A lineup of well-known regional musicians and young rising stars are scheduled to take the stage for six free concerts on Wednesday nights in July and August. The first five concerts, beginning this Wednesday July 12, will be at 6:30 p.m. at Central School and the last one will be at 6 pm Aug. 16 at the the annual LanternFest at Spring Hill.
Audience members can bring picnics, and can pick up special concert meals from local restaurants.
The Hot Summer Nights concerts are sponsored by local businesses, which are recognized at the shows and on facebook. These include Great Northern Builders; Tanya Cattabriga of The Birches Group, Keller Williams Realty; Brandon Elsemore of Red Tree Real Estate Team, Keller Williams Realty; First Federated Parish Church and Good Girl Graphics.
Hot Summer Nights is a program of SoBo Central, South Berwick’s non-profit community group. An umbrella group for several organizations, SoBo Central includes the Food Pantry, Home for the Holidays, the Common Ground Tuskegee South Berwick Sister City project and the Keep South Berwick Warm Fuel Fund.
The 2023 Line up includes:
July 12 – Tourist Attraction, an acoustic string trio, brings new and old Roots/Americana music with veteran Seacoast musicians Nick Phaneuf, Jim Dozet and Jon Ross. Opener – Kogen Serrano of South Berwick, a student at Hofstra University, was a regular on the local music scene during his years at Marshwood High School and plays piano, sings and is a gifted songwriter.
July 19 – PB&J featuring E, South Berwick’s own, covers “bands you’ve never heard of” and bills itself as primarily a vocal band with three-part harmonies supported by “decent guitar and dreadful conga playing.” Opener – Ethan Martin of South Berwick, a graduate of Marshwood High and Worcester Polytech, who also has joined PB&J, has been part of Seacoast Repertory Theater, MHS musical theater, college productions and solo piano, guitar and vocal performances.
July 26 – La Madeleine – Madeleine St. Amant performs with warmth and passion the music of Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Georges Moustaki, Gilles Vigneault and other French and French Canadian artists, along with a mix of accordion and fiddle-driven Celtic tunes. Opener – Page Holmes, a Berwick Academy and University of New Hampshire grad, plays guitar, sings and is a gifted interpreter of songs, often turning extreme metal and alternative rock songs into acoustic ballads.
August 2 – Sammie Haynes and Mainesqueeze, together since 1985, brings a vibrant mix of rhythm & roots, Texas-swing, folk, and country with 3-part harmonies, hot guitar and pedal steel, giving new life to old favorites. Opener – Beckett Barlow, who grew up in South Berwick and will be a senior at Sanford High School, offers a contemporary country feel, performing songs by such musicians as Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, and Marcus Mumford with his powerful voice and solid guitar skills.
August 9 – Ben Baldwin and Kent Allyn, who began playing together in 1976, find the gold deep in the rich, musical history of American life. They will perform anything from Curtis Mayfield to Harry Warren to Steely Dan to Allen Toussaint. Opener – Cora Ordway, a graduate of Berwick Academy and Brown University, is a finger-style guitarist who covers Laura Marling, Paul Simon and contemporary pop artists.
August 16 at the Lantern Fest – North River, an Americana band – including area musicians Dan Poland, Tom Kesel, Pete Leavenworth, Bob Thibodeau, Carolyn Hutton and singer Vicky Poland – plays familiar songs with their own roots/bluegrass sound, from Crosby Stills and Nash, The Eagles and Dylan to traditional American standards. Opener – Hannah Nahas, who will be a senior at Portsmouth High School and has experience in musical theater, coffeehouse performances and open mics, sings, plays guitar and covers a mix of contemporary artists like Noah Kahan, Chris Stapleton and Haley Reinhart.
