MANCHESTER, NH – The Shaskeen will double as home away from home for Old Sol Music Hall and its Winter Sol Benefit Concert, coming up on Jan. 21, a belated New Year’s celebration including live music, drinks and dancing, with a twist.
The cause?
Supporting Old Sol’s quest for a proposed non-profit performance venue/community center in the heart of downtown Manchester. More on that in a minute.
The Jan. 21 benefit will feature two local bands – Pat & the Hats and Sarah & the Wild Versatile, who will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. for part 2 of the benefit festivities.
The aforementioned twist starts at about 4 p.m., when a select number of attendees will kick it Old Sol benefit-style by participating in a community service project at New Horizons for New Hampshire. Volunteers will meet at New Horizons at 3:45 p.m. to help out by serving food, and unloading, sorting, and organizing donations received by New Horizons. There’s only room for 20 volunteers, and the slots are going fast, so click here now to sign up, then come back and finish reading.
Winter Sol is a way to keep momentum going as negotiations continue between the city and Old Sol. Last spring the organization submitted a proposal to take over the old Rex Theatre on Amherst Street and transform it into a live music venue. Funding is a major part of the puzzle, which is why these benefits are so important, says Alyssa Solomon, Old Sol General Manager.
Partnering with local organizations and businesses for “pop up” fundraising concerts has allowed Old Sol organizers to keep the buzz going while showing how their business model will be an asset to the community.
For example, Winter Sol follows June’s Summer Servathon, an outdoor concert at Victory Park, which was preceded by a food-packaging effort that resulted in 20,000 pre-packed healthy meals for local residents in need.
“By putting on regular programming, like the summer show, and now this one at the Shaskeen, it makes Old Sol bigger than just one location, at least until we have a space of our own,” says Solomon, a co-founder of Old Sol, along with Matt and Jody Wilhelm.
“We’d love to see a full room at the Shaskeen. We’re really excited about the bands, both of them are high-energy, which will be fitting since this will be more of a celebration of the New Year, and a belated celebration of the winter solstice than anything,” Solomon said.
Attendees are asked to bring along a can or box of non-perishable food, which will also go to New Horizons in exchange for a raffle ticket for a chance to win an Old Sol T-shirt.
Tickets for the 21+ show are $20 and can be purchased online here.
About the bands
Pat & the Hats
Running with the Dr. Seuss notion that clever rhymes can woo pretty much anybody, Pat & the Hats are conquering the local music scene one swooning fan at a time. Their suave, yet pungent musicianship has caused their 2014 debut album Fake It ‘Till You Make a Hit to make ample waves in the vast pool of New England music – from accruing numerous local awards, to sharing bills with Lake Street Dive and Lucius, the band has achieved more in a year than some bands hope to in five. Check them out here.
Sarah & the Wild Versatile
Sarah and the Wild Versatile are a fresh addition to the Boston music scene; teaming their long-standing performance experience and wide range of musical expertise with unique instrumental ingenuity and lyrical prowess. Ranging from blues to synth rock, folk to soul, and most anything in between, Sarah and the Wild Versatile have been taking the Boston Music scene by storm; performing with Grammy award winner Booker T. Jones, Nick Moss Band, Danny Bedrosian’s Secret Army featuring members of Parliament Funkadelic, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Jesse Dee, Ruby Rose Fox, and many others. Find out more here.
About Old Sol
Old Sol Music Hall is a nonprofit organization working to establish a performance venue and community space in downtown Manchester. Projected to open in 2018, Old Sol will leverage the arts to create positive social and environmental impact through providing cultural and civic programming, along with opportunities for patrons to give back to the local community. The long-term objective of Old Sol is to build social capital within New Hampshire to attract and retain its Millennial workforce.
