Thing is, I’m lucky. I’m lucky and I’m ever so appreciative. My friends are awesome and generous and wildly talented. I make a lot of songs and am always enlisting folks to help realize them. For my last album, North for the Winter 30 different musicians accompanied me and all brought their own unique sensibility.
If you come and stay with us and there’s a spare 15 minutes before heading off to swim at a swimming hole, I might ask you to sing a little backing vocal up in the attic where I record. Sorry, I’m presumptuous that way. Sorry, as well, but I might ask you to sing about some unseemly topics. Thing is, you smash it. You make it so nice in a way I didn’t know it could be and take it on as though it were your own.Read More
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Sollee first caught our attention four years ago when he was hailed by NPR’s Morning Edition as one of the “Top Ten Great Unknown Artists” of the year. Not long after, All Things Considered called his debut “an inspired collection of acoustic, folk and jazz flavored songs, filled with hope and the earnest belief that the world is good.” One of the things that sets him apart from other singer songwriters of his generation is that he performs and writes much of his music on the cello. His music incorporates a unique mix of his Appalachian roots and R&B. His vocal stylings and penchant for intricate arrangements have earned him comparisons to Sufjan Stevens.Read More
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The Sweetback Sisters have a sound that carries with it hints of the past with influences ranging from Patsy Kline to Jimmie Rodgers. They’re a terrific sextet of multi-talented musicians: Emily Miller, Zara Bode, Jesse Milnes, Ross Bellenoit, Stefan Amidon, and Peter Bitenc. If you like old timey, spirited country music that is able to rock a little harder than usual, this band is sure to put you in a good mood. This year they have been on the festival circuit performing to diverse audiences at SXSW music festival and opening up shows for giants like k.d.lang. They’re heading to Green River Festival in Greenfield, MA this summer, following their performance at The Music Hall Loft on Friday July 13 at 7pm & 9pm. You don’t want to miss this self-described “renegade retro band”—and if you love yodeling as much as I do, you’re in for a treat. I recently talked with Emily Miller about the band’s background, musical roots, and creative songwriting process.Read More
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KS: Hi this is Kathleen Soldati from the Music Hall in Portsmouth NH. We’re talking today with Meredith Vieira, the producer of Life in a Marital Institution and James Braly the renowned storyteller that we hear on NPR’s This American Life. Meredith and James are bringing their hit off-Broadway one-man comic monologue show to the Music Hall Loft September 9-11. So Meredith and James, welcome. We can’t wait to see the show!
KS: Meredith, our listeners are most familiar with you from The View and The Today Show and now you’ve moved into producing theater. Can you tell us a little bit about what brought you to that point in your career?Read More
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by Chris Bohjalian
Not long ago, I was in my basement, which is the scariest place on earth. We’re talking “Silence of the Lambs” scary, “Night of the Living Dead” scary, “lion and tigers and bears, oh my” scary. It’s not merely that a sizable chunk of the floor is dirt, which means that with all the rain we’ve had this summer it’s like quicksand down there. It’s not the fact that there is a Gordian knot of tubes and pipes along the ceiling (which is little more than a crawlspace in some sections), some of which carry water and some of which carry LP gas to heat the house.
It’s the door.Read More
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No sooner had we opened the Music Hall Loft Center for Performing Arts, Literature and Education then we had a full slate of Explore & Learn programs the space was designed for: We kicked off with a master class with members of the “comedy empire” (New York Times) Second City and 18 students and two teachers from Cocheco Arts and Technology Academy (CATA) on April 15. According to Deb Pickett, House Manager/Coordinator of Volunteers, “the room was alive with creativity.”Read More
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Citizens Bank is the first corporation on board for early, major sponsorship of programming in The Music Hall Loft: The Center for Performing Arts, Literature and Education
The Music Hall, soon to expand from its Victorian landmark theater into a downtown Loft space, recently announced Citizens Bank has signed on as the presenting sponsor for one of the Loft’s new signature series, Writers in the Loft. The bank’s $10,000 sponsorship is the first major funding for a program in the new Loft space, which will open this spring with performances beginning in April, 2011.
“Citizens Bank’s early commitment is thrilling. They have stepped forward at a very exciting time for The Music Hall and for Portsmouth,” said Patricia Lynch, Executive Director of The Music Hall. “As one of the Loft’s first sponsors, the Bank has signaled powerfully their support of the arts and demonstrated its support of the community.”
Kathleen Reardon, SVP and Director of Public Affairs & Community Investment at Citizens Bank, got an early look at the Loft space and was impressed with the plan for programming. “The energy around the Loft space and its schedule is compelling. The Music Hall has debuted many successful programs during the past few years, and we feel confident that the soon-to-be-launched Writers in the Loft series will follow suit,” said Reardon. “This literary program and the Loft space overall will impact the community in very positive ways, giving readers access to authors and the literary arts which they can get nowhere else,” she added.Read More
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The Music Hall Loft: The Center for Performing Arts, Literature and Education gains final approval from City of Portsmouth’s Historic District Commission for work on building’s exterior Design Team Led by TMS Architects.Read More
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