Londonderry News

Imagine playing at a famous music venue. This one happens to be one of the foremost folk music venues in the entire United States. James Taylor has entertained here. Taylor’s children have played here (which attracted James, but that’s another story). Music luminaries representing nearly every style of music have been bathed in its stage lights: George Winston, Tom Rush, Johnny Winter, Mark Cohn, The James Montgomery Band, and Howard Jones. Melanie, Peter Yarrow, John Mayall, Jefferson Starship, and the Makem Brothers will play here. The Makems! On St. Patrick’s Day no less! But I digress… This venue might be in New York, Chicago, or Boston, but it’s not. It’s right here in Londonderry. If you got the chops, you might just get on the stage!

Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, home to an impressive lineup of shows, also open its doors to local musicians with Open Mic Night.

First known as “The Muse”, now as “Tupelo Music Hall”, the lively and intimate venue is just around the corner from The Coach Stop Restaurant and the Cross Roads (the latter is poetically apropos, when you think about it). This home to the music gods opens its stage the first Thursday of every month for Open Mic Night.

Robert Haigh, formerly host and sound engineer of the long-running and highly successful Old Vienna Kaffeehaus in Westboro MA runs the event, which begins with sign ups from 6pm-6:50pm. Music starts at 7. According to TupeloMusicHall.com, artists that sign up are able to play two songs each, and a “featured” artist plays a half hour set at 8:30pm. There’s enough interest by musicians that on some nights not everyone gets a chance to play. Those artists are given vouchers so they’re first on the list for the next open mic night. This is a pretty good indicator that one can hear a dazzling array of local talent for the admission fee of 5 bucks. Five bucks! Not too shabby for a night out. Light fare is served and the venue is BYOB (for a $3 bottle fee, should you so desire). For those of us that remember the days of coffee houses and the incredible music that often accompanied them, to have such an evening available locally is a real treat.

Recently, I decided to invite some of my musician friends to Tupelo for the January 5^th gig (hey, you got to talk the talk with these guys – gig is a playing job, whether paid or not). Neither is a stranger to the stage, so if they get a chance to play, it should be some fun, and if they don’t? Well… there’s always next time.

Musicians have fascinating stories. It must have something to do with the path of the creative life. The musicians I’ve invited are no exception…

Jazz guitarist Steve Rapson (pic soloperformer.com)

Steve Rapson lives in South Boston, pretty much around the corner from the Boston Center for the Arts. It’s a neighborhood teeming with artists: painters, musicians, dancers… an appropriate spot for a muse like Steve. He and his wife have a gorgeous 3^rd floor flat overlooking a garden court. On summer nights, neighbors probably think they’re the stars of a romantic movie when Rapson plays his jazz guitar on his back deck. Steve’s debut CD, Christmas Guitar, is sold around the world. He has followed up with five more CD’s: Romantic Guitar, Half Irish Guitar, Patriotic Guitar, and Original Guitar, each with a companion book of transcriptions.

But Steve is more than an excellent jazz guitarist. As a producer and performance coach, Steve works with songwriters and performers and public speakers of all kinds. His approach to stage work has helped further the careers of many new artists including Kevin So, Mary Gauthier, Ellen Schmidt, British singer/songwriter Paul Chi, and German composer/pianist Ivo Wiesner. Rapson knows what he’s doing. But first and foremost, he loves to play, and does so with a warm touch that’s beautiful to listen to. His guitar music somehow has a way of wrapping around you. You experience it, more than you listen to it.

A prodigy par excellence, Hunter Foote is a 17-year-old Wales, MA resident.  Fiddler for the band Boys of the Town, he has been studying violin since the age of 5. Listen to Hunter, and at times, it will seem as if he’s harnessed lightning to use in place of a bow.  That’s to say… the young man can play blindingly fast, with brilliance and precision. Hunter has since become a much sought after solo performer, but still makes time for lots of volunteering and benefits. He’s another guy that clearly loves the simple joy of playing music.

Fiddler Hunter Foote (pic boysofthetownmusic.com)

Another interesting fact about Hunter is that he was home schooled for most of his education until he entered college part time at 13 years old. He graduated May 2010 with a double major in Music and Liberal Arts.  In May of 2011 he graduated from the Isenberg School of Management at UMASS with a degree in Management.  He is currently the founder of a start-up company, Noteworthy Commissions, which offers commissioned pieces of music for weddings. Yes, this young man has many talents, and yes, he’s seventeen.

More info:

Tupelo Music Hall, 2 Young Road, Londonderry
www.tupelohalllondonderry.com click Open Mic Night

Steve Rapson www.soloperformer.com

Hunter Foote www.boyofthetownmusic.com

Andy Mack, Jr. Andy is a Londonderry native, and loves everything New Hampshire. The former radio professional is a fan of old farms and the people who run them. Andy now writes, and consults for farms, artists and charities.  More of his thoughts can be found at Andy Mack Jr. .com