guitar prodigy hits the Seacoast

Teenage guitar phenom Luke Mulholland will demonstrate his highly touted six-string skills during upcoming shows in Dover and Portsmouth. The 19-year-old Canadian native will be at the Dover Brick House on Saturday, Jan. 17 and at the Muddy River Smokehouse in Portsmouth on Friday, February 20.

Mulholland has garnered a reputation as an emerging blues guitar sensation. After taking up the instrument at age 10, he recorded his first solo album at 14 and formed his band, Mulholland Drive, at 15. While opening for Bon Jovi in 2006, he complemented his Stevie Ray Vaughan-esque voice with a screeching behind-the-head solo during a performance of Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House.”

Mulholland is kicking off a tour in support of his 2008 release “Further.” The album features a mix of originals and classic rock and blues covers. His deep and often growling vocals and intensely bluesy guitar licks reflect a wealth of influences that includes Hendrix, Clapton and Zeppelin. Other dates on the tour will feature performances with such established stars as Dickie Betts, The Marshal Tucker Band and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

The show on Jan. 17 will also include a set from New York-based rocker Matt Lowell. The 18-plus show begins at 9 p.m. at the Brick House, 2 Orchard St., Dover, 603-749-3838. The 21-plus show on Feb. 20 begins at 8 p.m. at the Muddy River, 21 Congress St., Portsmouth, 603-430-9582. For more on Luke Mulholland, visit www.lukemulholland.com or www.myspace.com/lukemulhollandmusic.

new concert venue opens in Portland

The Port City Music Hall, located in downtown Portland, Maine, will open its doors for the first time on Saturday, Jan. 17, with a performance from Fear Nuttin Band with Sidecar Radio. The new concert venue has already booked a blend of established national bands and up-and-coming regional acts through the end of March.

Formerly a movie theater and then a sports bar, the three-story space can hold up to 660 people in its central auditorium. Depending on the size and genre of each show, the room will feature cabaret seating with small tables, seats arranged in rows, standing room and a large dance floor.

Owner Rob Evon worked with Portland businesses like ALPHAarchitects and Joshua Bergey Design Studios to create the multi-use space. In addition to the main music hall, there is a front lounge with groupings of couches and chairs and a lower-level lounge with pool tables and live video feeds from the stage. The third floor consists of administrative and production offices, as well as dressing rooms with showers and a rooftop deck for the artists.

Based in Springfield, Mass., Fear Nuttin Band blends reggae, dancehall, hip-hop and hard rock to produce a unique and positive sound. The band’s 2007 debut album “Yardcore” is full of political statements expressing the band members’ beliefs and values. Sidecar Radio is a local rock-reggae band based in Portland.   

Other upcoming acts at the venue include Lovewhip on Jan. 22, Zen Tricksters on Jan. 23, Collie Budz on Jan. 29, The Derek Trucks Band on Feb. 6, Johnny Winter on Feb. 15, Jazz Mandolin Project on Feb. 19, Duncan Sheik on March 12, OK Go on March 13 and Assembly of Dust on March 20.

Port City Music Hall is located at 504 Congress St., Portland, Maine, 207-899-4990. For a full schedule of shows, visit www.portcitymusichall.com.

concert will honor jazz greats at UNH

This year’s annual Harry Jones Memorial Concert will pay tribute to legendary jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and big band arranger Bob Florence at the University of New Hampshire on Sunday, Jan. 20. Presented by the Seacoast Big Band, the show begins at 8 p.m. at Johnson Theatre in the Paul Creative Arts Center.

UNH director of jazz studies David Seiler will lead the band as it honors Ferguson and Florence, both of whom died in 2008. The show will also play arrangements from the Count Basie Orchestra and the Tonight Show Band. 

Maynard Ferguson first gained recognition in the 1950s while performing with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. For the next 50-plus years, he led a number of small and big bands and recorded dozens of albums. Florence composed and arranged for orchestras led by Harry James, Buddy Rich, Count Basie, Stan Kenton and others during the course of his career and also fronted his own band.

The concert, co-sponsored by the UNH music department and the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Jazz, is $8 for the general public, $6 for students and seniors. Tickets are sold at the UNH Memorial Union Building or at the theater door one hour prior to the show. Tickets are also available at www.unh.edu/mub. The Paul Creative Arts Center is located at 30 Academic Way, Durham. For more information, call 603-862-2290.