UPCOMING SHOWS

SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER | NOVEMBER

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Deer Isle w/ Jaded Ravins

SEPTEMBER 4 @ 8PM | DOORS 7PM | UPSTAIRS

Great local twangy indie rockers are releasing some new music—let’s party about it.

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FRANKIE BOY

Frankie Boy & The Blues Express + Rumboat Chili

SEPTEMBER 5 @ 8PM | DOORS 7PM | UPSTAIRS

Chicago blues + classic rock = a pretty hot Thursday night.

Frankie Boy & The Blues Express is a New England-based blues band led by frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Frankie Boy Blues. The group consists of three core members, sometimes expanding to four or more, delivering a unique blend of new blues and cherished covers. Their styles range from traditional blues to funk, and even extend to hip-hop, featuring authentic, home-grown south side Chicago roots inspired by Chicago Blues Legend Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson. In addition to frontman Frankie Boy Blues, the band includes Mickey Maguire on bass and vocals, handling both backups and leads, Harrison Foti on drums and backing vocals, and a rotating cast of exceptional musicians who occasionally join their performances.

Frankie Boy & the Blues Express proudly earned the title of winner at the 2019 and 2022 Granite State Blues Society Blues Challenge. They represented New Hampshire at the International Blues Challenge finals in 2020 and 2023, reaching the semi-finals in the latter year. The group has had the privilege of sitting in and playing with blues greats, including serving as Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson’s backing band. They’ve also jammed alongside notable figures such as Joe Lewis Walker, Buddy Guy, Duke Robillard, Papa Chubby, Albert Castiglia, Ronnie Earl, James Montgomery, Jerry The Reverend Paquette & The Kan-Tu Blues Band. Notably, Frankie has toured the world with Blues-rock singer Eliza Neals.

Highlighting their ongoing musical evolution, Frankie Boy & The Blues Express released their highly anticipated album, “Young Man’s Blues” in January 2024. This latest endeavor showcases their dedication to pushing the boundaries of blues music while staying true to its authentic essence.

 

Rumboat Chili is an original, classic rock inspired band from New Hampshire. Influenced by past rock and roll greats such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers Band, Rumboat Chili’s variety of influences separates themselves from any other rock band.

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Running on Empty

The Stray Horses Perform Jackson Browne's "Running On Empty"

SEPTEMBER 7 @ 7PM | DOORS 6PM | UPSTAIRS

The Stray Horses are back to take on a Jackson Browne classic.

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Dj Chad Banks & RH3TT

SEPTEMBER 7 @ 10PM | DOORS 10PM | UPSTAIRS

Anything but Demure.

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mule variations

Mule Variations w/ Jim Rioux

SEPTEMBER 8 @ 6PM | DOORS 5PM | UPSTAIRS

Swampy blues from some of Boston’s best musicians.

An exciting blend of the best Americana songs, musical styles, and songwriters! Inspired by musical heroes Tom Waits, JJ Cale, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Pops Staples, singer-songwriter Kevin Connolly (voted “Best of Boston”) has put together a powerful approach to playing their songs, along with several complimentary originals. Covering blues, pop, soul, and country, Mule Variations pays tribute and gets down to the serious business of having fun and features some of Boston’s best musicians! We call it LO-FI-SWAMP-GROOVE.

Jim Rioux is a multi-instrumentalist, playing with such acts as The Pomeroys, Tiger Saw, Guy Capecelatro III, Summer the Winter, and Jonathan Blakeselee and the Fronds. He has released three solo albums with Burst and Bloom records—Darlings of the Soil (2016), yes I will Yes (2018), and The Hook (2023). In addition, he released the EP Mercury with Forest Route Records in 2023, as well as the singles “Season of the Stranger” in 2022 and “Some Kind of Ghost—featuring Jolie Holland”  in 2021. He most recently published his second book of poems, Too Close To Be So Far Away, on the Burst and Bloom imprint. He teaches writing at the University of New Hampshire and lives in Kittery, ME with his wife Amanda and their dog Jimbo.

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AMDprint

Adrienne Mack-Davis & Najee Janey w/ DJs Teeba & 32French

SEPTEMBER 14 @ 7PM | DOORS 6:30PM | UPSTAIRS

Get ready for an unforgettable night of R&B, soul, & hip hop w/ local powerhouse Adrienne Mack-Davis & Boston’s finest Najee Janey.

Adrienne Mack-Davis is easily one of our favorite local performers! Always bringing so much charisma and raw emotional delivery to her live set, you won’t want to miss her! A classically trained singer/songwriter from Rochester, NY she blends soul, R&B, hip hop, and reggae with a message of positivity and self-love. She’s shared stages with legends like Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Raekwon and Chali 2na to name a few and her latest release, “HEALER,” is a must-listen.

Hailing from Boston, singer songwriter Najee Janey is trailblazing a new genre of “hip hop soul” and becoming a rising star in the music industry. A three time Boston Music Award nominee for Best R&B and Unsigned Artist of the Year, Najee has published songs for HBO’s sitcom “RAPSH!T “and Tyler Perry’s “SISTAS”, and has written and collaborated on projects for Atlantic Records’ own Sebastian Mikael. Both songs “EXIT” and“TIME” charted #13 and #26 on Billboard’s Adult R&B playlist.

We’ll be opening up the night with some of the deepest beats you’ll ever hear in Portsmouth, we got Teeba and 32French popping things off!

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NFT Boys

SEPTEMBER 14 @ 10PM | DOORS 10PM | UPSTAIRS

Summer is coming to an end NFT BOYZ are forever.

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Waylon & Co.

SEPTEMBER 15 @ 7PM | DOORS 6PM | UPSTAIRS

An evening of outlaw country music from a group of incredible musicians.

Waylon & Co is a 6-piece country western ensemble featuring pedal steel, harmonica, and Country guitarist, Kentuckian, Tristan New.

Waylon and Co specializes in upholding the classic Outlaw country sound of the 60s and 70s, exploring the catalog of Waylon Jennings paying homage to other independent country artists of that era, demonstrating and exploring the infamous question put forth by Waylon Jennings: Are You Sure Hank Done It This way?

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IG Square Portsmouth

Sheepskin w/ Dead Gowns, Rick Rude, & The Clearwater Swimmers

SEPTEMBER 16 @ 8PM | DOORS 7PM | UPSTAIRS

Holy hell, what a bill!

Sheepskin is a band and recording project started by Sam Tiesworth & Molly Meehan. Complete with upright bass, drums, classical guitars and hushed harmonies, the group is from the little parts of the countryside and now resides in Northern Vermont. They graze in sun-dappled meadows, moonlit backyards and in the basins of sand dunes, playing parlor music for your liminal dive bar. The four piece births a delicate and sincere combination of folk, jazz, spooky-country, and gentle slacker rock.

Dead Gowns is the project of Portland-Maine singer-songwriter Geneviève Beaudoin. In her latest collection, the HOW EP, she pushes “expressive arrangements and raw melodies into a glowing spectacle” (Foxy Digitalis). Both urgent and sincere, it’s “the sound of a songwriter coming good on all her promises and then some” (For the Rabbits). Vinyl Me, Please named Dead Gowns a VMP Rising Artist in 2023 and with it, released an expanded version of HOW which is now available on vinyl and all streaming platforms.

Out of speakers came noise and out of noise came RICK RUDE. Rick Rude feasts on mystical fungi, boredom, mushy guitar riffs, and the delicacy of the human soul.

The Clearwater Swimmers is the primary songwriting vehicle for Sumner Bright, a multi-instrumentalist based in NYC and Portland, ME. Joined by Timothy Graff on drums, Sander Casale on lead guitar, and Connor Kennedy on bass, the group takes the most-often acoustic, at-home demos of Bright and shifts them into wading, contemplative alternative rock. Split between NYC, ME, NH, and MA, when they come together, the group draws comparisons to Neil Young’s “On The Beach” era, Acetone, and other folk rock moguls from the 90s and early 2000s such as Jason Molina. Above all else, the group centers each member’s decades-long journeys in DIY musicianship, and operates with community and connection at the forefront, making for a warm listening and live experience. Formed initially in August of 2023 for a 6-day tour across New England, the band recognized they had something special and made plans to record, continue playing shows, and tour at length in the future. Having played only a dozen or so shows thus far, they have landed notable support slots for bands such as Trace Mountains, and Robber Robber, and have a full gigging schedule through spring of 2025.

Their debut, self-titled album, recorded in May of this year with Bradford Krieger at Big Nice Studio in Providence, RI, arrives at the end of this year, with roll out beginning in mid-to-late summer. Despite being a new group, they bring their stripes from numerous other touring groups to the table in The Clearwater Swimmers, and will be hitting the ground running in the latter half of 2024. You can access their IG via @theclearwaterswimmers and their Bandcamp, at https://theclearwaterswimmers.bandcamp.com

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apollo suns

Apollo Suns

SEPTEMBER 23 @ 8PM | DOORS 7PM | UPSTAIRS

Part jazz, part rock, part psychedelic music…100% groovy. This band is as funky as they are far out.

Founded by Ed Durocher, Apollo Suns is a 7-piece instrumental collective from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The band fuses the influence of jazz, rock and psychedelic music, to create their own unique sounds with the dancefloor in mind. They have self-released three EPs: ‘Each Day a Different Sun’ (2017), ‘Dawn Offerings’ (2019), ‘A Relationship of Force’ (Color Red, 2021), and were awarded “Instrumental Artist of the Year” at Western Canadian Music Awards in both 2018/2020.

In 2022, Apollo Suns returned to the studio with Juno award-winning producer Ben Kaplan (Five Alarm Funk, Mother Mother, The Rare Americans) to record their latest album, ‘Departures’. The band is signed to the Canadian label Do Right Music, home to The Souljazz Orchestra, Soul Motivators, and Luvmenauts. ‘Departures’ was released in September 2023 and supported by a robust North American tour that included sold-out shows in several cities. The band returned to Winnipeg, MB to a two night stand at The Good Will Social Club to celebrate the release in their hometown.

Best known for their high-octane live shows, Apollo Suns have captivated audiences at Winnipeg Jazz Festival, Salmon Arm Roots and Blues, Kispiox Valley Music Festival, Vermont Jazz Fest, and Calgary Stampede. Some of their most notable shows include support slots for The Comet is Coming, Makaya McCraven, Anomalie, The Brooks, and Five Alarm Funk. The core group includes Ed Durocher (Guitar), Tim Iskierski (Drums), Aarin Lofstrand (Bass), Jordie Oulette (Trumpet), Benjamin James Hill (Trombone), Alex Maher (Alto Sax and pedals) and Anatol Rennie (Keyboards/Synths).

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BOMBAY RICKEY

Bombay Rickey

SEPTEMBER 29 @ 6PM | DOORS 5PM | UPSTAIRS

“A true treat for the adventurous ear” -TimeOut NY

Praised as “a true treat for the adventurous ear” ( TimeOut NY) , Bombay Rickey is a five-piece band with a unique sound evocative of 1960s movie soundscapes. The group plays both covers and original music that borrow equally from the worlds of surf rock, cumbia, spaghetti-Western, and Bollywood, balanced out with soaring operatic vocals.
Since its inception in 2012, Bombay Rickey has become a fixture at Brooklyn mainstay Barbés, as well as having played live on WFMU, opened up for Cambodian psychedelic band Dengue Fever, and having been featured in an ad for Citibank. Bombay Rickey’s debut album, Cinefonia, was named best debut of 2014 by New York Music Daily and received the Vox Pop Award for Best Eclectic Album from the International Music Awards. Most recently, Bombay Rickey was invited to create an opera cabaret based on the life of Yma Sumac for the prestigious PROTOTYPE Festival in New York City. The show ran for seven sold-out performances and was hailed as a “rocking musical show” by the Wall Street Journal.
The band features Kamala Sankaram: vocals, accordion; Drew Fleming: guitar, vocals; and Jeff Hudgins: alto saxophone, vocals; with Nick Cudahy: bass; and Brian Shankar Adler: percussion. All longtime NY musicians, the five members of Bombay Rickey have done previous work with John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, Chicha Libre, and Alarm Will Sound, to name a few.
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STEVE GUNN

Steve Gunn

SEPTEMBER 30 @ 7PM | DOORS 6PM | UPSTAIRS

A modern guitar legend comes to the Press Room.

Steve Gunn is a New York-based guitarist and songwriter. With a career spanning nearly fifteen years, Steve has produced volumes of critically acclaimed solo, duo, and ensemble recordings on labels such as Matador Records, Three Lobed Recordings, Paradise of Bachelors, and RVNG. His albums represent milestones of contemporary guitar-driven material, and forward thinking songwriting. Steve has steadily processed his inspirations into a singular, virtuosic stream. Close listening reveals the influence of blues, folk, ecstatic free jazz, and psych in his continually unfolding output. His most recent record Let the Moon Be a Planet (RVNG Intl.), a collaboration with pianist David Moore of Bing & Ruth, was released in March. Steve is currently somewhere working on new music.
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Let's Party

SEPTEMBER 30 @ 7PM | DOORS 6PM | UPSTAIRS

A modern guitar legend comes to the Press Room.

Steve Gunn is a New York-based guitarist and songwriter. With a career spanning nearly fifteen years, Steve has produced volumes of critically acclaimed solo, duo, and ensemble recordings on labels such as Matador Records, Three Lobed Recordings, Paradise of Bachelors, and RVNG. His albums represent milestones of contemporary guitar-driven material, and forward thinking songwriting. Steve has steadily processed his inspirations into a singular, virtuosic stream. Close listening reveals the influence of blues, folk, ecstatic free jazz, and psych in his continually unfolding output. His most recent record Let the Moon Be a Planet (RVNG Intl.), a collaboration with pianist David Moore of Bing & Ruth, was released in March. Steve is currently somewhere working on new music.
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