The first time I heard singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo perform, I was blown away by his soulful rock & roll. In a recent profile in The New Yorker, Nick Paumgarten called Escovedo one of the most celebrated artists in the state of Texas. But he was not on my radar until I heard him rock out in The Music Loft.Read More
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There’s nothing like Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth to brighten the spirits and usher in holiday cheer. Not only does our picturesque and historic Seacoast city reflect a picture-postcard New England scene, but it also offers a diverse calendar of holiday happenings throughout the month of December. Read More
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When it comes to meetings and events, studies show—and meeting planners know—that “authenticity” is more than a buzzword. For today’s attendees, having an authentic experience is the key to success. This means feeling a sense of place, eating local farm to fork food, and having time to explore the neighborhood.Read More
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Why do I love sitting in the balcony at the Historic Theater? Let me count the ways. The sweeping vista of the gorgeous Music Hall interior, from crystal chandelier to historic stage, is unsurpassed. Nearly all the seats have this dazzling view, even in the side rows. Because of the steep pitch of the rows, shorter people like me have clear sightlines from every seat, irregardless if tall people sit in front of us. The acoustics are excellent. There’s an intimacy with the artists, as opposed to the feeling of being in a giant stadium where binoculars are needed when sitting in the balcony.Read More
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Remember “When Harry Met Sally,” the 1989 film starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan that became one of the most popular romantic comedies of all time?
2017’s breakthrough romantic comedy, which film buffs and critics alike are hailing as the modern day iteration of When Harry Met Sally, is an unconventional indie film called The Big Sick. The cross-cultural love story of Kumail, a Muslim Pakistani comedian, and Emily, a Caucasian graduate student from North Carolina, is an emotional roller coaster that will make you laugh, make you cry, and have you rooting for this young couple faced with obstacles that include serious illness. Ultimately, it shows that people of good will can find common ground with those who are very different from themselves.Read More
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Eleven year old Noah Ades, a student at Portsmouth Music and Arts (PMAC) for the past two years, is sitting in the lobby of The Music Hall historic theater with a group of his fellow students on the afternoon of Saturday July 30. They are eagerly waiting to meet jazz superstar and tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington, who is visiting with his band between performances at the Newport Jazz Festival. After chatting with Washington, the students are going upstairs to listen to the band’s sound-check as they prepare for a concert that evening.Read More
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Saturday morning, June 25, 2016. I deliver a bag of food to The Music Hall Historic Theater, watching in awe as throngs of people do the same: a mom and her teenaged son from Eliot, Maine, a young family arriving on bicycles, a local businessman with his SUV trunk full of packed groceries. It’s the second year that The Music Hall has partnered with the Seacoast Family Food Pantry to fill every seat in the hall with food for its Summer Meals 4 Kids program—and this year, it’s also the date of a Music Hall Community Open House with complimentary historic and tech tours of the 1878 theater, selfie photo ops up on stage, and a free afternoon family movie.Read More
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At the Shadows Fall North premiere, from left: Burt Feintuch, UNH English professor & Director, Center for the Humanities, UNH; Valerie Cunningham, historian & founder, Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail; JerriAnne Boggis, Director, Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail; Brian Vawter, Director & Editor of Shadows Fall North; Nancy Vawter, Producer, Atlantic Media Productions; Jason Sokol, Associate Professor of History, UNH & panel moderator; Chris Curtis, Music Hall Programming Coordinator
No one expected a Tuesday night documentary exposing hard truths about African American history in New Hampshire to be a sellout event.
Yet, nearly 700 people came to see the world premiere of Shadows Fall North in The Music Hall’s Historic Theater on May 26. Produced by UNH’s Center for the Humanities and Atlantic Media Productions, the film features the key players responsible for Portsmouth’s African Burying Ground memorial park, honoring the centuries-old souls discovered beneath city sidewalks more than a decade ago. And it delves deep into the overlooked history of racism in Northern New England. A rallying cry to acknowledge untold stories and set history straight, it brought the house to a standing ovation.Read More
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