Just maybe the rain will stay away this weekend and we can get outside. If not, though, no matter — there are plenty of indoor activities, too. Here are some highlights.
Damn Tall Buildings at The Word Barn Meadow
Every time bluegrass band Damn Tall Buildings has played at The Word Barn in Exeter, the show has sold out. Act fast if you want to see them play in the Meadow on Friday from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $25. Learn more here.
Concerts at The Dance Hall
It’s another busy weekend at The Dance Hall in Kittery. On Friday from 8-9:30 p.m., local sextet MetaBeat will play jazzed up renditions of Beatles songs ($17-$22). The Boston-based duo of fiddler Leland Martin and guitarist Conor Hearn follows on Saturday from 8-9:30 p.m. ($17-$22). The Jazz Casual series kicks off on Sunday, with the Scott Kiefner Trio performing from 5-6:30 p.m. ($15-$18). Learn more here.
Fine Craft & Artisan Show at Strawbery Banke
The grounds of Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth will be filled with food trucks, cocktails, face painting, and a vast array of local handmade artisan wares and crafts this weekend. The Great New England Craft & Artisan Show takes place Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Learn more here.
Music & literature at The Music Hall
Saturday is gonna be a big day at The Music Hall in Portsmouth. At 3 p.m., the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra will perform Dan Brown’s “Wild Symphony,” featuring orchestral work from his illustrated children’s book of the same name ($14-$28). At 7:30 p.m., best-selling author Andre Dubus III will discuss his new novel, “Such Kindness,” with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout at the Lounge ($47, includes a hardcover copy of the book).
Live music at The Stone Church
Regional favorite Club d’Elf, known for its mesmerizing synthesis of Moroccan traditional music and electronic, dubbed-out funk, brings its 25th anniversary tour to The Stone Church in Newmarket on Saturday from 8-11 p.m. ($20). Local supergroup The Midnight Wrens, featuring members of Percy Hill, Groovechild, and Assembly of Dust, follows on Sunday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Learn more here.
Jim McCue at McCue’s Comedy Club
McCue’s Comedy Club, located within the Roundabout Diner & Lounge in Portsmouth, is newly renovated and back in action with standup performances every Saturday in July. Local comic Jim McCue, the venue’s namesake, kicks things off this Saturday from 8-9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Learn more here.
Finding Your Voice in Your Food Writing
James Beard Award-winning food journalist Kathy Gunst, resident chef for NPR’s “Here and Now,” is presenting a one-day workshop focused on strengthening your food-writing voice. It takes place at The Word Barn Meadow in Exeter on Sunday from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tickets are $200. Learn more here.
Cormac McCarthy at Crows’ Feat Farm
Local singer-songwriter Cormac McCarthy, dubbed a “leading light of the urban songwriter revival” by The Boston Globe, will perform an intimate outdoor show at Crows’ Feat Farm in Kensington on Sunday from 3-5 p.m. ($10-$20). A community picnic featuring farm-fresh produce precedes the show from 1-2:30 p.m. ($30). Learn more here.
Sad Bastards at The Press Room
Trumpet player Chris Klaxton and pianist Mike Effenberger are an eminently innovative pair of local musicians. Their new project, Sad Bastards / Loose Standards, is releasing an album titled “Ash Green, Ash Brown,” and they’ll celebrate with a show at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Sunday from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are $15. Learn more here.
Galactic at Prescott Park
New Orleans-born jam band Galactic has been together for over 25 years, releasing 10 albums, playing more than 2,000 gigs, and garnering tens of millions of streams. They’ll perform with power-house vocalist Anjelika Jelly Joseph at Prescott Park in Portsmouth on Sunday at 7 p.m. There’s a $10 suggested donation; table and blanket reservations are available. (And don’t miss Langhorne Slim at the park on Monday!) Learn more here.
See the full calendar for more local events.