Longtime Seacoast musician Don Fancy performs for the crowd at The Oar House in Portsmouth every Thursday and Friday night, and this week will be no exception, despite the fact that Friday is his birthday. And it’s a big one. 

“I’m turning 80,” the pianist readily admits.

Fancy has been tickling the ivories of The Oar House restaurant’s grand piano for the last 25 years. Planting himself on the bench from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., Fancy sweeps his well-trained fingers across the keys and turns notes into melodies for the enjoyment of drinkers and diners.

Fancy has played for Ray Guerin, owner of The Oar House, since Guerin bought the Ceres Street restaurant 14 years ago. Guerin says Fancy’s style of piano playing is a good match for the restaurant’s setting. “It fits everyone’s mood and it’s great for background during dinner,” he says.

Fancy plays music that he likes to listen to himself, and since he has been practicing piano for more than 70 years, that’s quite a repertoire to pull from. He characterizes his selections as mostly reminiscent of old jazzy tunes from the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. But he also accepts audience requests.

Fancy calls The Oar House his second home. Nice staff, good food, appreciative customers and a well-tuned piano are among the list of factors that keep him returning week after week. He says he used to play at more venues, but over the past few years, problems with his vision have prevented him from driving to gigs outside the Portsmouth area. “I just don’t trust myself driving long distances at night,” he says.

These days, Fancy’s schedule is more relaxed. In addition to his two weekly evenings at The Oar House, he plays at St. John’s Church in Portsmouth during its weekly “common table” event, a free community meal starting at noon on Thursdays. Fancy plays for free at the weekly church event and often donates his tips to the Salvation Army and other area organizations. “I find a way to pass it on some way or another,” he says of his piano proceeds.

Guerin says Fancy draws loyal fans who visit the restaurant regularly just to see him. Fancy calls them groupies, and although he doesn’t explain it this way, it seems apparent that his following has as much to do with his warm and colorful character as it does with his musical aptitude.

When he is not playing piano, Fancy finds other ways of keeping busy during the long New England winter. “Right now, I sit in my house looking out at the snow,” he says. Fancy and his wife Edwina used to move south to Savannah, Ga., for the winter months, but now they brave the cold right here on the Seacoast.

Fancy begrudgingly confesses to spending much of the winter season at the mall. The location is excellent for indoor walking, but Fancy finds the atmosphere less thrilling. “It’s boring,” he says. “But, you know, I’m almost 80. It’s not like I am out running the streets.”

But Fancy continues to run his fingers over the black and white keys of his beloved instrument. He invites anyone who wants to hear him play to stop in to The Oar House on a Thursday or Friday night. “I am the guy with the scruffy beard playing the piano,” he says.