For musicians across country there really may be, as everyone’s favorite wayward youth once said, “no place like home.” Great music is, of course, very conscious of its home: San Francisco’s Haight Street was once a Dead Head haven, Seattle streets sprouted flannel-shirted “grungers” — and who could forget those notorious blues bandits Jake and Elwood racing through downtown Chicago. It’s no secret that for years, great music has been birthed from great places. But what is the Northeast’s answer to these musical hotspots? The region’s newest emerging music scene isn’t Portland, but Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where license plates read, “Live Free or Die.” If you choose the former, you’ll have time to enjoy a surprisingly lively music scene on the state’s famous coastline. From funk, to indie rock, to jazz — the New Hampshire Seacoast has sprouted one of the Northeast’s most diverse and happening music scenes. With major performance centers in Portsmouth, Newmarket, and Dover, the Seacoast is home to countless songwriters, music festivals, societies, and clubs.
“We find people traveling all over the Seacoast — some from Newmarket going into Portsmouth, and as far north as York, Maine,” says Peter Hamelin, co-founder of the Seacoast Music Collaborative. To promote it all, the group (founded by Hamelin, Margaret Talcott, and Dave Karlotski) has received a grant from the state of New Hampshire, which has jump-started a campaign to help put this region on the map for music lovers. In addition the group is working with the region’s venues to raise nearly $5000 in matching funds to help support the production of 15,000 color brochures, which will be distributed throughout New England in April, and will serve as an 4x9-inch paper portal into the Seacoast music world.
“We have a great scene here — what we need to do now is get the word out,” says Talcott. Several major performance centers, like the Hampton Beach Casino, the Performance House in Portsmouth, and the Rochester Opera House (pictured) will be contributing to the effort in addition to clubs, bars, and some of the region’s other more intimate venues. But the Music Collaborative isn’t the only group working hard to get this scene off its feet: More than 200 bands are currently participating in the Seacoast’s “Record Production Month” — in which musicians are challenged to produce one album (10 songs, or 35 minutes) in just 28 days. To celebrate the end of this unique recording spree the Stone Church will be hosting a CD release party in March (watch Listings for details).
But perhaps the most interesting thing about the Seacoast is its avoidance of one single genre. Each town seems to provide unique sound — although bands certainly “cross-pollinate,” as Hamelin describes it. “In Newmarket, with bands like the Ride and Funk Foot, it’s a sort of jam/groove world. Portsmouth has a thriving indie rock scene with bands like Nat Baldwin and Spell Hawk — but if you go up to Dover you’ll find a heavier scene.” Spread across several small towns, this is certainly a region that lacks a genre label like major cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago. But not being typecast is a good thing for any musical “home.” And although visitors may not know exactly who this music scene is really for — with this new promotional effort, they will soon know exactly when and where it’s happening.
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E-mail the author:
Hootie Giangreco: clgiangr@colby.edu
