January 2011 NOW

NOW

@

T h e M u s i c H a l l ’s M o n t h l y M a g a z i n e

Corporate Film Night, Nov. 16

Board President Mike Harvell with Zang Garside, Kristin Miller Morales, Daniel Marino and Duncan Craig of Raka

January 2011

SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS Friday, January 21 • 8pm “Retro-soul titans” – PITCHFORK

Susan & Michael Labrie of The Riverhouse, Joanie Dickinson of J. Hilburn with Julia Madden, Corporate Committee

Danny & Susan O’Brien with Pam & Dan Morrison of Optima Bank & Trust Kids RULE!: Dan Zanes, Nov. 20

All Photos: David Murray/Clear Eye Photo

Also in this issue...

Intimately Yours: Marc Cohn

Box Office 603.436.2400

The Met HD: La Fanciulla del West

National Theatre of London HD Broadcast: Fela!

www.themusichall.org

Wildcard Movie: Waiting for 'Superman'

28 Chestnut Street • Portsmouth, NH

NOW

@ the music hall

A n A m e r i c a n Tr e a s u r e f o r t h e A r t s

live events january

SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS (from the cover)

Friday, January 21 • 8pm • Tickets: $48, $38

From New York City comes one of the most exciting acts in the nation known for explosive live shows and fronted by a vocalist whose raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin. This nine-piece band has spearheaded today’s funk and soul revival! See article, page 4.

“Retro-soul titans” – PITCHFORK SPONSORS: McNabb Construction; Trade Wings; Clear Eye Photo

MARC COHN

Thursday, January 6 • 7:30pm • Tickets: $44, $34 • Opener TBA Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, best known for his song, “Walking in Memphis,” has been obsessed with pop music for as long as he can remember: “I was hooked from day one. My older brother had a band that rehearsed in our basement, so I heard Bacharach, The Beatles, Ray Charles, and Motown coming up through the floorboards from the time I was six years old. By the time I was 11 though, the Beatles were breaking up and singer-songwriters were breaking through, and a lot of that music really resonated for me.” And now, he honors those early memories with his new CD Listening Booth: 1970, an inventive reimagining of crucial rock standards from that year, including “Wild World,” “The Letter” and “No Matter What.”

“Cohn has one of rock’s most soulful croons – a rich, immediately recognizable tenor that makes these songs his own.” – Rolling Stone

Coming soon!

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE

ately Yo

RIE

S SPONS

u

Just Announced!

THE WAILERS

Friday, February 4 • 8pm Tickets: $22, $17 Opener: Jessica Lea Mayfield

Saturday, February 19 • 8pm Tickets: $42; $29 Tickets on sale to members Fri., Dec. 31 at noon. On sale to the public Fri., Jan. 14 at noon.

The Americana Music Awards "Best New + Emerging Artist" is touring behind his third album, Harlem River Blues; heartfelt indie country mixing old bluegrass and gospel with a Gen X attitude and tattoos.

The greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition return with Bob Marley and The Wailers' hits such as “Get Up Stand Up,”“No Woman No Cry” and “Is This Love?”

SPONSOR: Clear Eye Photo

SPONSOR: Clear Eye Photo

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SPONSORS: DC Home Systems; Hometown Oil; Sheds USA; Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC; Clear Eye Photo

Box Office 603.436.2400

JANUARY 2011 Nowhere Boy

extraordinary cinema

"the charismatic Aaron Johnson effortlessly nails Lennon's strut, anger and sensitivity." – Time

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST

Rated R • 147min • SWEDEN • 12/26 - 1/5 daily @ 7pm • No show 12/29, 12/31, 1/1 • 2pm matinee 12/26 & 1/2 Discussion follows 1/4 show The dramatic conclusion to the Millennium Trilogy. Lisbeth is recovering in a hospital and awaiting trial for three murders. Mikael must prove her innocence. Meanwhile, Lisbeth is plotting her own revenge against the people who put her in this situation. In Swedish with subtitles.

“Breathtaking climax and final confrontation that is positively soul satisfying” – HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

NOWHERE BOY

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

Rated R • 98min • UK • 1/7 - 1/12 daily @ 7pm • 2pm matinee 1/9 Liverpool, 1955. Home to spirited, 15-year-old John Lennon. Yearning for a ‘normal’ family, John escapes into art and the new music flooding in from the US. His fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the young Paul McCartney. But just as John’s new life begins, the truth about his past leads to a tragedy he would never escape.

“Nowhere Boy gets John’s teen years in Liverpool exactly right.” – NEW YORK POST

All Good Things RATED R • 101min • USA • 1/15 - 1/20 daily @ 7pm • 2pm matinee 1/16 Inspired by the most notorious missing persons case in New York history, All Good Things is a love story and murder mystery set against the backdrop of a New York real estate dynasty in the 1980s – the story of Robert Durst. Starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst and Frank Langella as the powerful patriarch, the film captures the emotion and complexion of this real-life mystery.

“Elements of a great unsolved mystery novel you can’t put down.” – NEW YORK OBSERVER

Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen NOT RATED • 110min • GERMANY • 1/23 - 1/26 daily @ 7pm • 2pm matinee 1/23 • Discussion follows 1/25 show

VISION

1/27 @ 7pm • Rated PG • 111min • USA • 2010 • 1 SHOW ONLY!

Every morning in cities and towns across America, parents send their children off to school with the highest of hopes.

But a shocking number of students attend schools where they have virtually no chance of learning – failure factories likelier to produce drop-outs than college graduates. From An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim, an examination of the crisis of public education in the US. Post-film panel-discussion and Q&A featuring local community education notables. See article, page 3.

“This movie isn’t just a necessity; it might change your future.” – ROLLING STONE

EVENING SPONSOR: Autoworks, Inc. Foreign & Domestic Service, Kittery; Measured Progress SERIES SPONSORS: BayRing Communications; Cocked Hat Ventures, LLC; WSCA 106.1 FM; Homewood Suites by Hilton in Portsmouth, NH; Fosters Daily Democrat

Hildegard von Bingen was a visionary in every sense of the word. This 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist. Lushly shot in medieval cloisters of the German countryside, Vision is an inspirational portrait of a pioneer of faith, change and enlightenment. In German with subtitles.

“A gorgeously filmed, surprisingly tough-minded portrait.” – BOSTON HERALD

TINY FURNITURE NOT Rated • 98min • USA • 1/28 - 2/2 daily @ 7pm • 2pm matinee 1/30 • Discussion follows 2/1 show

TINY FURNITURE

Winner of the best narrative feature at the SXSW Film Festival. A hilarious and endearing film that explores the depths of romantic humiliation and the heights of post-college confusion. Writer/director/star Lena Dunham is being called one of the most exciting new voices in American independent cinema.

“The work of a filmmaker with a stunning future.” – ROLLING STONE

Tangled RATED PG • 100min • US • 1/29 @ 2pm • One show only!

Kids RULE !

When the kingdom’s most wanted and most charming bandit Flynn Rider (voice of Zachary Levi) hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen. A story of adventure, heart, humor and 70 feet of magical, golden hair.

MR. TER BUS

“Disney’s spirited re-telling of Rapunzel turns out to be a dazzler.” – ROLLING STONE

the met @ the music hall La Fanciulla Del West (PUCCINI)

Sunday, January 8 • 1pm • Tickets: $27.50; 18 & under $15 Puccini’s wild west opera stars all-American diva Deborah Voigt and Marcello Giordani, and is conducted by Nicola Luisotti. The 100th anniversary of the opera’s world premiere at the Met. “distinguished performance” – New York Times Champagne, chocolate and the original Opera Box Lunch – superlative amenities at your local, independent theatre!

SERIES SPONSORS:

EVENING SPONSORS: Beswick Engineering Company, Inc.; Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Cafe; RiverWoods at Exeter; Secure Planning, Inc.

An Evening to Remember: Your Company Holiday Party at The Music Hall! Contact Mary Horigan at mhorigan@themusichall.org.

Box Office 603-436-2400

METROPOLIS

1/14 @ 7pm • NOT Rated • 150min • GER • 1927 • 1 SHOW ONLY! Fritz Lang’s Metropolis belongs to legend as much as to cinema. In 2008, an essentially complete copy of Metropolis was found by the Buenos Aires Museo del Cine including “lost” footage not seen since its Berlin debut. Screened with the original orchestral score.

“The first must-see movie of 2010 is also the must-see movie of 1927.” – BOSTON HERALD

SPONSORS: Avery Insurance; Great Island Realty; LunaChics; J. Hilburn Men’s Custom Shirts & Apparel; Holloway Automotive Group; Roundabout Diner & Lounge; NH Gazette

National Theatre of London HD Broadcast Smash hits from the London stage straight to The Music Hall screen!

FELA!

Thursday, January 13 • 7pm Tickets: $27.50; 18 & under $15 Winner of three 2010 Tony Awards and Grammy Award-nominated provocative hybrid of dance, theatre and music about Afrobeat legend and political activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Using his pioneering jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies, and Bill T. Jones’ visionary staging, Fela was produced in association with Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson.

SERIES SPONSOR: Seatrade International, Inc.

www.themusichall.org www.themusichall.org

NOW

@ the music hall

JANUARY calendar of events

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1 January

3

4

5

6 The Music Hall Presents

7

8

NO FILM TONIGHT

THE MET @ THE MUSIC HALL:

HISTORIC TOUR 5:30PM

2 January

LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST 1:00PM

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST 2PM&7PM

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST 7:00PM

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST 7:00PM

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST 7:00PM

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

INTIMATELY YOURS:

NOWHERE BOY

NOWHERE BOY 7:00PM

7:00PM

MARC COHN 7:30PM

9

10

11

12

13 NT LIVE @ The Music Hall

14

15

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

NOWHERE BOY

NOWHERE BOY

NOWHERE BOY

NOWHERE BOY

NATIONAL THEATRE OF LONDON HD BROADCAST

screen classics

extraordinary cinema

FELA!

7PM

2:00PM & 7:00PM

16

7:00PM

7:00PM

17

18

7:00PM

19

7:00PM

20

METROPOLIS

ALL good things

21 The Music Hall Presents

22

7:00PM

scene @ five

8 BITS, MODS AND BENDS 5PM extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

ALL good things

ALL good things

ALL good things

ALL good things

ALL good things 7:00PM

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS 8:00PM

23

24

25

26

27

28

2:00PM & 7:00PM

7:00PM

7:00PM

7:00PM

THE MUSIC HALL PRESENTS

INTIMATELY YOURS:

THE HOUSING PARTNERSHIP PRESENTS THE CAPITOL STEPS 5PM & 8PM

29 Kids RULE! Movie

TANGLED 2:00PM extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

VISION

VISION

VISION

VISION

30

31

1 February

2:00PM & 7:00PM

7:00PM

7:00PM

Wildcard Movie

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

7:00PM

WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN' 7PM

TINY FURNITURE 7:00PM

TINY FURNITURE

2

3 The Music Hall Presents

4 The Music Hall Presents

5

7:00PM

NAT'L THEATRE OF LONDON HD BROADCAST extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

extraordinary cinema

TINY FURNITURE

TINY FURNITURE

TINY FURNITURE

TINY FURNITURE

2:00PM & 7:00PM

7:00PM

7:00PM

KING LEAR WRITERS ON A NE STAGE:

INTIMATELY YOURS:

ELIZABETH GILBERT

7:00PM

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE

7:30PM

7:30PM

Box Office 603.436.2400 • www.themusichall.org

1:00PM

extraordinary cinema

TBA 7:00PM

Show & Tell: Post-show film discussion with Paul Goodwin

Enjoy the benefits.

PAID

portsmouth, nh permit no. 202

NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

Photo by Gary Langley/Blind Dog Photography

Share in the magic.

The Attic Bits Photo: Matt Salinder

SCENE @ FIVE 8 bits, Mods and Bends: Electronic Music, Video and Light

Become a member.

Step off of Chestnut Street into The Music Hall Founders Lobby and into an electronic, if not entirely alien landscape of sight and sound. Join us while Seacoast musicians Towers of Silence, AJ Dudick and The Attic Bits play tunes ranging from those influenced by 8-bit music of classic video games, to those from electronic toys cruelly modified into instruments, to sounds radically interwoven with light and video. Visuals by Boom For Real. Join us for cocktails, conversation and the experience of the unusual.

SPONSOR: Blue Mermaid Island Grill; Smuttynose Brewing Company; WSCA 106.1FM; Foster's Daily Democrat

Calling all Music Hall Corporate Sponsors!

Save the Date Thursday, March 31, 2011 • 5pm 2011 – 2012 Sneak Peek

Tickets on sale to members Fri., Dec. 31. Tickets on sale to public: Fri., Jan. 14.

The Wailers Sat., Feb. 19 8pm

INTIMATELY YOURS :

The Music Hall thanks our American Treasure Sponsor

JUST ANNOUNCED!

28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801

Support The Music Hall.

NOW

@ the music hall

Thursday, January 20 • 5pm

Or renew your membership today!

This was printed on an FSC Certified paper containing 25% post-consumer waste.

FSC Certification ensures responsible use of forest resources.

The Music Hall is a 501c3 tax exempt, fiscally responsible nonprofit, managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a dedicated volunteer Board of Trustees.

Box Office: 603.436.2400

Here&Now

The Music Hall in the Seacoast Community

Adopt a Class!

By Mary Horigan, Director of Corporate & Foundation Giving

As many of you know The Music Hall has an amazing School Days Series. These exceptional theatrical programs, performed by highly talented artists, offer exposure to the creative riches of the performing arts. Throughout the school year, students from all over the Seacoast take field trips to experience the “magic of The Music Hall,” many stepping foot inside a “real” theater, for the first time. In these days of diminishing school budgets and with arts education programs being drastically reduced, some community members have stepped forward to make sure our kids still get to experience some fun field trips, like the ones we can all remember!

We spoke to Brian Gahan of Somnia and Jeff Mountjoy of Olde Port Properties who recently sponsored Little Harbour School classrooms.

Brian: David (Ludd) and I have sponsored our sons’ classes over the last few years. We believe it is important to encourage the arts at our schools.

The Music Hall is our neighbor, and we think this is a great thing to do for our community. The process was really easy. We just contacted our son’s teacher and she led us to a point person at the school who coordinates these types of donations. Tickets are $5.00 per student. Where can you go for $5.00 these days? After the performance, every student sent us individual thank you notes. One I will always remember was from a student who “had never been to The Music Hall and had no idea that a place this

Thanks to Somnia, Olde Port Properties, Music Hall members and all of our business sponsors, we'll work hard at keeping ticket prices at $5 (for over 16 years now) and keep those buses rolling over to The Music Hall!

cool existed in Portsmouth.” He thought a theater like this could only exist in a big city!

Jeff: George Carlisle and I like to support what we feel are worthy causes. In this case we just wanted to do something for the PTA at Little Harbour School as I have three kids in the school system. My wife Karen and I support the school as much as we can on a personal level but we also felt that Olde Port Properties could chip in. I contacted my friends at the school and they went over some of the areas that the school could use some help. Well, Olde Port Properties chose the “sending kids to see a show at

The Music Hall option” – sending the entire class, that is! I chose Kindergarten class because that is the class my little Alice is in. Simple really. Will aim to do it for her class next year too.

Support for the 16th Anniversary of The Music Hall’s Schools Days Series provided by: Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Demoulas Foundation, French Foundation, Kohl’s, Morgan Stanley Foundation, Measured Progress, Inc. and New England Audio Tech, LLC.

January 27 Wildcard Movie: Waiting for ‘Superman’ With post-film discussion on the future of education

By CHRIS CURTIS, Film and Outreach Coordinator

As The Music Hall acts to further its Explore and Learn educational programs with the advent of The Loft, January’s Wildcard Movie, Waiting for ‘Superman’ brings a great opportunity to host a community discussion on the nature of education itself. I have received many requests for screening this documentary by Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim. Clearly our community is hungry for information and the chance to exchange ideas on this important topic. One of our panelists, John Shea, is no stranger to the debate. The former Spaulding High School (Rochester, NH) principal is spearheading an initiative called The Big Step Forward (BSF), aimed at restructuring the public secondary school

system in that community.

Fans of the Wildcard series know that it aims to present, through film, global issues along with local resources. January’s film will be no exception. Join us to learn more about Mr. Shea’s efforts, more about the topics the film raises and to lend your voice to the exchange. While the remainder of the panel is yet to be confirmed, varying perspectives will be represented in order to spur an exciting debate. See you there!

Special thanks to our evening sponsors: Autoworks, Inc. Foreign & Domestic Service, Kittery; Measured Progress

Introducing The Music Hall Teen Arts Council

By THÉRÈSE LAGAMMA, Programming Manager & CHRIS CURTIS, Film and Outreach Coordinator

In conjunction with the opening of The Music Hall’s Center for Performing Arts, Literature and Education, The Loft, we are thrilled to announce the formation of a new outreach initiative currently underway: The Music Hall Teen Arts Council (TMHTAC). This initiative will involve the participation of middle and high school students with a demonstrated interest and passion for the performing and literary arts.

One of the goals of TMHTAC is to ignite the spark of creativity among young people and to build an awareness for the future of the arts while simultaneously fostering lifelong arts ambassadors.

As Council members, students will have the opportunity to get a ‘glimpse behind the curtain’ at the inner-workings of The Music Hall, including everything from marketing and production to volunteering and front of house operations. In addition to gaining training as arts leaders they will also have chances to participate in master classes with worldclass artists including musicians, dancers, actors and authors.

We are pleased to be collaborating with community member Jeffery Elwood who will be leading this coordinated effort. Mr. Elwood has an extensive

and varied resume as a performer, mentor and arts leader in the Granite State, including work in music instruction, youth theater and summer performing arts camps.

Membership on the Council will be limited. Member ages will be 13 up to high school seniors. An informational meeting and pizza party will be organized to let students know more about the group and the facilitators and how they can apply to take part.

Interested parties may contact Chris Curtis at ccurtis@themusichall.org or by phone (603) 433-3100 ext. 11.

www.themusichall.org

Treasure the Future Campaign New Year’s Resolution: Meet the Match!

by LAURA SMITH, Director of Institutional Advancement

Board member Danny O'Brien introduces Dianne Mercier

We’re very fortunate as we enter the New Year to have two challenge gifts to match in our Treasure the Future campaign, which is approaching the $9.4 million mark.

Corporate Challenge 80 corporate supporters joined us for our second annual Corporate Film Night on November 16.

While guests were treated to cocktails and delicious treats from The Oar House, Music Hall board member Danny O’Brien opened the evening by thanking our generous corporate sponsors, who contribute over $500,000 in cash and in-kind support annually to The Music Hall’s operating budget.

Danny introduced People’s United Bank President Dianne Mercier who announced not only her bank’s pledge of $50,000 in support of the Treasure the Future Campaign but also her firm’s challenge to other businesses to match that gift. According to Dianne, “We are proud to be a

partner with The Music Hall. When The Music Hall presented us with the plans for The Loft, we knew immediately it was a project we wanted to support.

It fits perfectly with our longtime legacy of investing in the communities we do business in.”

One on One Challenge Additionally, new Music Hall Board member Barbara Henry stepped forward to challenge individuals to match her generous gift of $25,000.

Barbara is hoping to leverage this gift by having three others come in at the same level. “As a relative newcomer to the Seacoast, I recognized immediately that The Music Hall is a treasure. When I learned about the efforts to complete restoration of the historic building, I knew I wanted to help. Every time I attend a performance there, I am reminded about what a good decision that was. Of course, it will take lots of people to make the goal. Join me!”

Ed’s note: As we go to press, we’ve landed one!

Board members Barbara Henry and Harry Schult attend Corporate Film Night

How to get involved Whether you’re a corporate or an individual patron, you buy 1 or 100 tickets a year, and you love the power of the arts to build community, to support downtown restaurants and business and the unique spirit of the region, please make it your resolution to give to The Treasure the Future campaign. With these two matches, the time is NOW! For more information about this once-in-a-generation campaign, visit www.themusichall.org/campaign/index.asp and contact Laura Smith, Director of Institutional Advancement at (603) 433-3100x40.

"We knew immediately it was a project we wanted to support..."

– Dianne Mercier

Behind the Scenes at Daptone Records

By Erin Yuhas, Music Hall Intern from UNH

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are turning heads, mine being one of them, with their authentic and profound sound that captures the heart and soul of Motown. Sharon taps into the soulfulness of Mavis Staples, the commanding presence of Aretha Franklin and the raw power and talent of Tina Turner, while being backed by the Dap-Kings, all in all a nine-piece New York band. Their four critically acclaimed albums – with their homemade and handmade sound – pay homage to an analog era led by ground breaking studios such as Muscle Shoals and Stax Records.

Sharon Jones

I have never considered myself a fan of funk and soul music, regardless of my undying love for music and my eclectic range of bands that I live on every single day. While U2, Incubus, The Beatles, Brandi Carlile, and more blast out of my speakers all day long, I’ve never felt a pull towards soul. Even after finding out that legendary producer Mark Ronson traveled to Daptone Records to create that authentic sound for Amy Winehouse’s Grammy Awardwinning CD Back to Black – and where he recruited the Dap-Kings as Amy’s back up band, I didn’t think that hearing Sharon and her band would change my opinion. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After reading the powerful and heartfelt lyrics and seeing Sharon and her band’s passion come alive on stage, there is no way I couldn’t become sucked in.

Box Office 603.436.2400

My generation is dominated by hip hop, teen sensations, and more – far away from the realm of funk. This music takes me away to a place where the roots of recorded music first began, as well as where many musicians claim to find their inspiration. I can feel the emotion when I hear Sharon sing – a retro experience like no other. This mixture of spontaneity with crafted yet simple arrangements is a dream come true for funk enthusiasts and soul searchers everywhere. I Learned the Hard Way, their latest album released in 2010, is entirely recorded on an old Ampex 8-track tape machine, bringing a welcome breath of fresh air to an industry where electronically enhanced music dominates. This unique and generally unheard of method of recording adds personality to the band and their music. It makes me appreciate the sheer talent of these musicians as well as where recordings got their start before the technologies we have today. Sharon and the DapKings truly deliver the Daptone sound at its finest.

Their other three albums, Dap Dippin’ (2002), Naturally (2005), and 100 Days, 100 Nights (2007), have also been recorded at the ground breaking record label Daptone Records’ House of Soul. The record label’s mission is simple: to bring the finest music that analog tape can offer. The musician owned and run label works to channel the spirits of Stax and Motown records to bring soul, funk, gospel, and Afrobeat back into the music. This handmade, throwback music is the highest quality vinyl that can be found in this decade.

Beyond creating critically acclaimed albums, for the past ten years Sharon and her posse have become renowned for their relentless touring and show stopping live concerts. To see them on stage is to be brought back to a time when Tina Turner and James Brown dominated the scene, and I fully intend to catch the show. On the albums you hear the classic, timeless sound of soul and funk; on stage you get to relive it with their authenticity and unrestrained style.

With a resume that ranges from singing gospel and funk to serving as a corrections officer at Rikers Island, Sharon transforms into a musical figure you can’t take your eyes off of, backed by a band you can’t help but tap your feet to and fall under their spell.

Erin Yuhas is a UNH Communications Major. After graduating in May 2011, she plans to go on to study Music Business in graduate school.