Bright Beginnings

Music

We earned this summer. Though spring has not been unkind, let us recall this past winter and the desperate wishes we made while digging out of...

BBQ and country music unite

Music

If you like barbecue and you like country music, you’ll want to be in Rochester this weekend. The Phantom Gourmet BBQ & Country Music Festival takes...

Parma Music Festival takes shape

Music

It’s still nearly two months away, but the Parma Music Festival continues to announce local and national acts for its three-day contemporary music event in...

Blakeslee releases the mermaid

Music

South Berwick, Maine native Dan Blakeslee has long been recognized for his signature pick guard, an octopus with tentacles wrapped around his acoustic guitar. But,...

Slow and low

Music

Baltimore’s Lower Dens released its third album in March. The band’s leader, Jana Hunter, has been a fixture in the independent music community for years,...

Gems and roses

Music

Christopher Barnes formed Gem Club in Boston about five years ago, inspired by the RPM Challenge to write and record an album in a month....

Now Hear This

Music

“Stay Home,” Soft Eyes Eye Vybe Records File Under: psychedelic, vibe-rock, lo-fi Sounds like: Morgan Delt, Quilt, (early) White Fence, Allah-Las There’s a moment during every...

Songs and stories

Music

Martha Redbone wanted to follow her 2006 album “Future Street” with a project that would honor her family’s years in the mountains and coal mines...

Deep cuts

Music

Humor can be a surprisingly sharp weapon in hip-hop these days, but it’s a double-edged sword. Through jest and wordplay, MCs can engage listeners and...

Keeping hope alive

Music

On a recent afternoon, John Fullbright was at home on his family farm in Bearden, Okla., walking around the same little town where he grew...

The next step

Music

It’s hard to imagine Natalie Cressman as anything but a musician. The daughter of two West Coast jazz musicians is in her early 20s, with...

Have guitar, will travel

Music

In March, 22-year-old Mike Dunbar, frontman of the Portsmouth-based band Black Agnes, was awarded a grant from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.,...

Talking music at PMAC

Music

A guest lecture at the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC) will explore the origins of country music, jazz, hillbilly, blues, ragtime, pop ballads, rock...

Gerhard strums for the Grange

Music

Grammy Award-winning guitarist Ed Gerhard will perform his annual benefit concert for the Bow Lake Grange Hall in Strafford on Saturday, June 6. Catch him...

Apocalypse now

Music

Taraka and Nimai Larson have an “apocalypse state of mind.” Since 2010, the sisters, under the guise of their band, Prince Rama, have been crafting...

Learning to rock

Music

Performing music on stage is Meghan McPherson’s dream. She’s been playing piano since age 6 and guitar since she was 10. She started writing her...

Summer music survival guide

Music

Summer in the Seacoast means music. Lots of music. More music than anyone can handle. There are outdoor shows and indoor shows, concerts at the...

Howling at the moon

Music

When people ask lead singer Sam Vlasich what kind of music Red Sky Mary plays, he always gives the same answer. “I just like to...

Now Hear This

Music

“Gettin’ Tight with Dreadnaught” by Dreadnaught, Red Fez Records File under: Prog-rock, Experimental, Jazz, Funk Sounds like: Thinking Plague, Steely Dan, King Crimson One of the...

Postcards and cassette tapes

Music

Aly Spaltro started recording and performing as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper in Brunswick, Maine in 2007. Her self-released albums quickly garnered a lot of attention...

Audio Artifacts: Soft Eyes

Music

Soft Eyes talks about New England’s psychedelic scene, Halloween barn parties, and donating band members  Sometimes, the best things in music are right under your...

The Mothership rises

Music

While the Seacoast hip-hop scene has ebbed and flowed over the years, Patrick “DJ Ayo Beat Perv” Bernard and Jamal Cooley are part of a...

In your face

Music

When John Norwood Fisher picked up his bass and started Fishbone in Los Angeles in 1979, the music industry was in flux. Disco was in...

Blakeslee at Book & Bar

Music

It’s not easy to make a career out of playing music. Just ask Dan Blakeslee. He’s been doing it for 20 years, gigging relentlessly around...