Load your Labor Day Weekend with music and more. Here are some of the top options.
Local indie rock at The Press Room
The Press Room is loading up on local indie rock this weekend. Portsmouth punk band Megan From Work headlines with support from Boston’s Burn Kit and Portland’s S.C.O.B.Y. on Friday at 7 p.m. ($12-$15). And eclectic Portsmouth quartet Wolfdor shares the stage with The Moon Snails on Saturday at 7 p.m. ($12-$15).
Stellar double bill at The Word Barn Meadow
New England folk-rocker Jay Psaros has toured with Gordon Lightfoot, Three Dog Night, Collective Soul, and many others. Songwriter Marina Evans has opened for Judy Collins, LeAnn Rimes, Dar Williams, and many others. They’ll split the bill at The Word Barn Meadow in Exeter on Friday from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $20. Learn more here.
West Coast Swing at The Rockingham Ballroom
Dancers of all skill levels are invited to share the floor at The Rockingham Ballroom in Newmarket on Friday during the monthly West Coast Swing Dance. Need to brush up on your skills? Instructor Anne Fleming will show you the steps. Lessons begin at 7:30 p.m.; the dance follows from 9-11 p.m. Tickets are $15-$20. Learn more here.
Kevin Smith at The Music Hall
The filmmaker behind “Clerks,” “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy,” “Dogma,” and many other beloved comedies is on his way to Portsmouth. Kevin Smith will discuss his work, career, and life (including, perhaps, the massive heart attack he survived in 2018) at The Music Hall on Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50-$70. Learn more here.
Scottish rock at the Rochester Opera House
The Rochester Opera House will be filled with the sounds of bagpipes, fiddles, accordions, whistles, guitars, and voices when Skerryvore comes to town. The three-time winners of Scotland’s “Live Act of the Year” award will play traditional folk, pop, and rock music on Friday from 8-10 p.m. Tickets are $38-$42. Learn more here.
Music and movies at Prescott Park
The Prescott Park Arts Festival winds down with two great events this weekend. Grammy and CMA Award-winning songwriter Brandy Clark performs with Wyn and the White Light on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Portsmouth park screens “Casablanca” on Sunday at dusk, following an introduction with host Jeannie MacDonald. Admission is by donation; table and blanket reservations are available. And don’t forget to enter the festival’s Key Auto Group Pick Your Path Raffle for a chance to win $25,000 cash or $40,000 toward a new car! Learn more here.
berm & Tremolo Fields at WSCA Radio
WSCA Portsmouth Community Radio will present yet another great show on the Button Factory Stage on Saturday from 8-10 p.m., featuring two indie folk-rock bands. Songwriter Dan Lambert’s Mass.-based project berm (pictured) will split the bill with David Rogers’ touring act Tremolo Fields. Tickets are $15-$20. Learn more here.
Summer Sham 3 at Newmarket Millspace
Local improv comedy troupe Stranger Than Fiction will present the third installment of Summer Sham at the Millspace Center in Newmarket on Saturday from 8-10:30 p.m. Theatric (and hilarious) improvisers from around the community will take the stage to compete for the championship belt. Tickets are $12-$15. Learn more here.
Kathe Farris at McCue’s Comedy Club
Live from Portsmouth, it’s Saturday night! The next edition of McCue’s Comedy Club’s weekly stand-up showcase will feature headliner Kathe Farris, a former finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival. Cape Cod native Jamie Aird and local comic Liam Hales open. The show takes place from 8-9:30 p.m. Tickets are $25. Learn more here.
Stanley Clarke at Jimmy’s
Jazz bassist Stanley Clark has quite the resume. He’s been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards and won five. He’s an NEA Jazz Master, was named Rolling Stone’s first “Jazzman of the Year,” received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bass Player magazine, and is a member of Guitar Player magazine’s “Gallery of Greats.” He’ll perform at Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club in Portsmouth on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22.50-$157.50. Learn more here.
See the full calendar for more local events.