15 area concerts to appease your sonic demands this fall

Positioned just an hour north of Boston, the Seacoast is ideally situated to attract nationally touring bands as they swing through the Northeast. While some acts reserve their biggest road trips for the summer, others are traveling extensively this fall. Mid-size venues from Portland, Maine, to Salisbury, Mass., are hosting regional and national acts that should generate plenty of excitement for area fans. Here’s a roundup of 15 highlights coming up over the next few months.

Friday, Sept. 10: Rustic Overtones at The Stone Church in Newmarket, 9 p.m., $17: Helmed by singer and guitarist Dave Gutter, Rustic Overtones has remained one of Portland, Maine’s most prominent bands since the early 1990s. The jazzy rock group took a break to pursue solo projects from 2002 to 2006, but has since reestablished itself as one of the region’s favorite acts. They released their latest studio disc, “The New Way Out,” late in 2009, and it’s been near the top of Bull Moose’s local bestseller list ever since. The Overtones will return to one of their preferred haunts in Newmarket.

Saturday, Sept. 18: The Wailers at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton, 8 p.m., $20-$23: Driven by nostalgia for the music of late legend Bob Marley, The Wailers have been touring heavily over the past couple of years. Marley’s former band hit The Music Hall in February and the Casino Ballroom last year, and they’re returning to the Ballroom with a dense arsenal of classic reggae tunes in September. Led by original Wailers bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett, the band will bring an authentic taste of Jamaican music to the Seacoast (The Wailers will also be at the Port City Music Hall on Sept. 19).

Tuesday, Sept. 21: Mastodon at Port City Music Hall in Portland, 7:30 p.m., $25-$40: Mastodon formed in Atlanta roughly a decade ago, but the progressive metal band rose to international prominence with the release of its 2004 album “Leviathan.” The group’s fourth studio album, “Crack the Skye,” released early in 2009, debuted at number 11 on the Billboard chart and has now sold close to half a million copies in the United States. With a darkly experimental sound and frequent time changes, Mastodon stands as a beacon of modern metal. Known for relentless touring, the quartet will be in Portland on the first day of fall.

Friday, Sept. 24: Mates of State at The Space Gallery in Portland, 9:30 p.m., $12-$15: Husband and wife duo Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner each sing and play numerous instruments to create their own quirky brand of pop-rock. “Crushes (The Covers Mixtape),” their sixth full-length release, came out just a couple of months ago, featuring a number of uniquely executed covers by The Mars Volta, Belle & Sebastian, Death Cab for Cutie, Nick Cave, Tom Waits and others. Originally from Kansas and now based in California, their gig at The Space is a chance to see a top indie act in an intimate setting.

Saturday, Sept. 25: Tantric at Rochester Opera House in Rochester, 8 p.m., $24: The supporting cast around lead singer Hugo Ferreira has changed over the last decade, but Kentucky-based band Tantric has retained a distinctive hard rock sound since 2001, when it released its platinum-selling, self-titled debut album. The group has since toured with the likes of Kid Rock, Creed, 3 Doors Down and others, and has drawn fond comparisons to Alice in Chains. A little over a year after the release of its latest album, “Mind Control,” Tantric will come to Rochester with fellow rockers Burn Halo and Flaw.

Thursday, Sept. 30: JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, 7:30 p.m., $26-$38: Already a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Chrissie Hynde has embarked on a new musical project with Welsh producer and singer-songwriter JP Jones. Hynde, former front woman of The Pretenders and a trendsetter in punk and new wave music since the 1970s, is more than 30 years older than Jones. Their new band’s first album, “Fidelity,” documents their unconventional relationship with 11 tracks of fierce rock and country strains. The six-piece band will be joined in Portsmouth by opener Amy Correia.

Monday, Oct. 11: Deerhoof at The Space Gallery in Portland, 8 p.m., $13-$15: Deerhoof’s music is exceedingly difficult to describe, but it’s what Nirvana might have sounded like had they adopted psychedelic Japanese and progressive metal elements. The best way to introduce yourself to Deerhoof’s grungy, experimental sound is to search YouTube for their live performance in “Juan’s Basement.” Fronted by Tokyo native Satomi Matsuzaki on bass and vocals, plus two guitars and drums, the San Francisco band has released 10 albums since 1997, and their October gig in Portland will serve as a sure autumn highlight for any fan of raucous garage rock.

Wednesday, Oct. 20: Marco Benevento at The Stone Church in Newmarket, 9 p.m., $10: Pianist, keyboardist and organist Marco Benevento’s eclectic playing straddles a number of musical genres. He earned a name for himself as half of the New York-based Benevento/Russo Duo with drummer Joe Russo, but has also played with Phish alums Trey Anastasio and Mike Gordon, as well as modern jazz greats like Charlie Hunter and Stanton Moore. Benevento has performed at The Stone Church in several contexts over the years, and he’ll return with his own jazzy rock trio featuring bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Andrew Barr.

Thursday, Oct. 21: Justin Townes Earle at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, 7:30 p.m., $17-$22: Country-folk singer and guitarist Justin Townes Earle will head to The Music Hall about a month after the release of his forthcoming album “Harlem River Blues,” which is due out Sept. 14. Based in Nashville, he’s the son of folk icon Steve Earle and was named after legendary songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Those are big shoes to fill for an artist still in his 20s, but Earle has rapidly developed a following of his own. He’ll take the spotlight in Portsmouth along with opener Jessica Lea Mayfield.

Sunday, Oct. 24: The Black Crowes at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in  Hampton, 8 p.m., $36-$39: The Black Crowes have come a long way since Rolling Stone named them “Best New American Band” 20 years ago. The New York-based rock group led by lanky lead singer Chris Robinson has sold upwards of 30 million CDs. Their new double album “Croweology” includes 20 rearranged tracks from the band’s 20-year history, stretching back to 1990’s immensely popular “Shake Your Money Maker.” The band comes to Hampton as part of its “Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys” tour, after which the group plans to take a lengthy break.

Sunday, Oct. 24: Yonder Mountain String Band at Port City Music Hall in Portland, 8 p.m., $20-$25: Hailing from the mountains of Colorado, the four members of Yonder Mountain String Band are among the bluegrass torchbearers who have helped advance the music’s modern revival. Equipped with a banjo, a mandolin, a guitar and an upright bass, they incorporate rock and country elements into a timeless sound that has been pleasing fans of acoustic music for more than a decade. A little over a year after the release of their fifth studio album, “The Show,” the quartet is touring like mad this fall.

Friday, Oct. 29: Paranoid Social Club at Dover Brick House in Dover, 9 p.m., $11: What better band to headline the Brick House’s annual “Halloween Mayhem” bash than Portland’s Paranoid Social Club? The garage rockers behind such regional hits as “Wasted” and “Two Girls” are the perfect party band. Rustic Overtones members Dave Gutter on vocals and guitar, Jon Roods on bass and Marc Boisvert on drums formed the Social Club after the Overtones temporarily broke up in the early 2000s. They’ll be joined in Dover by Mission Hill and Son of a Bad Man two nights before Halloween.

Tuesday, Nov. 2: Blues Traveler at Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury, Mass., 8 p.m., $35: Fans who caught Blues Traveler at Redhookfest in Portsmouth this summer don’t have to wait long to see the band at another local venue. Helmed by singer and harmonica extraordinaire John Popper, the jam-happy rock band has been performing for 23 years, playing some 2,000 live shows for 3 million people. Among their 12 live and studio albums, five have been certified gold or platinum, with combined sales of more than 10 million CDs. But they’re still best known for live improvisations, and that’s just what they’ll offer at Salisbury Beach.

Friday, Nov. 19: Medeski Martin & Wood at Port City Music Hall in Portland, 8 p.m., $25-$48: Despite an array of solo efforts and side projects of various sorts, keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood still generate torrents of musical creativity when they get together as a trio. The group introduced a box set of its Radiolarians Series last December, encompassing three experimental albums released in 2008 and ’09. With a penchant for improvisational jazz bolstered by touches of funk, hip-hop, rock and electronica, MMW’s appeal has only widened since the Brooklyn-born group’s first album hit shelves in 1992.

Saturday, Nov. 20: Martin Sexton at Rochester Opera House in Rochester, 8 p.m., $32-$34: Released in April, singer-songwriter Martin Sexton’s ninth studio album, “Sugarcoating,” continues his legacy of dropping various American roots genres into a musical melting pot. A New York native who moved to Boston in the 1980s, Sexton is well-versed in folk, country, blues, rock, soul and R&B. He’s also got a distinctive voice with strong beatboxing skills and a uniquely percussive guitar style. Sexton performed at The Music Hall as recently as March, and will return to the area for a show in Rochester this fall.