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June 4, 2009
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Soundtrack to summer Like hot dogs and lemonade, music just seems to go with summer. Whether it’s the songs you listen to as you cruise down city streets with the windows open or the concerts you enjoy while sitting on a picnic blanket in the sun, summer definitely has a soundtrack. Here are the festivals, the concerts and the albums that are going to provide the soundtrack to summer 2009. And, thanks to a few outdoor concerts, some of that soundtrack is even free. Sounds of the outdoors Festivals abound in New Hampshire this summer. While some offer tickets for three or four days of music, some are completely free. Check Web sites or call in advance to find out about other restrictions on alcohol, children and pets, particularly for outdoor festivals. Then slap on some sunscreen and head out in search of some tunes. • “The Thing in the Spring,” an all-ages celebration of music and art in Peterborough, will take place Friday, June 5, through Sunday, June 7. The event will coincide with “*broke: The Affordable Arts Fair 2009.” On Friday, June 5, Sinaloa, Graph and Amargosa will play at Reynold’s Hall at 6:30 p.m.; tickets cost $8. On Saturday, June 6, “*broke: the Affordable Arts Fair” will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fellowship Hall in the Union Congregational Church; admission to that event is free. Luke MF Duke will perform at the fair. On Saturday, June 6, Low Anthem, Atoms Motion & the Void and Redwing Blackbird will play at the Fellowship Hall in the Union Congregational Church at 7 p.m.; tickets cost $12. On Sunday, June 7, the music will start in Putnam Park at 11 a.m. (with performances moved inside the Peterborough Community Theatre if it rains); the line-up includes Experimental Sound Exposition, Ros Bobos, Mysterybear, 23, Ehouie and DbaCC, and admission is by donation. On Sunday, June 7, at Union Congregational Church Sanctuary, look for Red Heart the Ticker, Mac St. Michael and Whales and Wolves; tickets cost $10 and the show begins at 4 p.m. Buy a weekend pass to all the shows for $25 and receive a 20-percent discount to the Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough as well as a hand-screened ticket. Buy passes at the Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough and at Turn It Up stores in Keene and Brattleboro. For more on the concerts, contact Eric at Toadstool at 924-3543. For more on *broke, call 498-4108. • Band members of Kelley Morris & the Fallen Free (blues) will host the second annual Freedom Festival on Saturday, June 6, at the Leavitt Park Clubhouse on Elm Street in Lakeport. The show starts at 5 p.m.; tickets cost $10 at the door (kids 12 and under get in free). Performers include Michelle Ribeiro, The Last House Band, Amanda Snow, Max Sullivan and The Chris White Band. This event is family-friendly and alcohol-free. A portion of ticket sales will go to the Laconia Police anti-drug campaign, Horizons Counseling Centers, Genesis Counseling Group, the Lakes Region Chapter of PFLAG, Webster Place Recovery Center and teen author Maggie Drew. For information e-mail kelley@kelleymorris.net. • The 9th Annual Manchester Blues & Jazz Festival is a smaller festival this year with no street fair, but it still has a large number of acts taking to the stage around Manchester. This year’s event starts on Thursday, June 11, with two bands playing from 9 to 11 p.m. at two locations in Manchester: the Lisa Haynes Duo plays at the Patio at the Hilton Garden Inn (101 South Commercial St.) and Yvonne Aubert (myspace.com/yvonneaubert) plays at Cotton (75 Arms St.). Friday, June 12, features the main event of the festival at the Palace Theatre at 7 p.m. with headliners Roomful of Blues (roomful.com), Henri Smith, New Orleans Friends & Flavours (henrismithmusic.tripod.com) and The Davis and Deleault Quartet. Tickets range from $15 to $25 and can be bought at the Palace Theatre box office. Also on Friday, Eric Klaxton Quartet plays at the Patio from 6 to 9 p.m. and the Craig Fahey Trio plays at Unwine’d (865 Second St.) from 7:30 to 11 p.m. On Saturday, June 13, three more acts are hitting the stage: The Grinning Lizards (grinninglizards.com) play the Patio from 6 to 9 p.m., The Nate Therrien Trio plays the Commercial Street Fishery (33 South Commercial St.) from 7 to 10 p.m., and the Craig Fahey Trio plays again at Unwine’d from 7:30 to 11 p.m. The event ends with a Blues Jam at 900 Degrees (50 Dow St.) on Sunday, June 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. With a city-wide event this year, Blues and Jazz Festival may be different, but there’s still great blues and jazz to be heard. • Mike and Ruthy Ungar Merenda will finish off the season of Deb’s House Concerts in Chesham (part of the Peterborough Folk Music Society) on Sunday, June 14, at 6:30 p.m., with a potluck at 5:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15. Call 827-2905 or e-mail deb@pfmsconcerts.org to reserve seating. See www.pfmsconcerts.org for more on the concert series and on the Peterborough Folk Music Society. • Barnstead Music Hall, 96 Maple St. in Barnstead, will present a series of concerts in the coming months. The season will kick off on Saturday, June 20, with blues-rock guitarist Johnny A. Upcoming shows include Bean Hill Bluegrass Band on Saturday, June 27; Brooks Young Band on Saturday, July 18; Ron Noyes Band on Saturday, July 25, and Rocking Horse Studio All-Star Band on Saturday, July 31. Shows start at 8 p.m. See www.barnsteadmusichall.com for more information and for tickets. Tickets can also be purchased at Strings & Things, 113 S. Main St. in Concord. E-mail info@barnsteadmusichall.com. • The Rock’n Ribfest is largely about ribs and other barbecue, but music plays a significant part of this weekend-long event, Friday, June 19, through Sunday, June 21, at the Anheuser-Busch facility, 221 DW Highway in Merrimack. Tickets cost $5 for adults (with additional fees for amusements and food). The music will include The Risen, One Fine Mess, Brickyard Blues, The James Montgomery Blues Band & Special Guest J. Geils, Jimmy’s Down, Mama Kicks and, on Friday, a teen band competition. See ribfestnh.org. • Do you play bass? Bass players and guitar fans can check out the New Hampshire Bass Fest, Wednesday, June 24, through Saturday, June 27, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The event features classes and workshops all day long with evening concerts featuring Michael Manring, Celso Pixinga, Todd Johnson, Dave Buda, Danny Morris, Marshal Wood and Rob Gourlay. Go to www.nhbassfest.com for information on registration for the workshops. Saturday, June 27, will feature an open house for the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. • Hampstead Meetinghouse Park summer series will kick off the season on Tuesday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m. with the Groove Alliance, a nine-piece show band. Admission is free; attendees are advised to bring blankets or lawn chairs. The Meetinghouse Park is at the corner of Main Street and Emerson Avenue in Hampstead behind the town hall. Other performances scheduled in the series include the Freese Brothers Big Band on Tuesday, July 7, at 6:30 p.m.; the Third Annual Meetinghouse Fiddle Championships and Pickin’ Party on Saturday, July 18, starting at noon; John Penny Band on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 6:30 p.m.; a Doo-Wop Night featuring the Reminisants, the Shirelles, Jay Siegel and the Tokens and Jay Trainor on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m., and bluegrass band High Range on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 6:30 p.m. See www.meetinghousepark.org. • Prescott Park in downtown Portsmouth hosts several music festivals throughout the summer. The first big festival is the 13th Annual Tommy Gallant Jazz Festival on Sunday, July 5, from noon to 5 p.m. Suggested donation is $8 per person. The event will feature performers including Don Doane Sextet, David Thorne Scott & Mark Shilansky Quartet, The Press Room Trio and Seacoast Big Band. Other scheduled Prescott Park music festivals include the Folk Festival on July 18, the WOKQ Country Music festival on Aug. 1, the Rhythm & Roots Festival on Aug. 8, the Americana Festival on Aug. 15 and special kids’ music performances on July 25 and Aug. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. See www.prescottpark.org. • Derry’s Parks and Recreation department will host a summer concert series in MacGregor Park kicking off on Tuesday, July 7, at 7 p.m. with the local country band Pony Express, and on Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m. with rock cover band Mirage Band. Concerts will run Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m., ending with Recycled Percussion on Thursday, Aug. 6. The concerts are free. On Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 5 p.m. the park will host a Kidz End of Summer Bash at 5 p.m. See www.derry.nh.us for a complete schedule (click on “Parks & Recreation Calendars” under “Town Calendars”). • Concord will hold its Market Days and Summer Music Festival Thursday, July 16, through Saturday, July 18, along Main Street in downtown Concord. Events will run from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day (including food, sidewalk shopping and various activities) with musical performances in the evening as well as family music performances. The Concord Arts Market will also run throughout the event and there will be free family fun daily from 10 a.m. to noon. See www.mainstreetconcord.com. • The biggest (and free-est) music festival in the area, the Lowell Folk Festival will run Friday, July 24, through Sunday, July 26. Musicians playing all kinds of folk, roots, Americana, jazz and more will play on six stages around downtown Lowell — free. Bring money, though, for the crafters in Lucy Larom Park and for the vendors selling ethnic eats. See www.lowellfolkfestival.org. • Redhook Brewery and the River 92.5 FM will celebrate music with the Redhookfest 09 on Sunday, July 26, at Redhook Brewery, 35 Corporate Drive at the Pease Tradeport in Portsmouth. Donavon Frankenreiter will headline the event. Doors open at noon, music begins at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance, $30 at the door. The show is for all ages; food and beverages will be for sale inside (ID required to enjoy the brewery’s goods). See www.redhook.com for tickets. • Soulfest, the annual multi-day music festival and family retreat at Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, will run Wednesday, July 29, through Saturday, Aug. 1. Single- and multi-day tickets are available with prices for adults starting at a little over $40 for a single day and running about $120 for the whole festival. Senior and youth tickets are also available. The line-up includes a variety of gospel, worship, Christian rock and other music with performers such as Skillet, Newsboys, The Afters, Casting Crowns, Natalie Grant and James Upton. See www.thesoulfest.com for a complete line-up. • The Pemi Valley Bluegrass Festival will run from Thursday, July 30, through Sunday, Aug. 2, at Branch Brook Campground in Campton, Exit 28 off Interstate 93. Three-day tickets cost $52 in advance, $60 at the gate. Tickets for single-day admission (and for dogs) are also available. Performers include Nothin’ Fancy, David Davis & Warrior River Boys, Remington Ryde, Amy Gallatin & Stillwater, Carolina Rebels, Southern Rail, Smokey Greene, Pine Hill Ramblers, Gopher Broke, Parker Hill Road, The Muellers. Bluegrass Country Boys & Co., and Robinson’s Gospel Jam. See pemivalleybluegrass.com. • The 14th Annual Jerry Jam, a celebration and tribute to Jerry Garcia, will be held Friday, July 31, through Sunday, Aug. 2, at Toad Hill Farm in Franconia. Six bands (including Pay the Piper, the Pat Hardy Band, Crunchy Western Boys and Supplication) will play over two days. Tickets cost $30 in advance, $35 at the door, for both days. Single-day tickets are available. See www.jerryjam.com. • Accordions Now! 2009, a festival featuring concerts, jam sessions and workshops for players, will be held at the Highlander Inn and Conference Center near the airport in Manchester during the evening of Friday, Aug. 7, and all day Saturday, Aug. 8. To participate in all events (as a player or an attendee), admission costs $99 and includes lunch and dinner (cost is $89 for New Hampshire Accordion Association members). Individual events are priced from $20 for Friday evening, $35 for Saturday and $30 for Saturday evening. See accordionconnection.com or call 800-328-5227. • The Richmond Blueberry Fiddle Festival will be held Friday, Aug. 7, and Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Cheshire Fairgrounds in Swanzey (near Keene) on Route 12. Admission is free, parking costs $5 and bring money for crafts and foods. The festival will feature blueberry recipe bake-offs and a Friday fish fry as well as music from the Well-Tuned Trio, The Fiddling Thomsons and Future Famous Fiddlers & Blueberry Jammers — all on Friday, starting at 2 p.m. On Saturday, the festival opens at 9 a.m. and performers include the competitors in the fiddle competition, the Future Famous Fiddlers & Blueberry Jammers, Spirit Fiddle and more. The event will also feature a contra dance at 6 p.m. on Friday. See www.rbff.net. • White Mountain Boogie N’ Blues Festival in North Thornton will be held Friday, Aug. 14, through Sunday, Aug. 16. Tickets for the weekend cost $45; other tickets are available for single nights or reserved seating. Scheduled performers include Delta Generators, Candye Kane, Dani Wilde, New Soul Cowboys, Deanna Bogart, Tommy Castro, Deb Callahan, Saffire Uppity Blues Women, Sonny Landreth, Harper, Paul Mark and the Van Dorens, Studebaker John and the Hawks and Racky Thomas. See www.whitemountainboogie.com. • The 4th Annual Waterville Valley Bluegrass Festival will run Friday, Aug. 21, through Sunday, Aug. 23, in Waterville Valley, Exit 28 off Interstate 93. Scheduled performers include Katahdin Valley Boys, Pine Hill Ramblers, Blackstone Valley Bluegrass, Monadnock, Mahogany Ridge, Iron Skillet, Sugar Hillbillies and Vocal Harmony Workshop. The weekend will feature tent sales, kids’ games, barbecue and other food. Events will run 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, rain or shine. Admission is free but a $10 donation per person or $20 per family is recommended. Call 236-8175 or go to www.waterville.com. • The 8th Annual Great Waters Music Folk Festival will be held Saturday, Aug. 22, at 7:30 p.m. at Lake Winnipesauke in Wolfeboro. Ticket prices vary according to seating. Great Waters will host shows all summer long, starting with the Four Bitchin’ Babes on Friday, July 10, at 8 p.m. and the Great Waters Symphony & Chorus Concert on Saturday, July 19, at 8 p.m. See a complete listing of shows and ticket prices at www.greatwaters.org. • The King (or at least dozens of impersonators) will be in Manchester from Friday, Sept. 4, through Sunday, Sept. 6, for the First Annual New England Elvis Festival at the Radisson hotel at 700 Elm St. in Manchester. The event will feature 20 tribute artists competing for more than $3,500 in prize money and performances by Elvis tributers like Shawn Klush and Pete Paquette. On Sunday morning there will be a gospel concert. There will be a memorabilia sale all weekend long. See the complete schedule and find ticket information at www.newenglandelvisfest.com. • The Keene Music Festival, a free festival of music in downtown Keene, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. More than 50 bands and performers will play five stages and three sidewalk areas throughout the day. For festival map and schedule, see www.keenemusicfestival.com. Fair sounds • Celebrate Wilton at Celebrate Wilton on Saturday, June 6, in downtown Wilton. The day-long festivities run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. To satisfy your stomach, the day will feature a pancake breakfast and a chicken barbecue dinner. In between there will be a Lions Duck Race and games and other activities. To satisfy your ears, look for performances by Temple Dance Big Band, singer-songwriter Will Kendler and bands Allegash, New Boston Rhythm and Blues and Sweet Tooth. Call 654-3020 or e-mail wmsa@tds.net for more information. • The Strawberry Jamboree festival at Canterbury Shaker Village, on Shaker Road off Route 106 in Canterbury, www.shakers.org, will be held Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event includes the Strawberry Jam open-mike music jam from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. led by TJ Wheeler and Patrick “Hatrack” Gallagher, and a Strawberry Bake-Off from 1 to 4 p.m. The Bake-Off includes professional and home-chef divisions, and will be judged by visitors. To enter the Bake-Off, visit www.shakers.org or call 783-9077 ext. 284; registration is free. The Strawberry Jamboree will also feature strawberry shortcake and sangria, as well as hands-on activities and craft vendors. • The annual Hollis Strawberry Festival and Band Concert will be held Sunday, June 28, from 2 to 4 p.m. featuring strawberry shortcakes and sundaes along with arts and crafts, activities for the kids and of course music. The Hollis Town Band will perform marches, Broadway show tunes and symphonies. The event will be held at Monument Square (or in the Hollis Brookline High School in case of rain). Contact Diana Kroeger at 465-2392 or Lynne Dougherty at 465-2723. • Hillsborough Balloon Festival and Fair will be held Thursday, July 9, through Sunday, July 12, at Grimes Field in Hillsborough. Hot air balloon lifts off at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday. The fair will include live music, a parade, a carnival, four-wheeler mud bogs, fireworks, mini tractor pulls, horse pulls and other fun for the whole family. Admission to the festival is free, though some events do have a fee and parking costs $5 per car. Call 464-0377 or go to www.balloonfestival.org. • Canterbury Fair (in Canterbury, Exit 17 off Interstate 93) is Saturday, July 25, and features crafts, kids’ activities, live entertainment, canoe polo, square dancing, a bake sale and more. Food includes chicken barbecue, shrimp rolls, hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, veggie burgers, a frappe bar and more. Admission is free (parking cost is $3 per car). Visit www.canterburyfair.com. Visit the world via music • St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, 1160 Bridge St. in Manchester, www.stnicholas-man-nh.org, 625-6115, will hold its annual lamb barbecue on Saturday, June 20. The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., features marinated lamb, barbecued, as well as Greek dishes such as pastitsio, souvlaki, dolmathes, spanakopeta and sweet Greek pastries. The event also features raffles, silent auctions, music and kids’ activities. • Bring cash and an appetite to the 10th Annual Latino Festival on Saturday, Aug. 15, from noon to 8 p.m. in Veterans Park, corner of Elm and Merrimack streets in downtown Manchester. The event, held by Latinos Unidos of New Hampshire, features music, dancing, performances and, most importantly, an excellent spread of eats. The event kicks off with a parade on Elm Street from 11 a.m. to noon. Check booths for foods from Central America, South America and the Caribbean as well as the more familiar Mexican food and trucks with standard festival fare. Admission to the event is free, but bring money to buy food. See www.latinosunidosnh.org. • Held in downtown Lowell, the Southeast Asian Water Festival features the cuisine of Cambodia, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries as well as dance, parades, boat tours, crafts and more. This year the festival is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15. See www.lowellwaterfestival.org. • Manchester will celebrate its diversity at the annual People Fest on Saturday, Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Veterans Park. Look for food, musical performances and more. • Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 111 Island Pond Road in Manchester, 623-2045, www.assumptionchurchmanchesternh.org, frequently holds a Greek food and culture festival during the second half of the summer. Check the Web site for updates. • Our Lady of the Cedars Church, 140 Mitchell St. in Manchester, 623-8944, www.ourladyofcedars.org, holds its Mahrajan, a festival of Middle Eastern and Lebanese culture, in late summer. The event features food, music, dancing and more. Check the Web site for updates. Summer tunes — summer just lousy Every year I look forward to insurmountable piles of CDs sent to me personally by hard-working people who work for famous musicians who don’t know they exist. The glamour of it all strokes my ego like a porcupine loofah. Things already sprawled on my desk include The Beach Boys’ Summer Love Songs, a compilation that includes the opening song from Big Love, “God Only Knows.” I don’t own any other Beach Boys CDs, and it’s summer, so I’ll put this in my car with a most lofty intention and end up playing trance albums instead, when I’m feeling summery, on the drive to visit unemployed friends. Miss Derringer has an album called Winter Hill coming out on July 14. Lots of big talk on the blogs about how they’re so great, being a cross between Dresden Dolls and Siouxsie or whatever. On first pass it sounds like a bad Mormon piano-jazz trio with lots of swears. Swears are so cool, aren’t they? I like how lazy screenwriters use swears to make G-rated movies into PG ones, so that little kids will think everyone, including cartoon bears, uses profanity like mom and dad. It’s why there are armed guards at schools now. Octahedron, by Mars Volta, comes out June 23, and is mankind’s last hope for progressive rock, because mankind isn’t aware that Umphreys McGee became mankind’s greatest prog band this year. Also coming on that day is VNV Nation’s next studio album, Of Faith Power and Glory, which will be great even if they just brush their teeth loudly for the entire album. The only people who hate Wilco are people who’ve never listened to three of their songs. Their seventh studio album, titled (The Album), streets June 30. Ditto for Moby’s new album Wait For Me (please don’t try to be Daft Punk like everyone else, Lord hear our prayer). Also streeting on that date are exactly 12,825,643 albums from bands that played the first Woodstock (the festival’s 40th anniversary is in August) — old stuff from Jefferson Airplane, Santana and Janis Joplin, all with ridiculous pop-up origami or something comprising the CD jackets. On July 21, Lil Wayne releases Rebirth, which might possibly be crunk. On Aug. 3, Imogen Heap releases … oh whatever, you only have to buy it if you lose sleep trying to look cool. Lastly, sometime during the summer you’ll be able to buy Leonard Bernstein Conducts Haydn, but that’s only if you’re a total loser who isn’t down with our ringtone renaissance — FIGHT THE POWER. The hot tickets Memorable summer experiences can be had right here at home with a little splurge by seeing one of your favorite bands or performers at one of several venues offering music for fans of just about every genre. And, for many venues, tickets are available at a variety of price levels. Want to cheer, dance and sing along? Here are some of the shows to check out. Classic rock Classical music Country & country-rock Folk, folk-rock,
roots & Americana Jazz, blues & blues rock Latin & Latin rock Rock, metal & pop Singer-songwriters Soul, funk & reggae Tribute World music
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Local live music Summer keeps coming Don’t stop believin’ That thing is Glee, a totally cheeseball loveable snarky hour-long drama on Fox about a high school glee club. Unlike, say, Gossip Girls, the cast features a combination of popular types and geekier students. While there is plenty of singing, the show isn’t a traditional musical — at least in the first episode characters don’t break into song; they sing on stage as part of glee club practice. Like cheerleading in Bring It On!, glee club, or show choir as it’s called, has gone big-time, with fully choreographed and costumed musical numbers performed in high-pressure contests. Set in Ohio, Glee was co-created by Ryan Murphy, creator of Nip/Tuck and Popular. The show will start airing in September on Fox (according to the current schedule, on Wednesdays at 9 p.m.) but its first episode premiered after American Idol May 19. It’s available on Hulu.com, which means you have all summer to get hooked, particularly on the hilarious, delightful musical performances, like a rival school’s Broadway-style performance of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” or the underdog totally winning school’s performance of “Don’t Stop Believing” at the end of the episode. — Amy Diaz Where to look for stuff to hear • Capitol Center for the Performing Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, www.ccanh.com) The Cap Center in downtown Concord has three floors (orchestra, mezzanine, balcony) of seating, with differing prices for seats available for most shows. Printable maps to the venue are available on the Web site. Parking is available on the street and at a nearby parking garage. • Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom (169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, 929-4100, www.casinoballroom.com) The Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom sits across Route 1 from the ocean and along the boardwalk. Parking is available behind the venue usually for about $5 to $10. The Ballroom sells food (pizza, wings, sandwiches and more — see a menu on the Web site) and alcohol. The Ballroom offers differently priced seating for many shows; some shows have general admission tickets. • Lowell Auditorium (50 E. Merrimack St., Lowell, Mass., 978-454-2299, www.lowellauditorium.com) Directions to the auditorium and nearby parking garages are available online. The auditorium is in downtown Lowell and offers two floors of seating sections, with differing prices for seats available. • Lowell Summer Music Series (Boarding House Park on French Street in Lowell, Mass., 978-970-5200, www.lowellsummermusic.org). The Lowell Summer Music Series kicks off its season on June 27. Ticket prices vary according to show; often tickets are cheaper when purchased in advance than on the day of the show. A ticket to the entire season of shows sells for $250. Seating is lawn seating — see the Web site for restrictions on what seating can be brought and for other rules for these park events. Food is also for sale. • Meadowbrook Musical Arts Center (72 Meadowbrook Lane, Gilford, 293-4700, www.meadowbrook.net) Meadowbrook is an outdoor venue on Lake Winnipesaukee in Gilford (directions are available on the Web site) and offers different levels of seating and prices, including lawn general admission seating. Regional bands frequently play the Magic Hat Second Stage Garden before and after main stage shows. The Center Stage Buffet offers meals and drinks (see Web site for menus and reservation information). Snacks and drinks also are for sale during concerts. • The Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, www.themusichall.org) The Music Hall is a recently renovated theater in downtown Portsmouth with street and garage parking available in the area (directions are available on the Web site). Click on “Budget Buys” on the site to find information on events with tickets less than $29. The renovated Beaux Arts Lobby, where events are held before some shows, features a bar. The theater has balcony and orchestra seating with different seating sections (Web site offers views of the stage from seats in different sections). Ticket prices vary for different events. • The Old Meeting House (1 New Boston Road, Francestown, 547-3035, www.francestownmeetinghouse.org) Directions to this Francestown venue are available on the Web site. Currently, the only scheduled event is New England humorist Tim Sample on Saturday, July 25, at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25. • Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester, 668-5588, www.palacetheatre.org) The Palace is located in downtown Manchester (directions are available online) and street parking is available in the surrounding area. The theater has two floors of seating — balcony and orchestra. A bar in the lobby sells food and drinks (for enjoyment in the lobby, not in the theater) during some events. Ticket prices vary according to events. • Studio 99 (Pickering Building, 99 Pine St. in Nashua, 562-5179, www.studio99nashua.com) Studio 99 offers music classes but also regular jams, open-mike nights and concerts. Located in downtown Nashua’s millyard, Studio 99 sells snacks and non-alcoholic drinks at events. Some shows have admission costs at the door; some are free with donations welcome for performers. An open-mike night is held on the second Saturday of each month at 8 p.m. A jazz jam is held the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. An eclectic/acoustic jam is held the seconds Wednesday of the month from 7 to 9 p.m. A bluegrass jam is held the third Wednesday of the month from 7 to 10 p.m. A blues jam is held the fourth Wednesday of the month from 7 to 9 p.m. Some events have differing fees for open-mike or jam participants. • Tsongas Arena (300 M.L.K. Jr. Way, Lowell, Mass., 978-848-6900, www.paultsongasarena.com) The Tsongas Arena offers different levels of seating and a concession stand (which takes cash only), with ticket prices varying. Directions to the arena are available on the Web site. Paid parking is available near the arena. • Tupelo Music Hall (2 Young Road, Londonderry, 437-5100, www.tupelohall.com) The Tupelo is an intimate hall offering general admission, table and theater seating (see the different arrangements on the Web site). The hall offers light snacks and desserts. Guests can bring their own beer or wine for a fee of $3 per person. Directions to the hall are available on the Web site. • Verizon Wireless Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, www.verizonwirelessarena.com) Located in downtown Manchester, the Verizon Wireless Arena features a concession stand, different sections of concert seating and parking on area streets or in paid temporary lots.
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