music in the meadow

There are few better ways to celebrate the arrival of summer than by lounging in a grassy meadow while live music ushers in the evening. Durham’s Mill Pond Center for the Arts kicks off its 2008 Music in the Meadow Concert Series with a performance by Bliss on Thursday, June 19. The following night will feature a double-bill of gypsy jazz with the Robin Nolan Trio and New Hampshire’s own Ameranouche.

Bliss is a four-piece string band consisting of Kristan Bishop and Karen Larson on guitar, Cathy O’Brien on violin and Carolyn Hutton on mandolin. The band plays a mix of blues, folk, country and bluegrass songs, utilizing traditional ballads and original tunes. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children age 12 and under, free for children age 5 and under, $25 for whole families. The music begins at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will be available for purchase on site from Hickory Pond Inn.

Guitarist Robin Nolan has been called “amazingly good” by former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman and has even drawn praise from the late George Harrison. His style adds a modern edge to Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz sound of the 1930s and ’40s, featuring a dizzying stream of notes that is bound to mesmerize. Rounded out by his brother Kevin Nolan on rhythm guitar and Simon Planting on double bass, the trio has released at least six CDs and has performed around the globe.
Ameranouche returns to Mill Pond’s stage after playing a well-attended concert in the meadow last summer. Composed of lead guitarist Richard Sheppard, rhythm guitarist Ryan Flaherty and bassist Xar Adelberg, the trio has garnered a reputation as the Seacoast’s hottest gypsy jazz band.

Tickets for the show on Friday, June 20, are $20. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m., and dinner will be available for purchase on site from Blue Mermaid Island Grill in Portsmouth.

Other concerts at Mill Pond this summer include the Bernardo Monk Tango Quartet and Octavio Brunetti on July 6; Nice & Naughty on July 12; the New Hampshire Folk Festival on Aug. 23; and the New Hampshire Blues & Jazz Festival on Sept. 6.
All shows take place on the front porch of the Mill Pond Center, 50 Newmarket Road, Durham, 603-868-8999. Bring your own picnics, lawn chairs and blankets. Visit www.millpondcenter.org.

new improv night at Bourbon’s

No notes. No practices. No rules. Those are the three maxims of the new Improvisational Jam night kicking off at The Muddy River’s basement bar this summer. Hosted by Phlume Artist Management owner Chad Fillion, the free jams will occur every Wednesday from 9 p.m. to midnight, beginning June 25.

Different from a typical open mike event, Improvisational Jam night will feature full-blown hootenannies of entirely improvised music, open to anyone who wishes to participate. On the surface, it sounds reminiscent of The Tong, a former weekly event at Bourbon’s that opened the stage to a boggling variety of experimental musical acts.

But improv night will have an even looser format. Although Fillion will MC the event and will try to accommodate performers who want to do solo sets, musicians will generally be free to join the act on stage. Local and regional musicians are invited to bring their voices, instruments and ideas every Wednesday.

The only “rules” that apply to community jam nights are to leave your egos at home, don’t be rude and have fun. Fillion hopes to have a drum set on hand at the bar so that drummers do not have to bring their own. He is hoping that music fans will be enticed by the event’s free form and the lack of a cover charge. The music will ideally meld jam, jazz, blues, rock, bluegrass and other genres.

“It is sorta like our tiny little version of Everyone Orchestra,” Fillion said in an e-mail.

For more information, visit www.phlume.com/jam.

summer music in Rochester

The Governor’s Inn in Rochester kicks off its Summer Music Festival this weekend with performances by Slow Bill on Friday, June 20, Dustin Pearce on Saturday, June 21, and Gary Sredzienski & The Serfs on Sunday, June 22. Throughout the summer, bands will perform in the Inn’s moonlit garden from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, while the Sunday Garden Concert series brings in additional acts from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. The Friday and Saturday shows cost $5; Sunday shows are free. The Governor’s Inn is at 78 Wakefield St., Rochester, 603-332-0107. For a full schedule, visit www.governorsinn.com.