It’s another festive fall weekend on the Seacoast, with many noteworthy concerts, theater events, and festivals. Here are some of the highlights. (Also, we would be remiss not to mention Art ’Round Town and the Dover Art Walk, both taking place on Friday, Oct. 5.)
Django by the Sea
The fourth annual Django by the Sea Gypsy Jazz Festival gets underway Thursday, Oct. 4, and continues through Sunday, Oct. 7, at The Dance Hall in Kittery. This year’s headliner is guitarist Frank Vignola and his Hot Jazz Trio, which performs on Saturday. The lineup also features the Matt DeChamplain Trio, Ultrafaux, the Youssra El Hawary Group, and the Jason Anick Trio. Tickets are $20-$35 per day, $70-$75 for weekend passes, or $100 for VIP passes. Learn more here.
Isles in the Moon
The first ever youth drama at the Rochester Performance & Arts Center tells the true story of the brutal Smuttynose murders in 1873. “Isles in the Moon,” a historical murder mystery by local playwright Jeffrey Symes, runs Oct. 5-14 in downtown Rochester. The show stars eight students from Noble High School under the direction of Jennifer Batchelder. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15. Learn more here.
Social Distortion
There are only a few shows remaining at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom this year, and among them are punk veterans Social Distortion on Friday, Oct. 5, at 8 p.m. (Front man Mike Ness was in the news recently for pummeling a Trump supporter at a show in Sacramento, so this might not be your top choice if you’re fed up with political pugilism.) Will Hoge and Pony Bradshaw open the show; tickets are $37. Learn more here.
Apple Harvest Day
Over the 34 years of its existence, Apple Harvest Day has grown to attract tens of thousands of people to downtown Dover each fall. Presented by the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, this year’s festival takes place Saturday, Oct. 6, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. There will be hundreds of crafters, a food court, live music, dance and theater performances, a 5K road race, and more on the streets and in Henry Law Park. For more information, click here.
Chili Festivals
Lovers of chili and beer are in for a filling weekend. On Saturday, Oct. 6, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., the seventh annual Powder Keg Beer and Chili Festival returns to Swasey Parkway in Exeter. Tickets are $32 ($17 for youth and designated drivers). Then, on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 11:30 p.m., the 29th annual WHEB Chili Cook-Off hits Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, following the fourth annual Memorial Bridge 5K. Tickets are $15 ($8 for children).
For a complete calendar of local events, click here.