native jazz guitarist plays CD release show in Portsmouth

New Hampshire native Nick Grondin will return to the Seacoast on Sunday, May 10, to unveil his new CD with a show at The Press Room in Portsmouth.

Grondin is a jazz guitarist and composer who leads his own septet in Boston. Known as an instrumental storyteller, he incorporates rock and folk influences into his jazz style, sometimes reinterpreting songs by The Beatles and Radiohead.

Grondin attended the Edim School of Modern Music in Paris and later received his master’s degree in jazz composition from the New England Conservatory in Boston. He composes music for both small and large jazz ensembles and received the 2008 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award, as well as the 2008 Down Beat Magazine Student Music Award. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe.

The Nick Grondin Group consists of Grondin on guitar, Aubrey Johnson on vocals, Vivek Patel on horns, Michel Reis on piano, Aaron Kruziki on saxophones, Tal Gamlieli on double bass and Tyson Stubelek on drums.

The CD release show begins at 6 p.m. at The Press Room, 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 603-431-5186. There is a cover charge of $10. Visit www.nickgrondin.com or www.myspace.com/nickgrondinmusic. 

rock with Redlock and friends in Dover

Rock will rule the stage at the Dover Brick House on Saturday, May 9, injecting some home-forged metal into the Garrison City.

Boston-based quintet Redlock will lead the charge as they seek to spread their sound on the Seacoast. The band is fresh off a tour with national act Cold and is gearing up for a gig with Korn at Meadowbrook Farm in Gilford on May 23. Lead singer Sean Fletcher is the former front man of popular area act Window Pain, and drummer Travis Barton is a former member of Soup Bone Throne. The group also includes guitarists Pete Williams and Bo Abramczyk and bassist Jim Roese. Visit www.myspace.com/redlockmusic.

Also on the bill is fellow Boston metal act We’re All Gonna Die. Formed in the late 1990s, the trio consists of Jim Healey on guitar and vocals, bassist Jesse Sherman and drummer Eman Pacheco. The band seeks to harness the spirit of bands like Tool, Alice in Chains and Guns N’ Roses with a modern edge. Visit www.myspace.com/wereallgonnadie.

Rounding out the night is Dover’s own Bigfoot, who tout the correlation between volume, alcohol consumption and rock. The band members go by their stage names of Reverend Todd (vocals and guitar), Thunder (drums), Bud Heavy (guitar) and Sledge Hammered (bass). The group played at the Brick House as recently as April 29. Visit www.myspace.com/bigfootnh.

The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Dover Brick House, 2 Orchard St., Dover, 603-749-3838.