This week’s round-up of live entertainment in and around Manchester is brought to you by A. Robert Dionne of Ted Herbert Music School & Rentals. Email your entertainment events to rob@majestictheatre.net for consideration. Be sure to add your events to the InkLink community calendar for possible inclusion in the live radio report on WMNH 95.3 (The Morning Show with Peter White – “World of Entertainment” LIVE every Thursday at 8 a.m.)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd
- Ariel Strasser / The Foundry (Manchester) / 5pm
- Ralph Allen / Homestead (Merrimack) / 5:30pm
- Dave Clark / Elm House of Pizza (Manchester) / 6pm
- Kimayo / San Francisco Kitchen (Nashua) / 6:30pm
- Clint Lapointe / Tortilla Flat (Merrimack) / 7pm
- Henry Laliberte / Telly’s (Epping) / 7pm
- Mugsy Trio / Stumble Inn (Londonderry) / 7pm
- Jordan Quinn / Copper Door (Bedford) / 7pm
- The Latch Key Gang Trio / City Hall Pub (Manchester) / 7pm
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24th
- John Chouinard / Gaucho’s (Manchester) / 6pm (Saturday 2/25 as well)
- April Cushman / Backyard Brewery (Manchester) / 6pm
- Charlie Chronopoulos / Village Trestle (Goffstown) / 6pm
- Ryan Williamson / Luna Bistro (Salem) / 7pm
- Jennifer Mitchell / Chantilly’s (Hooksett) / 8pm
- J-Lo Duo / Stumble Inn (Londonderry) / 8pm
- EXP Band / The Bar (Hudson) / 8pm
- Mica’s Groove Train / Strange Brew Tavern (Manchester) / 8:30pm
- Phil Maurice / Bonfire Country Bar (Manchester) / 9pm
- Gaviiformes / Shaskeen (Manchester) / 9pm
- Jake Pardee & Friends / Strange Brew Tavern (Manchester) / 9pm
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th
- Hank Osborne / Downtown Farmer’s Market (Concord) / 9am-12pm
- Alfredo Benavides / Great North Aleworks (Manchester) / 3pm
- Paul Nelson / To Share Brewing Company (Manchester) / 4pm
- Ralph Allen / The Wild Rover (Manchester) / 5pm
- Joanie Cicatelli / Homestead (Merrimack) / 6pm
- Paul Gormley / Fratello’s (Manchester) / 6pm
- Pete Peterson / Coach Stop (Londonderry) / 6pm
- Chris Lester / Over The Moon Farmstead (Pittsfield) / 6pm
- Josh Foster / San Francisco Kitchen (Nashua) / 6:30pm
- Justin Cohn / Chen Yang Li (Bow) / 7pm
- Off The Record / Derryfield (Manchester) / 8pm
- Crave / Lynn’s (Hudson) / 8pm
- Neon Rodeo / Bonfire Country Bar (Manchester) / 9pm
- Cosmic Blossom / Shaskeen (Manchester) / 9pm
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26th
- David Newsam / The Foundry (Manchester) / 10am
- John Paul Royer / Copper Door (Salem) / 11am
- Lilly Innella / Copper Door (Bedford) / 11am
- Steve Baker / Luna Bistro (Salem) / 4pm
Always be sure to check a venue’s website or social media for last-minute changes or to see if there are ticket or admission requirements. Thank you to Notso Costley Productions, NH Music Collective, and Bea’s Band List for your support and listings of LOCAL LIVE MUSIC.
Featured ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:
Click on DIRECT/x link for the official link to purchase tickets for each event.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd
THE PEKING ACROBATS feat. THE SHANGHAI CIRCUS / Stockbridge Theatre (Derry) / 7pm – DIRECT/x
For the last thirty-two years, The Peking Acrobats have redefined audience perceptions of Chinese acrobatics. They perform daring maneuvers atop a precarious pagoda of chairs and display their technical prowess at such arts as trick-cycling, precision tumbling, juggling, somersaulting, and gymnastics. They push the limits of human ability, defying gravity with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility, and control. As seen on numerous television shows and celebrity-studded TV specials, including Nickelodeon’s Unfabulous, Ellen’s Really Big Show (hosted by Ellen DeGeneres), The Wayne Brady Show, That’s Incredible, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and NBC’s Ring In The New Year Holiday Special. www.stockbridgetheatre.showare.com or (603)437-5210
MARSHALL TUCKER BAND / Tupelo Music Hall (Derry) / 8pm – DIRECT/x
The Marshall Tucker Band is noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound and helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. It has recorded and performed continuously under various line-ups for 50 years, with Lead vocalist Doug Gray remaining as the only original member still active with the band. The Marshall Tucker Band’s influence can be felt far and wide through many respected contemporaries and the artists who’ve followed the path forged by their collective footsteps and footstomps. www.tupelomusichall.com or (603)437-5100
CROCE PLAYS CROCE / Capitol Center (Concord) / 8pm – DIRECT/x
A.J. Croce performs Croce Plays Croce, a special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by his late father Jim Croce, some of his own tunes, and songs that influenced both him and his father. This special event features such timeless songs as “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Time in a Bottle,” (a song written for A.J.), “Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy),” and “Lovers Cross,” to name a few. Classic covers may include songs by Lieber and Stoller, Bessie Smith, and other folk and roots artists. Jim Croce was an American folk singer with a short-lived professional recording and touring career, and decades of posthumous fame as one of the greatest songwriters and artists ever. With sales surpassing 50 million records, including three #1 songs and 10 Top 10 hits, Jim Croce’s short career and long-lived legacy are well-remembered through his era-defining standards like “Operator,” “Time in a Bottle,” and “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” www.ccanh.com or (603)225-1111
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24th
THE 39 STEPS / City Auditorium (Concord) / 7:30pm – DIRECT/x – (also 2/25 – 7:30pm, 2/26 – 2pm)
A Comedy by Patrick Barlow / Presented by the Community Players of Concord. An ordinary man is flung into extraordinary circumstances when a female spy is murdered in his London flat. With a team of killers on his trail, Richard Hannay is tracked across England and Scotland, defying death in one seemingly inescapable scrape after another — including romance! Mix Hitchcock’s masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python, and you have The 39 Steps. Packed with nonstop laughs and over 150 zany characters (played by five actors!), it’s a comic thrill ride from start to finish. Not to be missed!! POSTPONED from 2/17-19. https://communityplayersofconcord.org/
QUEEN CITY IMPROV / Hatbox Theatre (Concord) / 7:30pm – DIRECT/x
Queen City Improv is Manchester’s finest improv troupe, and they’re bringing their act to the Capital City! Join QCI as they perform a night of goofs, gaffes, and laughs through a never before seen show-every night! Improvisational theater is made up on the spot, which means the games are planned but the scenes stories are not! What will they come up with next? Join us to find out! www.hatboxnh.com or (603)715-2315
SONGS OF A NATURAL WOMAN / Palace Theatre (Manchester) / 7:30pm – DIRECT/x (also 2/25)
An intimate tribute concert featuring the hit music of Carole King. The show will highlight songs from Carole’s career with an emphasis on Carole’s 1971 solo album, Tapestry, which took her to the pinnacle. In a first for a female writer/artist, Tapestry spawned four GRAMMY Awards® — Record, Song and Album Of The Year as well as Best Pop Vocal Performance. You’ll hear all your absolute favorites including You’ve Got A Friend, It’s Too Late, So Far Away and I Feel The Earth Move.
www.palacetheatre.org or (603)668-5588
FNC: KELLY MACFARLAND & FRIENDS / Rex Theatre (Manchester) / 7:30pm – DIRECT/x
As an experienced stand-up comedian, Kelly has an extensive and well-rounded resume including comedy clubs, theaters, colleges, festivals, television appearances and entertaining US troops overseas. Kelly was first runner up in the Boston Comedy Festival and voted Best of the Fest at the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival. Kelly has two albums available on iTunes, Amazon and SiriusXM radio. www.rextheatre.org or (603)668-5588.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th
LOTUS LAND / Tupelo Music Hall (Derry) / 8pm – DIRECT/x (also Friday, 2/24)
With an unparalleled performance, The American RUSH Tribute Lotus Land brings the force of live Rush to life on stage. Enjoyed by die-hard Rush fans, musicians, and casual music listeners alike, the Lotus Land experience has been heralded as the ultimate celebration of RUSH’s musical craftsmanship and spirited performances. With the true set up and sound of the Canadian power trio, Lotus Land delivers the thrill that people expect when they see RUSH in concert. Their performances have wowed sold-out houses in premiere concert venues and their fan base continues to grow nationally and internationally. This band is only doing a very few number of dates each year (twelve) so this will be one of the few shows they perform in 2022. www.tupelomusichall.com or (603)437-5100.
AN EVENING with SINGER/SONGWRITER TEDDY THOMPSON / Rex Theatre (Manchester) / 7:30pm – DIRECT/x
Called “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters of his generation,” by The New York Times, singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson is a native Englishman who has adopted New York City as his home; famously the son of singer-songwriters Richard and Linda Thompson, he emigrated to the States almost twenty years ago, barely out of his teens, to embark on a career of his own. He was heavily influenced not by folk music but by such artists as Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and the Everly Brothers. As NPR reported, “He has said he didn’t listen to any music made after 1959 until he was 16. As a kid, he listened to early rock ‘n’ roll and country music exclusively.” This resulted in a unique voice that is at once rock and country, then pop and folk. www.rextheatre.org or (603)668-5588
SCAMPS COMEDY PRODUCTIONS / Murphy’s Taproom, (Manchester) / 8pm – DIRECT/x
Every Saturday night, Scamps Comedy presents a different lineup of diverse, funny comedians in the back pub at Murphy’s Taproom. Steve Donovan headlines a great lineup of professional stand-up comedy, with L.A. transplant Adam Groppman, Jennifer Howell and Ajay Thakker.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26th
DISCOVERING MAGIC with Andrew Pinard / Hatbox Theatre (Concord) / 2:00pm / DIRECT/x
This “mind-numbing, jaw-dropping, eye-opening” experience takes audiences on a guided tour of the impossible and the absurd. Using only the most ordinary of objects, accomplished actor, conjuror, puppeteer, storyteller, and award-winning performer Pinard brings the ordinary to life with the most surprising results. The only show of its kind in the New England, audiences have traveled from throughout New England and beyond to experience sleight of hand, con games, psychology, history, science, comedy, political spin, and more through the eyes of a “perceptual engineer” on his quest to explore distortion and guile. Audiences can expect a truly unique experience and insight into how remarkable human perception and interpretation can be. www.hatboxnh.com or (603)715-2315
UPCOMING EVENTS:
HITS! THE MUSICAL with DIONNE WARWICK / Capitol Center (Concord) / March 1 at 7:30pm – DIRECT/x
Dionne Warwick, 6-time Grammy Award winner and music legend, presents Hits! The Musical – 90 minutes of pure joy with extraordinary singing, spectacular dancing, hundreds of costume changes and state of the art lighting and sound that will leave you amazed. Imagine songs like “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “Hero,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Singing In The Rain,” and nearly 80 more of America’s most iconic songs performed by the greatest young singers and dancers in the country. The cast of 29, ages 10-22, was selected from a nationwide audition of over 7,000 individuals. Their talent is exceptional and the energy is unsurpassed. This show is an unforgettable experience for the entire family. Hits! The Musical is for individuals of all ages and will leave you dancing in the aisles. Don’t miss America’s next great musical! www.ccanh.com or (603)225-1111
ROCKIN’ DADDIOS / Majestic Theatre (Manchester) / March 4 at 7pm – DIRECT/x
Doo-Wop music at it’s best! Join The Rockin‘ Daddios (and their band) for an amazing night of Doo-Wop music that will keep your toes tapping as we stroll down memory lane! They are well known for their great harmonies and are known to include audience participation along with their stage antics. This is a fun group of guys!. www.majestictheatre.net or (603)669-7469
Be sure to visit The WEEKENDER for more featured events out and about town this weekend!
