With apologies to tight-lipped regulars hoping to keep the place to themselves, Dover Soul is primed to take its rightful place among Seacoast music venues.  Let another establishment assume the time-honored cliché of being named a town’s best-kept secret.

Four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, Liz Parmalee books live music, from slow jazz to singer/songwriters to solo acts you might more typically see in an ensemble.

When Parmalee, a local singer-songwriter herself and University of New Hampshire senior, began working at the coffeehouse a year ago, she never envisioned she would be running a music series in the adjacent martini bar within a few months.

“Chris Rose, one of the bartenders, heard my CD and asked me to play on Wednesday when he was working. That turned into me playing every Wednesday,” she says. Parmalee began bringing friends to share sets with her and booking other musicians for Wednesday nights. From there, the series expanded, first to Tuesdays as the designated jazz night, then an additional jazz night on Mondays and bands on Thursdays. Wednesday remains a singer-songwriter night.

Parmalee says the demand has been strong. “I didn’t force it to happen; it’s been a product of the scene seeking it out,” she says. “I am so impressed with Dover musically.”

Louis Hamel opened Dover Soul, along with the adjoining Little Louie’s Fish House, in December 2004. Hamel sees the coffeehouse as a place for the community to gather, a comfortable space not engulfed by the pressures of purchase. One of the few smoke-free bars in town, the martini bar possesses what Rose describes as a “comfortable elegance.” Mostly crimson and black, it is a sleek environment without being pretentious, modern and warm at the same time, aided by couches and lit candles. “When you walk in, you instantly think jazz and blues,” says Rose.

While Parmalee is not a jazz musician herself, Rose knew he wanted to get her to perform there the first time he heard her play. “We could put in a CD, but people would always rather hear live music,” he says.

The series serves as a pleasant surprise to some, a showcase of new sounds for others, and a lifeline to the local music scene for many. Since its inception, Parmalee has drawn interest from a mix of musicians both local and outside of the Seacoast, commonly hearing from band members excited by the chance to play in a more stripped down mode.

“People are so eager to do side projects or perform solo,” Rose notes. “Even if you know the band, we provide the opportunity to hear someone do something different.”

Solo jazz guitarist Steve Carter, whom Parmalee credits as being instrumental in establishing the jazz nights, usually performs once a month.

“When I moved to Dover from Boston about a year ago, I was hoping I would find a small, intimate club where I could play solo jazz guitar. The Tuesday night jazz series at Dover Soul has turned out to be just what I was looking for,” Carter says. “The acoustics of the room are excellent for solo guitar, so I can easily fill the room with music.”

Another musician who has been playing at Dover Soul since the series started is Paul Henderson, featured the second Wednesday of every month. Parmalee cites those nights as “real community events,” with Henderson often enlisting the skills of other local musicians such as Jim Rudolph and Nick Phaneuf, whom Parmalee also schedules independently.

Yet the room has also proven versatile. Though at first booking according to a no-drums rule and skeptical about bands, Parmalee realized that band performances actually worked well in the room after she scheduled Pondering Judd and watched them adapt to the space.

“What impresses me most about the room is that it seems to adjust itself to more than one ambiance,” Carter says. “A variety of customers, with a variety of tastes, spanning many age brackets, and in each instance, the room seems to be just the right place for that kind of music, that type of crowd.”

live at Dover Soul this week
Wednesday, Feb 8: Paul Henderson
Thursday, Feb. 9: Adam Flaherty Noise Machine
Monday, Feb. 13: Nick Phaneuf
Tuesday, Feb. 14: JT Trio
Wednesday, Feb. 15: Dan Blakeslee
Thursday, Feb. 16: Dave Gerard
For booking inquiries, e-mail This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it