Looking back on 2023
By Michael Witthaus
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2023 was an eventful year for the state’s music and comedy scene. Here’s a look back, and a taste of what’s coming in the new year for live entertainment.
For one moment in May, the Granite State was at the center of the music world, as Foo Fighters performed at Bank of NH Pavilion in Gilford, their first full band appearance since Taylor Hawkins died in Colombia in 2022. Dave Grohl did “Cold Day in the Sun” on acoustic guitar in tribute to the late drummer. “Taylor wrote this song; we used to sing it together,” Grohl said. “I’m going to do it for him tonight.”
April Cushman had a banner year, winning her second consecutive Country Act of the Year plaque at the New England Music Awards. The same night, Manchester’s Sepsiss took home its fourth Hard Rock/Metal Act of the Year award of the last five years. New Hampshire was shut out the rest of the evening; even its Rising Star winner was a band from Hudson that’s played only two shows in the state since forming in 2019.
Nashua’s Center for the Arts bowed, welcoming a steady stream of national talent, beginning with American Idol alums Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken on April 13 and Suzanne Vega performing solo on April 15. The venue’s grand opening “Celebration of the Arts” showcased local artists like rapper Fee the Evolutionist, singer-songwriter Wyn Doran and Ian Ethan Case, along with theatrical performances.
In January, Doran brilliantly debuted her new trio Wyn & the White Light to a small crowd at Bank of NH Stage in Concord, opening for Billy Wylder. The group began trickling out songs from a new album due for release next spring in late October. Moody tracks like “Heal Me” and “Places Unknown” show incredible promise from the chamber rockers.
Other standout releases from area musicians this year include No More Blue Tomorrows’ eponymous first album, which ranged from lush pop rock a la “Iris”-era Goo Goo Dolls to punkier songs like “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” and “Lonely.” Low Lily’s rootsy Angels in the Wreckage was another standout.
Dust Prophet, Otto Kinzel’s latest project, released its debut album in January. Eyeball Planet from Mother Iguana — Mac Holmes and a long list of collaborators — was another highlight. Brad Myrick and Nicola Cipriani completed their Covid-interrupted Silver Lining instrumental guitar album and took it on a world tour
The summer concert season suffered from bad weather, as a big chunk of gazebo shows were moved indoors from May through July. Bands like Beatles tribute act Studio Two pared down their schedules to guard against last-minute no-pay cancellations, while more than a few “rain or shine” events had to throw in a wet towel.
It was another good year for comedy, with the last vestiges of pandemic Zoom shows in the rearview.
“I don’t know if we’re exactly back where we were,” Jim Roach, who books the Palace and Rex theaters and others, said in August, “but we’re very close and I think it’s going to continue to grow over the next couple of years.”
The handoff of comedy at Manchester’s Shaskeen Pub was smooth, with Wednesday shows continuing apace. The event’s new manager, Geneva Gonzales, helped extend indie comedy’s regional reach through an ongoing series of pop-up shows dubbed Don’t Tell Comedy.
Perhaps the local comedy scene’s biggest success this year came when Drew Dunn sold out the Nashua Center for the Arts. A Nashua native, Dunn began at the Shaskeen and has grown into a nationally touring rising star. “The show … was really special,” he wrote on Facebook and Instagram. “To have almost 600 people come to see me in my hometown was truly an unforgettable night.”
Featured photo: Wyn and the White Light. Photo by Mike Doran.