Thursday, September 30 7:30pm

Touring behind new CD, Fidelity
Opener: Amy Correia

INFO/TICKETS

Tickets on sale to members noon Friday August 6
Tickets on sale to public noon Friday, August 20

“Hynde’s gorgeous lilt of a voice (is) in perfect form”
– LA Times

The Music Hall, the landmark Victorian theater in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has just announced that it will present JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys featuring the legendary “Queen of Rock” (Spin Magazine) Chrissie Hynde in her newest musical project – a duo with Welsh producer/singer-songwriter JP Jones and their band, The Fairground Boys, Thursday, September 30, 2010 7:30pm as part of its Intimately Yours series sponsored by 92.5 The River. Tickets go on sale to members noon Friday August 6 and to the public noon Friday, August 20. They will be touring behind the group’s hotly anticipated CD debut, Fidelity! which features the bracing rock that Hynde fans will recognize, as well as some country touches that may surprise those who’ve heard Hynde’s professed aversion to country music over the years. The album documents the budding relationship between Hynde, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, and the up and coming Jones. The age gap between them figures in the lead-off track, “Perfect Lover,” in which Hynde sings, “I’ve found my perfect lover but he’s only half my age/He was learning how to stand when I was wearing my first wedding band.”

Officially formed earlier this year, JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys have already been creating quite a stir. The New York Daily News has said “The most exciting unknown band in town features someone we all know well…A kicking, six-piece band. With them, Hynde sounds reborn.” The Los Angeles Times agrees, “Hynde’s gorgeous lilt of a voice (is) in perfect form.”

“The Music Hall will be the perfect performance space to experience the latest musical adventure of this American rock icon,” said Kathleen Soldati, Director of Marketing. “Don’t miss out on seeing Chrissie Hynde make her Portsmouth debut!” Read the rest of this entry »

Just Announced!
Friday, October 29, 2010 8pm
Opener: Lucy Wainwright Roche

Tickets on sale to members now
Tickets on sale to public noon Friday, August 6

BUY TICKETS

” firebrand roots-rock – beautiful, aching, narcotic harmonies”
– New York Times

The Music Hall has just announced that it will feature Indigo Girls, Friday, October 29, 2010 at 8pm as part of its Intimately Yours series sponsored by 92.5 The River, and evening sponsors: Hometown Oil; Sheds USA; Seacoast Rejuvenation Center; Wheelabrator Technologies; Clear Eye Photo; and The Lighting Center at Rockingham Electric. Indigo Girls came into prominence as part of the late-’80s singer/songwriter revival. Throughout two decades of music, they have garnered both mainstream success and a rabid core following by combining two distinct personalities and songwriting styles which have provided tension and an interesting balance. “The addition of Indigo Girls to our Intimately Yours line-up offers a wonderful opportunity for their many avid fans to see them on The Music Hall’s unique, historic stage.,” said Thérèse LaGamma, Programming Manager & Curatorial Associate.

About Indigo Girls
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers first took the name Indigo Girls while living in Atlanta in 1985, although they had been performing together since the early ’80s, at times under the name “the B-Band.” In 1986, they recorded an independent self-titled EP and followed in 1987 with the full-length Strange Fire – only 7,000 copies were pressed, however, and very little interest was generated. Things changed quickly in 1988 when, in the wake of the success of Suzanne Vega and Tracy Chapman, the duo seemed to fit nicely into “the next big thing.”

About the CD, Staring Down the Brilliant Dream
For more than two decades, Indigo Girls have presented some of their best music in front of cheering crowds – sometimes in the cramped confines of a small club, sometimes in a vast arena packed with thousands. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriters celebrate their long-standing passion for live performances on their upcoming release, Staring Down the Brilliant Dream. The CD reminds both their longtime fans and casual followers that the Indigos still consider live shows “the most vibrant part of what we do,” Ray says. Knowing that some live CDs can be rough around the edges, Saliers and Ray made certain each track they included reflected them at their musical best. Some tracks made the final cut because they featured great back-up work by longtime band members Carol Isaacs on keyboards, Clare Kenny on bass and Matt Chamberlain on drums. Some begged to be included because Julie Wolf’s piano part deserved to be heard again. Other tracks were essential because they included terrific guest vocalists such as Michelle Malone on the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” and Brandi Carlile on Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”

“The tracks that are special were attached to special nights,” Saliers says. “It’s usually dictated by the crowd. Sometimes the energy is so tremendous and the crowds are so rowdy, but then you can suddenly hear a pin drop during the ballads. You recognize that as a performer, and you can tell that the crowd is with you. And it’s reciprocal – we feed them and they feed us. And we walk off the stage at the end of the night clapping each other on the back and saying, ‘That was awesome.’ We really wanted this CD to feel like you’re right at the venue listening to the show,” Ray says, “that it’s a continuous experience and you’re drawn into it as if you were there.”

Opener for Indigo Girls
Lucy Wainwright Roche is an American singer/songwriter and as half sister to Rufus and Martha Wainwright, she is the latest member of the extensive and successful Wainwright and Roche families to hit the music scene. She is known for refreshingly candid and funny stage presence. Her first full-length project, Lucy, is expected to be released in the fall of 2010. Lucy on MySpace

Just Announced!
12th opera broadcast added to 2010-2011 season!
The Met@The Music Hall

Nixon in China (Adams)

Live from Lincoln Center; Opera on screen
Saturday February 12, 2011 1pm
Libretto by Alice Goodman, directed by Peter Sellars

“Shows you what opera can do to history!”  – Sellars

On Sale now to members with subscriptions
On sale to members without subscriptions noon Saturday July 10
On Sale to public noon Saturday July 24th

BUY TICKETS

The Music Hall, the landmark theatre in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire has just announced a twelfth opera broadcast – added to its 2010-2011 season: Nixon in China will be broadcast live from Lincoln Center on screen at the hall on Saturday February 12, 2011 at 1pm. Tickets for the opera are on sale now to Music Hall members holding subscriptions for the season. Tickets go on sale to members without season subscriptions noon Saturday July 10. And, tickets go on sale to the public noon Saturday July 24.

The Met @ The Music Hall presents the Met premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning (and New England born and raised) composer John Adams’ most famous opera, Nixon in China, with libretto by American poet Alice Goodman and – in his Met directorial debut – directed by the controversial and indomitable Peter Sellars. It had its world premiere in Houston in 1987 and at once redefined the possibilities of the art of opera. Adams will be on the podium to conduct, and James Maddalena, who sang the role of Richard Nixon at the world premiere, brings his acclaimed interpretation to the Met. Nixon in China, Sellars says, “shows you what opera can do to history, which is to deepen it and move into its more subtle, nuanced, and mysterious corners.” Sellars’s creative team includes set designer Adrianne Lobel, costume designer Dunya Ramicova, lighting designer James F. Ingalls, choreographer Mark Morris, and sound designer Mark Grey. Nixon in China also stars: Kathleen Kim, Janis Kelly, Robert Brubaker, Russell Braun and Richard Paul Fink. Read the rest of this entry »

Opinion – Portsmouth Herald
July 02, 2010 2:00 AM
The city’s cultural life is bound up with the old sailor’s knots in the rigging of our 130-year-old Music Hall.

The Music Hall has been a much-loved venue for movies and national talent since it was rescued from oblivion in the 1980s, but the organization has entered a whole new phase in recent years.

When Patricia Lynch, a theater impresario and widely produced playwright, arrived as executive director in 2004, she began a research and discussion process to create a vision for the next phase of The Music Hall’s development. We’ve been seeing the results ever since.

The program has broadened far beyond what our little city could have expected — from the nationally recognized musicians and performers to the movies, writers, kids shows and the opera. And there’s been a continuous stream of major renovations.

Read the whole article

Loft Logo

Fall renovation, Spring opening

new performance/learning space offering the same high quality programs
in a more intimate space around the corner from the historic theatre

Design Team Introduced
New/Expanded Programs Announced
Downtown Economic Impact Predicted

Lively, dynamic, warm, hip, distinct, intimate. These were just some of the adjectives used to describe the new Music Hall Loft at 131 Congress Street in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the new world class performance, educational and office space slated for a fall groundbreaking and Spring 2011 opening.  At the June 22 announcement, Executive Director Patricia Lynch explained, “The Loft will offer a unique experience – a modern, downtown space that is simultaneously an intimate theatre (with food/drink availability at 100+ seats), a high-traffic space for educational programming, and offices for professional staff. Purchasing the highly visible 131 Congress Street around the corner from the theatre allows us to enhance our sustainable business model, meet our needs for new space, and continue to offer the same high quality curated programming as the historic theatre and to meet our mission to the community.” Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, June 23 7:30pm.

Buy Tickets

Join us for Lebowski night at The Music Hall.

The Dude, Walter, Donny, Maude, the Jesus, some Nihilists, a marmot, a soiled rug, a severed toe, Logjammin’, lots of bowling and caucasians “I have a beverage here, man,” add up to form an excellent adventure at the hands of the Coen brothers.

117mins, US, 1998 Rated R for pervasive strong f*in language, drug content, sexuality, nudity and brief violence with a marmot.

Dress like your favorite character, or bring an apropos prop, get a free small popcorn and enter the Cult Classics Raffle

The bar will be open at 5:30, caucasian drink specials. Don’t miss it!

I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it’s an ethos.

HERBIE HANCOCK

Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 7:30 PM

Info/Tickets

All remaining tickets $60!

The Music Hall Presents: Oscar-award-winning Herbie Hancock will be gracing The Music Hall with his extraordinary musical talents. A musician since the age of 7, Hancock is known for breaking uncharted territory with his acoustic jazz styles.

SHUTTER ISLAND

Leonardo DiCaprio

Thursday, June 17, 2010, 7:30 PM
Friday, June 18, 2010, 6:30 PM
Saturday, June 19, 2010, 7:30 PM

Info/Tickets

Tickets: $8.50 ($6.50 Students, Seniors 60+, Military).

A water-bound mental hospital housing the criminally insane. Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, and Jackie Earle Haley directed by Martin Scorsese.

SUMMERUNDERGROUND

Get in. Get Underground

Friday, June 18, 2010, 9:00 PM

Info/Tickets

Tickets: $8 advance $10 day of

After the sun goes down DJ Unseen Cinema spins rare grooves and classic cuts to kick off the summer – one night only in The Founders Lobby Lounge, the city’s best downtown lounge. Limited tickets available. 21+ event. 9pm – Midnight.

THE ART OF THE STEAL

Sunday, June 20, 2010, 4:00 PM
Sunday, June 20, 2010, 7:30 PM
Monday, June 21, 2010, 7:30 PM
Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 7:30 PM

Info/Tickets

Tickets: $8.50 ($6.50 Students, Seniors 60+, Military).

A highly-regarded documentary that explores how greed, political power, and good intentions colluded to violate Albert C. Barnes’ wishes and scatter his exquisite art collection across the globe.
Show & Tell Discussion follows the Tue 6/22 show

CULT CLASSICS: THE BIG LEBOWSKI

Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 7:30 PM

Info/Tickets

Tickets: $8.50 ($6.50 Students, Seniors 60+, Military).

The Dude, Walter, Donny, Maude, the Jesus, some Nihilists, a varmint, a soiled rug, a severed toe, Logjammin’, lots of bowling and White Russians add up to form an excellent adventure at the hands of the Coen brothers. Dress like your favorite character, or bring an apropos prop, get a free small popcorn and enter the Cult Classics Raffle.

Friday June 18, 2010 9pm-midnight
Founders Lobby Lounge

21+ Limited tickets
Get in, Get Underground

After the sun goes down, DJ Unseen Cinema spins rare grooves and classic cuts to kick off the summer – one night only in the city’s best downtown lounge, The Music Hall’s Founders Lobby, Friday June 18, 2010, 9pm – midnight. Limited tickets (150) to this 21+ event are on sale now – $8 in advance, $10 on day of – at The Music Hall box office at 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, NH, by phone at 603-436-2400, or online.

Seven live concerts, 40 SummerFilms, Six Historic Tours,
One HD broadcast from the London stage
Founders Lobby Lounge every Fri/Sat night!
The cool place to be on hot summer nights!
Summer visitors? Summer@The Music Hall!

The Music Hall has announced its summer lineup at the landmark Victorian theater in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Seven live concerts, 40 SummerFilms, six Historic Tours, one HD broadcast (London Assurance) from the London stage, and, with the Founders Lobby Lounge open every Friday and Saturday night – The Music Hall is the place to be! Herbie Hancock, Joan Baez, and Jonny Lang are just of few of the stand out live shows in an “open every night of summer” that also features the beloved SummerFilm: The best from independent and foreign cinema to the latest from Hollywood, all presented in the air conditioned restored historic auditorium on an enormous screen in glorious Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The full list of the 40 SummerFilms will be announced later this month.

Dave Rawlings Machine (Friday June 4) will be performing with his longtime musical partner Gillian Welch and members of Old Crow Medicine Show, and touring behind his first album, A Friend of a Friend, recorded in Nashville with Welch, members of Old Crow, Bright Eyes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Herbie Hancock (Wednesday June 16) will be blending funk, jazz, and genius. The powerhouse 12-piece big band, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and The Afro-Cuban All Stars (Wednesday June 30), of Buena Vista Social Club fame has been responsible for stoking the worldwide infatuation with Cuban music. The Grammy Award-winning LA rock/hip-hop/Latin band Ozomatli (Saturday July 10) is coming in fresh from Bonnaroo and touring behind their latest album, Fire Away. West Indies, Brit soul/pop diva with the cult following Joan Armatrading (Sunday July 11) will be touring behind her 20th – and more pop oriented – album, This Charming Life. The Queen of Folk comes next, the renowned Joan Baez (Friday, July 23). Grammy Award winning blues guitarist with the voice of an ancient bluesman Jonny Lang (Thursday August 12) makes his Music Hall debut touring behind his latest CD, Live at the Ryman, an electrifying live performance taped at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Intimately Yours: Dave Rawlings Machine
Friday, June 4, 2010 8pm
Joined on stage by bluegrass singer/songwriter Gillian Welch, and members of Old Crow Medicine Show

“songcraft as soul-baringly timeless as Twenties Delta blues” – Rolling Stone

The Music Hall, the landmark Victorian theater in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will feature Dave Rawlings Machine Friday June 4, 2010 as part of its Intimately Yours series sponsored by 92.5 The River. Dave Rawlings, guitarist, harmony singer is best known for his work with longtime musical partner bluegrass singer/songwriter Gillian Welch, producing Old Crow Medicine Show, and contributing to albums by Bright Eyes, Ryan Adams, and Robyn Hitchcock. He’ll be touring behind his first album, A Friend of a Friend, recorded in Nashville with Welch, members of Old Crow, Bright Eyes and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Having attended Berklee College of Music, Rawlings achieved his signature sound flatpicking a small archtop guitar. He’ll be joined on stage at The Music Hall with Welch and members of Old Crow. After an appearance April 10 on A Prairie Home Companion, this summer he heads to Bonnaroo and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

According to Monte Bohanan, Music Hall New Technology Manager, “I am so excited that such an amazing musician and collaborator will be on stage here at the hall with Gillian Welch and members of Old Crow Medicine Show – it’s going to be a great gig!”

Read the rest of this entry »