By Thérèse LaGamma
I’ve been listening to Billy Bragg’s music—especially his Mr. Love & Justice and Mermaid Avenue recordings—and I can’t tell you how excited I am to hear his performance at The Music Hall’s Historic Theater on Saturday, June 30 at 8pm. Arguably the U.K.’s most famous activist singer-songwriter of modern times, Billy’s first set celebrates Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday by exploring and expanding the Guthrie songbook—he was one of a handful of musicians who had access to the Guthrie archives. His second set will be pure Billy. I recently talked with the London-based star about his music, his politics, and his connection to Woody’s legacy. Read on for a fascinating conversation.Read More
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By Thérèse LaGamma
I’m pumped to welcome Jim’s Big Ego (JBE) to the Loft on Friday, June 29 at 8 pm. JBE is a band that has been making a lot of noise on the Boston music scene since the mid 90’s—performing in hip clubs like T.T. The Bears and The Middle East. Their song ‘Stress’ (video after the jump) was topping the charts on WERS, Emerson radio. Jim Infantino- the bands lead singer and founding member- rocks out while managing to insert both wisdom and razor sharp humor into his songs. Jim’s Big Ego is a cross between rockers Buffalo Tom and Stu &The Negro Problem. If you are a fan of either you will LOVE this band. Their new album has just come out. I was able to catch up with the talented - and very funny - Jim Infantino prior to its release.Read More
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By Chris Curtis
Dennis Neil Kleinman is an award-winning writer/producer whose work has appeared on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery and Nat Geo. He is also a classically trained musician whose compositions have been performed at the Kennedy Center, recorded by such artists as Bobby McFerrin and Phoebe Snow, and featured on television and in movies. He is best known for co-writing the theme song from the long-running children’s television series Reading Rainbow which was recently voted one of the top ten TV theme songs of all time. Programming Coordinator Chris Curtis caught up with him recently to get his thoughts on why opera resonates more than ever, and what fans can expect from the upcoming season of Met@The Music Hall.Read More
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The legendary singer songwriter, who catapulted to stardom in the 1970s with his hit, “Okie From Muskogee” and went on to win every imaginable country music award, makes his Music Hall debut on April 20. Haggard and his band, The Strangers, will launch the first Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival. Deputy Director of Programming/Curator Thérèse LaGamma interviewed him to get the backstory on his colorful past, what continues to inspire his music, and why his messages are more relevant than ever. Read on to discover why Haggard is arguably the coolest superstar of Americana music.Read More
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Comedy Central star Juston McKinney, performing his Merry Funny New England Christmas with Bob Lord and The Gaudy Baubles at the Historic Theater on December 8 and 9, comes clean to The Music Hall’s Thérèse LaGamma about humor and the holidays.Read More
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Chuck Palahniuk has been amazing readers with his writing for almost two decades, starting with his 1996 debut, Fight Club, right up to his 2010 release, Tell-All. Palahniuk’s books are gritty and gripping, and his new one, Damned, is no exception. The novel follows Madison, a young dead girl assigned to an afterlife in Hell, as she journeys to confront Satan about her situation. Chuck will be appearing at the Music Hall on Thursday, November 3, as part of the Writers on a New England Stage series. He recently took the time to answer a few questions about Damned, the afterlife, and the future of print books.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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From Laugh-In to The Music Hall stage, Lily Tomlin has had audiences in stitches for more than 30 years. Our Deputy Programming Director/Curator Therese LaGamma caught up with her recently to get the backstory on her illustrious career and talk about what makes Lily, Lily.Read More
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