Recent news and tidbits from the Seacoast music scene
Dance Hall turns 5
For five years, The Dance Hall has been providing a uniquely intimate setting for live music, dance shows, and performing arts classes. The nonprofit arts venue in Kittery has brought a steady supply of refreshingly original shows to the Seacoast since April 2011.
The Dance Hall is celebrating its five-year anniversary with a night of music, dancing, comedy, food, and booze. The Bootlegger’s Ball takes place Saturday, April 2 at 6 p.m.
The building, constructed in 1928, will be transformed into a Prohibition-era speakeasy for the occasion. The event will feature performances by comedian TTTom Clark, swing band the Hadacol Bouncers, singer Taylor O’Donnell, and members of Lady Luck Burlesque, with food donated by local shops and restaurants.
Dancer and producer Drika Overton founded The Dance Hall in 2011 as a nonprofit performing arts venue dedicated, in part, to revitalizing the Seacoast’s dance community. Arts patron and ballroom dancer Cary Mabley purchased the building, a former grange hall on Walker Street, and donated it to Overton.
The Dance Hall offers a weekly schedule of dance classes, as well as regular live performances by local and touring acts. The venue’s all-ages shows and parties have featured just about every imaginable musical genre and dancing discipline.
The Bootlegger’s Ball will also serve as a fundraiser for The Dance Hall. Tickets are $45, available at thedancehallkittery.org. The venue is at 7 Walker St., Kittery, Maine, 207-703-2083.
Kid Coyote’s got you covered
Over Easter weekend, local band Kid Coyote recorded a video of “Jesus, Etc.” by Wilco and posted it to their YouTube channel. Sparse and beautifully haunting, the video features singer Clara Berry crooning into a microphone and drummer Joe O’Neill holding down a simple beat in the duo’s shared apartment.
Berry said “Jesus, Etc.” is one of her favorite songs. But it’s not the only tune she and O’Neill have covered for their YouTube catalog. The band has been posting weekly videos — usually covers — to their YouTube channel since early February. Whether it’s Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done,” Radiohead’s “Karma Police,” Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game,” or Bon Ivers’ “Flume,” they put their own chillingly eloquent stamp on each song.
“If there’s a song that’s stuck in our head one week, we tend to do that song,” Berry said. “It’s just kind of whatever is stuck in our head that we think we can do something unique with, or that suits our voice.”
The project began after the band posted their submission for National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Concert Contest in January. The video (of the duo performing their original song “Full Moon Rising”) was well received, and they decided to post a new video every week.
“It’s a nice way to learn some new songs to add to our sets, and also just … make something new for people to listen to on a regular basis,” Berry said. “It serves the purpose of creating some more new material, and also training our skills.”
So far, Berry noted, all the covers have featured tunes originally sung by men. But, in coming weeks, they plan to play some songs by woman-fronted bands like The Cranberries and Eurythmics.
Kid Coyote is at work on original material as well, with a new single due out in June. The band has a live show coming up on Thursday, March 31, at Birdseye Lounge in Portsmouth, alongside Young Frontier. Find the band on Facebook to learn about new videos.
Eclectic music at The Rep
When pianist and composer Mark Shilansky launched the band Fugue Mill in 2012, he combined his jazz training with elements of bluegrass, Celtic, and classical music. Now, the New Hampshire native is holding a day-long festival dedicated to a similar blend of styles.
The first-ever Fugue Mill Music Festival takes place Sunday, April 3, at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth. The event features five local and national acts, along with some beat poetry.
The day kicks off at 1 p.m. with a set of jazz and fusion from New Hampshire-bred guitarist Nick Grondin and his quintet. Soprano Kathleen Flynn performs at 2:20 p.m., followed by the Seacoast’s own Chris Klaxton/Taylor O’Donnell Group at 3:40 p.m. At 5 p.m., readers will share original beat poetry with live instrumental accompaniment. Fugue Mill takes the stage at 6 p.m.
Headlining the event at 8 p.m. is the Becca Stevens Band, a nationally touring act that released its second album last year. Stevens is a singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who has collaborated with Brad Mehldau, Esperanza Spalding, David Crosby, and others.
For Shilansky, the event marks a return to the theater that helped establish him as a bandleader more than two decades ago. He served as music director for several shows at the Rep in the early 1990s, including “Evita,” “Babes in Toyland,” and “Annie.”
Tickets are $35 for all-day admission, available at seacoastrep.org. The Rep is at 125 Bow St., Portsmouth, 603-785-2782.
Tall order at Prescott Park
It will be another month or so before the Prescott Park Arts Festival announces the summer lineup for its 2016 River House Restaurant Concert Series, but some shows have already leaked out. The latest news: The Tallest Man on Earth is slated to play at the Portsmouth park on July 6, according to the artist’s website.
Festival director Ben Anderson said Tuesday he could not confirm that the Swedish singer-songwriter had been booked for the series — but he did not deny it either.
According to his website, The Tallest Man on Earth is embarking on an international tour starting in late May, with shows booked across the United States and in England, Canada, Belgium, Portugal, and Finland. The tour schedule on the site lists a show at Prescott Park in Portsmouth on Wednesday, July 6. A Tickets tab next to the date links to the festival’s website.
Anderson announced a handful of other concerts during a VIP event in February, when the park’s 2016 musical was revealed (The Little Mermaid). Alt-country, folk-rock duo Shovels & Rope will perform at the park on July 8; legendary singer-songwriter Judy Collins returns to the festival on Aug. 24, and Great Big Sea member Alan Doyle comes to town on Aug. 28.
The Tallest Man on Earth is the stage name of Kristian Matsson, a singer and guitarist who has drawn frequent comparisons to Bob Dylan for his voice and playing style. He released his fourth studio album, Dark Bird Is Home, in 2015.
The Prescott Park Arts Festival has brought millions of people to the sea