Local music news & events
Song weaver: A tribute to touring life, “The Road” is the latest from Rebecca Turmel, and an apt reflection of the creative impulse that drives many performers. “I had no choice, the music chose me / and once it did, no going back,” she sings. Recorded in Nashville and released in late July, the song includes a contribution from longtime Jackson Browne band guitarist Val McCallum. Thursday, Sept. 21, 5 p.m., Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash St., Manchester, currier.org.
Mixed in: Blending elements of roots rock, funk and bluegrass, Cold Chocolate achieves a singular sound. The band began when singer/guitarist Ethan Robbins, then studying music at Oberlin College, met upright bassist Kirsten Lamb and the two started looking for ways to stretch the boundaries of bluegrass; Ariel Bernstein joined the group later, playing percussion. Friday, Sept. 22, 4 p.m., Vernon Family Farm, 301 Piscassic Road, Newfields – $25 and up at vernonfamilyfarm.com.
Funny talk: No comic excels at crowd work quite like Paula Poundstone. For her 1990 special Cats, Cops and Stuff, HBO made technology where none existed, hanging ceiling microphones and having a guy with a boom mic roam the floor to pick up audience banter. She’s no fan of the term, though, recently asking, “If I’m walking down the street and I say ‘Hi’ to somebody, is that street work?” Saturday, Sept. 23, 8 pm., Tupelo Music Hall, 10 A St., Derry, $45 and up at tupelohall.com.
Autumn brew: Northwoods Fall Fest is a midday celebration with music from looping singer-guitarist Tim Daley, Dover acoustic quartet Groove Atlas and singer-songwriter Tom Boisse. It’s also a fundraiser for Blue Ocean Society, an environmental group focused on marine life protection. Sunday, Sept. 24, 11 a.m., Northwoods Brewing Co., 1334 First NH Turnpike, Northwood, northwoodsbrewingcompany.com.
Plugging in: Around 1958, in a Washington, D.C., basement, Hot Tuna played its first gig; Jack Casady was 14, his pal Jorma Kaukonen 17. Sixty-five years later, they’re doing a final tour as an electric band, and slowing down a bit. “We’re not done counting,” Kaukonen wrote in May. “That said, it’s time to stop thinking of living as it was … indeed, into the future we must cross.” Monday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, $67.50 and up at ticketmaster.com.