Spring Forward at the Loft in March 2015

Girsl guns glory MARK YOUR CALEDNAR

From hot Boston bands to acclaimed singer-songwriters and from a best selling novelist to a popular New York Times financial advice columnist, March ushers in sizzling shows and enlightening authors at the Loft. (Click title to read more)

Feeling penned in by the weather this winter? Come to Portsmouth, NH in March to welcome Spring and enjoy a hugely talented array of musicians and authors at the Music Hall Loft on Congress Street. Artists performing in The District Restaurant Singer Songwriter Series include high energy party bands Girls Guns and Glory and boundary-busting Red Baraat. Plus, hear acclaimed singer songwriters A.J. Croce and Will Dailey; and rising star Bobby Long. With tickets for all shows priced from $12 to $24, it’s an amazingly affordable opportunity to get up close and personal with some of today’s top talent in the chic, intimate Loft theater.

“We look forward to introducing our audiences to some of the best of the best!” says Thérèse LaGamma, Deputy Director of Programming & Performing Arts Curator. “Red Baraat generally plays to much larger houses. Fans of both world and brass band music will not want to pass up the chance to hear what all the fuss is about. Bobby Long is a young British songwriter whose voice made an impression when I first heard him in Austin at SxSW. Will Dailey and Girls Guns and Glory are winning fans all over New England and veteran A.J. Croce returns following his sold out performance a year ago.”

As well, our Writers in the Loft series brings two acclaimed and enlightening authors in March: the bestselling Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island, and Gone, Baby, Gone) with his new novel, World Gone By; and, in conjunction with our Innovation + Leadership series, the popular New York Times “Your Money” columnist Ron Lieber, sharing advice from his new book, The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who are Grounded, Generous and Smart About Money.

Music Hall Season Sponsors:
River House Restaurant; Carey & Giampa, Realtors; The Residences at Portwalk Place

District Restaurant Singer Songwriter Series March, 2015 Shows

Series Sponsor: The District Restaurant

Media Partners: Live Free Photography - [Liv] Frame Print; WOKQ + The Shark

Wednesday March 4: Girls Guns and Glory

For the past eight years, Boston’s rising stars Girls Guns and Glory have been making a name for themselves through relentless touring (about 200 gigs a year worldwide), the release of four critically acclaimed records, a slew of local awards, including being the Boston Music Awards first act of its genre to win Act of the Year, and international awards (Independent Artist of the Year at the French Country Music Awards).

Saturday March 7, 2015:A.J. Croce

From his debut as a jazz influenced blues-based artist to his evolution into a pop music iconoclast, singer-songwriter A.J. Croce has traveled a circuitous musical road. The son of legendary singer-songwriter Jim Croce, A.J.’s career began with his first tour at age 18, opening up for B.B. King. During the following two decades, he has headlined festivals and concert halls worldwide, shared the stage with artists from Lyle Lovett to Rod Stewart, and been heard on TV shows from Jay Leno to Good Morning America.

“A.J. Croce has wisdom beyond his years. With his music, he represents his generation with a profound sense of honesty in his lyrics and quality in his delivery. The future of entertainment is safe in his hands!”- Willie Nelson

Evening Sponsor: Leone, McDonnell & Roberts, P.A.

Saturday March 14, 2015: Will Dailey
This four-time winner of the Boston Music Award for Best Singer/Songwriter will make his Loft debut with his newest album National Throat. Known for his vintage vibe, he’s gained critical acclaim and performed with many lengendary artists, from Neil Young to Willie Nelson.

“Dailey has a natural charisma, particularly as a vocalist…a clear and confident musician who doesn’t need a big label or a big budget to put across his charms.” –Boston Globe

Evening Sponsor: Leone, McDonnell & Roberts, P.A.

Friday, March 27, 2015: Bobby Long
A student of the craft on a musical and intellectual level, Long’s reverence for American music runs deep, with influences ranging from country greats like Hank Williams, to folk singers like Woody Guthrie, and to modern day luminaries like Jeff Buckley. With two full-length CDs to his credit, the critically acclaimed A Winter Tale (2011) and the more rock-oriented Wishbone (2013), he has completed recording a third album in Austin, Texas that will incorporate his various musical influences.

“From Bob Dylan to Elliott Smith, his music possesses a captivating honesty and vulnerability.” – Austin Chronicle

Live at the Loft March 2015.

Sunday March 15, 2015: Red Baraat
From Lincoln Center, to Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits, NPR calls Red Baraat “The Best Party Band In Years.” The pioneering eight-piece band from Brooklyn fuse North Indian bhangra rhythms with New Orleans’ brass, jazz virtuosity, and soul. This utterly unique sound is matched by the band’s infectious and abounding energy – that will have audiences on their feet from the opening number.

“A Big Band for the World.” –Wall Street Journal

Evening Sponsor: Leone, McDonnell & Roberts, P.A.

Writers in the Loft, March 2015.
Ticket packages include reserved seat, book, bar beverage, author presentation, Q+A, and book signing meet-and-greet.

Friday, March 13, 2015: Dennis Lehane
The NY Times bestselling author of Mystic River, Shutter Island, and Gone, Baby, Gone, visits Portsmouth with his latest – a psychologically and morally complex novel of blood, crime, passion and vengeance set in Cuba and Florida during World War II.

“[Dennis Lehane is] among the most interesting and accomplished American novelists of any genre or category.” —Washington Post Book World

Monday, March 30, 2015: Ron Lieber
As part of our Innovation and Leadership series, the award-winning “Your Money” columnist for The NY Times shares solid, tested advice on how to help our children make smarter financial decisions, develop better habits, and acquire the tools they’ll need to grow into grounded young adults with good values and habits. His manifesto is essential reading for all parents who hope to imprint their own values, raise kids who are smart about money, and prepare the next generation for an increasingly complex economic reality.

“We all want to raise children with good values—children who are the opposite of spoiled— yet we often neglect to talk to our children about money. The Opposite of Spoiled breaks new ground by suggesting that the next generation deserves to be better at money than we are. . . [an] engaging and important must-read for parents.” —Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

Evening Sponsor: The Sedoric Group of Wells Fargo Advisors

Ticket Purchasing

Tickets for all March shows and writers are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at The Music Hall box office in the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, over the phone at (603)-436-2400, or on our website www.TheMusicHall.org

For More Information

For more information on all shows, films, and events, go to www.TheMusicHall.org/calendar.

For press photos: visit http://j.mp/pressimages

About Membership and Early Purchasing

To become a member today and enjoy early ticket purchasing, call our Membership Coordinator, Lorianne, at 603-766-2176 or go online to our http://www.themusichall.org/support_us/memberships.

About The Music Hall
The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus - one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service’s Save America's Treasures Program, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner, recently named "best performing arts venue" by Yankee Magazine and the recipient of the NH AIA award for design excellence.

With acclaimed signature series like Writers on a New England Stage – a partnership between The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio – and the Intimately Yours music series, we bring top authors and artists to both stages. Also, HD broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera and the National Theatre of London as well as extraordinary cinema fill both screens almost every night of the year.

This dynamic arts center urges patrons to Explore + Learn via master classes, post film panel discussions, and matinees for children. An anchor cultural organization in this historic working seaport, The Music Hall is one of downtown Portsmouth’s biggest employers and largest contributors to the regional economy: The Music Hall and its patrons contribute $7 million annually to the local economy through show and visitor related spending.

Innovative in its outlook, the organization is community oriented and committed to making the Seacoast flourish. The Music Hall is a 501(c)3 nonprofit managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a volunteer board. Though global in the scope of its artists and programs, The Music Hall operates independently with the support of 3,000 members, 300 corporate partners and 58 community partners. Welcoming more than 100,000 patrons (including 20,000 children) each year from the tri-state area and beyond, The Music Hall is the region’s center for the performing arts, literature and education…easy to get to, impossible to forget.