Dance the Night Away at the Concert in the Lot

What are you doing on June 16th? Celebrate summer’s arrival with some warm and lively music and outdoor fun!  

Join us for Concert in the Lot, a New Orleans-themed concert in the Worth Lot (25 Maplewood Ave., Portsmouth). In partnership with the City of Portsmouth, The Music Hall will bring Jumbo Circus Peanuts, Sweet Crude, and Rebirth Brass Band to the stage. And don’t forget, there will be food trucks, beer, and wine available, too. Feel the jazz flow through you while dancing the warm June evening away. With tremendous musical power combined with food, beverage, and community, the event is sure to be one to remember.

We’re excited to bring in the fantastic local group, Jumbo Circus Peanuts, to our stage, alongside New Orleans legends Sweet Crude and Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band. Read on for more info on the bands and the concert.

4pm – Jumbo Circus Peanuts
Styled in the manner of a New Orleans street band, the 10-piece Jumbo Circus Peanuts serve up an exuberant stage presence along with musical selections that delight young and old. You’ll hear pop, funk, R&B, soul, swing, disco, blues, ethnic music, and exotica. A typical Peanut performance also includes side trips to Motown, Memphis, Latin America, Broadway, Hollywood, 52nd Street, and even Disney. Called a “fun machine” and “irrepressible” by critics, the group was named “Best Party Band 2006” by New Hampshire Magazine.

5pm – Sweet Crude
Over the past few years, Sweet Crude has managed to take the music and language of Louisiana and produce completely fresh music that thrusts century-old traditions into the present. The six-piece band consistently delivers exciting shows featuring enough drums for a small marching band, exuberantly bellowed harmonies, and lyrics that jump from English to Louisiana French in a single verse. Boasting surnames like Marceaux and Chachere, Sweet Crude seeks to reconnect with their lineage in a way that draws on their own modern influences, while nodding to the music and language of their ancestors.

6:30pm – The Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band
Hailed by the New York Times as “a New Orleans institution,” the Rebirth Brass Band have been at the forefront of the brass band revival that they helped kick off over 30 years ago. The Rebirth Brass Band has gone from playing on corners in the French Quarter to selling out concert halls across the world and appearing in David Simon’s HBO hit Treme. While committed to upholding the tradition of brass bands, they’ve also extended themselves into the realms of funk and hip-hop to create their signature sound. No band exemplifies the essence and soul of New Orleans like Rebirth Brass Band.