UPCOMING SHOWS

Will comes to town.

Rock and Roll.

All Ages

Sheer Mag’s dizzying rise initiated in 2014, when the Philadelphia band self-released the first of three 7-inches and started playing the Northeastern DIY circuit. Ironically, the music stood apart because it sounded so familiar. Indebted to ‘70s arena rock, power-pop, and proto-metal, Sheer Mag’s songs reminded a lot of us of the music we grew up with, but maybe couldn’t relate to because it was big, brash, and unapologetically macho. Sheer Mag reclaimed some of that energy without perpetuating the toxicity. On their debut album, Need to Feel Your Love (2017), the band surveyed their contemporary political landscape through the lens of history. Singer Tina Halladay transported herself back to the 1969 Stonewall Riots, denounced redlining practices that undermine the popular vote, and paid homage to White Rose activist Sophie Scholl. On paper, it’s a mouthful, but accompanied by guitarist/lyricist Matt Palmer, guitarist Kyle Seely, and bassist/producer Hart Seely, those songs became hook-laden rallying cries.

Two years later, Sheer Mag have returned with their sophomore album A Distant Call. They’re still writing about surviving our current hellscape, but this time around, the politics get extra-personal. The album verges on being a concept piece, and the protagonist resembles Halladay herself. The songs document a particularly alienating time in her life when she was laid off from a job. Broke and newly single, her father (with whom she had a fraught relationship) passed away, leaving her with more wounds than felt possible to heal.

“We’ve been waiting to write these songs since we started the band and we were able to take these experiences and build a story out of them,” Halladay says. Palmer adds: “We don’t want people to be bogged down by pretension or theory. You don’t need to have read Das Kapital to know that capitalism is terrible. A Distant Call makes an argument for socialism on an anecdotal level. We’re talking about how late capitalism alienates and commodifies whatever is in its path without using the term ‘late capitalism.’” Palmer and Halladay’s new approach to lyricism extended to the recording process, too. Once the Seely brothers had laid down the tracks, Halladay recorded vocals with producer Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Code Orange) as opposed to on an 8-track, which was the band’s preferred method on previous releases.

A Distant Call opens with Halladay’s measured scream before “Steel Sharpens Steel” kicks in. It’s a prologue that foreshadows our protagonist’s journey from feeling down-and-out and destitute to self-actualization. “It’s a chain reaction/ When you turn the other cheek/ Remember if you’re looking for action/ And you’re feeling dull and weak,” Halladay snarls on the chorus, channeling Judas Priest over the boot-stomping rhythm section. The story really gets started on “Blood from a Stone,” when we learn that our protagonist’s SNAP application was declined, and she’s “living check-to-check.” It’s heavy power-pop so sleek it gleams. “We had some more soul and dance songs on the last record and we’ll probably return to that at some point,” Palmer says. “But on this record we wanted to focus on making straight-up rock music.”

That isn’t to say that A Distant Call doesn’t draw from a wide-range of influences within rock. The twinkling lap steel guitar on “Silver Line” sounds-off to Fleetwood Mac, showcasing a softer side to Sheer Mag. The lyrics find our protagonist in a desperate state, self-medicating with alcohol. When she recognizes her own predicament in the headlines, though, her depression eases off momentarily. “Well there’s a picket line down in West Virginia/ The bosses caved but wildcats continue/ Today my job said to not come back/ So now I’m striking for nothing with no contract,” Halladay sings. In the next song, the jangling “Hardly to Blame,” our protagonist is dumped by her partner. Heartbroken, she wanders the streets of Philadelphia, which has turned into “a puzzle” that she “can’t solve ‘cause it’s not true.” On “Cold Sword,” she snaps back to reality upon learning of her father’s death. Forced to reconcile with familial trauma, our protagonist asks: “How could I learn to love/ From somebody so abusive?” The question goes unanswered but the undeniably catchy chorus provides some form of catharsis.

“I tend to think of ‘Cold Sword’ as the fulcrum that the album pivots on. The protagonist recognizes that this is the only life she has, and in spite of the pain and suffering she experiences, she starts to want to make the most of it,” Palmer says. The bright melody of “Chopping Block” brings levity, as Halladay sings, “Between the parties there’s no light/ We need workers to unite/ We can decide to have another world/ But we’re gonna have to fight.” Our protagonist’s confidence blooms on “The Right Stuff” when she addresses anyone who might think her weight is concerning: “If you’re worried about my health/ Shut your mouth and keep it to yourself.” In recognizing that beauty standards are a capitalist ploy designed to keep women imprisoned, our protagonist starts down a road to self-acceptance, and maybe even love.

The conflicts our protagonist comes up against coalesce on “The Killer.” The system at-large has been the culprit all along, and she recognizes that rich politicians running the country have more control over her life than she does. They’re “shaking hands on the senate floor” and brandishing their hypocrisy like a weapon: “He’s got you right between the eyes/ Waving the flag for human rights.” It’s the penultimate track on the album, and it best exemplifies Sheer Mag’s growth from those nascent three EPs to now; the production is razor-sharp, and the gang vocal motifs are as playful as they are ferocious. There’s a glimmer of hope in the struggle, and Sheer Mag close the album with a message of resilience. “They wanna see us fall,” Hallday sings, “But I hear a distant call.” In the background, a faint whisper beckons from just outside the realm of possibility. “Keep on running,” it urges.

Hotline TNT is the most 90s band of the 21st century so far. It is a grungy pop music group of no certain allegiance or denomination. The band has always been intended for fans of all generations, but many fans are forced to watch the band behind their parents’ back. Their records are mostly self-released but easy to find, toeing a fragile line between luddite in-person interactions and very online Discord servers. Many people who come across their early 7″s immediately turn them into weapons, but they have nonetheless pushed forward, unleashing a full length LP (Nineteen In Love), a Euro-exclusive EP (When You Find Out), and a handful of cassingles and mixtapes since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with a sophmore album currently in production.

Makes me want to hug Martin England.

21+

Forsythia, the latest studio LP offering from Caleb Caudle out now via Soundly Music, is a portrait of his truest self, of the artist at his most solitary and reflective. Thematically, it meets anticipation for the unknown future with nostalgia for the past, and reconciles both with meditation in the present. The album was recorded at the legendary Cash Cabin during the pandemic, and inspired by the solitude and symbols Caudle found in nature during that time. It’s produced by John Carter Cash, and features veteran session players Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Dennis Crouch and Fred Eltringham, and the vocal talents of Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook and Sarah Peasall McGuffey. Simplistic arrangements– in which Caudle was the only guitarist– built a framework for space that is filled intentionally so that the songs themselves can be heard and appreciated without an overcrowding of instrumentation. On this record, outsider influences come into play nearly as much as his foundational knowledge of traditional Appalachian folk and other music history. This collection of 10 songs serves as a manifesto of Caudle’s beliefs and simplest desires.

Headbang for Halloween (parade benefit concert).

21+

Sunday Night Jazz.

All Ages

The Lost Melody is a jazz trio comprised of pianist Joe Davidian, winner of the 2019 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, bassist Jamie Ousley & drummer Austin McMahon. Each composers in their own right, they come together to present a collection of new melodies, jazz standards and selections from the Bill Evans songbook.

The trio has been touring internationally since 2000 presenting concerts and giving masterclasses in places such as Ireland, Germany and Italy with a forthcoming tour of Japan. Stateside, they have since performed at numerous jazz festivals, universities, and top NYC jazz clubs, including Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Mezzrow, and Kitano, and have held an annual residency at the Nashville Jazz Workshop since 2008, where they recorded two of their four albums: Live at the Jazz Cave: Vol. 1 (2013) & Vol. 2 (2017).

The Lost Melody delivers highly creative, interactive, & engaging performances, while always seeking to further their artistry. “…They are professional, highly polished and entertaining…” – Leon Nock, Jazz Journal UK

sego sucks.

All Ages.

Sego’s 2nd long player Sego Sucks is woven with the changes of becoming a four-piece band. Originally Spencer Petersen and Thomas Carroll, the band added members Alyssa Davey on bass and Brandon McBride on guitars and keys in 2018. The sound became more focused, but the raucous spirit that has kept people sweating since the beginning is just as tangible and, dare I say, primal as ever.

I know, its only rock and roll, but I like it.

Rock.

21+

From ‘OK Computer’ to ‘Screamadelica’, history has shown that a band’s third album is when shit starts to get real. When, after an introductory debut and a second that tests new waters, the particular alchemy of a group stamps its personality in ways that no other configuration of individuals can do; when the outside voices have been tempered and all that’s left is a perfect cocktail of confidence, skill and momentum. It’s a theory that’s been proven time and time again, and one that Newcastle trio Demob Happy are underlining with ‘Divine Machines’: a third album that harnesses their delicate tightrope of heaviness and melody, sweetness and riffs, and rides it up to the stratosphere.

“You need almost insane levels of resilience and belief to be an artist, but we’ve gone out and put in the work over the years,” begins drummer Tom Armstrong as frontman and bassist Matthew Marcantonio affirms: “This isn’t music for pubs or bars anymore, they’re grand songs for grand venues. It’s backwards engineering.”

Indeed, since forming more than a decade ago back in hometown Newcastle, Demob Happy have earned every increasingly exciting career milestone through a combination of hard graft and gritty determination that would KO most bands. They’ve gigged incessantly, building on the slowly-escalating interest from 2015 debut ‘Dream Soda’ and 2018’s ‘Holy Doom’, and transforming it into a second album campaign that saw them tour the USA four times alongside a UK support tour with Jack White and an EU stint with Royal Blood. In between all that, they’ve continued to meticulously hone the inner workings of their practice, with Matthew fine-tuning his production chops to the point where they can take everything in-house.

Having played Reading and Leeds Festival’s main stage and joined White on stage for an impromptu collaboration, it had all steered Demob Happy to the start of 2020, when work for LP3 would begin in Wales following the busiest, most objectively successful period of their careers to date. “The plan was to go and write, get some really quality demos, spruce them up in the studio in May and release the album in August 2020,” explains guitarist Adam Godfrey. The world, of course, had other ideas in mind. However, rather than merely postponing the record, the vast expanse of time afforded to the band would become the making of ‘Divine Machines’ – an album whose intricacies and experiments come as the result of hours upon hours of a lockdown labour of love.

“To keep myself busy and sane I started reworking what we demo’d in wales. The world was in chaos and I didn’t know where it would take me or what I was even making at first, but from having so much time and going a bit fucking nuts, they became incredible and way more advanced than demos we’d ever made before,” Matthew explains. “There are always these flashes and moments of magic that are sacrificed between the demos and the album, but the extra time I had meant nothing was lost, and they became the foundation of the album. This is why The Beatles were The Beatles, because they were four lads having a laugh, but they were inside Abbey Road – the most sophisticated studio in the world. That cocktail of having fun and taking the piss and having it captured expertly: that’s where there’s absolute magic.”

From the opening bars of ‘Token Appreciation Society’, that rev into gear on synthetic wobbles before finding their groove in a ‘70s sci-fi bass stomp flecked with falsetto backing vocal harmonies, ‘Divine Machines’ feels like the album Demob Happy have always been destined to make. The cornerstone influences – a sprinkle of Queens of the Stone Age swagger; a splash of glam; a Lennon-like knack for melody – remain present, but utilised in ways that rely wholly on Matthew, Adam and Tom’s specific magic as a unit: one that values a “janky guitar solo” as much as it does a beautifully-crafted, unexpected love song.

Though, aesthetically, ‘Divine Machines’ embraces a Bladerunner-esque sci-fi leaning, lyrically it finds the band swerving from the political corruption and modern world dystopias that they’ve previously detailed and yearning for something more hopeful, that starts from within. “I really see what’s happening to the human race as a moment in a hero’s journey. We’re at the point in the James Bond film where the villains reveal themselves and tell us the plan. We’ve got Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, these absolute supervillains with their rockets doing whatever the fuck they want, and software guru Bill Gates buying vast swathes of farmland for who knows what. They’re all revealing their plans to humanity and we’re all still going, ‘I hope they’re the good guys!’” begins the vocalist.

“What we need is inspiration to change because we only win this war if the change starts with us. There’s huge ripples of that in society, and it’s distorted through social media, but you can see people becoming more self-aware. That’s what I wanted to write about – inspiring that change.”

These grand clarion calls for empathy form the true heart of Demob’s newest. From the gargantuan, rumbling slow build of ‘Earth Mover’ – “a rallying cry for the human race to get up off its knees” – to the fizzing, irrepressible rock behemoth of ‘Voodoo Science’ that reclaims the term from dogmatic Western understanding, it’s an album that truly believes in the power of people. The almost AC/DC-ish ‘Tear It Down’ is about “ripping down the lies that society has told us and reprogramming ourselves to not see things in this binary way”, while closing track ‘Hades Baby’ – recorded with an orchestra at the actual Abbey Road (in Studio Two, no less) – glimmers with both widescreen ambition and a delicious slap of irony. “Ironically, it’s a big fuck you to billionaires, and we played it for an Amazon session. Bezos paid for that,” Adam chuckles.

Elsewhere, ‘Divine Machines’ features some of the most emotionally soft songs the trio have penned to date. Multi-part harmonies cocoon the gnarly riff of ‘Muscular Reflex’ – “a beautiful, earnest love song to yourself and to the world” – while ‘She’s As Happy As A Man Can Be’, states Matthew, is a song that’s taken him years to arrive at. “It took a long time for me to shake off what I felt was this Northern idea that it has to be hard, it has to have an edge all the time” he says. “I’m still dealing with this childhood conflict of being tender and emotional and being made to feel small and soft for being that way. I buried

that side away in my songwriting and it took a long time to be vulnerable enough to write a ballad like ‘She’s As Happy…’”

Really, however, ‘Divine Machines’ as a whole is a record that Demob Happy had to build towards. It’s the product not just of a strange extended period of work – both on the album and on themselves – but of an entire career spent putting in the hours, believing tirelessly in what they’re doing and, slowly but surely, watching the world start to believe in it too. As Matthew affirms: “We’ve never chased the dragon of success, even though we’ve been encouraged to, but we’re not interested in doing it like that. We’ve always done what we wanted, but now it seems like it might align with what other people want as well.”

The boys are back in town.

21+

“FOUNDED IN 2009, THE MALLETT BROTHERS BAND HAVE HAD MULTIPLE LINEUP CHANGES AND STYLISTIC SHIFTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT THEY’VE REMAINED STEADFAST IN DELIVERING HEARTFELT SONGS WITH EMOTIONAL LYRICISM, VIVID IMAGERY, AND DYNAMIC MUSICAL TONES…” -NO DEPRESSION

The Mallett Brothers Band is an independent rock and roll / Americana / country band from Maine. Their busy tour schedule since forming in 2009 has helped them to build a dedicated fanbase across the U.S. and beyond while still calling the state of Maine their home. With a style that ranges from alt-country to Americana, country, jam and roots rock, theirs is a musical melting pot that’s influenced equally by the singer/songwriter tradition as by harder rock, classic country and psychedelic sounds.

The boys are back in town.

21+

“FOUNDED IN 2009, THE MALLETT BROTHERS BAND HAVE HAD MULTIPLE LINEUP CHANGES AND STYLISTIC SHIFTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT THEY’VE REMAINED STEADFAST IN DELIVERING HEARTFELT SONGS WITH EMOTIONAL LYRICISM, VIVID IMAGERY, AND DYNAMIC MUSICAL TONES…” -NO DEPRESSION

The Mallett Brothers Band is an independent rock and roll / Americana / country band from Maine. Their busy tour schedule since forming in 2009 has helped them to build a dedicated fanbase across the U.S. and beyond while still calling the state of Maine their home. With a style that ranges from alt-country to Americana, country, jam and roots rock, theirs is a musical melting pot that’s influenced equally by the singer/songwriter tradition as by harder rock, classic country and psychedelic sounds.

Seasoned Seacoast songwriters combine for a scintillating showcase.

*This show will be standing with very limited seating*

QUICK HITS: How do you end up with Jon Nolan music?

1. Get a kid who DIGS music.

2. Sit them on the floor in the middle of regular family living room 60’s-style hootenannies.

3. Let ‘em hole up in grandma’s basement to marinate in the golden years of MTV.

4. Have them fall asleep to 80’s pop radio on a digital clock radio every night.

5. Let ‘em steal Dad’s big post-Vietnam purchase: a tube Marantz Receiver/stereo.

6. Give him Replacements, English Beat, Willie Nelson, Temptations, Kenny Rogers vinyl.

7. Have him hang out with his cool older cousin for more music recommendations.

8. Have Dad buy him a shitty guitar from a mall kiosk

9. Get Uncle Tom to teach him three chords.

10. Watch him gravitate to the Americana underpinnings

11. Form a band with brother and best friend. Play EVERYWHERE. Make lots of records.

Jon Nolan lives in the milltown of Newmarket, NH, where summers are a brief reprieve from months of cold and snow. There are two muddy weeks the locals call “spring.” Autumn is nice. Crisp air makes the coffee even better. Still a frontman of New England alt-country champs Say ZuZu (Strolling Bones/New West), Nolan explores the dreamier, pop-infused parts of his Americana sensibility in his solo material with his band Good Company. Friends Geoff Taylor (bass), Zach Tremblay (guitar) and Rick Habib (drums) accidentally formed Good Co. behind a new batch of Nolan songs in a barn in the summer of 2022. Pedal Steel player Roland Nicol was kidnapped and added to the lineup the following year to round out the sound. The new Jon Nolan & Good Co. album (Nolan’s third) is due in early 2024. Say ZuZu’s newest release ”No Time to Lose ” and the recently reissued “Every Mile” are out now on the Strolling Bones imprint.

LAURA FOX

Laura Fox is a folk/soul singer-songwriter from southern Maine. An intimate and engaging performer, she writes about love, the lack thereof, and the in-between.

Her songs and her voice are soothing and soulful—if you’ve ever loved someone, you’ll surely connect with her heartfelt lyrics.

She’s joined by seasoned players:

Jim Dozet on electric guitar (Tourist Attraction, Crown Jules, Press Project)

Roland LeFox on bass (Rhye, Rusty Boys, Jon Nolan & Good Co)

Robbie Kneeland on drums (High Range, The Knotty Pine Boys, Rushmore’s)

Whitney Roy on backup vocals (Old Hat Stringband, Fox + Roy, The Hazel Project)

The collaboration with her band has helped to reshape and grow her songs, bringing in a dynamic nuance—a rich, rhythmic reframe.

A dynamic vocalist, brought to you by the SJS’s “Jazz All-Stars” series.

ALL AGES

A dynamic vocalist, brought to you by the SJS’s “Jazz All-Stars” series.

ALL AGES

The Parquet Courts frontman comes to The Press Room.

21+

Parquet Courts frontman A. Savage presents his new single/video, “Thanksgiving Prayer,” and announces a fall North American tour. “Thanksgiving Prayer” marks Savage’s first new solo music since 2017’s Thawing Dawn — “a handy guide for keeping your cool as the world degenerates into a hot mess” (Pitchfork) — and follows the release of Parquet Courts’ acclaimed 2021 album, Sympathy For Life. “Thanksgiving Prayer” is anchored by Savage’s poetic musings, observations that are accentuated by saxophone flourishes from Euan Hinshelwood. “Thanksgiving Day is every day I write a song like this,” Savage croons atop instrumentation from Magdalena McLean (violin), Jack Cooper (guitar), and Dylan Hadley (drums/percussion). “When I get down on all four paws and drag myself // by my own jaws toward a feeling.”

Of the single, Savage adds: “Well, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and every year on that day I write down some words having to do with gratitude. Some years are better than others, but the last one I celebrated these words just sort of came out of me. It was a pretty special holiday actually, because in fact we were recording this song, but I made everybody take a day off. [Producer] John Parish and his wife Michelle were kind enough to allow me to take over their kitchen to cook the meal for everyone. Dylan and I were the only Americans, so there was a bit of explaining to do. So it was the band, the studio staff and the Parish family, and it was an absolutely lovely day. I was in awe of the kindness and mercy, and that’s what the song is about; being in awe of humans. When I got back to my room I was on such a high so I started writing and this song is what was on the page the next morning, when we recorded it.”

The accompanying “Thanksgiving Prayer” video — directed by Tiff Pritchett —is a black-and-white homage to silent film, with Savage adorned in makeup and surrounded by his band and handmade decoration. Of the “Thanksgiving Prayer” video, Savage adds: “The video is directed by a brilliant young director Tiff Pritchett, and she had this idea to sort of do a silent film tribute. The scene from Renoir’s film Rules of the Game where Danse Macabre is played was referenced, as was Klaus Nomi.”

Come scream.

21+

*There will be an opening set from a up and coming band we like.*

New England’s Premier Dave Matthews Tribute gets in the spooky spirit.

21+

A real jazzy Sunday!

All Ages

“Rich Greenblatt is a musician who is continually in a process of growing.” – Joe Locke

“Mark Shilansky knows how to make every moment engage.” – Jon Garelick, Artsfuse

Colleagues at the Berklee College of Music, Rich and Mark have combined their instrumental and compositional resources into a swinging, lyrical project.

The music reflects their shared influences: the hard swinging of Milt Jackson, the elegance of George Shearing and the music of Brazil and Argentina.

With special guest Jason Anick they will delve into the music of Django Reinhardt and feature new music that fuses their personal sounds.

A tenor to remember!

All ages

*Presented in partnership with the Seacoast Jazz Society*

In this “Jazz All-Stars” event, the Seacoast Jazz Society is proud to sponsor the fabulous tenor saxophonist, Bill Pierce, and the all-star cast performing with him. Reserve your seat now, because this is a line-up of jazz musicians you won’t want to miss!

Bill Pierce’s group will be playing a mixture of original and classic Jazz. Swing, ballads, and Latin styles will be featured. Take a moment to read the bios below and you’ll get an idea of the level of jazz excellence that awaits you!

BILL PIERCE is one of the foremost tenor saxophonists in the world. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1972, he has been performing and recording with a host of musical luminaries who are among the greatest jazz musicians of all time.

For three years in the early 1980s, he toured and recorded with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, then joined the Tony Williams’ Quintet in 1985, touring Europe, Asia, and America. He made five recordings with Mr. Williams and is featured on Williams’ last quintet release, “Tokyo Live” (Blue Note Records).

In 1975, Bill became associate professor in Berklee’s Woodwind Department, then Department Chair in 1997. He was active in the Boston and New York music scenes, regularly performing with the Freddie Hubbard Quintet, and playing at venues and festivals throughout the world.

Throughout his career he has performed with numerous other legends, including Stevie Wonder, Art Farmer, James Williams, Hank Jones, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Max Roach, and others. Since 1999, Bill has been a member of the Kevin Eubanks Quartet, releasing five recordings including, “Soweto Sun”, “Live”, “Genesis”, “Shrine” and “Zen Food”. Bill has recorded a number of CDs as band leader under the Sunnyside label. They include “William the Conqueror “, “Give and Take”, “Equilateral”, “One For Chuck” and “Rio”. More recently, he recorded “Epistrophy”, “Froggin’ Around”, and “Burnin”.

Performing with Bill:

CONSUELO CANDELARIA-BARRY, (piano), has been lauded as one of the “great masters of jazz piano and a first-rate composer.” An acclaimed pianist, composer, and professor at Berklee College of Music, she has performed and/or recorded all over the world with musicians including: Paula Cole, Curtis Fuller, Billy Hart, Don Braden, Lewis Nash, Louis Hayes, Pat LaBarbara, Joe Morelo, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Jeff Watts, the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, and more. She is a featured pianist on Paula Cole’s 2018 album, ”American Quilt”, and has performed with the Bill Pierce Quintet for the King of Thailand, and for the President of Costa Rica with Victor Mendoza. Her own recordings as a leader include: “Last Sunday Morning”, “When They Danced”, and “La Jornada”.

FREDDIE BRYANT, (guitar), received a master’s degree in Classical Guitar from the Yale School of Music, and has shown his skills in jazz, classical, Brazilian, and other world genres. He is on the faculty at Berklee College of Music as well as a visiting faculty member at the Prins Claus Conservatory in Groningen, Holland. He is an active player in the New York jazz and Brazilian scenes, where he has worked with Elaine Elias, Tom Harrell, The Mingus Orchestra, Ben Riley’s Thelonious Monk Legacy Septet, Chris Potter, Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Wynton Marsalis, and Max Roach. He has recorded several CDs as leader, including “Monk Restrung”, featuring the music of Thelonious Monk.

GREGORY RYAN, (bass), is a New York City native who has established himself as an in-demand sideman on both acoustic and electric bass. His big supportive sound, swinging style, and 3 complete understanding of harmony and his role on the bandstand combine to create his ability to make even the most complex modern composition swing in the tradition of the great bass players. At home in a variety of musical worlds — accomplished in Brazilian, Cuban, funk, and mainstream jazz styles — he performs in festivals and concerts worldwide. Gregory has appeared with pianists James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern, and Benny Green; guitarists Jim Hall and Pat Martino; vocalists Karrin Allyson and Dena DeRose; and numerous jazz luminaries including Eric Alexander, Regina Carter, Billy Harper, Tom Harrell, and Albert “Tootie” Heath, among many others. His Latin Jazz resumé includes performances with the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill, Papo Vazquez’ Pirates Troubadours, Yosvany Terry and Brazilian Jazz artists Helio Alves and Maucha Adnet.

MARK WALKER, (drums), is a Grammy/Latin Grammy Award–winning drummer, a Grammy Award–nominated composer, and a renowned author and educator originally from Chicago.

Currently a member of Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval’s group, he is one of the only American drummers equally at home with authentic South American and Caribbean rhythms, straight-ahead jazz, rock, funk and studio drumming. Since 1989, he has performed around the world, touring extensively and/or recording with the group Oregon (with Ralph Towner), Paquito D’Rivera, Lyle Mays, Michel Camilo, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Randy Brecker, Steve Khan, Mike Mainieri, Andy Narell, Eliane Elias, NDR Bigband, WDR Big Band, the hr-Bigband, and the Caribbean Jazz Project. He released his critically acclaimed debut album in 2019 entitled “You Get What You Give”, featuring Paquito D’Rivera, Alain Mallet, Oscar Stagnaro and many others.

(Reserve your ticket now for this performance, and watch for more future performances in the “Jazz All-Stars Series” sponsored by the Seacoast Jazz Society.)

A master class in badass.

A master class in badass.

Some soul-lifting rock and roll.

Sublime songwriting.

Really funking groovy.

Rock and Roll that’s good for the soul.

21+

Hailing from all corners of the country, Kind Hearted Strangers began in the foothills of Colorado – where an impromptu open mic performance by songwriter Marc Townes quickly evolved into something much bigger. With genre bending improvisations from lead guitarist Kevin Hinder and bassist/vocalist Ace Engfer, KHS has become a dynamic full band capable of bridging the gap between all out rock n’ roll and their harmony-driven acoustic roots. The addition of drummer Eggy Gorman has seen the band grow into a road-driven force, hungry for live music, delivering high-energy rock shows across the country.

The debut record “East // West” (2021) explores both the sonic & stylistic origins of the band while giving listeners a taste of the group’s diverse influences.

Released April 7th, 2023 – the band’s 2nd LP entitled “Now.here” features a collaboration with visual artist/painter Dylan Lynch. This immersive project found the band working in a shared Richmond, VA warehouse space for 5 days.

With no prepared material, the artists intentionally put pressure on themselves to create and deliver a Live Concert & Art Exhibition at the end of the week. The resulting album contains brand new material that was recorded live with the same raw energy and passion KHS has been delivering across the country during their busiest year of touring to date.

Timeless vibes.

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Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Leslie Mendelson is supporting her most recent studio album ‘If You Can’t Say Anything Nice…,’ as well as a solo acoustic EP ‘In The Meantime,’ that was recorded during the 2020 lockdown. Described by Relix Magazine as an artist with “a loyal, cross-generational audience that hugs the hippie, hipster, coffee shop and society crowds,” Leslie’s timeless musicality and evocative songwriting indeed cuts a wide swath. All Music writes that Leslie evokes “1970s songwriter influences in the vein of Carole King and Carly Simon,” while The Aquarian calls her “the closest thing one can get to a truly honest musical experience.”

An unforgettable night of music.

All Ages

Seacoast Jazz All-Stars Jason Anick (violin) and Chris Klaxton (trumpet) lead a stellar quartet featuring the one and only Mike Effinberger (B-3 Organ) and the legendary drummer Les Harris Jr. The group performs hard swinging jazz classics from Ellington to Monk with the occasional Funk tune and jazzed up Beatles original mixed in.

Berklee College of Music Professor Jason Anick, has earned a reputation among string players as an imaginative improviser, versatile composer, and insightful educator.

Growing up playing fiddle tunes with his family and classical music with local orchestras, he developed a passion for improvisation, which led him to study jazz and classical music at Hartt Conservatory. In 2008, Anick started what would be a 10 year stint touring and recording with Grammy award-winning guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson while still a senior at Hartt Conservatory. As a band-leader, Anick has launched a variety of musical projects over the years, including the Gypsy Jazz group Rhythm Future Quartet, an Americana-inspired Acoustic Trio, and a contemporary jazz ensemble with pianist Jason Yeager. His string of recordings (Sleepless, Tipping Point, United, Travels, Rhythm Future Quartet and Friends) has earned him praise from Downbeat Magazine as a “Rising Star in the world of jazz violin.”

Trumpeter Chris Klaxton is a lifelong student of the jazz tradition and performs locally / regionally with a variety of self/co-led ensembles ranging from small group interpretations of American standards to his contemporary large ensemble, Ourbigband. Klaxton has also been fortunate to participate in the Boston hip hop scene for well over a decade. In addition to performing, he also teaches trumpet at UNH, USM, PMAC, and Longy School of Music in Cambridge. Klaxton resides in South Berwick ME with his beautiful and talented wife Taylor O’Donnell and their two daughters.

Les Harris Jr. was a longtime member of the Tommy Gallant Trio, the Paul Broadnax Trio and has played with some of the best known artists in jazz, including Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Annie Ross, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, Ray Brown, Marian McPartland, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan and Bobby Watson.

Mike Effenberger is a recording and performing artist who has been living in the NH Seacoast since 2007. He received the Young Beacon in Jazz award from New School University in New York City, from which he graduated in 2005. While there, he studied with diverse artists including Jane Ira Bloom, Kenny Werner, John Hollenbeck, Reggie Workman, Fred Hersch, and Joanne Brackeen. Mike has curated an unmistakably individual voice that draws on gospel, minimalism, jazz, and 20th century music. His work has been written about in international publications including the Paris Review, The Guardian, and Pitchfork, as well as appearing on nationally syndicated media including NPR’s All Things Considered and PRX’s Echoes.

Folk, Rock, and Americana from the great state of Massachusetts.

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The collective is made up of songwriters Tory Hanna, Billy Keane, Chris Merenda, Greg Daniel Smith and David Tanklefsky. For almost a decade, the band has thrilled regional and national audiences with its electric, dynamic and high-energy live shows, earning them slots at acclaimed festivals including Green River Festival, Fresh Grass, The Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, The Rock Boat, Strange Creek and more.

The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow puts on a performance that can’t be recreated anywhere else, with five singer/songwriters all trading off on lead vocals, an eclectic array of instruments from strings to horns to keys; consider the band a one-act music festival – replete with boot stomping jams, sing-along anthems and a completely larger than life command of the stage.

The band has built a cult following across the northeast, releasing their debut studio album, “Band Together” in 2020, which featured Steve Gorman (The Black Crowes) on drums and Pat Sansone (Wilco) on bass. The album received acclaim in Rolling Stone, No Depression, and American Songwriter.

2023 marks a huge year for the Whiskey Treaty Roadshow as they are set to release their much anticipated live record, Late Night, Laid Back and Live which consists of all new music from the band arranged over the course of one inspired week of writing, arranging and performing in the band’s geographic home in the Berkshires at the legendary live music venue The Egremont Barn. The album accompanies a documentary that explores the creative process of the five singer songwriters as they wrote and performed the record. The band will be supporting the live record with a tour throughout summer/fall 2023 along the east coast.

Jamie McLean Band creates a musical gumbo that incorporates New Orleans soul, middle Americana roots, Delta blues and New York City swagger. Jamie McLean Band is a triple threat. The group’s energetic and captivating live show is undeniable. McLean’s fiery guitar has joined the ranks of Derek Trucks, Gregg Allman, Aaron Neville, Dr. John and more on stages from from Madison Square Garden to Japan’s Fuji Rock. His blue eyed southern soul vocals ooze real emotion. And his top line songwriting chops have crafted profound, honest and heartfelt songs that will keep you singing along, dancing along and feeling like the song was written about you. Jamie McLean Band is touring behind a fantastic new album “Paradise Found” on Harmonized Records. The album was produced by Ken Coomer of Wilco at Nashville’s Cartoon Moon studio and features the band’s strongest and most mainstream songwriting to date. Songs like “Give My Life To Rock and Roll” and “Waiting On You” are dripping with summer festival sweat while “Turn Around” and “Hotels and Cabarets” are ready made for film and television. The live show is where Jamie McLean Band excels and the band has shared the stage with the likes of Gregg Allman, Aaron Neville, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Trombone Shorty, Los Lobos, Blues Traveler, Marc Broussard and many more. Jamie Mclean Band has appeared at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam, Targhee Fest, Okeechobee Fest, Ottawa Blues Fest, Quebec City Summer Fest, and Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam to name a few. McLean has also enjoyed the sponsorship of Gibson Guitars, Fuchs Amplifiers, D’Addario Strings, Blue Microphones, John Varvatos and Esquire Magazine. Don’t miss their amazing live set when they roll into a town near you! Select Press: Jamie McLean has soaked up quite a bit of America’s musical DNA. McLean provides a fascinating cross-section of sounds that merge the yearning and romanticism of Tom Petty, the air-tight instrumental proficiency of Nashville and the rugged independent streak of alt-country.

– Guitar World Magazine

McLean and company ooze drops of southern roots rock, blues, R&B, funk and soul out of every note… the rock & roll swagger of the Rolling Stones combined with the songwriting prowess of Ryan Adams.

– Jambase

Jamie McLean Band is completely original and completely fabulous… The live version of this band is a three- dimensional experience not to be missed” – Hittin The Note

A honkin’ collection of Southern-style blues rock, Americana, and soul…. as bawdy as anything the Black Crowes tried to snag from The Faces or The Stones circa ‘Sticky Fingers’ and ‘Exile on Main Street’ and as groovy and gutsy as Bowie’s ‘Young Americans.'” – Charleston City Paper

A NU KIND OF ’90S/’00S DJ NIGHT

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ALL AGES

📟 WAKE UP (WAKE UP)! 📟

IT’S TIME FOR A NU KIND OF 90’S / 00’S DJ NIGHT! 🤘

SOMETIMES WE JUST GOTTA BREAK STUFF, EVEN WHEN LIFE IS PEACHY! 🔪

THIS ONE’S FOR ALL THE PIMPS, THE FREAKS AND THE MAGGOTS

THAT ARE DREAMIN’ TO CELEBRATE THE GOLDEN AGE OF NU METAL!

LET’S SHOVE IT (SHOVE IT, SHOVE IT) TO THE MUSIC OF KORN, SLIPKNOT, LINKIN PARK, DEFTONES, DISTURBED, LIMP BIZKIT, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, ROB ZOMBIE, COAL CHAMBER, DROWNING POOL, GODSMACK, P.O.D., STATIC-X AND MORE!

JOIN US IN THE PIT AS WE PARTY IN THE NAME OF THE ORIGINAL FAMILY VALUES TOUR ERA AND THOSE CARRYING ITS TORCH! 🔥

GRAB YOUR LEASH…

PACK YOUR CHAINSAW (MF’N CHAINSAW)…

AND COME AND GET IT!

A modern queer joy dance party.

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If you want to go out dancing

And celebrate the sounds of eternal longing,

We know a place…

❤️🧡🤍💖💜

sapphic factory 🌈

A modern queer joy dance party 🦋

Come dance and be free to the music of muna, fletcher, phoebe bridgers, boygenius, kim petras, marina, elio, ashnikko, girl in red, tegan and sara, and more. ✨

Collaborating with plus1 to donate a portion of proceeds from each ticket sold to local lgbtqia+ charities. 💕