Category: Music This Week

• Stepping up: After a long pandemic-caused hiatus, Thirsty Thursday jam sessions return to Auburn Pitts. In a tradition for years now hosted by Oak Hill Music, singers are asked to bring a microphone, and masks are still required. Hats off to the first person who whips out a rendition of “Safety Dance” or “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” for the socially distanced, Purell-soaked fans. Thursday, July 30, 6:30 p.m., Auburn Pitts, 167 Rockingham Road, Auburn, facebook.com/auburnpitts.

• Healing laughter: A residency that began last week and runs through mid-August has Comedy at a Distance, with Juston McKinney & Friends keeping the mood light in dark times. The mechanics of standup makes doing shows challenging, but people want to laugh and the consensus is it’s working in the New Normal — events are selling out and comics are happy. Friday, July 31, 7:30 p.m., Rex Theatre, 23 Amherst St., Manchester. Tickets are $29 and can be purchased by calling 668-5588.

• Plucky pair: Though it sounds like a bird, the moniker of rootsy acoustic folk duo Green Heron is actually a play on the last names of Scott Heron and Betsy Green, both members of modern bluegrass combo The Opined Few and the band Mama Ain’t Dead. They play guitar, fiddle and banjo and harmonize. Their afternoon show is free and open to the public. Sunday, Aug. 2,, 4 p.m., Blueberry Express Park, 16 School St., Allenstown. See facebook.com/greenheronmusic.

• Guitar man: With a resume stretching from ’90s rockers Wild Horses to backing Godsmack’s Sully Erna on his solo records and playing Faux Walsh in Dark Desert Eagles, Chris Lester has earned a reputation for talent and versatility as guitarist, singer and producer. Most recently, his band Ghosts of Vinyl released a pair of songs, “Amnesia” and “Zero Gravity.” Wednesday, Aug. 5, 5 p.m., Stumble Inn, 20 Rockingham Road, Londonderry. See chrislester.com.

• Jerry day: On what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 78^th birthday, musicians like Brett Wilson are playing in tribute to the guitarist known as Captain Trips and beloved by Deadheads. Wilson’s band Roots of Creation was inspired enough to make Grateful Dub a couple of years back, a reggae collection of Dead favorites like “Friend of the Devil” that ended with a minute of silence for Jerry. Saturday, Aug. 1, 6 p.m., Surfside Burger Bar, 41 NH Route 25, Meredith. See rootsofcreation.com.

• 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.

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

• 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.