PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Fans of Americana music might want to consider heading south to Portsmouth for the weekend of April 20-22, when The Music Hall hosts the Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival at its two theaters in downtown.

The first-year festival focuses on Americana music, and covers the spectrum of acts from legends and stars to up-and-comers. It begins April 20 with a performance by Merle Haggard in the 900-seat Music Hall, and continues through the weekend, closing with Rosanne Cash on April 22.

There are two shows on the schedule for April 21, one in the theater featuring the Felice Brothers, O’Death, and Farthest Forests. Across the street in the clubby Loft, Elsa Cross and Lucy Wainwright Roche will entertain.

On April 22, a Round Robin will take place in the Loft, calling attention to the Seacoast singer-songwriter scene. Each act will get 15 minutes to perform.

“Our festival features a wide generational swath,” said Patricia Lynch, executive director of The Music Hall. “Our youngest singer-songwriter is 15, and of course, Merle is our most senior (at age 75). We chose Americana music for our focus because it is such a rich vein. It satisfies a lot of virtuosity in terms of the musicians, and there’s also a great harkening back that gives it an authenticity and makes it stands out.”

Getting Haggard to perform is a major coup. Haggard is one of most accomplished songwriters in country music, and along with Willie Nelson and a small handful of others, is still on the road performing songs he has written over the course of a career that dates to the 1960s.

It should be a treat seeing him in The Music Hall, which was built in 1878 and boasts exceptional acoustics.

 

Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or bkeyes@pressherald.com

Twitter: pphbkeyes

 

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