Upright bassist Nat Baldwin’s musical innovation has put him on a platform that continues to steadily rise. He is now an official member of New York-based experimental rock band Dirty Projectors, which is in the midst of an extensive summer tour and landed a write-up in the latest issue of Spin magazine. The article on page 44 of the July edition of Spin includes a large color photo of the six-piece band on the streets of Brooklyn, and Baldwin’s scruffy face is grinning at the far left.

This is not Baldwin’s first time in the spotlight. He performed on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” last fall as a member of Brooklyn-based band Department of Eagles. He has also garnered considerable attention as a solo artist with at least three albums under his belt. His inventive double-bass style and dynamic vocals have made him a local favorite at live shows. 

Baldwin’s own full band includes the three operators of Buoy in Kittery, Maine—guitarist Al Mead, saxophonist Jeremy LeClair and trumpet player Brett Deschenes. The Dirty Projectors offered a memorable performance at Buoy in February, and now the group is swinging through Canada before trickling down the West Coast with gigs in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

The Projectors are touring in support of their latest album, “Bitte Orca.” Spin describes a single from that album as featuring “boxy drum-machine beats, needling Malian guitar lick, and Mariah Carey-as-extraterrestrial vocalizations.” Still, Baldwin didn’t make the magazine’s cover, which is devoted to the 25th anniversary of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”

summer concerts kick off in Portsmouth, Greenland, Exeter and Stratham

One of the many appealing features of a summer on the Seacoast is the opportunity to consistently hear great music performed outdoors. In coming weeks, a number of summer concert series will kick off in local communities.

Pro Portsmouth’s annual Summer in the Street program begins with a set from T.J. Wheeler & the Smokers on Saturday, June 27, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Guests are invited to bring their own chairs and take a seat on Pleasant Street in Portsmouth, which will be closed to vehicular traffic from Market Square to Porter Street between 5 and 9:30 p.m. Other shows follow every Saturday through July.

Cormac McCarthy and Mainesqueeze each take the stage on July 4. July 11 is Kids Night on the Street, with performances from Mary Kaye and Professor Von Wienerschitzel, as well as The Little Red Wagon Tour/UNH Department of Theatre & Dance. Jeff Warner and Bruce McIntyre will perform on July 18, followed by Salt River and Wooden Eye on July 25. A yet-to-be-announced performance will conclude the series on Aug. 1.

The second annual Greenland Summer Concert Series takes off on Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m. with a set from Groove Authority. Listeners can bring blankets or lawn chairs to the Greenland Bandstand on Post Road and purchase hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks at the show. Following gigs take place every other Thursday through August, with The Spectras playing at 6 p.m. on July 9, East Bay Jazz Band performing at 6 p.m. on July 23, Grinning Lizards taking the stage at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 6, and the Air Force Brass Band concluding the series at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 20.

Also beginning on June 25 is the Exeter Recreation Department’s Summer Concert Series at Swasey Parkway. Shows take place every Thursday from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. through July, starting with SoulMate on June 25. Other acts include Rico Barr and the Jump Jive Review on July 2, the Chad Burdick Band on July 9, Boston Horns on July 16, High Range on July 23 and the Jenn Thayer Band on July 30. Exeter Rec will also present Truffle on Saturday, July 18.

The Stratham Recreation Commission will launch its own Summer Concert Series at Stratham Hill Park beginning with Nevers’ 2nd Regiment Band on Wednesday, July 1. The series continues on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. with the Half Moon Jug Band on July 8, Southern Breeze on July 15, Jessica Prouty on Aug. 5, The Crab Shack Band on Aug. 12, and the BaHa Brothers on Aug. 19. Blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets are welcome, and food concessions will be available.

The Whatnot is hot

Acoustic-rock act The Whatnot storms out of spring on a hot streak. The Portsmouth-based band opened for country legend Willie Nelson at the Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion in Gilford on May 31, just 10 days after performing at their alma mater UNH during the school’s annual Last Hurrah Lobster Bake. More recently, the trio played in downtown Portsmouth during the Market Square Day celebration on June 13.

The Whatnot’s first gig of the summer takes place at New Hampshire Magazine’s eighth annual Best of N.H. awards party at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester on Thursday, June 25. Closer to home, the group will perform at The Governor’s Inn Café in Rochester on Saturday, June 27 at 7 p.m. Looking ahead, they will also play a 21-plus show at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Saturday, July 25.

Consisting of Chris Mathews on percussion, Matt Junkin on bass and Patrick Curry on guitar, The Whatnot formed late in 2002 after graduating from UNH the previous year. The band features a high-energy folk-rock style with heavy hand drums, peppy acoustic guitar riffs and shared vocals from all three members. Lately, they have been jamming with a fourth musician, keyboardist Joel Morse.

The group is still booking other gigs for the summer and fall and has already added August shows in Rochester and Dover. For more information, visit www.thewhatnot.com or www.myspace.com/thewhatnot.