Seacoast Irish Festival: The Seacoast Irish Festival underwent a five-year hiatus before returning to downtown Dover last summer. The festival will resume again with more than a dozen performers on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Hosted by the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce and Dover Main Street, the afternoon festival celebrates the Garrison City’s Irish heritage with live music, dancing, food vendors, art, jewelry and children’s activities.

Performers include Schooner Fare, Bradigan, Sunday’s Well, Alan Loughane, Patsy Whelan, Kevin Byrne, and The McTeggarts, with others expected to be added in coming weeks. The concert will culminate with a musical tribute to the late Eugene Byrne, a long-time Dover resident and one of the festival’s founders.

The event takes place from noon to 9 p.m. on Sept. 10 at the Rotary Arts Pavilion in Henry Law Park. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the gate. For more information, visit www.seacoastirishfestival.org.

Guthrie wraps up Prescott Park concert series: Arlo Guthrie will soon play the final installment of the 2011 River House Restaurant Concert Series at Prescott Park in Portsmouth. The living folk legend will take the outdoor stage on Friday, Aug. 26.

Guthrie, the eldest son of late folk icon Woody Guthrie, has been an international folk sensation since the 1967 release of “Alice’s Restaurant.” He starred in a film adaptation of the album in 1969 and performed at Woodstock that same year. He has toured around the world and now runs his own label, Rising Son Records.

Guthrie is known for sharing warm stories and anecdotes during his live performances. The show will offer a celebratory conclusion to the Prescott Park Arts Festival’s concert series, which logged heavy attendance this summer. It begins at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26 at the park on Marcy Street. There is an $8 to $10 suggested donation.

For more information, visit www.prescottpark.org or call 603-436-2848.

guitar god Thompson in Portsmouth: A man widely considered one of the world’s greatest living guitarists will play a solo acoustic show at The Music Hall on Monday, Aug. 29.

British folk rocker Richard Thompson has been performing for about five decades and has written some 400 songs. He has recorded more than 40 albums, starting with his 1972 debut “Henry the Human Fly” and stretching through his Grammy-nominated 2010 release “Dream Attic.” He’s also a renowned guitar virtuoso who landed at number 19 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. 

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 603-436-2400, www.themusichall.org. Tickets are $42 to $30.