Another weekend, another remarkable variety of events available on the Seacoast. Here are some highlights.
Owls & Comedy at The Word Barn
The Word Barn is hosting back-to-back events in Exeter on Friday night. From 5:30-6:30 p.m., educators from On The Wing will bring some non-releasable raptors to the outdoor meadow for a presentation on the Owls of New England. Then, from 8-10 p.m., Boston-based comic Kathe Farris will headline Word Barn Comedy Night with support from Keith Hebert, Ryan Ellington, Caroline Cooke, and host Josh Day. Tickets to each event are $25. Learn more here.
‘An Inspector Calls’ at NHTP
There’s one weekend left to catch the final production in New Hampshire Theatre Project’s current season. Directed by Genevieve Aichele and featuring a stellar local cast, J. B. Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls” is on stage in Portsmouth on Friday and Saturday from 8-10 p.m. and Sunday from 2-4 p.m. Tickets are $26-$30. Learn more here.
Concerts at The Stone Church
The Stone Church brings a diverse batch of acts to Newmarket this weekend. On Friday from 8-11 p.m., Vapors of Morphine (featuring sax player Dana Colley of Morphine) returns with The Tercet ($20). On Saturday from 6-9 p.m., The Senie Hunt Project brings its percussive guitar sound to the outdoor stage ($12). Then, at 9 p.m., roots-reggae legend Clinton Fearon and The Naya Rockers perform with the Green Lion Crew ($20-$25). Learn more here.
Ted Leo at The Press Room
UPDATE: This show has been postponed until Aug. 26.
Whether it’s his late-’80s hardcore band Citizens Arrest, his ’90s pop-punk band Chisel, his 2000s indie-rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, his duo with Aimee Mann The Both, or his solo work, there’s likely a place for Ted Leo in your playlist. He’ll be at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Friday at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20-$25. Learn more here.
Exeter Arts & Music Festival
A dozen local acts will be split between the main stage and the singer-songwriter tent at Swasey Parkway during the Exeter Arts & Music Festival on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be artist vendors, dance performances, a food court, kids’ activities, and cultural exhibits. There’s a $10 suggested donation. Learn more here.
Afrofuturism 2022 at Green Acre
Afrofuturism 2022 provides a vision of the future in which people of African descent guide the progress of the human race. Motion art collective RootsUprising is presenting two Afrofuturism events on Saturday at Green Acre in Eliot. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., artistic director Nailah Randall-Bellinger leads a movement workshop titled Moving Your Way ($15). From 7-8:30 p.m., RootsUprising will perform new works ($25). Learn more here.
Concerts in the Meadow
Bright & Lyon Productions will take advantage of this weekend’s summer-like temperatures by presenting two modern folk acts in the open air of The Word Barn Meadow in Exeter. Maya de Vitry, a founding member of The Stray Birds, performs with guest Alexa Rose on Saturday from 7-8:30 p.m. ($20). The duo of clawhammer banjoist Allison de Groot and fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves takes the stage on Sunday from 7-8:30 p.m. ($20). Learn more here.
Rico Barr at The Rockingham Ballroom
The Rico Barr Band performs songs in a wide range of genres spanning the decades from the 1950s to today. Backed by the JJR Horns, the swing ensemble will coax attendees out onto the 4,000-square-foot wood dance floor at The Rockingham Ballroom in Newmarket on Saturday from 8-10 p.m. Tickets are $20-$22. Learn more here.
New Norde Album Release Party
Seacoast audiences may recognize the members of power-pop outfit New Norde from their former band, local favorite The Minus Scale. They’ll celebrate their debut EP, “Whatever’s Clever,” with a concert on the Button Factory Stage at WSCA Portsmouth Community Radio on Saturday from 7:30-10 p.m. Tickets are $10. Learn more here.
Soul Sundays at Newburyport Brewing
There’s a new way to spend your Sunday afternoons. Local singer Evan Goodrow hosts Soul Sundays, an open-air jam in the beer garden at Newburyport Brewing Co., every week from 4-7 p.m. The series features an assemblage of top musicians playing soul, funk, and blues songs — plus delicious beer. Tickets are $10. Learn more here.
See the full calendar for more local events.