.

• Salt the rim: Kenny Chesney doppelganger Dan Wray, who’s also front man for No Shoes Nation, a Chesney tribute act now in its fourth year, helps celebrate National Tequila Day. Yes, that’s a thing, and no, it’s not a legal holiday even if it should be. Hits like “Guitars and Tiki Bars” will rev things up, with a giveaway of a Charbroil Smoker, essential equipment for backyard parties, adding to the fun. Friday, July 24, 6 p.m., Village Trestle, 35 Main St., Goffstown. See facebook.com/NoShoesNationBand.

• Join in blues: Bring a guitar, harmonica or voice to a jam hosted by blues band Catfish Howl. The afternoon confab happens outdoors under the tent, with proper space between the players. The Manchester group features Zydeco aficionado Glenn Robertson, and its name comes in part from Professor Catfish Bill, who sings and plays percussive instruments like the washboard. Saturday, July 25, 2 p.m., Area 223, 254 N. State St. (Smokestack Center), Concord. See catfishhowl.com.

• Shell it out: Enjoy al fresco music in the local bandshell with Lunch at the Dump, an inventively named roots band that’s closing in on 50 years together. They began in the spring of 1972 as a loose group of pickers learning to play their guitars, fiddles, banjos and mandolin. Reportedly, a “chance encounter with a carrot cake at the local landfill” prompted their moniker. Tuesday, July 28, 6:30 p.m., Angela Robinson Band Stand, Community Park, Henniker. See facebook.com/Lunch-at-the-Dump.

Music City bound

Amanda McCarthy makes her move

With a combination of innate talent and plucky determination, Amanda McCarthy has become a fixture on the regional music circuit, from the Seacoast to the White Mountains. She’s recorded and released multiple albums of original songs — the latest, Epilogue, arrives in the fall — while performing covers to fuel her dream of being a full-time musician.

Like many before, McCarthy’s time in the trenches playing bars and restaurants led to an inevitable conclusion — that it was time to try her luck in a major market.

“People like my original music in New Hampshire, but there’s not really an original music industry here,” she said in a recent phone interview.

So, after a few more gigs, including a farewell bash with some of her musical friends on Aug. 1 at Long Cat Brewery in Londonderry, Amanda McCarthy is moving to Nashville. The goal, she said, is to live in a milieu that makes her artistic development more possible.

“I love playing for people,” she said. “Even if it’s playing covers, I really, truly enjoy it. But I know in my heart I love writing songs; that’s why I went into music in the first place.”

In the past year, McCarthy’s relationship with U.K.-based Evolved Artists has encouraged her to take the next step.

“I’ve been working with them as a songwriter … sending demos that they’ve been sent off to their contacts,” she said. “I figured if I was lucky enough to land an opportunity like that being in New Hampshire, then what else can I accomplish when I’m actually down there where things are really happening?”

“Here,” a preview track from her new album that will be officially released at the Long Cat farewell show, offers insight into the urgency McCarthy feels about testing the water in that “very big pond” now instead of later.

“All my friends are running off to chase their dreams, from Hollywood to Tennessee, oh but I’m still here,” she sings. “I vow, I’ll make it out of here somehow.”

McCarthy is encouraged by area musicians she’s met who’ve headed south like Tom Dixon, Sam Robbins, Morgan Clark and Stacy Kelleher, along with others she hasn’t.

“I don’t know Brooks Hubbard personally but I know of him,” she said. “I know he’s down there; I’d love to get in touch with him at some point.”

As she begins to wend her way into the Nashville community, McCarthy has the valuable currency of a good story to tell — the one about her close encounter last March with New Hampshire’s most well-known rock star, Steven Tyler. It’s an experience she calls “the second best day of my life after having my daughter.”

As she and her boyfriend drove to her gig at Salt hill Shanty near Lake Sunapee, McCarthy mused that the Aerosmith singer, who owns a home there, might be in the crowd. The two were joking, but things got real as she finished her encore and spotted him at a table with friends.

She had a choice to make.

“I stood there for about 30 seconds,” she said, “then I said into the microphone, ‘I don’t know if this is kosher, but if I don’t do it I’m gonna hate myself,’” and proceeded to play a flawless version of “Angel” — after which she was unable to eat or drink anything.

“I was just literally dumbfounded,” she said. “One, that he was there, and two, that I just did that. At some point I decided I didn’t want to go bother him; I’ve read his autobiography and he really just values being a normal person.”

So she began to pack up and load out, only stopping to send a copy of her Road Trip CD and a note with thanks for being an inspiration over to Tyler’s table.

When she heard Tyler say, “Wait, she’s still here?” McCarthy knew her magical day hadn’t ended yet. He came over and the two had a happy chat.

“He was so kind and down to earth, and he just talked to me; not like I was some dumb kid 40 years younger than him … like a human,” she said. “It was one of the kind of things completely above my expectations.”

Asked what she’ll miss most from her home state, McCarthy quickly replied, “one hundred percent the ocean” — she lived in Hampton for four years. She’ll also treasure the camaraderie of the New England music community.

“From Day 1, when I was 19 years old and didn’t know what I was doing, they gave me a shot and made me feel welcome. Between Penuche’s and people like Paul Costley, they allowed me to be a full-time musician, which was all I really wanted. I’m going to miss being able to do that down there … but I’m hoping it’ll be worth it in the long run.”

Amanda McCarthy & Friends
When: Saturday, Aug 1, 6 p.m.
Where: Long Cat Brewing, 298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry
More: amandamccarthy.com

The Music Roundup 20/07/16

• Dance night: While pulsing music can’t be experienced on a packed dance floor, Velvet Rope offers a socially distanced night of rhythm sensations. Presented by talent collective Pangea, the evening promises deep house and tech with four DJs (a resident and three guests), and ample space to dance. It’s the first in what they hope will be a regular series of events; the next is set for July 24. Friday, July 17, 9 p.m., Jewel Music Venue, 61 Canal St., Manchester, facebook.com/Pangea-110546673851223.

• Fiddle time: One of the busier musicians during quarantine, Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki frequently brought his wife and kids to online shows, which provided many charming moments. The fiddler extraordinaire and his trio play an outdoor show that’s part of a Concert on the Lawn Series. Tirrell-Wysocki excels at Celtic-Irish music, but his talents range across the spectrum, and he sings, too. Saturday, July 18, 6:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 201 North Road, Brentwood, facebook.com/firstbaptistbrentwoodnh.

• Folk affair: While the venue remains idle, Bank of NH Stage is hosting shows, including Kimayo, a singer, songwriter and activist. The al fresco performance happens in a Concord park. Kimayo released her debut album Phoenix last year and is readying a follow-up LP. Fellow folkie Guy Capacelatro praised her talents, saying her set was “a wallop of sound that was delightfully delicious.” Saturday, July 18, 6 p.m., Fletcher-Murphy Park, 28 Fayette St., Concord. Tickets $10 at ccanh.com.

• Let’s rock: Popular local cover group The River Band plays a free show, one of many in a midweek concert series that wraps up the Wednesday before Labor Day with Eric Grant. Upcoming events include 60’s Invasion (July 29), B Street Bombers (Aug. 5), Oxford & Clark (Aug. 12), Studio Two playing Beatles songs (Aug. 19) and Billy Joel tribute act Cold Spring Harbor (Aug. 26). Wednesday, July 22, 7 p.m., Milford Recreation Department, 1 Union Square, Milford, milfordrec.com.

Music that matters

Alternate Routes performs at Tupelo Drive-In

Crisis is often a catalyst for great art. That’s been true twice for Alternate Routes — a few years back the band, fronted by the songwriting duo of Tim Warren and Eric Donnelly, addressed the epidemic of gun violence with “Somewhere in America.” Featuring lyrics by Donnelly, it crystallized the issue by melding the personal and political, without judgment.

Now, as the country endures a pandemic, the pair have delivered a song that fit the moment perfectly. “If I Ever” is a meditation about standing at the brink and vowing to come back with purpose — loving more, worrying less, and facing life’s demons. “I’m gonna be better,” Warren sings in a high lonesome voice. “Because I’m gonna be grateful … if I ever get out of this.”

“If I Ever” wasn’t exactly new. Warren said in a recent phone interview that “bits and pieces of it have been around” for a while. He sent an old demo to producer Chris Ruggiero to buff up, then had Donnelly lay down subtle but essential guitar to build on the rough home recording.

“That’s when it definitely was an Alternate Routes song,” Warren said. “After that, we didn’t do much to it. We just were like, ‘OK, this is cool, here we go’ — then we just put it out.”

It’s the video made to accompany “If I Ever” that lifts the song to a higher plane. Shot at dawn in New York City in its early days as Covid-19’s epicenter, it’s both beautiful and harrowing. The frame fills with socially distanced joggers, a delightful 8-year-old girl named Daisy, encountered during filming, dancing fluidly, and shots of vast empty streets. It ends with frontline workers sharing encouraging words hand-lettered on signs: “If I can feel hope so can you” and “I’ve learned the power of communicating with my eyes.”

Creating the video was a very moving experience for Warren.

“It was such a desolate scene there in Brooklyn,” he said. “Moments on the bridge where there was nobody but us, the police officers sitting there, and a few other people jogging by, I’ll never forget it.”

It came together quickly and was released in early May.

“That’s why I wanted to do it,” Warren said. “We finished the song in the pandemic, and we put it out during the pandemic, and that’s really what it sounds and feels like to me.”

An upcoming duo show at Tupelo Drive-In is their first since before lockdown, and may be their final performance of the year.

“I’m glad we’re going to be able to get to do one,” Warren said. “I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but I’m not sure how many of them we’ll be getting to do before we ring out 2020; I just don’t know.”

Other projects will suffice for the well-traveled band. Warren is hungry to make a new album after releasing a series of singles — “It seemed like a good fit for the way people were putting music out over the last couple of years, but for me that pendulum is swinging the other way.”

Both are focused on family. Donnelly and his wife welcomed their first child, a daughter, in March, while Warren and his wife are expecting their third in September.

Such activity makes another project nearing completion even more exciting: their call to community, Nothing More will be published as a children’s book, with drawings by Mae Besom. She’s best known for illustrating Kobi Yamada’s What You Do Matters trilogy.

“This woman is really brilliant, and I can’t wait,” Warren said.

With its anthemic chorus “we are how we treat each other and nothing more,” the song became a phenomenon. It played during the 2014 Olympics closing ceremonies, and the band has performed it at hundreds of schools, while receiving requests to use it at hundreds more.

Warren and Donnelly hope to take it even further.

“We’re going to try to put together a choral music package … together with ‘Somewhere in America’ and a few other songs that can create a dialogue in schools amongst kids learning music, about some of the social stuff that’s spinning around the world right now,” Warren said. “That feels like important work, you know?”

Alternate Routes
When: Thursday, July 23, 6 p.m.
Where: Tupelo Drive-In, 10 A St., Derry
Tickets: $20 per person (restaurant), $75 per vehicle at tupelohall.com

The Music Roundup 20/07/09

• Good times: One of the region’s musical treasures, Charlie Chronopoulos is a triple threat. He writes lyrically complex and compelling songs, renders them in a soothing honey and woodsmoke voice, and plays guitar like a beast. Good to have him back on the circuit, with shows booked throughout July. Check out his original “Chief and a Warrior,” recorded at Manchester’s Studio 2, for a taste of his brilliance. Thursday, July 9, 6 p.m., Village Trestle, 25 Main St., Goffstown. See facebook.com/charlie.chronopoulos.

• Wooden music: Like Jethro Tull, no member of The Clavis Brudon Band answers to that name, which is an amalgamation of the first three letters of the quartet’s surnames. They play a tasty brand of folk rock, this time at a new-ish venue; the restaurant’s been around for a while, but the rustic deck in back was just completed (one of the few bright spots of the pandemic is more outdoor performance spaces). Friday, July 10, 5 p.m., Tooky Mills Pub, 9 Depot St., Hillsborough. See facebook.com/The-Clavis-Brudon-Band.

• Happy man: Another among the plethora of entries into the live music scene is Paul Lussier, a singer, guitarist, actor and veteran of the regional scene. Lussier promises songs about peace, love and understanding to remedy current contentiousness, with a set that includes classic rock covers, and he may sprinkle in a few originals from his rock musical in progress, You Are My Song. Saturday, July 11, 4:30 p.m., The Hill Bar & Grille, 50 Chalet Way, Manchester. See paul-lussier.wixsite.com.

• Local hero: The Concord music community got sad news recently that True Brew Barista is closing, as the owners are retiring. Thanks for the many years of memories. The scene continues apace led by dedicated folks like Lucas Gallo, a musician and show promoter, who plays at a brewery that’s also keeping the flame burning. Enjoy an all original set along with stellar craft beer. Thursday, July 16, 7 p.m., Lithermans Limited Brewery, 26B Hall St., Concord. See facebook.com/lucasgallomusic.

Live and local

Soulful Concord band plays in Bow

FieldHouse Sports, a Bow facility better known for year-round indoor soccer, is the latest entry into the live music scene. Fiddler Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki led off the drive-in lot series on July 3, performing with his trio. A week later Trade, a rhythmic, horn-seasoned combo featuring some of New Hampshire’s finest players, will host the parking lot party.

Trade began with singing drummer George Laliotis and guitarist Scott Solsky, and a batch of Solsky’s songs that departed from his then band The Hats.

“I was at the point where I wanted to start a project and write the kind of music that has always spoken to me,” Solsky said in a recent phone interview. “The one thing I always came back to is that soul Motown thing … and no one sings that like George does.”

Early on, Trade played as a trio with keyboard player Matt Hogan, later adding horns.

“Over the years there were people coming in and out,” Solsky said, “But it’s always been George and I.”

In mid-2018, Trade released a CD, Puzzle. The album’s nine tracks were cowrites.

“I’ll come up with the idea, and George writes a lot of the lyrics — being a singer, it’s more in his wheelhouse — but the band does the arrangements,” Solsky said. “We’ve worked really well together as a group; everyone has ideas, and everyone contributes.”

The current lineup is Laliotis, Solsky, bassist Chris Noyes, a horn section of tenor sax player Zack Jones and Jamie Boccia on trumpet, and newest member Chris Sink on keys. The band recently released a new single on their SoundCloud page. “Real Deal” was an outtake from Puzzle.

“We were on the fence about whether or not we were going to do that one, then we were like, nah,’ Solsky said. “We kind of regretted not recording it, so it’s like we’ll just do it now.”

Working in isolation during quarantine was a daunting exercise.

“It was interesting; everyone having their own part, one person recording and sending it to the next and so on down the line,” Solsky said. “There was a learning curve for all of us, and I feel especially me, because I’m not super digitally inclined. To be able to get ourselves set up so that we can each individually record was the biggest challenge.”

Another track, called “Attachments,” is in progress, with hopes to complete it in the coming weeks. Solsky is also at work on a solo record at The Noise Floor in Dover. The backing band for half of the instrumental effort was Trade, and most of its songs are now part of their stage repertoire. Solsky calls his music “Jazztronica,” noting that “it came about because for my solo stuff I do the looping thing … it kind of has a flow to it.”

Both Solsky and bandmate Sink contributed tracks to Pass the Hat, a benefit LP organized by Chris Chase at Noise Floor. Fifty musicians offered songs, raising over $10,000, which was donated to 25 of the record’s contributors. Solsky played several Facebook Live shows during lockdown and was encouraged by fans’ willingness to drop money into his virtual tip jar.

He and the rest of Trade are anxious to be back in front of an audience, however.

“It’s exciting,” Solsky said. “As much as I’ve appreciated the support while livestreaming, whether it’s by myself or with the band, I always find that there’s a certain energy that you never really can reclaim when you’re just playing in front of the camera. That feeling of having a live crowd in front of you makes the energy of the music very different.”

Trade
When: Friday, July 10, 7 p.m.
Where: FieldHouse Sports, 12 Tallwood Drive, Bow
Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at the gate per vehicle (up to 2 people), $10 each additional person at fieldhousesports.com

The Music Roundup 20/06/25

• Al fresco: With songs like “This Ol’ Farmhouse” in their catalog, Beechwood is an ideal choice to provide acoustic music at a local farmers market. The local group features some very nimble fingerpicking guitar, instrumental interplay and tight harmonies as they mix fine originals with covers of artists like James Taylor, Anders Osborne and Steve Earle. Thursday, June 25, 4 p.m., Henniker Community Market, 57 Main St., Henniker. Bring a blanket and chair.

• In and out: Now that restrictions on capacity limits are being eased, more venues are returning. Backyard Swagger plays country rock covers led by powerhouse lead singer Diane Ferullo at a downtown nightspot that reopened on June 17. The Massachusetts quintet covers everyone from Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert to Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan. Friday, June 26, 7 p.m., Bonfire Country Bar, 950 Elm St., Manchester. More at bonfire.country/manchester.

• Perfect pair: Enjoy honey wine with equally smooth vocals as Anderson-Gram Duo perform meadery music. The married couple originally hailed from Hampton but have lived and performed in Northern California for many years, where they’ve appeared at prestigious events like the Kate Wolf Memorial Festival in Laytonville and the San Francisco Folk Festival. Saturday, June 27, 6 p.m., Moonlight Meadery, 23 Londonderry Road, Londonderry. More at andersongram.com.

• Hop onboard: Hosted by ManchVegas Brew Bus, Chad Verbeck kicks off the OG Sundays live music series with an acoustic set. Since local music treasure Alli Beaudry runs the beer touring company, and Verbeck is a longtime member of her band, chances are some collaboration could happen — with appropriate social distancing. Sunday, June 28, noon, Candia Road Brewing Co., 840 Candia Road, Manchester. Reservations are required — candiaroadbrewingco.com.

• L.A. Woman: Every summer, MB Padfield returns from her current abode in Southern California to play music for her old hometown. A midweek Manchester set is a residency — she’ll be on the deck there every Wednesday up to Labor Day. In August Padfield, who sings, and plays both a mean guitar and a bedazzled ukulele, will be the featured performer at KC’s Rib Shack’s Tuesday open mic. Wednesday, July 1, 6:30 p.m., Murphy’s Taproom, 494 Elm St., Manchester, 644-3535.

Category: Music This Week