Jon Papandrew, operations manager at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, has been welcoming major musicians to Hampton for more than a decade. It came as a shock to the Ballroom staff when Papandrew was diagnosed with liver cancer that has metastasized to his bones. On top of the physical and emotional toll on Papandrew and his family, the cost of medical treatment totals nearly $6,000 per month.

The Ballroom will host a benefit show featuring rock legends Little Feat on Thursday, Aug. 20. Proceeds from the $20 tickets will go directly to the Papandrew family to help pay for cancer drugs and other expenses.

Little Feat formed in 1969 after founding songwriter and instrumentalist Lowell George departed Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention to start his own band. George died in 1979, but the band is still touring the nation with a seven-piece ensemble. Regular summer performers at the Ballroom, their most recent studio album, “Kickin’ It at the Barn,” came out in 2003.

The music begins at 8 p.m. at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, 169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 603-929-4100. People who can’t attend the concert but are interested in making a donation should send it to The Jon Papandrew Relief Fund, Banknorth, c/o Ms. Kelli Plante, Service Manager, P.O. Box 243, Rye, N.H. 03870. For more information, visit www.casinoballroom.com.

These United States heading for N.H.

The Red Door in Portsmouth continues to book burgeoning national acts in its Monday night Hush Hush Sweet Harlot series. The State Street venue will welcome These United States on Aug. 24.

Splitting their home base between Lexington, Ky., and Washington, D.C., These United States are touring in support of their forthcoming CD, “Everything Touches Everything,” due out Sept. 1. The summer tour hits both coasts and features performances with Deer Tick, The Walkmen, the Dandy Warhols and others. 

Led by singer Jesse Elliott, the band is a spirited indie rock gem with inventive musical ideas evolving from the folk tradition. The sound is somewhat reminiscent of New Hampshire native Will Sheff’s Okkervil River, but Elliott’s vocal delivery is more akin to M. Ward.

The band also includes Robby Cosenza, J. Tom Hnatow, Justin Craig, and Colin Kellogg. Their forthcoming album will be their third in the last 18 months, following “A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden” and “Crimes,” both released in 2008.

Joining These United States will be local singer Courtney Brocks and the New Jersey-based Julian Peterson Quartet. The show begins at 8 p.m. at The Red Door, 107 State St., 603-373-6827. There is a $5 suggested donation. For more information, visit www.theseunitedstates.net or www.myspace.com/theseunited.

Lynch signs “Truth in Music” bill

New Hampshire recently became the latest state to enact the “Truth in Music” bill, a piece of legislation intended to prevent imposter bands from posing as legitimate acts. Gov. John Lynch signed Senate Bill 130 into law on Aug. 12.

It’s yet another victory for Jon Bauman, better known as Sha Na Na’s lovable grease-ball Bowzer, who chairs the Truth in Music Committee. Bauman has been pushing the bill across the nation for several years and has now gotten it passed in more than 30 states. He was on hand at the signing in Concord.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jacalyn Cilley (D-Barrington), prohibits deceptive musical advertisements or performances through the use of phony affiliations with existing bands. Violations of the law, which goes into effect in January, will be punishable by a fine of between $5,000 and $15,000.

Bauman’s greaser character in Sha Na Na helped generate a wave of 1950s nostalgia often credited as an inspiration for the Broadway musical “Grease” and the TV show “Happy Days.” Also a successful solo artist and actor, his national campaign to promote the Truth in Music bill began in earnest in 2004. A federal bill will be introduced this fall.